Then it was time to head over to the swim and get my wetsuit on in preparation for the start of the race!
This was my first 'open water' triathlon and so I don't mind admitting it was a little bit scary! When you're in a pool, you can see where you're going, you can grab the side if you panic, you can just climb out the ladder and get onto the side if it all gets too much - but not in the middle of a lake! I'd also heard scaremongering stories of how murky water is, you can't see where you're going, you get bashed around by the other swimmers, etc. so I was slightly apprehensive!
Once I was wet-suitted up it was time for the safety briefing just before we got in the water - no going back now!
Once we were in the water I made sure I was right at the back of the pack to try and stay out the way of the other swimmers and just to give myself plenty of room!
Then the gun went and we were off! Out to the orange buoy in the very far distance and back via another buoy just off the shore.
Coming out the water here and I know it looks like I'm about to keel over but that's actually because I thought I was going to! Everybody came out of the water looking like they'd drunk a couple of bottles of wine on the way round! I realised that even when you swim that distance in a pool non-stop, you always then have a breather at the end before making your way out the pool slowly. I realised a was a bit dizzy from turning my head so frequently as I was swimming and then I was immediately trying to stand up and run!
You then had to get your trainers on and run to the bike transition!
Two laps of a dual carriageway course wasn't the most inspiring, but it was quite a fast course and there were a LOT of cyclists out all at the same time so it felt like you were really part of something. There was a lot of friendly chat on the way round - The shorts I wear are 'Tri-talk.co.uk' team shorts, so a lot of users of the site gave me words of encouragement on the way round, which is always really nice to hear.
At the end I was buzzing from my first experience of an open water swim! (And looking particularly good in my lycra!)
Looking slightly better after a shower and proudly showing off my race t-shirt!
Thanks to the guys at TriCentral for sorting me out with a great bit of kit and for all the advice and thanks to the organisers for putting on a great event!Since 1994, women of all ages and fitness levels across the UK have come together at these inspiring events.
Some take part in celebration of surviving a cancer experience. Others take part in memory of a loved one or to give hope to a cancer-free future. But all of them share a common goal: to raise money for Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work to beat cancer."
It's a fabulous event, it's a very emotional atmosphere, people are running for a lot of different reasons, my family run to celebrate Aunty Cathy's recovery from cancer, but lot's of people are running in memory of someone special, but the mood of togetherness is apparent from the moment you approach the venue.
Local radio stations do a great job on the PA system of getting everyone fired up for the start, there's a mass aerobic warm up (which is hilarious!) and people are raring to go when the gun fires!
I look on every year enviously at the girls heading off to the start line together. You don't get the buzz and emotional atmosphere at any other event. I'm a (reasonably!) keen runner and cyclist and a fledging triathlete (yes, having completed a triathlon I am allowed to call myself a triathlete!) and so I enter quite a few different events every year. But I wish I could be a part of this one. Which is why I think we always turn out in decent numbers to support our girls, because that's the closest we can get to being involved. It really is an amazing experience every time.
And so some shots from the day!
Our girls (minus my Mum and sister Kate who were still tying their trainers!)
The start!
It's great when girls really throw themselves into the spirit of the event:
Here come our girls! My cousin Jill (6942), my Aunty V (7302), my sister Kate (6902) and my Mum (6900)
My beautiful wife, Emma, gives the camera a big wave! 
It's always really emotional seeing who people are running for - our girls all had Aunty Cathy's name on their backs:
My cousin Ruth and niece Caitlin spot me!
Aunty Anne went round with Caitlin and did a great job!
Aunty Clare and my cousin Beth (Aunty Cathy's daughter) jogged round together.
My cousin's (from left to right) Alice and Sarah went off so quickly at the beginning that I missed them on the first corner! Sarah was probably the most glamourous runner there - even when she finished she still looked like she was ready to go straight out for a night on the town! Not a bead of sweat in sight and perfect makeup all the way round!
Just going past the 3K mark and Aunty V was doing great under Jill's one to one coaching (Jill did the London Marathon this year and similar to Sarah, didn't break much of a sweat!)
Mum and Kate just passing 3K...
Kate was digging deep but looking comfortable coming past 3k (Emma does a lot of running as well - hence the reason she had enough energy to get her hand in the air every few yards!)
The big finish:
Aunty V and Jill round the final corner before the finish line:
Emma and Kate come over the line with Mum. I was particularly proud of my Mum this year who didn't think she'd be able to run it all the way after a fall last year (not in the race) left her with a shattered shoulder that has taken a huge amount of recovery from. She's still facing another operation to get as much mobility back as possible, but it's been a year of ups and downs for her, numerous visits and stays in hospital so running all the way round a 5k course was a real achievement for her. Well done Mum!
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