I did it! Just got back from Norway still on a bit of a high after completing my first Half Ironman event. For those interested, there is a race report below (probably limited to immediate family, but a couple of people did ask).

Thank you all so much for your support and incredibly generous donations, it means a huge amount to me that people have given anything at all, let alone thousands of pounds to causes that matters to me (the MS Society and a local MS Centre in Chiltern).

I also want to thank my patient, supportive and energizing wife Veronica who put up with all my tedious tri-talk, tri-clutter round the flat and constant eau-de-chlorine fragrance for the last six months.

And now for the play-by-play (for the very very few who like this kind of detail).....

The event kicks off with a swim. To my surprise the lake was actually quite warm (18 deg C) and to my relief there were only about 400 competitors rather than 1000. After a disastrous swim in a practice event a couple of week's back I was determined not to panic so I could get on the bike afterwards not feeling sick and dizzy for a change. Thankfully the majority of the field was die-hard tri-nutters and they all crowded to the front, leaving me clear water just a few meters back. The swim itself was fairly relaxed, and aside from a heal-to-face incident and a 300m tussle with one guy (couldn't swear that wasn't me swimming into him though). I got out of the water incredibly relieved and feeling in pretty good shape...albeit a bit slow (37 min for the 1900m - equivalent to about 1min57sec per 100m)  and about half way down the pack.

The sun came out as I was heading off on the bike towards the fjords and it wasn't long before I'm starting to make up some ground along the dual carriage way heading out of town....which I then promptly gave back high fiving kids along the route and waving at villagers shouting "Heia Heia Heia" (which either means 'Go, go, go' or 'stop showboating and get on with the race you muppet' depending on who you ask).

 
To my surprise I was going quite a bit quicker than I expected and with just 5km to go I was tracking for 2hr47min, but the last 5km was through the town and it meant that I completed the 90km course in 2hr50min (or a average pace of 20mph). Happy with that, I headed into transition which took about a minute and a half longer due to a toilet stop (only pros and circus animals pee on their bike - I just couldn't do it)

About 2km out of transition on the run you head into town for the first time. The atmosphere was amazing and as you head down a short hill onto the harbor front all discomfort seems to fade away as you start to hear the thump thump thump of house tunes blaring out the speakers and the noise of the crowds cheering. You turn the corner and the street is lined with people shouting, clapping and waving. A guy on a mic gets people to chant your name. More high fives and for 200m you feel like some sort of rock star. My wife, Veronica, and her sister, Erica, were positioned half way up the incline at the end of the main strip, I heard them way before I saw them (not a surprise to many). A real lift and exactly where I needed it, I bounded up the slope like some sort of grinning goon (which didn't impress one of my fellow competitors as you'll see from one of the photos) but then I paid for it by feeling shattered at the top.

By this stage it was getting pretty warm, and the combination of the heat and consuming nine of those nasty carb gels over the previous three hours resulted in stomach cramps. I suspected it may just be 'trapped wind' but the potential downside of testing that theory was too nasty to risk the obvious cure. I would just have to put up with it and try and ignore the feelings of frustration that my run would be slowed not by my legs, my heart or my lungs but by my belly. That said, by the time I reached my last lap with 10km to go the feeling of 'oh my god you're actually going to do this' overrode everything. My legs moved faster and I counted down the kilometers. Passing through town with 1.5km to go I saw my wife again and she's screeming 'go Leo, five hours and three minutes, go go go'....I couldn’t believe it, I was hoping for under 5hrs 30 so that  time was quite a bit ahead of my expectations.

I pushed as hard as I could, but by that stage the acceleration was barely perceptible. As I rounded the corner for that final run through the finishing shoot I felt Euphoric, like nothing I have ever experienced in any sporting event I've competed in (not that there have been that many). Despite the fact I had finished well down the field and over an hour behind the winner,  the reception from the crowd made it feel like I was about to break a world record. I can totally see how people get addicted to the sport now.

So after a 1hr 36min half marathon, my finishing time was 5 hrs 10min and 36 seconds. 102nd overall and 13th in my agegroup (out of about sixty). It couldn't have gone much better. An amazing day and a certainly an experience I will relive in my mind many a time.

If you're still reading now, I would say you certainly have the dedication, endurance and capacity for boredom to be a middle distance triathlete and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. I have no idea if I’ll do another one, but now is definitely not the time to make any rash decisions, because in the after-race glow you feel like you could pretty much do anything.

Thanks again for your support and now that I have my life back I look forwards to catching up with everyone sometime