Sel-kak Standard Triathlon

I completed this today. I say completed because I wasn't exactly competitive. The swim was a disaster. I was in the wrong heat based on a far-too-optimistic swim time and I spent whole minutes stopping at ends letting others pass me. I WAS LAST OUT OF THE WATER. I'm sure I could hear the sniggers through my double swim cap and ear plugs. Give me an open water swim any time. It's a proper (i.e. fair) fight in the open water. The bike started badly when my clipped-in shoes wouldn't play ball and I had to remove them, put them on and then clip back in. More time wasted. The rest of the bike leg was good, although the climb out of Ettrickbridge was a bastard and destroyed any hope of a quick bike leg. Then to the run. Well, that was an unexpected turd. My one banana for breakfast clearly wasn't enough and a got a stitch. A STITCH!! Until about 5k it wouldn't go away, although the second half was better, but it resulted in a very modest run time. Overall, a badly managed race and a poor performance. THE BIKE IS MY ONLY FRIEND.