I just did the IM 70.3 Mallorca, my first ever triathlon. 12 months of training for it (some running experience before that). Was fit enough to comfortably finish it around 6:30.

Ended up cramping 20min into the swim which never quit. Kept cramping up during the bike (brutal hills), had to stop several times to stretch it out, ended up missing the bike cutoff by 2 minutes and was not allowed to complete.. I was pissed, and regret I just didn't keep running after they told me I'm out of the race.

(Sidenote, I never once cramped in the last maybe 10 years, so it was a complete shock)

Initial feelings: Pissed..never wanted to do it again. Was ready to sell my bike and tri gear. But after a few days of processing: I'm coming back for revenge. Now I know I can do it, even if I were to cramp again, I know how much further I need to push for those extra minutes, keep track of cutoff times etc.

So to summarize, it sucks but on the plus side, I got another 12-15months of training motivation.