Thanks...

...to my wife and kids (not to mention my boss) for putting up with all my hours of training and occasional frequent bad moods
...to Jonathan for designing a brilliant training program, for the moral support these last three years and for helping me go from being a boom bust runner to a steadily improving triathlete
...to Carlos and Cassia for the support both logistically and emotionally

(and in no particular order)

...to Mario Pessini for putting me in touch with Jonathan in the first place

...to Luis Gutiérez for helping me acquire a reasonable swimming technique
...to Simon and Sonia for looking after the kids on a critical weekend when I had 11 and a half hours of training to do and my wife was away in Africa
...to the tri4life crowd José Juan, Lola, Inés, Ferrán, Nacho, Silvia, Ricardo, Alberto, Alex, Eloy, Ana, Quique, Pedro, etc., for the company on the few long rides I didn't do alone (and for putting this crazy idea in my head in the first place)
...to Diego from la Universidad de Europa for patiently doing all the physiological tests on me
...to Paloma for sorting out my back as well as various other problems along the way
...to Fernando and Marta from A Manos Fisios for helping me out with my shoulder
...to Juan Gutiérez and Manolo and other (anonymous) cyclists who have helped me fix punctures and get on my way again
...to Emilio for his sound advice (Santías, not Botín)
...to my work colleagues (John, Juan Porras, ...) for giving me a lift home on the days when I ran in but didn't have (or want) to run back
...to the guys (Marcos, Paloma II, ...) in the work gym for letting me use their locker to hang up my spare suit and for turning a blind eye every time I took two towels instead of one
...to Victor for letting me park my bike (and hang my sweaty kit out to dry) at the back of his parking space
...to Santander for being a company which puts value on exercise and being healthy
...to the folks at Zermatt bikes in Pozuelo for "tuning" my bike and to the guys at Chousa, also in Pozuelo, for indexing my gears to perfection
...to Angel Pérez for helping me choose my bike in the first place
...to my fellow triathletes at Aguaverde for helping me get started in triathlon
...to my non-triathlon friends who I have been neglecting
...to all those who have been following my journey and especially those that have left comments on this blog
...to everyone who has sponsored me on behalf of the British Heart Foundation
...to the Suddes Family for allowing me to do this in Neil's memory
...to Neil Suddes for being an inspiration in my life

To become an Ironman may be a solitary pursuit but it is one that is impossible to do alone.