Fun day out testing out the work I have achieved with a new coach

My first race in pretty much a year so I was really feeling a bit unprepared mentally and wondering whether I would actually remember how to do everything. Thankfully things started falling into place as I was going about my pre race routine and set-up. Standing at the swim start I made the simple mistake of not seeding myself towards the front and was stuck in quite a moosh of slower swimmers that I was thankfully able to swim around. Partway through the first swim lap it dawned on me that I was actually over taking people and that I was really enjoying it - a first for me in this discipline!! On to the bike and we had 5 laps of an 8km course which was somewhat annoying (I don't really enjoy being a hamster lol) but it was a pretty great ride ride with a tailwind heading out and into the wind coming back in. I could definitely see the difference a TT bike makes, especially in these conditions, so I am writing my santa list now!! I didn't get all the hydration I had hoped in during my ride, school girl error freezing my bottle too long and not having it defrosted enough in time so I started the run a bit dehydrated. The run was probably the worst part of the race, but still not terrible, it was incredibly hot with no shade along the route but I kept going and made it in to snag a thrid in my AG and 17th woman OA.