Were there any differences in the course between these two years, or any other known differences/condition, that would make the times in 2010 quite a bit faster than 2011?
I can’t speak for 2010, but the wind on the bike was a factor in 2011. Nasty headwind for the first (I can’t recall exactly) but something like 35-40 miles. Someone correct me if the headwind wasn’t blowing for that long, but I remember it sustaining for quite some time.
Yeah, I did 2011 but not 2010. Definitely a good headwind for the first 1/2 of the course. But of course all that time was made up on the way back 
Head wind was a huge factor as stated but also they did a much better job policing the “packs”. In 2010 you’d see groups of 15-20, in 2011 you’d see groups of 15-20 in the penalty tent.
One other thing, there was about a 8 mile stretch of road that was in really bad condition in 2011 while it was smooth in 2010. This might sound small but it felt like going over rumble strips for 20 minutes around special needs.
I was there for both years and raced in 2010. In 2010, it was cooler/colder, but it wasn’t like it was warm or anything in 2011.
Both years had a headwind heading north from the gulf, but in 2010 the wind was coming out of the northeast so it was a headwind when you hit the beack and headed back to transition. In 2010, the wind was out of the northwest so once you hit the condos, you had a tailwind pushing you home.
As the air turns cooler, the winds usually come out of the north (thats where cold fronts come from) so you almost always will have a headwind heading out on the bike (and the opposite is usually true for Gulf Coast tri at the same location). In the summer, the winds and warmer air usually comes out of the south which also tends to make the water more rough. The differences will come into whether the wind is out of the due north (which is ideal I think), out of the NE or NW and how bad the wind was. Now, you can have abnormal fronts move through and change everything, but for the most part (and the last two years), you will have winds from the north at IMFLA. I can’t say for certain because it was windy both years, but I wouldn’t say one year was significantly more windy than the other.
I know at race start in 2010 it was 40 degrees, and it wasn’t that cold in 2011.
One other thing, there was about a 8 mile stretch of road that was in really bad condition in 2011 while it was smooth in 2010. This might sound small but it felt like going over rumble strips for 20 minutes around special needs.
That is not true at all. That area has been bad for quite some time.
Ok, my bad on that. I just didn’t remember that in 2010 like 2011.
A north wind also pushes the upper layer of warmer water that is close to the beach offshore. As a result, the cooler, deeper water surfaces close to shore and it can be brisk for the first and last 200 yards or so of each loop, like in 2010.
It’s the stretch on 388 (Bennett Rd) - and then it’s just from 2301/Blue Springs Rd to the turnaround and back. You’ll know when you get to it when you see the carnage along the road from all the ejected water bottles. Be sure to check yours if you carry them in something that is more likely to eject them.
I was there in 2010 so everyone knew they had to step up their game.