Well, here we are - Melbourne 2006.
Three flights, ranging from 35 minutes to 15 hours whisked us from a snowy Isle of Man to a steamy Australia via Manchester and Dubai. Numb backside and swollen feet aside it was painless and I enjoyed the long sit down and some fine Emirates Airways food.
The Isle of Man team are always amongst the first to arrive at the Games Village but the paint is dry and everything is finished so we can't be too early. The volunteers are doing a very smiley job - all of them have been falling over themselves to be helpful and welcoming.
The Village is a Dandara-style estate and the IOM team have two houses and an office 'mobile'. Prime spot is as close to the catering block as possible but we're not. However, there are many teams further away than us, so it's fine. It was seriously hot this afternoon, although the lady by the gate said it had been much hotter on Friday. There's three weeks to go until my race, so it is bound to cool down by then.
High-jumper Martin and I are sharing a 'cosy' room with our Athletics Team manager Allan. Following a tip-off, we have had a quiet word about his reputed snoring. We should all be tired enough to sleep soundly tonight (it's over 48 hrs since most of us were in bed), but we'll see.
Short, slow run this evening, but should be walking again tomorrow. Going to do a 5000m race on the Games Track on Thursday evening, so that should be good.