I think the bike is fine for what your goals are, though I’d recommend against aero bars for two reasons. One, they’ll look funny on that bike. You probably don’t care about that though, so my second reason is that you don’t need them for the level you are competing at. Using aero bars properly, with proper body geometry, is something that takes a lot of practice and tweaking to use in a way that won’t hurt you. You will not gain enough benefit (or time) from the use of aero bars at this level that it’s worth the cost or hassle. If anything, put a set of drop handlebars on the bike and use those, keeping your elbows in.
It really is a huge difference. I have a Kona Jake the Snake cross bike (cost me $1300) and a Specialized Ruby Elite (~$3000) road bike. I have ridden both on my same commute to work and my average speed on my road bike is around 30 km/h while on my cross it’s closer to 23 or 24. Big difference. Same gap for my husband, who also has a cross and a road bike, though his road bike is of the $10,000+ calibre and the gap in speed is proportionally bigger.
thanks for the replies. btw when people say average speed, do they mean the speed at a sustained cadence or the average for the whole journey, traffic lights and all?
It depends, I’ve always set my Garmin Forerunner to pause when I stop. Too many stop lights or a long train can mess up comparing rides.
I mean average for the entire journey, lights and hills included.
My bike computer averages the entire ride, including traffic light stops. It is smart enough to go to sleep if I’ve stopped for longer than a few minutes. So a stop change a flat or have an iced coffee is not going to be counted as part of the average speed of the ride.
I speak from experience; your body weight is the key. More specifically your power-to-weight ratio.
Honestly, go up any hill on your bike. Come back to the start, put on a back pack containing 10 bags of sugar (or equiv.) and climb the same hill. Un-be-lieve-able :smack:
Being overweight is almost helpful when you start as you need to build muscle and you’re shifting heavyweights at that point, but pretty soon you need to get real 
I’ve just gotten the bike fitted and tuned, and took a quick ride up the road to meet my wife at the grocery store. It rides 100% better.
what does that mean exactly? getting the bike fitted and tuned?
Fitted - most simply, adjusting the seat and the handle bars up/down & forward/backwards so your body is in a comfortable riding position.
Tuning - also most simply, making sure all the parts of the bike are in good working order.
If it’s a proper fitting with video and a trained tech using professional software it’s about efficiency more then comfort.
There are different levels of fitting - towards the top end this will include your best aerodynamic profile. Sometimes bike shops will sell you a ‘fitting’ that’s really just a guy guessing a few adjustments.
Loads of info and examples on Youtube.
I am seriously enjoying the bike. If I am still liking it aa much next summer, I think I’ll give tge hybrid to Mrs Magill, and buy myself a proper road bike.
Also, I have a pretty good idea of what it feels like to be mobbed by half a dozen cannibalistic toddlers with super strength. Each of whom has grabbed a fist full of leg hair in order to bring you down to be a tasty snack.
That’s why cyclists shave. 
Glad to hear you are enjoying it! Makes a big difference to go from a clunky Walmart special to a proper hybrid. If you get a real road bike next year you’ll be even more in love. 