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The distance is around twice the standard “Olympic” triathlon – so that means a 1.9km swim, 90km cycle, then 21km run. I had done one lap of the run course 3 days before the race, and the day before the race, I paced out the run start and bike finish, so I was clear about where I had to go on the day. I ate my usual pre-race muesli/banana breakfast, drank a strong cup of tea, gathered all the race gear and headed off: If I went too fast with my heart beating too rapidly, I would have risked “blowing up” later in the race, but if I went too slow, not pushing myself enough, I’d get a poor race result.

To my surprise, there was no doubt about it: Sam’s pain was focussed on the exact site of the tick bite. When I pressed his foot around the bite, there was no reaction, but when I just gently touched the area where the tick had been attached, he pulled his foot away and whimpered. I’ve seen tick bites cause pain when they become red and swollen with infection, but this had not happened in Sam’s case. We’re just heading into the autumn tick season, and one painful tick bite is more than enough for poor Sam to endure.