I'll be there again this year, despite several weeks of work-driven "tapering"...
I like the race, and I thought that the organizers did a great job.
A few thoughts:
1) the swim last year sucked. During the warm-ups I watched buoys drift off the line with the current which was crazy strong. They lifeguards tried to fix them, but they ended up putting a left turn/drift into the first leg. I also watched a lot of people cut the final bouys at the top of the course - either on purpose or accidentally. I gritted my teeth and swam the whole thing (as my lousy times and my Garmin track show). That left me with a bad taste in my mouth at the start. It was my worst 1/2 swim ever, in terms of time and enjoyment. Others afterwards had similar comments, including the belief that the course was long, although it could have been a combination of the current and poor sighting skills (
https://connect.garmin.com/...n/activity/585339698)
2) The bike course was cool in that they closed 9A to traffic - a few steep hills, and once I got through the packs that started before me, it was actually quite empty on the course, despite being a 2 loop course. The last ~1 mile was a no passing zone on little bike paths, but a good cooldown before T2. My garmin had ~4,000 ft climb (
https://connect.garmin.com/...n/activity/585339703)
3) The run was hard: basically an out an back with a very good climb up, and then another good one between 10 and 11. On a positive note, the course is downhill from about mile 11 to the end. Good spectators on the course, and I was very happy to have them spray me with a hose several times to cool off, despite the fact that it was quite shady. My garmin captured it at ~850 foot climb. (
https://connect.garmin.com/...n/activity/585339708)
Cheers,
Sam