“Meh” best summarises this race. A good first half which had me on course for a sub 80 minutes race aaaaand … a much slower second half once we faced the wind which, while not quite the cyclone that hit Fiji today, was still a pain in the arse (and calfs).

Anyway, it was a good warm up half for the Silverstone and World Champs in March which are the ones I actually care about.

Getting to Hampton for 8.30am on a Sunday was not the easiest thing in the world…either I had to leave before tubes even started to get a train there or I had to cough up for a taxi. Turns out I value my time in bed quite a lot – a taxi, it would be! Annoyingly considering the expense, they then delayed the start because they’d messed up the park and ride buses. Anyway, after a short spiel from King Henry and a countdown which went along the lines of “Right, we’ll do a countdown …. …. …. …. GO”, we confusingly set off.

The race: one way towards Kingston along the Thames, turn around, face the wind, briefly go past Hampton Court (which is pretty impressive – maybe one to visit!) and then back in 1h23.

The goodie bag made up for the disappointing time: water, coconut juice, banana, orange, pasta pots for two, biscuit, cereal bar, nuts, dried fruit and a medal hard enough to whack someone round the head and do damage.

Back to training!