Saturday 29 January was registration down at Ongley Park. First was the "drop-off" of the bike to transition. Next I was expecting a longish queue for registration, but the system was very slick and after a few friendly words from the woman at the desk, I was off again, with my new 2005 triathlon shirt in hand.
Back at home I was a bit worried that the shirt, a very beautiful one, was too tight around my hips and that I would look a bit silly: but I decided I would have to not worry about that and just get on with it! It was time for a final check of all my gear, and to make sure that I had remembered my goggles, filled my water bottle, and then everything was ready for the big day.

As I went to sleep that "night-before", I could hear the wind howling outside. It was going to mean quite an effort would be required for the bike ride if this kept up. I was relieved to wake up and find the wind had dropped quite a lot. I grabbed a bit of muesli for breakfast and was off out the door. Got to Ongley Park only to realise that the wind was still fairly strong near the river. Oh well, at least half of the ride would have a tail wind.....!!!!!! (As it was to turn out, I was lucky to be in an early wave: it was windy for us, but the wind got stronger as the morning went on and was very strong for women in the later waves, who rode valiantly into it.)

With our bikes already in transition, it was a quick job to put my container with shoes, top etc under the bike. It was too windy to think about putting the top out ready, in case it blew away in the interim!

Somehow the pre-race bit of the morning went by very quickly. I met up with Karen, my wonderful supporter, and she took my bag poolside. Before I knew it, I realised that Wave 0 were already in the water getting ready for the start! I was in Wave 3 so it was time to strip off the trackpants, give them to Karen, and line up! No time for nerves!

Before I knew it I was off. I had done more swims in the Lido this time so was well used to the 50m length, but I don't think anything can quite prepare you for swimming in the pool knowing that you are in the pool with so many others and that the whole poolside is surrounded by so many supporters.

Ten minutes later I was out of the pool, running/walking through the quiet of the rest of the Lido grounds, across a bit of gravel and into transition in Ongley Park.

I enjoyed the cycling despite the wind. Because we did two laps of the cycle course, at least you got a bit of a tail wind before each 3km or so section of a head wind! I was glad I had cycled home from work a few times 4km into a westerly, as I had at least had some practice into the wind. (But usually a windy day had been enough to let me wooss out of bike training, sometimes with very good reason as some November gales were too strong for safety.)

The marshals all along the course were very encouraging and it was great to get a cheer from a mother of a child at school at the College St lights. As I finished the first lap, and the second lap, there was Karen ready with a big cheer. Thanks Karen!

I felt good as I came into transition from the bike ride and realised that my energy level going into the walk was much better than last year. I was looking forward to this walk, down into the Esplanade instead of twice around boring flat open Ongley Park. And the walk was great. There was a real feeling of peace under the trees of the Esplanade and the light on the river was also beautiful. It seemed hardly any time at all before I had reached the farthest point of the walk and was turning into Fitzherbert Ave for the short street section. A couple of people I knew passed me here.

I had no idea how triumphant the ending would feel. I was feeling very pleased with myself already as I knew I had trained, and I knew I was feeling much stronger than the year before. Then I came to the "boot party". The handwritten names on our numbers were a great idea, as now people were cheering and calling our names. One woman along the side high-fived me. This gave me such a buzz that I took off into a jog for the last couple of hundred metres. Kind people relieved me of my foot timer, Karen took a photo of a happy me, and the triathlon was done! Breakfast here I come! (Thanks sponsors.)

But there was actually more to come. Not being able to get our bikes from transition until 10am was a great idea: it kept lots of people around cheering for others. I pulled on my trackpants and joined the boot party. I found the woman who had high-fived me to thank her, then got on with cheering for others. What a wonderful atmosphere.

And the results? I found I had done the triathlon ten minutes faster than last year. What a dose of self-esteem that has given me!

Postscript: Trying to follow a training programme, writing down my plans for when I was going to fit in what....then succeeding in improving my time by ten minutes, has done something great for me. I am now quite used to increased exercise in my life and feel like part of the "6am Club" pounding the pavements or swimming the lengths. (I am not yet quite sure what I will do in the winter when I know I won't swim or cycle in the dark, but there is time yet to think about that.)