I met up with Bob preparing to do the 40km bike leg, Rad and the PRB awaiting their team swimmer at Acton Ferry Terminal where there was a huge congregation of supporters at the transition point. News came through that Ron had cramped in the swim and was receiving assistance in the water. With another bike leg for him to do, this was a concern and we looked at alternatives.

He swam up confidently though, in a very credible 1:21:57 for the 3.5km leg and Bob was off on to the trails and mountains of Canberra’s western fringe. Despite the changes to the swim legs and Milly’s illness, we were still 7 minutes ahead of our draft schedule.

There was around two hours before Bob would complete his cycle, and the waiting is always the hardest, especially when unsure of the time. The PRB and I went for an enjoyable coffee at The Deck at nearby Regatta Point, before popping by Rad’s place to check on how things were going. I was starting to get anxious about the time though so we didn’t stay for long.

The 5th transition area was a buzz with activity; bunting marked the changeover chute, and relay runners were nervously lining up for the port‑a‑loo and seeking to warm up whilst keeping a watchful eye on the mountain bikers coming through for the end of their leg.

I had changed into dry clothes as soon as I finished the first run, and although disappointed to have ‘ditched’ the Cool Running Crop Top, the clean clothes and socks were very welcome. My Garmin 301 had also not coped very well with the previous run leg; it was set on auto pause, and my ever-so-slow movement forward up the steepest sections had caused it to stop, no doubt exacerbated by the thick tree cover and poor GPS signal in some places. The footpod of the S625x coped better, underestimating a little (I had not recalibrated it for the Asics Foster shoes I was wearing during this leg), but very consistant and close. I turned auto pause off, and hoped for a better Garmin result.

There was no news about the location of the riders, as they trickled through as individuals or in small packs of 2 or 3. Bob’s distinctive red Swiss jersey and knicks with yellow helmet came into view just before 2:00pm (original estimate 2:15) and I left him to collect the car keys from a friend and dashed off to follow the PRB and David Baldwin who had already started their run.

I had become a bit stiff in the intervening 3½ hours, and knew that some light jogging would help to begin with. David and the PRB slowly increased their gap to me, and I was overtaken by a couple of young women with team numbers on them. Slow and Steady Carolyne. Big Picture.

Maybe a little unfortunately for me, this run leg only had one mountain climb, however it was right at the beginning and unrelenting. We were immediately required to climb up the northern face of this hill, and while I lost ground to those in front and to those who passed me, I keep moving my legs in a running motion (I’m sure walkers would have past me), and made it to the Trig Point at the top and a welcome drink station without too many ill effects, even though the pace was painfully slow.

Now the long steady downhill section began, blissfully steep at first on the SE slopes of Mt Taylor to begin with, and then over the rolling tracks at the base and onto a series of bike paths traversing the Tuggeranong suburbs. This was alien territory for me and I was reliant on following those in front and for the white arrows that marked the way. This was fairly boring and having passed one woman in front I found it hard to concentrate and focus on the run – it was flat to slightly downhill, but over concrete paths between houses and green belts with few people in sight. I was very annoyed when a couple of guys on mini-bikes the size of a clown’s bicycle came tearing past me, spewing noisome two stroke fuel and plenty of noise pollution into my face.

Eventually, the Lakeside path came into view and a number of wetsuited swimmers were visible on a sandy beach area around the other side. With the finish within reach I was inspired to pick up the pace and finished within my anticipated time of 1:15. Bob was wearing the Team’s Aqua Blue Cap and went bounding off into the water when I tagged him.

Post leg nutrition: 1 Special K bar; 2 Gu; Saxby's Diet Ginger Beer; 1 FortiJuice; 1 litre Mineral Water.