Tenby is a trully beuatiful place and the whole weekend is fantastic. The whole town really buys into the event and support is incredible, especially coming into Tenby to finish the bike & run. Pembrokeshire is stunning and we are already talking about going back next year (my girlfriend came with me and really enjoyed the atmosphere as a supporter - she also did the 10K on Sunday.)

I did the hald distances (1.2 mile sea swim, 66 mile bike (odd distance) and half marathon but the beauty of the weekend is that you can mix and match and there are shorter options again on the bike and run.  You can also just sign up for one eventlike the run and there are kids events. Of course, the weekend gets it's name from the fact that many are there to complete the iron distance swim/bike/run and they get a fantastic fourth golden medal - I'm already thinking of trying to go back next year to attempt that.  It's a great family weekend and we turned it into a mini holiday.  We arrived mid afternoon on Thursday so had a very relaxed registration and start to the weekend.  On the Friday we went back to the expo and managed to chat to Marcus Hultgren (winner this year and last) and Lucy Gossage (6 time Ironman winner.)

My training for the sea swim had been pretty awful - every OW swim I did in training I bottled it and stopped much earlier than planned.  I actually bottled it completely and decided not to swim a week before the event as I just wasn't ready (the longest non stop OW swim I managed in training was only 750m.) Anyway, eventually I decided I had to try and was very lucky with perfect conditions.  The fireworks and very loud, dramatic music pre swim terrified meand it was so crowded that I was pretty intimidated by it all.  Somehow I got into a rhythm and after what seemed like an eternity I reached the first buoy.  It was like a carpark with hundreds of people blocking the way so I had to take a really wide arc to avoid them.  At this point I knew I could do this now and started to actually enjojy it! I've finally got the OW monkey off my back so hopefully things will get better from here.

The bike was a hilly 4000 ft of climbing (undulating as opposed to any propper hills.) Kudos to those who did the 112 as they had another part lap of that course with most of the climbing to do so it's a very tough 112 mile bike! Scenery was stunning and although not on closed roads, traffic was light and very well behaved.  There is even a Kinf of the Mountains climb in Saundersfoot with entry and finish inflatable gates and your name read out as you come through which makes you feel like you are riding on Le Tour!

The run was my first ever Half Marathon and what a race to start with. It had nearly 1000 ft of elevation and those hills killed me after the bike the previous day - the marathon must be a killer after that 112 mile bike! Did pretty much the whole run with two guys dressed as He-Man and Skelator! The finish in Tenby was incredible with huge crowds and people finishing the run with their kids.

I absolutely loved this weekend, I can see why so many people come back every year.  It really is a festival of Triathlon, really buzzing in the evenings too with lots of great places to eat (we pre booked several restaurants in advance.) I was very sad to leave yesterday and can't wait to go back again.