The plan was to leave work, pick up the bike, get back into the city for about 9pm and then have a swim before the game.
Luckily the plan worked well and I was in the water just after 9pm…along with only 3 other people in the whole pool! Meant I had the whole lane to myself – a far cry from the usual hustle and bustle of the usual 6pm swim!
Launched straight into a 500m interval and quickly got into a nice rhythm. Started the second 500m (the aim was to do 3), but about 300m in, I started to feel like I was ‘quickly’ getting slower and my legs and arms were beginning to hurt. Made the decision to pull the pin after the second 500m, deciding instead to warm down with an easy 100m for 1100m all up. Still not bad though. Interesting that I still felt very low in the water throughout the set and was struggling to turn my head enough to breath towards the end. I also felt like I was kicking a lot harder than usual to keep my legs afloat – more signs that the wet suit and the salt water effect really does help!
After a quick change it was straight on court for game 2 of the season against “The French”. Now this is a team that it is safe to say we have had a lot of history with over the years. Most games end up in some form of argy bargy and this was no different. Sure it was a tough game with some strong challenges, but the way they fell on the floor at the mere hint of a foul was quite honestly ridiculous! Talk about European diving skills – they could teach the Italians a thing or so!
Suffice to say this attitude served in winding up most of our team to the point that the challenges became stronger and the dives more impressive….a strong referee would have helped, but alas we didn’t have one. As a result, the game descended into quite a spiteful affair and carried on after the final whistle on the sidelines.
The game finished 1-1 in what was probably a fair result (we took the lead in the first half through Keith and they equalised mid way through the second half with both teams having chances to win the game) but left a bad taste in all of our mouths…
As a result I didn’t get to sleep until after 1am…
Anyway, in other news, I have finally purchased the new toy. After much thought, I decided to go with a TT/triathlon model as I already have a perfectly good road bike so didn’t see the point in replacing this – plus the real reason I am buying a bike is for triathlons to I might as well buy a triathlon bike!
I ended up going with a Cervelo P2C – 2008 model but only lightly used and so in pretty good nick. Good gear set, and you can tell it has been looked after…pics below
The only problem is, now I want new shoes, new bottle holder, new outfits…when will it ever end!!
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