Woo-hoo

6.00 pm, 18 minutes, Darlinghurst

Got out for 18 minutes before dark, woohoo!

I have a ganglion in my left foot which accounts for the variable symptoms. It is a small sac that fills with fluid, and drains away. It is manageable but I have to be careful. Otherwise there is surgery to cut it out, which is not always successful.

No bony damage, no arthritis, no tendon conditions, and no known infectious diseases or psychiatric conditions have come up after all the diagnostic testing. Woohoo!

A Picture of Health

7.30 am, 1 km, Boy Charlton Pool

Yesterday I also did the same swim, walked home from the pool, went shopping and walked from the train station to the restaurant for an entertaining dinner with the CR executive committee of Mr Tiller, Jen Runs, Wobbly Man, and also Owly and triathlete Ellie. I walked for a combined total of about 1 hour, and my f*cking ankle displayed the same soreness, albeit slight, that has plagued me since June. &*%$#@*, and I haven't even been for a run for 6 days.

This morning I was swimming freestyle until lap 6 when I slightly strained a neck muscle. I switched to breaststroke and backstroke which was woeful.

Fortunately, I've got enough food in the flat for 3-4 days so I won't have to risk further injury going shopping. If there's no further blog entry by this time next week, I'll have broken down on the way to the bathroom in the wheelchair.

Back to the pool

8.00 am, 1 km, Boy Charlton Pool

I'm creeping back to the banana lounge and retirement after a cranky foot from Thursday's session.
I got more x-rays done of the left foot, the doctor showed them to me, and there are bones in there. Now waiting for the radiologist's report.

Swimming better by the day! I could be there in Beijing 2008 but not in the events I first thought.

Return to sweat

6.15 am, 4 * 1.5km fartlek, Centennial Park

Good fun running around the lake this morning at sweat training. Nice to be back running and doing speed work, although I felt pretty ordinary all the way around.

Foot pulled up a bit sore afterwards, no swelling though. I'm hoping the foot will get accustomed to running again in the next few days, otherwise I'm headed for a long, long break from running.

Testosterone SNAG

8.00am, 35 minutes, Moore & Centennial Parks

I decided yesterday that the comeback to running was on the agenda for today.
I got to bed before 10pm and woke up early at 4 am, excited about a return to running. I eventually flaked out again and slept in. So much for the comeback. I eventually got up groggy and washed out.

Today's run was much better than the last failed comeback. The left foot held up fine and has healed well. There were quite a few transient twinges over the legs after having had 3 weeks off running. Not surprisingly the legs conked out after 20 minutes; lucky I was able to get a second wind to crack the 30 minutes for a run: ultra-level for me these days.

The running must have injected extra adrenaline or testosterone into the system since I returned to the flat to find the neighbour's builders on our property again. It's a two year saga and I'm secretary of the owner's corporation so I ordered them off the property and threatened to call the Kings Cross police when they refused to move. They left.
I wish I was that aggressive on the track and not such a warm and fuzzy SNAG.

Today Tonight

8.00 am, 1 kilometre, Boy Charlton Pool

Today I struggled a bit in the pool; even after a rest day from swimming attending the Sydney Running Festival and acting as 'host' of the Sydney striders recovery marquee. About time I made myself useful for a change.

It was a regulation 20 laps of the 50m pool but with no Ian Thorpe-like power from the upper body.

Yesterday's big day out was topped off last night with an impromptu farewell Italian dinner for Lulu and Steve before their impending European tour. We discussed Australian values and Today Tonight, and it wouldn't surprise me to see on the program not just Papuan 'Wa-wa' but also the scandalous 'Lulu' herself on the program. Fortunately for Lulu, Mr Lulu is removing her out of arm's reach overseas.

I should be running again very soon.

Pitt Street

2.00 pm, 1km, Boy Charlton Pool

There was a huge crowd sunning themselves pool-side this afternoon. More people catching some rays than swimming.

I'm having motivational problems leaping out of bed at 6.00am at the prospect of going for a swim.
So I've convinced myself a warmer afternoon swim session is the way to go for a gentle few laps, which invariably end up as a 20 lap effort.

Hopefully I should be running again by the end of this coming week.

Here comes the sun

12.00pm, 1.2 km, Boy Charlton Pool

I deferred the morning swim to lunch time when the cloud lifted and the sun was shining down on the pool. It is a scenic spot swimming on the edge of Wooloomoolloo Bay.

Being a sensitive guy, I appreciated the additional warmth, and the swimming is much less effort than before.

Outside, there were a stream of people running around the domain, some wearing corporate cup running bibs. Brought back all the memories of when I was a runner.

As I left the pool, the staff were handing out free passes to the pool for the rest of September. Bonus. Sun, sun, sun, here we come.

Splash

8.00 am, 1km, Boy Charlton Pool

I got out for a run on Sunday for an easy 50 minutes. I felt OK at the time, but not flash. A few hours later I realised the left foot was not ready yet for running, so back to the pool. Probably another week, or two, before I try another run.

On sunday I attended a good brunch organised by Kit with lots of delicious food. It is about time I put more effort in the kitchen baking and cooking and less time out on the streets. So I'll swap the timex ironman watch for an oven alarm clock.

Time for dinner now.

Beefy

9.00 am, 1.2 km, Boy Charlton pool

I'm edging closer to a run, but got down to the pool to carve up the pool for one final swim before the comeback from semi-retirement to Centennial Park this weekend for a run.

After 10 days or so of no running, I'm beefing up a bit and I had to ease gently into the pool causing the 50 metre pool water to overflow and pour over the sides of the pool.

After a week of swimming I'm also getting more fluid. Most of the power seems to come from the deltoids, and I dragged off a couple of battlers in the next lane when I thrashed around making a splash. I've also realised that I have muscles around the arm pits that haven't been used for 9 years.

I walked up some stairs coming home, knees were wobbly and my fitness was shot. Hope I can fit into the old running shorts and t-shirts.

Muscles

8.00 am, 1.2 km swim, Boy Charlton Pool

I've reacquainted myself with lots of muscles in the arms and shoulders. I'm getting used to this swimming caper. My swimming has more rhythm, and the rest breaks are minimal. But before I become a swim superstar, I suspect I'll be running again by the end of the week.

After looking at the bottom of the pool for a few days I won't be complaining for a while about the scenery on a run.

I did see a very muscular and fit woman pool-side doing a series of elaborate stretches before exercising; I'll have to try that one day.

1 km PB

8.30 am, 1 kilometre, Andrew Boy Charlton Pool

A beautiful morning for a stroll down to Woolloomooloo and the ABC pool which opened yesterday for the summer. It is a 50 m heated seawater pool built over the sea at Woolloomooloo Bay, and divided into 8 lanes: fast, medium, slow and easy.

I strutted up in my bulging budgie-smugglers, baggy swim-shorts actually, and jumped into the slow lane, not having done laps for 9 years. I had to rest every 50 metres. I spent the first 600 metres fiddling with leaky goggles: adjusting the elastic straps when I really needed to adjust the bones in my head. I eventually kept most of the pool out of my goggles, and picked up the pace until I was moving like a fish, starfish.

The swim must have taken me at least 30 minutes including rest breaks every 50 metres, except for one 100m marathon effort. I still swam a PB!
A pleasant way to exercise, but the ironman career is on hold.