How did I do?  Just to remind you what I was doing, it was:

1st  Swim = 1.5km  (0.93 miles)
2nd Bike   = 40km   (24.86 miles)
3rd  Run    = 10km   (6.21 miles)

Well... I did it!

And man, it was not easy.  Especially the run, which is normally my favorite part.  I already knew on the bike that I didn't feel in great shape, and that was confirmed when I started the run.  My left knee grumbled all the way around the 10K, with my mind only taken off it by how bad my stomache felt.  None of which was helped by how hot it was by the time it came to run.  And there was no shade to be had running around the dock.

The swim, well, I plodded my way through the swim which meant I had it all to do on the bike and the run.  But the most important thing was that I survived the swim, which for someone who couldn't even swim 25m in January, well I'm happy with that.  What's it like swimming in the docks?  Cold (although no one else agreed with me on that one!), salty and it tastes of petrol, yuck!  :-%

I was lifted though by seeing my Dad and Bob, and then seeing Hugh, Nicki, Steve and Carol.  My goodness, I can't describe what a lift it gave me on the run when I heard my name called out and saw the guys there to support me.  It made a world of difference and helped me push on through when I had serious doubts about being able to complete the run section.  Thanks guys.  It was fabulous of you to come and it helped more that I can describe.

How did I do?  My estimated times and actual times are below:

                                   Best case                  Worst case                Result
Swim                         09:10 (40 mins)       09:30 (60 mins)         00:46:18
1st transition           09:15 (5 mins)          09:38 (8 mins)            00:04:37
Bike                           10:45 (1h 30 mins)  11:38 (2h)                   01:28:11
2nd transition          10:46 (1 min)            11:43 (5 mins)            01:01:58
Run                            11:31(45 mins)        12:43 (60 mins)          00:50:42
Totals                        03:01:00                    04:13:00                       03:11:45

Place 117th

So pretty on taget for the bike and transitions, but lost the chance to get to 3 hours by being over on the swim and the run.  But overall it's not a bad time and I'm pretty pleased.  And given how bad I felt during the run... thrilled to have finished at all  :-D

And yes, I was quite sore.  Watching me tackle stairs was pretty entaining for everyone else.

It's still not as hard as fighting cancer though I reckon.  It was tough, but I only had to fight for 3 hours or so, not days, weeks or years like many cancer patients.  If you haven't sponsored me yet, please dig deep and give what you can to beat this horrible disease. And HUGE thanks again to those who have already sponsored.  You are all stars and knowing how much was riding on it on the day helped to keep me going.

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Training Update:

Some of you asked how the whole training thing works, how many sessions a week and so on.  To answer this I've left on the site part of the last training update, from two weeks before the event. Hopefully this will give you a bit of idea of what I was doing to get ready for London.

Ideally I do six training sessions a week and have two rest days.  I'm sure you have already spotted the problem with that.  So at least one of the days needs to have two sessions in it.  When I train, I generally train by minutes, rather than distance.  Two weeks before London was a fairly typical training week and the weekend had a boost by training with Helen.

* Monday - rest day
* Tuesday eve - Pool swim, 25 minutes
* Wednesday morn - Interval run, 5km, 26 minutes
* Thursday morn - Bike, 20km, 60 minutes
* Thursday eve - Pool swim, 30 minutes
* Friday - rest day
* Saturday morn - Bike, 44km, 115 minutes then Run 10km 61 minutes
* Saturday eve - Pool swim, 600m (about 20 minutes)
* Sunday - Lake swim, approx. 1.5km, 55 minutes (new personal best for distance!)

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There are now some photos of the day on the following site:

http://uk.geocities.com/irene_kiener/photos_LondonTri_1.htm

The work of Cancer Research is still important, and their work continues. I really did dig deep, train hard and push myself to complete the London triathlon.  So I'm asking you again to dig deep for this tireless charity and to sponsor me online if you haven't already. If we meet the target above, we will have raised £50.- for every 100m I covered.

Not in the UK?  Cancer Research UK is the world's leading independent organisation dedicated to cancer research.  With an annual scientific spend of £217 million, they fund over 3,000 world-class scientists, doctors and nurses. Their combined expertise puts them at the forefront of global cancer research. Cancer Research UK was recently ranked among the top three biomedical research organisations in the world.  Their work gave Mum, Dad and I a wonderful extra year together.  And their work continues to benefit us, our family and our friends, wherever we are in the world.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Cancer Research UK will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.