A day of pain: Abbott's perfect Sunday

AFTER a brutal few months, most parliamentarians could be excused for wanting to slow down a little as the year draws to a close.

Tony Abbott gets a congratulatory kiss from wife Margie at the finish line of the SIS Half Ironman in Port Macquarie. Picture: Nathan Edwards

AFTER a brutal few months, most parliamentarians could be excused for wanting to slow down a little as the year draws to a close.

Not so for Tony Abbott.

While the Opposition Leader has been carrying a sore calf muscle for a few weeks, it didn't stop him from swimming 1.9km, cycling 90km and running 21km in yesterday's Half Ironman race at Port Macquarie, midway between Sydney and Brisbane.

Cheered on by wife Margie, who planted a congratulatory kiss on his cheek as he crossed the finish line, Mr Abbott completed the course in six hours, 43 minutes and 42 seconds.

According to his spokeswoman, the day-long event was Mr Abbott's idea of a perfect Sunday. "He told me he thoroughly enjoyed it," the spokeswoman said.

By his own admission it wasn't his best result -- "true to form, I swam like a brick", Mr Abbott said -- but he finished the course well inside the 7 1/2-hour cut-off time.

"It was very windy up there, which made the bike leg particularly tough," said Mr Abbott, who turns 53 on Thursday.

He did, however, express some pride in his time of two hours and 38 minutes for the 21km running leg, given that he has been struggling with a calf muscle twinge for the past few weeks, which hampered his training.

Prior to yesterday's race, the Liberal leader promised that he would not again subject the locals to the sight of his infamous red budgie smugglers.

He kept his word, diving into the water in a full-body wetsuit.

It was the third time Mr Abbott has competed in the Half Ironman event at Port Macquarie.

In March this year, he completed a full triathlon -- 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42km marathon -- also at Port Macquarie.

His time then was 13 hours, 57 minutes and one second.