Hilly Swim Course?

Sooo... this past weekend was the Blue Lake Olympic race here in PDX. It is probably one of the most competitive races in the Portland Metro area. There is typically a strong showing from places as far away as eastern Washington and Idaho. Although not as competitive as last year there were still 3 guys under 2 hrs. I went into this race with one goal, that was to break the Ironheads Olympic distance bike record (58:06). The only reason I really focused on this was because I know my swim fitness isn't great right now and my running is still coming back. The bike has been feeling really good though. So I figured I would push the bike as hard as I could and see what happens. I really didn't feel like I had anything to loose since I could count at least 10 names I new in the pre-registered list that were faster then me. So I thought it would be a fun and potentially painful experiment. The race overall went pretty good. My swim felt faster then it was (I think the swim was a false flat). I thought for sure I was going to be under 24 mins, but I ended up at 25 and change. On to the bike, it took me a good 6 miles to get my HR under control. I started out pushing as hard as I could. Towards the middle I started to chicken out a bit. I realized how painful the run might actually be if I don't back off a little. So after the last turn around I eased up a little and cruised for couple miles. With about 5 miles to go I started to get a second wind so I took some nutrition and decided to push it again. I managed to keep my mph over 26 for the last 4 miles until I reached the park and prepared to dismount. The run started out rough as it usually does in these early season races. My feet get so numb on the bike they feel like bricks for the first mile of the run. Once the blood started to flow again I was able to settle in and keep a pretty consistent pace. Mile 4 to 5 I started to get tired, but I was able to keep the wheels from falling off. Had it not been for the pack of IH team mates running me down I would have likely let up those last couple of miles. But I knew that Jason K, Ryan J, and Trevor were all right behind me and running faster then me. So running scared is a good thing I guess. Fortunately for me the run was only 6 miles otherwise I would have gotten run down. So compared to last year I didn't PR as much as I had hoped. I think I was less then 2 minutes faster this year. Since my swim and run were slower this year only the bike was faster. There may be a balance somewhere in there. If I backed off on the bike a little maybe I'd more for the run? Or do I play to my strengths and try to push the bike as hard as I can and hold on for the run? Who knows...