Jen, I'll tell you, I literally began to panic on the swim. And this is coming from a guy who has been dragged out by rip tides on ocean swims and didn't panic! I think that when I swim in a pool I get into a "groove" that allows the body to adapt and breath in pattern and go long distances. But that groove was totally absent on my swim. I was so gassed! I too made up some time on the bike. I saw a really huge difference in the performance of riders using a dedicated Tri or aero type bike, and those riding a straight-up road bike. I have a road bike that basically has old-school Tri-bike dimensions, with aero bars added. That alone gave me a tremendous advantage. the guy who won my age group was riding what must have been a dedicated $10,000 Cervelo TT bike!