I am 100% embracing the taper. I'm pleased with how I'm swimming. I've made my lists for Rotto. I'm feeling ready.
I'm going to Belgium for 4 days this week, which is not ideal preparation, but it's going to be an amazing work trip. I looked for pools in Brussels, but had no luck. There are a couple of 25m pools, but they're both closed for renovation. We're so lucky in Sydney - there are at least five 50m pools within 3km of the CBD. Given the circumstances, I'll just have to focus on not getting sick, and managing my jetlag.
Last week's swim at Bondi was perfect. I don't think I've ever seen it so crystal clear - all the way to the bottom, for the full distance between the boat ramp and Icebergs. It was incredible. There were no stingers, I was on fire, and everything was amazing. I hopped onto the draft of some fast swimmers and easily kept pace. It was like being on a conveyor belt. Paddy was paddling for me, noticed my manoeuvring, and said that the difference in pace was incredible. And to top it off, my avocado toast and Bloody Mary afterwards were perfect too. It was a very good day.
Shades of Bondi
The week before Bondi we did our longest training swim - 16km from Balmoral. My friend and I took the scenic route from Balmoral to Chinaman's, over to Clontarf, popped into a tiny beach between Clontarf Point and Grotto Point, then crossed over to the naval base, and back along Balmoral. We took a fairly leisurely approach to the swim, stopping to chat and snack frequently. It was lovely, but it added about half an hour to the swim, and nobody needs that. I also crashed near the end, so I've brought back my feeds from 35 minutes to 30 minutes.
This morning I didn't swim. I did 50 minutes of hills and stairs instead. It has been a horribly hot day, and even at 8am it was as humid as Singapore. But it felt great to do something different. Two days after I finish SCAR I'm going to hike in the Grand Canyon for a couple of nights, and I'm a little bit worried that I have no muscles other than swimming muscles. So I've been doing Pilates three times a week, and doing hills when I can. So far, so good. It seems that at least some of the fitness transfers.
We had a very funny conversation earlier this week about sunfish. There was a Facebook post about the species, which you've got to concede, is pretty daft. BUT THEY EAT JELLYFISH! Particularly in the North Channel. So a few friends are BIG fans of the sunfish: "Angles of the North Channel", "Like a giant flat dolphin", "The dolphins uncoordinated, less sporty brother". All hail the sunfish!