Be careful what you wish for!

A few weeks back I went into a competition-entering frenzy. It started with an offer on the front of Runner's World to win a brand new car. A quick bit of mental arithmetic and I figured my chances had to be pretty high. Not that many people read UK Runner's World and, of those that do, how many actually enter the competitions? It didn't end there... what else could I enter? I came across a few holiday competitions and then one in the SportSister newsletter for a place in the Dextro Energy Triathlon. I entered them all then thought nothing more of it. Until last Monday...

I was a bit taken aback when an email arrived in my inbox say that I'd won the triathlon competition. Amazing - I never win anything! But, hang on a minute, it's a place in a TRIATHLON. In 2 weeks. I'm struggling enough with my marathon and half-marathon training and haven't actually been in a pool since the last triathlon at the beginning of May. I'd planned to just run and do the odd gym session or bike ride through the summer, before launching into a swimming programme over the winter. Oops.

I briefly considered saying 'thanks, but no thanks' before it occurred to me that the prize included:

• Travel costs to London
• A night in a 5 star hotel, with dinner and breakfast
• An undoubtedly very fetching 'high end competition outfit'

Two of my best friends live in London and I can never afford to visit them so that was enough to persuade me that it would be worth the pain.

Let's just hope I'm not last this time...