We both had the best nights sleep so far, going to bed at 10 and not waking until gone 7. Suddenly we were running out of time, we should have done all the prep checks last night. Wetsuit, goggles, gels, helmet, shoes, drinks, glasses, etc. we had to be in and out of the transition area by 9.30 . We got to the bus stop at 8.30 but there was no bus for 20 minutes , so we started to walk and then thought we would try and get a taxi but they all seemed full, luckily we found another bus going in the right direction and got there just in time. The trouble with American cities is that the roads are so vast and the time you have to wait for the crossing and it can take 5 minutes, so everything takes longer.

I still can't believe I actually slept well, let alone overslept the night before the scariest day of my life! After arranging our bikes, shoes, helmet etc in transition, we had a couple of hours to chill and visit the portaloos on several occasions. (These portaloos are much better than Edmonton's portaloos but there are 3 more days to go! )

Suddenly 2 hours had past and it was time to grease the legs and get the wetsuit on and join the 55 other 60-64 year old ladies wearing red hats and huddled in a pen . Graham was starting 5 minutes after me so I knew he would be catching me on the swim, so my plan was to stay out of trouble. Suddenly I was jumping in the water and swimming out to the starting line. The rest was just a blur, I probably didn't swim in a very straight line but I managed to get to the end in one piece, through a long transition and on to the bike which was less scary than I anticipated. It was a bit like a racing track so I stayed safely on the inside lane and even manage to overtake quite a few cyclists including some men! The run was hard even though I thought it was going to be my best leg, the heat on the long straight road was energy sapping, I managed to overtake a few ladies which spurred me on, but it was a long 5 km and the finish line couldn't come soon enough.
Yes I was pleased with 6th GB position and 35th overall was respectable. My only aim was to finish in one piece and not come last so job done! Another newby lady in my age category was taken out on the bike and never finished she was so disappointed. Graham was happy with his performance although some newby younger old boys had sneaked in, so 4th GB for him and 17th overall. A good family effort though!

After collecting our bikes we cycled back to the hotel to rest and shower but this time was spent communicating with those back home and time quickly past so again we were late leaving ( this is not like the LeGoods) The GB team were having a post race social in a bar in town. We had not noticed that there had been a thunderstorm and it was still raining. The bus was late and the traffic horrific so we were very late and the bar was so noisy we just had one drink before returning to the Cheesecake Factory for pudding to take back to the hotel.