A few weeks further on, and I began to take stock of what I had accomplished. In 9 months I had gone from a complete amateur, completely lacking in knowledge and understanding of endurance sport to having completed a long distance triathlon. Regardless of the time it took, I had achieved a rather large goal and it was slowly beginning to sink in…. I had gone from a non-cyclist at the start of the year, falling off because of the cleats and sweating profusely as I pedalled hard uphill in a tough gear, to someone who could now cycle 112 miles and then run a marathon…. I had gone from struggling to swim 100m without pause for breath to completing over 2 miles in a rough sea, having only started swimming in open water just 3 months ahead of the Ironman. I had upgraded from a decent runner who could do 10K easily enough but soon tired, into a multi-marathoner…. And most importantly I had learned how to put several sports together in a row, understanding transition and heart rate, and the importance of discipline at every juncture.