Photo Album 

Position	Name	Swim time	Cycle time	Run time	Total time	King of the hill
20	Steve Scammell	0.32.19	2.21.38	1.33.13	4.30.48	6.55
25	Sarah Hobbs	0.27.39	2.29.37	1.44.01	4.46.14	9.49
37	Philip Hobbs	0.30.47	2.44.06	1.58.17	5.19.27	??

It's 4:30 Sunday afternoon and we are in bed - no prospect of anything unpublishable. Sarah is snoring
so I think she is in recovery and I am descimating a tin of cold rice pudding. This morning was the Wantage Ultra event and we are now suffering big time from it. Steve Scammell took it in his stride and is probably back out for a few extra miles this afternoon.

The fellow competitors were ripped! I guess you don't go for the 'ultra' option unless you are up for it or
you are a bit daft. The weather was the best we have had this year if you want to get a suntan - breezy,
sunny and hot.

The swim was good. Sarah and I were in the same lane and Sarah passed me a couple of times within the 64 laps with avengence. I was cruising so as to not use up too much energy before the main event. I glimsed Steve a few times over in another lane and he looked to be enjoying himself.

The cycle route is very undulating and in places hilly. The first climb is right outside the leisure
centre and is a shock to the legs after the pool. It is also where Steve makes up for his leisurely swim by
bombing past. The first 10 miles we had the breeze behind us and having climbed the first hill the
descent was thrilling at 44 mph. One cyclist failed to take the corner at the bottom and his head wound
was being patched up when I passed. Turning to climb back to Wantage a 15 miles was a shock as the breeze had significantly increased. 10 miles of uphill headwind before getting back to the leisure centre for lap two. I was having a few problems with my hydration and food. I couldn't get the power bar down or much water as my system had put up a no entry sign. Not a good situation for a 5 hour event. Lap two was draining on the legs but eventualy put us back at the start.

Getting off the bike is always a shock but this morning was something special. I made the mistake of
sitting to switch my socks/shoes and was very tempted to stay recumbant rather than take on the 10 mile run. Once I started running my system decided it would reject its contents which left me dehydrated and very slow. The run started around 11:30 with full on sunburn potential. My plan was to run 3 miles to the start of a massive hill, walk the hill, run 3 miles back to the start of the hill, walk the hill and then
run 3 miles home. This approach proved very productive and I eventualy turned up at the end after 5 hours 20 minutes. I put my ability to reach the finish line down to wearing the compression socks. From 4 hours on my calfs were trying to cramp at every undulation but luckily it never happened. Sarah had used the same run strategy and was back in 4:45 to pick up the vet lady medal. Steve came past me at the end of my first run lap on his way home and looked very comfortable and .

We are both somewhat battered by the effort with big sunburn and very sore bits and pieces.

Time for a kip. Photos on the website soon.

Phil