This was my last race this year so I pushed the boat out. Taking the race line at the swim start meant a lot of biff but it paid off; 35 mins - PB. T1 was crowded but uneventful. I made the most of the flat bike course and managed to push hard for all but the last ~5k; split = 2 hrs 33. T2 also ok. Although my running has come on a lot this year, I've been disappointed with my run splits in races. I convinced myself I just needed to suck it up and stick to my target pace. This seemed to work and I even gained a couple of minutes; very happy with 1:38. My dream target before the start was 5 hrs, with a realistic goal of 5:05, so when I saw my final time of 4 hrs 50 I was well chuffed.As a consequence of pushing hard, I was in a bit of a state at the end. No swanning around the finish soaking up the moment; even though it was a hot day, within minutes of stopping I was cold to the core and shaking, so it was straight back to the hotel, hot shower and into bed for 30 mins under a blanket just to ward off the body-shock. An hour or so later I was fine, went back to the finish and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Swim: 35:01
T1: 2:24
Bike: 2:33:10
T2: 1:50
Run: 1:38:11
Total: 4:50:38
371st out of ~1160 finishers, i.e. 32%.
