A few thank you's

Ok, I'll keep this one short. It's the last post I'll do that will have anything to do with Ironman Florida. I know we're two weeks later and it's old news, but there were a few things I'd forgotten. If I forget any more then I'm sorry, but it won't get mentioned.

First up, I realised that I never actually wrote down my finishing time/splits etc, so I'll get that out of the way.

90th OA/8th AG - 59:20 (5:17) 5:00:47 (4:26) 3:29:40 = 9:39:27

So now that's out of the way there are a few folks I'd like to say thanks to that helped me out along the way. Local folks first I guess.....

1) All the folks at North Devon Tri who've supported me and trained with me pre-race, were all sat screaming at their computers until stupid o'clock at night watching race updates and looking for me on the live Finish Line cam. They've all been fantastic post race too. Probably the best and friendliest club in the world, so good that they should be sponsored by Carlsberg.

2) Then there is Maria another North Devon Tri clubmate who's been spending time every week I have a free Thursday trying to get my body into some sort of shape. Not the easiest task when you're faced with someone who never warms up/down or stretches. Often left shaking her head at the idiot who's just rolled off her table she's done a wonderful job with a (very) limited patient.
3) The folks from Bike-It in Barnstaple who finally stopped my Quintana Poo being a creaking clunking machine that I was ready to throw in a hedge every time I rode it. Just the placebo effect of riding a bike that's quiet must have been worth a few mins out on that bike course.

4) Our new friends at Freedom Sports who were just brilliant to us in the week leading up to the race as well as being there cheering, supporting and shouting encouragement every time they saw me out on the course. If you're thinking about any races in PCB next year pop in and give them your business. Thanks folks, maybe we'll see you again some day.

5) Last but not least I'd like to thank Reflex Nutrition who randomly emailed me earlier this year and said "Would you like to try our stuff". Of course I said yes and I haven't looked back since, so much so that I paid cash money to buy another 2 tubs. I've been using 'The Edge' and I love the taste of both flavours which is a massive factor. It's got me through Florida with a huge new pb (ok, there were other factors) and I've every intention of using their stuff at Ironman Hawaii too. Maybe I should lobby them for sponsorship ;-)

So that'll do for this post. No training updates because I haven't really done any training to report on. Hopefully by the next time I post I'll have at least started doing some work rather than just sitting back and piling the lbs on.

Until next time................. Be seeing you ;-)

One last sneaky edit at the end. I guess I should really thank Shelly and my family back home who have been as supporting as any family can be (even though they bullied me into taking that Hawaii slot). They should know how much I appreciate them but no doubt somebody will read this and thing "Ha, why doesn't the cheeky asshole thank us!". There may be others out there who think that, folks who've have given me a hand in some way. They should also know me well enough by now to realise that I'm half soaked and will suddenly remember them while I'm miles away from anywhere only to forget again by the time I get home.