Spurred on by some lovely messages of support from Lancashire Constabulary Deputy Chief Constable Sunita Gamblin and former Chief Constable Jane Sawyers, I was looking forward to today’s effort and getting outside on the bike.

The body appears to be holding up, sore knees but that is normal when I train a lot. It is the brain that is suffering more now. I have to be very careful every time I stand up as the rush of blood is too much and I found myself putting milk cartons in the sink instead of the fridge this morning.

Today the swim was a little tougher as the shoulders ache. Armed with flapjack and a little trepidation, I set off into the very windy Chiltern countryside on the bike. It was s beautiful sunny day but tough going on the 12.5 miles against the wind, but a pleasure on the way back.

Then the run and very difficult to get going, I have been running at around the five minutes per km rate so far but the first km was around 30 seconds slower than that and the body didn’t seem to want to get into a flow, it all seemed a trudge. However, by the fourth km, the muscles eased and my running got smoother. By the seventh and eighth, I was at 4.47 and 4.46, much better than any of the other days.

And another Olympic-distance triathlon is done, four down and I have decided to have a mini celebration every fifth one, so tomorrow I will think of a way to mark the first set completed.

As ever, I paid tribute to all the police officers who died on this day, they are:

In 1868, Superintendent Richard Pickering – Lancashire County Constabulary;

In 1920, Sergeant Patrick Fallon – Royal Irish Constabulary;

In 1920, Police Constable William Maxwell – Royal Irish Constabulary;

In 1920, Police Constable James Mulvey – Royal Irish Constabulary;

In 1934, Police Constable David Cameron – Royal Ulster Constabulary;

In 1940, War Reserve Constable Douglas Van-Den-Bosschel – Metropolitan Police;

In 1968, Detective Sergeant David Lumsden and Police Constable Iain Ritchie – Inverness Burgh Police;

In 1983, Police Constable John Houston – Strathclyde Police;

In 1984, Police Constable Joseph Whitford – Metropolitan Police; and

In 2012, Special Constable Scott Bennett – Lincolnshire Police.

The memorial will pay tribute to these officers’ sacrifices and to those who continue to keep us safe.

Thank you for your support.