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

After some very nervous waiting, my Vitruvian experience began in earnest on Friday afternoon. We took the kids to Daniel's Dad's as we knew they'd be bored stupid waiting around for long enough for me to complete a race of this magnitude - they get bored during a sprint! Anyway, with them successfully delivered we set off for Rutland Water, I wanted to get myself registered and my bike racked on the Friday night so I'd have less to worry about on the Saturday morning. There were already quite a lot of people with the same idea there when we arrived not long after five, so we followed the general drift of people to find the marquee and get things organised. It was all working extremely smoothly, you went in one end of the tent and gave your number. They checked for licenses and passed us along the line from one volunteer to another, each giving out something essential to the proceedings. By the end of the line I had all of my race numbers (2 large numbers, a bike number and a helmet number); an appropriately coloured swim hat (blue); the all important timing chip; my competitor's wrist band to prove I had a right to be there; a very nice cycling gilet with the Vitruvian on it; a can of Red Bull (yuk!) and a pack of High5 products (well worth having). Having collected all of that I took my bike into transition, found my racking spot - not only numbered but named, so really no excuse for putting it in the wrong spot. I stood there for a while staring aimlessly at it all before deciding that wasn't going to help in the slightest and setting off for the Premier Inn in Grantham where we were to spend the night. I got myself as organised as I could before going to bed, set my alarm for 4:15am and settled down in the hope of a decent sleep.

Saturday morning began long before the dawn, although I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I hadn't slept too badly. We were up and out for five as I wanted to be at Rutland Water by half past, have some faffing time and still be on time for the briefing at 6. It worked out well, there wasn't exactly a lot of traffic around at that time in the morning. I did find out why people have head torches though, it was very dark in the car park and some of the surrounding areas. Anyway, I got myself mostly set up in transition before the race briefing, but having discovered that I would be allowed back in afterwards I didn't bother getting fully changed - after all, my race start was 50 minutes after the first wave, the women were the last to set off. The briefing was clear, loud enough to be heard and I continued to force myself to eat my breakfast as I listened. I was feeling decidedly sick and eating wasn't at all what I wanted to do - however, I managed to force it all down. I knew I'd need it later. After the briefing I completed my preparations and headed off to the water to watch swimmers setting out before me and get a sense of what the swim course was really like.

I had a plan for the swim, it involved staying out of trouble and just swimming my own race. I had decided that I was going to start near the back with a lot less chance of getting bashed or having any goggle issues and then I was going to swim past and around anybody I needed to and just cruise round at a sensible pace. I was pretty sure that I could complete the swim in between 40 and 45 minutes if I did that and knew that time would help give me some extra time for the bike if I needed it. So, as the race began, I started my watch, managed to remain calm and set off into some clear water. The swim was great! I love open water swimming and this was a good example of why. Long expanses where we could just swim, plenty of space to go around people when I needed to. The sun was shining, the temperature was fine once I was moving and there weren't too many weeds (apparently they'd been cleared). Sighting the buoys was easy and I swam in my own rhythm and just got on with it. It was a 2 lap swim and a quick glance at my watch as I clambered out to run around and begin the second lap told me I was doing fine for time. Apart from being shoved by a guy I was overtaking at speed at the start of the second lap (highly unnecessary!), it was an unruffled swim and I enjoyed being out there. I was concentrating on being smooth and keeping calm for what lay ahead. I achieved a swim time of 40:31, right at the fastest end of what I'd hoped for, and got out of the water feeling happy and ready to face the rest of the race.

I took my time in transition, as is evidenced by the impressive time of 4:07! I didn't see the point of rushing madly in such a long race, I wanted to make sure that I got everything right. I made a brief attempt at drying myself off before pulling on cycling shorts over my tri suit - it doesn't offer enough padding on its own for being on the bike for such a long time. I remembered to take the gel I'd left in my shoe, I even remembered to turn the GPS on in time for it to find itself before I was ready to set off. Daniel was outside the fence urging me on and being positive about it all - great support much appreciated.

Off I went into the unknown, the part of the race that had been worrying me the most. I knew the average speed that I needed to be hitting, so I could keep an eye on the Garmin for that, but mainly I knew I just needed to keep it steady and try to get into a good rhythm that I could continue for a LONG time. My concern was always that I wouldn't make the bike cut off, but doing my swim in 40 minutes gave me some extra leeway and I headed out feeling pretty sure I could make it. My worst case estimate reckoned it would take me 4 hours, and I had that if I really needed it. The bike route was okay, I could have done without the addition of loose chippings to the Rutland Ripple, simply because it slowed down my climb - it was easier to get up there on the previous road surface! Still, after that I found a good cruising speed, varied my position a little, using the bars and not using the bars and mostly enjoyed being out there. The weather had changed though, it had clouded/ misted over and was a little windy in places. Still, mostly it was fine. During one windy bit on the first lap I wished I was wearing more clothes, but after that I was okay. I concentrated on eating and drinking as I'd planned and was happy to be finishing the first of my drinks as I went through the feed station to begin the second lap. I was also very pleased to see my average speed was about 15mph, I knew I was going to have plenty of time unless I lost the plot on the second lap. Thankfully I didn't. Nor did I end up walking up the Ripple the second time as I saw someone doing, mind you, that may have been quicker than I was cycling! My second lap also went well, I continued to make sure I got the nutrition in and genuinely enjoyed being out there, especially as I got nearer and nearer to Whitwell and began to realise that I would be nowhere near the dreaded 4 hour mark. Something on my right pedal developed a wobble in the last few miles, whether it was the pedal itself or the cleat on my shoe I didn't know, but it clacked and slipped about, thankfully nothing came of it and I reached the end without any unwanted dramas. In my wildest dreams the best time I thought I could possibly hope for was 3:25, I completed the bike in 3:20:30! I was absolutely ecstatic. That put a real spring in my step going into the rest of the race.

Once again I was not exactly speedy going through transition. I wanted to make sure I'd got things right, although I did set off still wearing my cycling shorts, realise and jettison them randomly by the transition area fence. I had my gel, took a quick detour to the transition area portaloo, being able to run comfortably without being desperate for a wee seeming like a good idea! Then I realised there was no water in camelbak, I mustn't have sealed it properly and it had leaked out, so that was randomly chucked at the fence as well. No point carrying it for the sake of it. So, I set off hoping there would be enough feed stations out on the course. Completing transition in the almost identical time of 4:08!

The run was fantastic. I planned purely to run how I felt and to stick to my plan of 9 minutes running followed by 1 minute walking while getting some food in. That's more or less what I did for the first lap, although there was a little extra walking through water stops so I could actually drink some water. However, my running felt really good, it was one of those days where things seem to flow. I couldn't believe how good my legs felt when they had already done so much work that day. Towards the end of my energy bar I was really struggling to swallow it, it was feeling really dry in my mouth and there was no way I could face eating any more, so, for the second lap, I swapped to High5 instead of water and assumed that would do the trick just as well. So, from then on the main focus of my walk breaks was to get the sports drink in, but other than that the plan remained unchanged. The weather was quite a bit warmer by that point, the wind over the dam was almost pleasant. I knew I was running well, knew I'd be well inside the time I'd hoped for, but had no idea what my run time actually was. Therefore, to discover later that I was only one and a half minutes over my best ever half marathon time, after all that preceded it! I was well chuffed with that. I completed the run in 2:06:45.

I crossed the finish line feeling absolutely fabulous. I'd had a brilliant time, I'd really enjoyed doing it - and there they were calling my name and calling me a Vitruvian! The kids, Daniel, Barry and Jeanette were all there to greet me. I felt quite emotional about it all, and very glad to accept my medal my finishers' T-shirt, things to be treasured forever. It was a wonderful experience, all the time spent training really paid off and I'd love to do it again! My total time was 6:16:01, an hour faster than I thought I'd be able to manage! Excellent.