The best inspiration is not to outdo others, but to outdo ourselves

I'm not really sure where to start with this one.  What a brilliant race!  It was great in lots of ways.  I like this race anyway because I've done it a few times before, I know what to expect and it's always really well organised and enjoyable to complete.  I do like to go back to a race and to try and better my previous times.  I was also happy this time because my full cheering committee were with me and it gave me such a boost towards the end of the race tosee the three of them there and hear them shouting encouraging things to me.  The weather was beautiful.  AND I GOT A PB!  A good one, a real improvement - not a tiny few seconds.  Yes, maybe I am boasting but I'm well chuffed with myself here!

The swim for this race takes place in a 33m pool, so you complete 12 lengths, with 4 in each of three lanes.  I was tremendously nervous this time.  Strangely, I think that was because I've had a good run of results recently and I was getting het up about whether there was any more to come or whether this would be where it would all fall apart.  Anyway, it didn't.  I'd forgotten my baby shampoo for my goggles but figured I'd probably get away with it over 400m - I did.  There was some congestion in the poool and I did find myself needing to get past quite a few people.  At one point there were three people swimming abreast going one way and two others coming towards us in the opposite direction.  Just as well they have nice wide lanes.  Mind you, I think the congestion was at least partly my fault.  I eneterd this race ages ago and put down what, at the time, seemed to me to be a perfectly realistic predicted swim time.  I said I expected to do it in 8:15.  I had managed previous times of 8:26, 8:27, 8:06 and 8:04 so I thought that saying 8:15 was probably playing a little safe, but not too much so.  My last few swims in races have been quite a bit faster than I'd previously expected and I was out of the water for this one in 7:35!  I am really, really pleased with that, but it probably did have something to do with the how busy the pool was, it would seem that I was rather out of position.

My transiton went pretty well, I'd made a proper job of working out how to find my bike this time.  It's an unnumbered transition and what's around your bike can have changed dramatically while you're away.  So, I made sure I knew which rack my bike was on and managed to run straight to it.  I also found myself able to run there without any difficulty.  Mind you, a much easier transition than my last race.  Nice and short, out of the pool and straight into the transition area.

The bike course for this race is pretty pleasant on the whole. There is always some controversy about the amount of traffic on the roads, having to stop for pedestrian crossings and riding on a dual carriageway, but I have always been pretty happy.  Quite a lot of the route is out in the country through nice little villages and they were very pleasant indeed in the sunshine.  I was very hot and sweaty so made sure I was getting enough to drink.  I also made sure that I stayed on my tri-bars quite a bit.  I do seem to be getting better at using them, finding it more comfortable to stay down there for longer periods of time.  I found quite a lot of this course suitable to using them.  I didn't encounter any problems on the bike course at all until I was nearly back in Stratford, well, apart from a minor hold up very early on at a crossing, but then I was stuck in traffic as per usual.  There was a slower rider, then another rider of similar speed to me, then me and an awful lot of cars.  It did take quite a while to get past, but then you just have to relax and accept that as part and parcel of this race.  Anyway, if you always get held up, at least you're comparing like with like in your race times!  And my time?  I was very happy with this one too.  My bike time was 50:49, having previously done it in 52:24, 54:11, 52:47 and 1:00:22.

I arrived back in transition feeling like I'd worked hard but still feeling strong and able to run.  I easily found my place in the racking, sorted myself out and got back out there.  It was getting seriously hot by then.

The run is 5K and consists of 2 laps which take you down by the river and in pretty nice settings.  By half way through the first lap I was starting to find things hard.  I was finding the heat really draining.  I've done next to no warm weather running so far this year and it was a major shock to the system.  However, just as I was thinking 'ugh!' I came around a corner to see my family and hear the kids yelling for me at the tops of their voices - that helped quite a lot.  As I ran on I was starting to feel like the energy was draining away out of my feet, but I was determined not to give in.  I knew from looking at my watch that things were going pretty well and I didn't want to let myself down at the last hurdle.  I didn't enjoy the run much, I was too hot and I was struggling to keep myself going.  But I did it.  I kept pushing right to the end and finished feeling rather sick but extremely pleased with myself.  I did the 5K in 27:59, quite a bit faster than my previous times of 28:31, 29:35; 28:48 and 28:50.

Overall I enjoyed the race and coped with the sudden rise in temperature pretty well.  When I saw how much I'd managed to improve my overall time by I was absolutley ecstatic.  All the hard work really seems to be paying off at the moment.  My time was 1:26:23!  Compared to my other efforts of 1:28:57, 1:31:52, 1:30:02 and 1:37:39 I imagine you can see what I'm happy about.  Fabulous race all round.