Swim Bike Run Paddle Run?

Received this from New Ray:-

It feels like the morning after the night before without the drinking and bad head but feeling a bit stiff.

Off soon to collect my bike from Rivington and Blackrod School where I left it before setting off for the running leg yesterday. Before I go just a short report on the day.

Got up at 3.15 a.m. with my brother picking me up at 4.00 a.m. and then off to collect Dave and arrived at Pennington Flash for 4.45 a.m.

In the open water at 5.50 a.m. with 1,500 other mad people. The beginning of the 2.4 mile swim was rough at the start with everyone trying to find their own open water. In the end I enjoyed the swim and felt I had done very well this year.

Got changed and on the bike for the 112 mile cycle. After twenty miles felt my right hamstring pulling and began to get worried after forty miles. Pleased I brought some painkillers with me and took a couple with another couple towards the end of the cycle. The hamstring didn't seem to get any worse thankfully although I didn't really enjoy the last thirty miles.

Glad to get my feet on the ground for the marathon and set off through Rivington for the first four mile. Felt very much at home and the first twelve miles went quite well until the painkillers stopped working and the hamstring began to play up.

At eighteen miles Dave caught me up and I began to pick up the pace a bit.

Running along the river at Lostock by the railway line with only four miles to go I took out my mobile to phone Tricia and dropped it. It bounced a couple of time until it spashed in the water. I followed it into the river and spent some time recovering it to discover the brick wall bank was too high to climb. I walked a while until I reached a pipe which I was able to climb up and onto the footpath. What I must have looked like I don't know but it can't have been a pretty picture.

Thankfully I had it covered in cling film and it is still working!

Got to the finish line of my third and last Iron Man in 15 hours.

The support I received from start to finish was fantastic and overwhelming. Friends were dotted all round the cycling and running routes. Some of them moved around the route to spur me on at different points.

A couple friends from Oxford dropped in at the finish line on their way to Scotland.

Anyway must shoot off to collect the bike (are you running there for it? Ed).

See you soon!

All the best!

Ray

Ray may not have been pleased with his time, but I'm impressed.