Yes – I’m a triathlete.

I still can’t quite believe it.

I couldn’t even believe it on Sunday as I was pushing myself around those last few miles of the Hever Castle triathlon.  All the way around, all that was running through my mind was “how is this happening? How am I doing this?!” – because it certainly wasn’t down to a solid training plan.

I realized I could pretty neatly put it down to a combination of three things:

1. The incredible marshals

whose cheers of support as I passed each checkpoint were so motivating. The red-flag-man at the bridge on the cycle was particularly memorable – his weird little cheerleading dance as I passed put a smile on my face all the way up the coming hill.

2. The team of Doers

and their families who were taking part with us. I had not realized how much impact doing an event like this as part of a big team would have. It was seriously motivating. To have other Doers to dive into the cold water with; to have friends and family cheering you on all around the course; to bump into fellow Doers as you pedaled slowly up relentless hills; and to have a whole team cheering you on as you race towards the finish line. Anyone at Hever last Sunday will have seen the effect that those finish-line-cheers had on me… I went, quite literally, a little crazy with excitement…

3. Thirdly and probably most significantly, all of my sponsors.  

As I turned the half way point of the swim (the first of all three legs) and realized I was already exhausted, I thought of Henny and Matt now only eating friendly sustainable fish, and I kept on swimming. At kilometer 35 of the cycle, the thought that this was just part of the 45km commute that Toby is now cycling once a week really kept me pedaling. And as I eased my wobbly legs into the run, I thought of Katy in Abu Dhabi, researching how she can do all her recycling in this big new city. And there were 29 other sponsors to keep me entertained and moving through those long, hard three hours. So thank you.

This is definitely something we’re going to be doing again, so watch this space (and keep an eye on our newsletter) to be part of the Do Team next year.