After Christmas festivities were over, it was back to Aylesbury and swimming and cycling at the gym. However, two nights of just over four hours sleep, Christmas indulging and a lot of driving took their toll.

I was so late getting out of bed that I just made it to the pool for 9.15am. The shoulders were achey so it was a more relaxed 1,500m swim. Then onto the bike and meeting Tom who kept me company on the bike and run leg today.

Remarkably, and despite remaining cautious for my calf muscles, the ride was pretty quick (1 hour 8 minutes for the 40km).

Then onto the run and I was amazed at how free of aches and pains I was. The extra couple of hours in bed had been massively beneficial and I could tell the pace Tom and I were setting was relatively fast.

Recognising that my heart rate was quite high we eased down over the last two kilometres but even so the 10km run was done in just over 46 minutes, by far the fastest of the whole challenge.

Just 42 triathlons to go but focusing on the next milestone (60). It is easy to look too far ahead after surpassing the half way mark.

Today I paid tribute to the police officers and staff who died protecting the public on this date (December 27). They are:

1873 – Police Constable David Fox – Cheshire County Constabulary

1879 – Police Constable Levi Phillips – Glamorganshire County Constabulary

1899 – Police Constable William Chadwick – West Riding of Yorkshire Constabulary

1901 – Police Constable Thomas Coleman – Warwickshire County Constabulary

1914 – Police Constable Harry Adams – Staffordshire County Constabulary

1920 – Police Constable Alfred Hogsden – Royal Irish Constabulary

1920 – Police Constable Patrick McCann – Royal Irish Constabulary

1920 – Police Constable Isaac Rea – Royal Irish Constabulary

1920 – Police Constable John Reid – Royal Irish Constabulary

1921 – Sergeant Francis Wallbank – Preston County Borough Police

1930 – Police Constable Hugh Miller – Birmingham City Police

1934 – Police Constable George Bruce – Metropolitan Police

1942 – War Reserve Constable George Dalton – Surrey County Constabulary

1943 – War Reserve Constable John Towers – Blackburn County Borough Police

1983 – Police Constable Alexander Negus – Suffolk Constabulary

2012 – Police Constable Tony Sweeney QPM – West Yorkshire Police