Old haunts

No, this has nothing to do with retro horror movies.

I had a do-as-you-like training this week. It would have been a lot more welcomed if I actually finished the race the previous weekend. Instead, I felt a bit sluggish and neurotically checking the scales regularly to see if I have gained any weight with the light training load, as I haven't been cutting back on my eating.

But taking a break is always good, both for the mind and the body. I re-visited the UWA swim squad on Tuesday night and did 1 hour swim session, covering 3km with a main set of 6 x 200m on 3:15. Everyone was asking where I've been, I guess I did leave abruptly without bidding farewell the last time.

I planned for a 60-70 minute run on Friday morning and I tried on my new pair of Asics GT-2150. They felt a bit stiff, still needs some breaking into. Halfway through I felt blisters developing on my left foot and decided to stop after 13km - 3 x 4.35km loop around my neighbourhood, which is my usual weekday runs before I started Bill's program. Clocked just under 55 minutes, average 4:14 per km pace. Still not quite there yet.

Saturday I did a 3 hour ride from UWA towards Point Walter and Left Bank. Haven't rode there for quite a while. The weather was forecasted to be pretty windy but I think it settled down later in the morning. I did a loop of the Shelley Reserve before returning to UWA. Clocked just under 30kph average.

I did try out something new though. I joined some of the North Coast Tri Club guys for an ocean swim at Sorrento Beach. This is probably one of the rare times where I swim in the open water, other than in races. Bradley Hosking's squad was doing their training there as well. My sighting in the open water still needs a lot of work. I stopped many times to ensure I wasn't swimming too far off the main group. The currents pushed me into the shore a few times too. I copped some stingers but they were pretty minor. Swam just over 40 minutes, probably did about 2km.

Bill's back from France today, he'll be joining us for our social group tomorrow. Can't wait to get my program for the coming weeks and get back into it!