These kind of things are often described as a journey, well if that is true mine is like your average daily commute. One minute I was waiting on the platform and the next I knew I was on the train, full speed ahead, destination Tri-for-life on Sunday 5th September.

It all started last Christmas with a nice meal with our friends Mark and Heidi. Good company, good food and too much wine... Mark was saying to me to enter the Triathalon as part of a team. 'Go on all your need is 3 of you, you do one leg, the bike and get 2 others to do the hard bits...easy'. Never have too much red wine and the saying, 'The older I get the better I was' combined to such drastic effect.'Ha' I said, 'I laugh in the face of one leg. I was an athlete back in the day....I even came 2nd in the school time trial' (Ok is was about 30 years ago and it was the half of the school not picked for the inter form teams, but it really was 2nd - or maybe 3rd or 4th I can't quite remember).

Anyway, that's how it all started and now I am about to arrive at my destination..One week to go, then 400m swim (in lake - no warm swimming pools for me), 22k(?) bike and 5k run...easy as I keep being told. My training (yeah right) is all but done and all that is left is for me to ask for help in raising money for a very good cause.

Because the real point of all this pain, suffering and humiliation (that'll be me in a wet suit) is to raise funds for the Emily Ash Trust. Please take a minute to look at their web site, it will tell you everything you need to know about why this is all worthwhile and what a difference we can make with just a little support. For me on a personal level, Mollie's Story says everything that I can't, except to ask for your generous support. I may well come a very poor last in the race, but hopefully with your help I can at least hold my head high in the sponsorship stakes..