Well here's how the race went (and the follow up to it) I don't quite think that it will be quite as interesting or as informative as franks but I'll give it a go anyway...
The team met at Bothwell Service Station and we all piled into the several cars and the "minibus" which actually turned out to be a Ford Transit van.
We all set off on the dull, long, boring, uneventful journey to Manchester (we actually stayed in Crewe). But things picked up as we crossed the border as we brandished our several Scottish flags (about 8) out of the window to the delight of our coaches and the ferocity of several truck drivers and pedestrians alike.
When we arrived we went for a jog and then had dinner (pizza). The next day we went for a swim avoiding as much geese droppings as we could and plunged into the relatively warm waters of this random lake in the middle of nowhere and swam (obviously) then went back had dinner and went to bed.
To avoid me feeling worse about my result I will make it as brief as possible:
Swim: Absolutely diabolical went off on my own and therefore could not draft off anyone else.
Bike: Very strong, overtook at least 5 Englishmen.
Run: Terrible lost about 5 places
T1: Very good in and out like a flash.
T2: Diabolical made an absolute fool of myself trying to find out where my stuff was.
Overall: enjoyed it and got lots of free stuff some of which is very good quality.
I am not really to bothered with my result. I enjoyed it and that's what counts. I was one of the youngest there so next year is the year I kick all their butts and fly to Poland to beat them as well and then .... who knows?