More Robert Downey Jr than Ironman!

It was either the best or worst 6 and a half hours of my life, I am still not quite sure; but either way I finished my first Ironman 70.3 in Mallorca!

The swim was the most terrifying experience of my life. There were 3,400 participants released in batches of 6 every 5 seconds into the sea. I went off about in the middle and it was bedlam.

I have to confess to having a mild panic attack early on and needed to resort to breast-stroke in order to catch my breath, but finding a bit of space I was able to get on my way. I came out of the water shellshocked.

The bike leg was just great fun, although the heat of the day was rising. The ability to ride such a magnificent route with all of the roads closed was a privilege.

Getting off the bike in Transition 2 (from the bike to the run) it became apparent just how hot it had got. My watch was showing 33 degrees celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit), The half-marathon was going to be tough.

After about 6 miles, my body felt like it was on empty and my run became a walk, and the temperature carried on rising!

I got a second wind at around 9 miles and managed to run-walk to the finish, to take to the famous red carpet, flanked by family and some friend, to cross the line - exhausted!

My medal round my neck, that first beer tasted like nectar (and each one that followed didn’t taste any worse!).

I was proud to finish, not only for me, but to know how much had been raised for two remarkable charities. I will leave the VirginGiving page open for a couple more weeks, in case some of you were waiting to see if I actually made it before donating: click here for the link

As I write this, the total is just over £5,000!

Thank you to everyone who has supported me in this endeavour, your generosity has blown me away.

I don’t quite feel ‘IRONMAN’, but more like Robert Downey Jr who dresses up in the right gear and plays his part!

Here’s to the next one!