I did the race this year. My splits are in my Strava link below.
One thing you can say about Ironman Maryland is that the town of Cambridge really embraces the race. The volunteers were also awesome. While I was eating my postrace dinner, the waitress said that she wished every weekend was Ironman weekend for the money she was earning. Good job Iron spenders.
As for the swim, it was a self seeded start. I think it took them about 15 minutes to get everyone in the water. For me it was a non eventful swim. No stings, minimal bumping and fairly decent sighting. About ten stokes after each buoy I would look for the dark outline of the next one and aim for it. Rinse and repeat.
As for the bike, both my Garmin 500 and my 910 registered 110.3 miles. I started slow due to the headwind and because I'm a feeble biker, but felt better once we hit the first tailwind at mile 35. My second loop was faster than my first even with a 1 minute pee break. Each loop had a mixture of headwind and tailwind. I understand the the later cyclists had much more of a head wind, and for much longer, on the second lap.
One additional bike note, the leader on the course by 15 minutes at mile 102 (the 53:00 swimmer) was a guy from my area. He said that his front tire rolled off from under him as he was leaving the lollipop and took a race ending spill. He's ok, but he cracked his helmet in 4 places.
The mid afternoon run was definitely taxing due to the bright sun and exposed course. That vacant land at the far end was pure misery. My grand plans were dashed by the halfway mark on the run.
All in all, it was a fun experience.
What I do:
http://app.strava.com/athletes/345699