Mostly ow

So I´m alive, just about. Time of 11h32, which I have to say I´m pretty chuffed with. Swim was a total dream, did it in 1.06 which is way quicker than anticipated, and really enjoyed it - particularly the tunes on the music system just before the start, ´Let´s Get It Started´ and ´Crazy´, fairly appropriate! Bike was pretty good too, though the heat really started to tell towards the end, and I was beginning to be a bit scared before the run even began... and I was right to. Absolutely screwed by about 5km in, but managed to run between aid stations (every 2.5km), and was pretty chuffed to keep the marathon time respectable at 4.14. I genuinely can´t imagine having been in much more pain than I was by the end though - knees went numb at about 20km, and I´m really not sure how I did it from there. You meet a fairly unpleasant version of yourself when you get in that kind of condition!
Think the most lasting memory will be of sitting in the finish area with my head between my knees, concentrating extremely hard on not vomiting, and trying to look grateful to the German woman beside me who kept offering me peanuts and beer (admittedly alcohol free, but still not exactly what I was wanting to put into my system at the time). I was, if you´ll forgive my Catalan, properly bu88ered.
Hopefully my brain will kick in sufficiently to reflect slightly more intelligently over the next day or so, but in the meantime, thanks to everyone who´s sponsored me so far, and I´ll write more soon!