Crawled out of bed again, and straight into my new winter cycling top, the Draft Dodger. It worked perfectly. Flying downhill on the way to the ferry at 50kmh+, my eyes were streaming and my legs were cold, but my torso had yet to realise I was out of bed! Great stuff. I got a swim in too ;-)

200 FS, 200 BC
3 * 400 Rev. IM on 8:00 (Avg: 6:30)
Total: 1600m

Update: cycled home too for another 10km.

B: 60km – W: 2 sessions – R: 15mins – S: 3200m

Decided to have a day off today. Went out for a few beers last night, as Lynn is visiting from the UK and my sister’s here from Ireland. Also, my calves are quite sore after my run on Tuesday. Got some cycling and weights in yesterday though, so this week is still going well.

My winter cycling top arrived this morning as well. It looks bloody toasty, so I’m looking forward to trying it out tomorrow.

B: 45km – W: 2 sessions – R: 15mins – S: 1600m

Got some good training done in the last 24hrs: cycling, swimming and running. Cycled home last night and went for a run. 15mins of total running time, with short walks interspersed. Felt pretty good, though we’ll see how my calves hod up tomorrow. Climbed out of bed at 6:45 this morning, left the house at 7:00 to get the 7:15 ferry from Rose Bay. Made it to the pool by 7:30 or so, got a 1600m swim in and was still in work by 8:30. A quick trip to Woolies to buy some fruit, and I’m now ready to fall asleep at my desk ;-)

200 FS, 100 BC, 200 FS
1000 for time as (200FS/100BC repeat) – 15:40
100 BR
Total: 1600m

B: 35km – W: 1 session – R: 15mins – S: 1600m

It’s bloody freezing these mornings, for Sydney anyway, and I can’t face cycling in. Rather than having some days cycle-free, like I was planning, I reckon I’lljust take the bike on the ferry in the mornings, then cycle home. That way i don’t have to deal with the cold too much, and I also don’t have to deal with sitting on a bus in traffic!

As for this morning, I missed the early ferry by a couple of minutes, so I didn’t make it into the CBD in time to get a swim in.

B: 20km – W: 1

We all got dolled up in black tie three weeks ago for Leo & Syra’s wedding. I didn’t bring my camera, as I’d hardly any pockets in the flash suit. John brought his and these are his photos.

Ed, my boss, was in town yesterday, so we went out for a couple of tasty beers after work before his flight back to Canberra. The Australian was the venue and Shearers & Bocks were the beers.

Anyway, didn’t get my cycle home in yesterday, but made up for it today. Also got some weights and some running drills in as well.

This Week:
Bike: 35km
Swim: 1000m
Run Drills * 2
Weights * 2

I finally got around to scanning photos of myself and Jacqui on safari in South Africa, back in 2002. They’re here if you want to see them.

Made it in on time to get a swim in this morning, so I’m back on track with respect to the structured plan. Only did an easy 1km before I had to get out and go to work, but every little bit counts.

200 FS
4 * {
    100 FS on 1:45,
    50 BC on 1:00
}
200 Easy
Total: 1000m

B: 25km – S: 1000m – W: 1 session

Two friends of ours, Kristy and Ben, have headed off on a round-the-world trip, so we volunteered to mind their budgies while they were gone. After a couple of quiet days as they adjusted to their new surroundings, they’re now happily chirping away.

They’re still fairly timid though, so it will be a while before they’re relaxed enough to perch on my finger. Jacqui wants to teach them to talk, but I’m happy just whistle at them and get a response.

Day One of the structured program went quite well. Cycled in and out of work, then did some light weights when I got home. Had dinner with Tom and a bunch of friends for his birthday, down in Mu Shu, a flash new restaurant in Bondi.

As a result, Day Two of the structured program didn’t get off to a great start, with me not making it out of bed early enough to go for a swim. I’ll have to make up the session tomorrow or something.

B: 15km – W: 1 session

Well last week was a bit of a lazy week. Apart from the MTB ride I did nothing. However, I did have a think about getting a more structured program in place, so here’s what I came up with:

Mon: Bike In/Out of work, light weights
Tue: AM Swim, PM Run
Mon: Bike In/Out of work, light weights
Thurs: AM Swim, PM Run
Fri: Bike In/Out of work, AM Swim
Sat: Run
Sun: Bugger all

That’s the plan from now on. If I can stick to it for 3-4 weeks then I can settle into a routine and it will be a bit easier from then on, though with my sisters arriving at different stages over the next month it could play havoc with the plan.

I picked up the last batch of fish to go in my aquarium, a pair of Pearl Gouramis. Now I can sit back, relax and watch them swim around. I also got a bit of Java Moss which will hopefully attach itself to the driftwood and start growing. Lastly, I discovered that the Platies have given birth, and there’s 4 or 5 tiny (3mm long) fish somewhere in the tank. I had asked for 6 male fish to avoid having spry, so it appears that there’s one female in there after all.

Met up with the guys from Canberra yesterday and did the same ride in Kangaroo Valley. It was a good bit easier this time, possible because I knew what was up ahead and could pace myself accordingly. Thankfully I had no punctures this time, so there was no messing about at the side of the trail and as a result the whole ride only took about 3.5 hours. I also made it most of the way up the long climb out of the valley. I had to stop twice, due to losing my balance on quite rocky bits, but in total I only walked about 400m which was a lot better than last time. A bit more fitness and I should be able to ride the whole thing.

We met quite a few bikers taking advantage of the long weekend, some on the same trail as us, and others trying different routes in the area. There are a couple of other tracks on the map that might be worth investigating some other weekend, and one in particular look promising if we can get across the river. We might have to consult some locals before heading off on that one.

B: 37km

Myself, Kev and Niall went snorkelling this afternoon in Gordon’s Bay near Clovelly. I brought the underwater camera and took a few photos, some of which came out reasonably well.

Here they are.

Cycled home after work yesterday and then went to Gus’s funeral. Excellent eulogies from Billy And Neil. Suffering from a hangover this morning.

B: 37km – S: 2000m – W: 1 session

Got back on the bike over the past two days. Pretty straight-forward, nothing exciting to report ;-)

Arrived down at the ferry this morning only to find the harbour fogged in and all ferries cancelled. Had ot cycle into work after all, though it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be after my 3 week layoff.

B: 27km – S: 2000m – W: 1 session

Getting back into the swing of things after all the parties/drinking over the last few weeks. Crawled out of bed for a swim this morning.

200 FS easy
8 * {
    100 FS on 1:45 (Avg. 1:28)
    100 IM on 1:45 (Avg. 1:35)
}
200 FS easy
Total: 2000m

Weighed in at 87.0kg too.

S: 2000m

Another swim this morning. My freestyle is quite weak. Anything more than about 200m at a time and my arms start struggling. The IM was easy enough, I guess because it involves changing the way muscles are used on a regular basis. I’m going to have to start doing some weights to help get used to swimming again. Lots of reps with a low weight I think.

4 * {
200 Free
200 IM, single arm fly
}, 60secs rest/200
Total: 1600m

B: 37km – S: 2600m

Forced myself out of bed and back into the pool this morning. A short session which wasn’t too bad.

2 * 400 Reverse IM, single arm fly
200 Free easy
Total: 1000m

B: 37km – S: 1000m