The Southampton sprint triathlon (the fifth event I have taken part in to raise money for Hestia) is set in the undulating countryside of the New Forest. This means you are cycling over cattle grids and dodging round pony's, cows and the occasional disgruntled pig.
My biggest decision was whether to cycle in my Tri suit alone or put on an extra top which wasted precious seconds. If you can imagine cycling at 20 mph at 8.30am in the New Forest in April in a wet swimming costume I hope you will forgive my decision not to 'man up' as my wife suggested but to grab an extra layer.
The swimming pool at Hythe is on the second floor of the leisure centre so after a reasonable swim (overtook a very experienced local swimmer in the first length), I sprinted down a flight of stairs, typically wasted time not finding my bike before setting out on the 20k bike ride.
Apart from a couple of ponies who decided not to get in my way when they saw the expression on my face Ihad a reasonable bike stage (did not fall down a cattle grid, get lost, get overtaken) and made a far. better transition to the 5k run (my best stage). The first mile was up hill but I managed to overtake 10 or so other runners and finish with a 21.43. I was 8th in my age group, 65th overall and glad to have raised some more money for Hestia!
