Swim started off well, i headed for the 1st buoy which was actually to the inside of the course, but watching others start you could see where the current was pulling everyone wide of the course so I figured I could compensate for this by going to the inside a bit. From here I was able to maintain a pretty good line until a little past the 1/2 way out mark. The current didn't correct me as much as I had hoped so I had to correct my line and finish the swim out to the 1st turn buoy. Overall this part of the swim felt pretty good, I was never really taxed and kept a steady pace, I probably could of pushed a little harder though!
The short section from the 1st and 2nd turn buoy went off without a hitch, then I made the turn to head back to the beach and everything seemed to fall a part. Once turned I tried to find something to site off of but couldn't see anything but pink swim caps scattered everywhere. After about 100 yards I found the roof of the beach house and started using this but knew it would take me too far to the left of the swim exit. I kept looking for something else and finally found the group of trees that was more inline with the exit. But where I went wrong was that I went for the far left of them and should have been going to at leas the middle or even right side of the group. By the time I realized what was going on I was pretty far off course and continued to struggle to find the swim exit. Finally I was able to locate the exit and made my way to it. I was so far off course that I probably would of been better off to swim straight from shore and run the beach to the exit.
Because of all the sighting issues I really never was comfortable on this last section, I couldn't push the pace and spent too much time with my head up looking for a direction.

1st thing I should have done is check out the swim exit before the race started, this way I could have orientated some landmarks better to help with sighting. I may have been able to shave off another minute or 2 if so much effort wasn't put into navigation! I would have been better served to stop and find my direction instead of continuing to struggle with finding a landmark. Probably could have breaststroke for a minute to get heading and then continue on!
A few issues I ran into with the bike was soreness in my forearms and up my triceps. I had experienced this prior to having the fitting done and hoping it would have been taken care of. Feels as if these muscles are doing a lot of work and are fatiguing quickly. Also struggled with my one aero pad dropping down, it seemed everytime I hit a bump it would get knocked out of position. I had previously confirmed torque on this but it still dropped, need to find a fix for this.

No problems here, the run from swim exit to transition was fairly long and uphill. I was able to run the entire length with no issue and quickly stripped and pulled everything together and headed out on the bike.

I was hoping for a little better, but will take it. At the start of the bike I quickly realized the roads were in terrible condition! I was being jostled and bounced all over the place, and basically had to ride closer to the middle of the road to find a smooth line. From here I attempted to get into a rhythm and just keep the effort moderately high, I was aiming for around a 140-145 HR but couldn't get drop below 155! Although my HR rate was high my legs were not feeling much stress so I kind of let things go and hoped that the HR would start to drop. All through the 1st lap my effort was steady, only real issue was about the 3/4 mark of the 1st lap, this was where the road turned to chip-seal and was extremely rough! I think at one point I may have dislodged a kidney as I was cruising along! Finished the 1st lap with minimal issues and was sitting in a good position.
The 2nd lap was more difficult. Probably a good time to point out that I have had minimal time on my bike due to the dog accident and had only picked it up on Wednesday from having it looked over an the final adjustments made to match my fitting. During the 2nd lap this really started to show its affects.
About 1/4 way into this lap My HR finally started to drop down into the 140's, the issue here though is that it was more due to inconsistent output and not holding the effort up where it should be. Around mile 15 are started experiencing some stiffness in my back and this forced me to sit up a few times and really limited my strength. I think this is an outcome of the new setup, when my original fitting was done, they commented that my back is not very flexible and that I may have some issues at the beginning.
I was still able to finish strong, but my back was pretty stiff and I was concerned what my run was going to look like.
Nutrition: I was using this race as sort of practice on HIM nutrition and had made up a bottle with about 500 calories in it. I was hoping to finish this on the course just to make sure I could get it down in the hour or so time frame. The bottle was empty when I finished but not sure if that is because I drank most of it or if it is because it spilled out! Definitely need to iron this part out so that it is not a worry come Big race day!
Bike splits (5 miles each)
1: 13:59
2: 14:42
3: 13:15
4: 14:40
5: 14:48

Probably not much, biggest contributor was lack of time on the new bike. With more time this should take are of itself, but I may also look into raising the aero bars to a less aggressive position to help with the flexibility issues. Another item I need to address is my drinking system. I have a new aero bottle that initially worked well but for some reason I struggled with today, it was tilted back and the straw was not position properly and I couldn't get everything out. It also allowed a good portion to leak out and over the course of a longer course that may be an issue.

A little surprised this took so long, I normally get through he bike to run with no problems. But for some reason I fumbled a bit gathering everything up and getting out of the gate

Coming out of transition I was concerned about the stiffness in my back, but this quickly let up and caused me no issues for the entire run. My main concern at this point was the knot I could feel building under my rib cage. Checked the HR and was a little high so I eased up the pace and concentrated on my breathing and trying to relax. I was watching the pace and even though I felt I was relaxing and easing up the pace, there was not really much drop. Around the 1st mile marker the knot in my rib cage had gone away and I could concentrate on just running and maintaining effort. For the entire way out I felt good and never really struggled, I thought about increasing the pace but didn't want to blow up and knew that the return was more difficult with a longer stretch of uphill. During this time I also started running along with another racer and we were able to talk back and forth and I think this created a distraction from maintaining pace. We were running almost identical pace and when one of us would start to falter we would hold the others pace. Of course I think I was the one that faltered more, but it was nice to have that person to race with. Hit the turn around point still feeling strong but also starting to feel the results of the effort. This is also when the run turns into a climb as the long uphill section comes around. At this point I started to lose contact with the other runner but was holding my perceived effort steady and just kept churning up the hill. By the time I reached the top I was still going strong and quickly returned to my previous pace and caught back up to the other guy. This was around the 4.75 mile mark and was starting to think about increasing the pace. Then once I hit the 5 mile mark I really started to increase and was trying to find a uncomfortable pace that I felt I could hold until the end. Even with the increased effort I still was feeling strong and was able to get up and over the last few hills without difficulties. Around mile 5.7 was when I dropped the other running, he had slipped back a bit but I could still hear him for a bit, then at one point he was no longer there. I had continued to push the pace until I was close to red line and finished strong.
Splits:
Mile 1: 7:48
Mile 2: 7:43
Mile 3: 7:56
Mile 4: 8:09
Mile 5: 8:13
Mile 6: 7:46

Absolutely nothing! I felt strong throughout and never really struggled. I wonder if I could of ran at a faster pace, but that is part of the experience! My attitude was positive and never really came into the negatives I have had in the past, I enjoyed talking and cheering on other runners and was more a part of the race instead of being in a hole as I have had in other races of this distance.
I wasn't sure how the nutrition strategy would pay off, as I had nothing but water on the run but the calories I took on the bike were plenty to keep me strong on the run.
One other point: I really enjoyed coming across Dirk and Brian out on the course. I passed Dirk as he was coming in around mile 5 and I was going out around mile 1. Then came up on Brian around the 2 mile mark. Had a brief conversation with him and tried to get him to run with me but he decided to hold back as I ran on. Either way having friends out on the course adds a bit of excitement that I am not used to!