I'm interested to know if you think you would have made any different decisions if you didn't have that IR in your back pocket.
I would not have taken off, I would have done what I usually do and tie the plane down and call the girlfriend for a ride home, but as soon as I got in the air and had the transition declined I thought stuff this I will just go back to the departure field and call for a lift, then I realized my mobile that I never go anywhere without was back at home base in my car with all my contact numbers. It's funny how all the little things line up and work against you.
The difference with being in that situation with the IR is I never really felt frightened or felt in imminent danger, as I became aware of each mistake and oversight I just thought Ok what do I do next rather methodically, I suspect if this had happened befor the IR I would have relied a lot more on ATC and perhaps made some panicked decisions, but again without the IR I would absolutely not have been in the air.