Me first

With the spectre of a school trip ( on the Monday) I always wanted to finish in good shape. Most of me, little right toe aside, did.

I had a fun race. The swim was very Camelot with mist on the water. Quite busy and chilly but fun nonetheless. Finding the right line in the mist was interesting so I just made sure I had people to the right and left ogf me.

My T1 was tough with numb fingers fumbling with all the catches and straps. I almost walked off with someone else's number and helmet -- he wasn't amused.

The first circuit of the bike was great and much easier than I remembered. Unfortunaltely the rain arrived for lap two and things got a little chilly. I felt strong on the bike and had put on a second jersey so I was still happy and glad of the uphills to warm me up. In retriospect I wished I had pushed harder as I had plenty left in the tank for the run.
I wasn't looking forward to the run but with the crowds cheering us on it wasn't too bad. My major problem was, once again my feet, but they felt good. I kept things easy and enjoyed ( almost) the run. Rob passed me early on and I also spent a lot of time near Fiona and Andrew not realising he was on a different lap. I finished in a respectable 6hr 19.

The real result for me was finishing in such good shape. I can honestly say I didn't have an ache, pain or stiff muscle following the race. The only casualy was one toe.

On Sunday afternoon I drove the family home to Surrey and then on Monday morning headed off to Dorset with 60 11 year olds. As I was the official lifeguard for the week I took the wetsuit ( number still attached) and relived the glory while floating in the Swanage sunshine.

Let's do it again!