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

A few commonsense guidelines for anyone posting comments -

• Comments are welcomed on this site, I especially like to hear from other triathletes, runners, cyclists & swimmers. Comments can be as important and useful to other readers as anything I write here, if you want to comment please do. Whether you are a beginner or an expert, feel free to have you say, ask a question or just offer some encouragement.

Hi, I'm a primary school teacher living in West Yorkshire, I've got two lovely lively children and a husband who conspire to keep me pretty busy.  For no reason that was apparent at the time I decided to take part in my first triathlon a few years ago when I was in my late twenties.

I entered the Rother Valley Sprint Triathlon without any training.  I'd never swum in open water, I hadn't ridden a bike in 10 years and I'd only ever run on a treadmill.  Waiting to go into the lake, the only competitor without a wetsuit, I was more nervous than at any time since my wedding.  I was last but one out of the water and dead last by the time I returned to transition on the bike that I'd borrowed just the day before.  I fell even further back during the run walk as I struggled to complete the race.