Elite athlete Dann Brook (www.dannbrook.co.uk) is one of a host of athletes competing in the capital of the United Arab Emirates this weekend, at the inaugural Abu Dhabi International Triathlon (www.abudhabitriathlon.com). The event, with a mouth-watering $250,000 on offer has attracted a stellar field, and Dann has agreed to provide an athletes perspective on the race for Tri247, through a regular diary over the coming days.

Today was race day - and despite his body "screaming at me to put the laptop down", here is the run down on his race day.

This is part four of Dann's Abu Dhabi diary. If you missed them, you can find part one HERE, part two HERE and part three HERE.

Saturday 14th March : 16:44

Today was just another ordinary Saturday in the life of Dann B, the kind with a major international competition more than double the distance I've ever competed in before! Here's how my day panned out.

• 3:30am – My alarm goes off. It feels like some kind of a sick joke!! I drag myself out of bed, make a coffee, and contemplate the day I have ahead of me. My race kit is all set out and ready to go, so I throw my suit on and head down to the lobby to get the bus to the race site
• 4:30am – The bus leaves, it's about a 20 minute drive to Emirates Palace. I get down there, put my drinks, gels and bike shoes on my bike, pump the tires and we’re good to go.
• 5:30am – Go for a warm up jog
• 6:00am – Just check my bag in and they announce a 30minute delay to the race start.
• 6:50 – Race finally starts. Swim is pretty uneventful really, quite a large group enters T1 together, I get through no worries and out onto the bike
• 7:30 – The first 20 or so k's are pretty steady away. We all take a wrong turn at one point and almost get T-boned on a busy intersection. We manage to get back on course and the pace hots up. From 20k onwards we are riding on a five lane highway through the desert, which would be pretty cool if you weren't chewing your stem to try and keep with the pace. A few of the big boys have hit the front and are stretching it out; there are crosswinds, which makes life difficult! I get dropped a few times but manage to get back into contention. The difference between this and ITU racing is that if you feel like you are getting dropped in ITU you can put in a supermax effort to get onto the wheel and then you can pretty much have a rest and recover. In non-drafting you have to put in the supermax effort to get yourself back into contention, but then return to riding at your threshold, which if done a few times can take its toll. I have a stern word with myself and promise myself it won't happen again!

The far point of the course involves a lap of the Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit, which was something really quite special. Its technical nature involves us slowing up a bit and bunching up, but once back on the highway the pace picks up again. I'm feeling good and confident as we reach the net turn point at 80K, and head back out to the F1 circuit for another lap. I find the next lap around the F1 circuit a lot harder and wonder if it's a sign for things to come. I'm also struggling to stay on my aero bars due to shoulder/back issues, and after 120k my saddle is no armchair! I keep having to stand up to stretch out my arms and back and can't get comfortable. However the rude guys I was riding with decided not to wait around for me (ha!) and I soon find myself on my own and unable to ride the aero bars for more than 1K at a time. This is pretty much the story for the next 80k's, apart from cracks are forming in my legs too. It's a lonely and emotional ride back to T2, and the last 40K lap was the last thing I wanted to do! Alas, I wasn't the only one hanging, I passed Björn Andersson struggling away and this gave me hope!

By the time I got back to T2 I knew I'd lost a lot of time and I was pretty much out of the race. I didn't know how running was going to feel, but I had a fair idea and that was correct. Racking my bike and changing to my run kit was a bit of a hobble, and when I got out on the run I knew that the damage had already been done - major leg fail alert - and the run was going to be all about survival. My knee was also giving me some pain which is never good, but I decided to just get on with it and see how far I could get. It was pretty hot by now so I was making use of all the drinks stations. I was at about 15k's when I saw Phil Graves just in front of me, we ran/jogged/walked /moaned the remaining 5km together. To be fair, we were both absolutely mind-smashed and finishing was the only thing on both our minds. It certainly wasn't fast, but we crossed the line together, glad the ordeal was over!

Right now I am back at the hotel, my feet are ruined, I have a good trisuit tan, and I'm pretty exhausted to tell the truth. I knew the race was going to be hard, and that I wasn't coming into it in perfect shape, but in all honesty the amount of pain I went through actually shocked me! How people could manage a full marathon is beyond me – my respect for the Ironman boys has increased massively after this.

I'll post some more reflections and maybe a bit more of what I get up to in Abu Dhabi before I leave, but right now my body is screaming at me to put the laptop down and get some rest!

Take it easy all… Dann