Archive
22-Sep-2012 Good Saturday
After doing my chores, including shopping, I went swimming at South Cronulla. The temp was 16.6C and felt cold for sure, but warmer than Bundeena. It felt so long since being in proper waves again (as Bundeena wher eI have been swimming all winter is very sheltered). I am quite keen to start going with the morning groups at Cronulla again, 7.30am is ok at the weekend but 6.30am is a bit hard core for mid-week! It was very sunny and perfect, although they are rebuilding the South Cronulla prom so it looked like a building site.
After I got home I walked to Maianbar and waded across to the Spit as it was nearly low tide (so only knee deep). A good day all up, just sorting out hordes of teenage kids in the house and doing the ironing !
Playlist in the car today was:
- Bob Dylan – The Basement Tapes
- Toyah – The Blue Meaning
- Lene Lovich – Stateless
It probably shows my age as the release dates were (in order) 1975, 1980, 1978.
10-Apr-2012 Post Long Easter Weekend Blues
Today was most appropriate for the Post Long Easter Weekend – it was 13C and had a cold wind blowing. Still I made it out to the beach for a swim where the water was probably still 21C so was very pleasant. I will try to make it all winter round again (see a bit of cold weather and I am already thinking of winter!)
I made it in to work eventually. It was a struggle as I am very stiff & sore after the weekend’s activities and mentally made worse as I was going to the dentist in the afternoon. I entered the Wedding Cake Island swim for this coming weekend (both the 1km and the 2.4km)
At home I made the kids dahl & chapatis. The older two had roasted eggplant also. They liked it. Suits me.
I am sooo seeing this film when it comes out later this month: Marley.
09-Apr-2012 Easter Long Weekend Blur
The weekend started off on Thursday night with Yoga, which was a good way to let the stresses of the week go (and there were a lot of them … much not achieved!). But in a way it was a bad way to start as it made me tired.
Up fairly early on Good Friday as I was on Surf Lifesaving patrol at Burning Palms beach. It went off quite well ie no rescues but we were buzzed by the helicopter advising us of a 1.5m Hammer head shark cruising just past the break. We didn’t bother to clear the water as most people were shore side. There were some big waves and I took a board out and swam a bit also. Afterwards I went for another swim in the big waves and started the laborious task of carrying out the family surfboards for the winter as this is my last weekend on patrol. Got home and promptly went for a swim and a boogie board with Kody and her friend as the waves were up on Hordern’s beach (a rarity!).
Saturday I got up early and drove to Cronulla to swim round Shark island (1.5km or so). The weather was great, the water was 21.1C according to the sign and the waves were MASSIVE. The group had approx 20 swimmers and we got smashed swimming out and eventually trod water and dived under as the waves came until eventually the set died and we swam madly out. Big waves at Shark Island too with lots of boogie board riders. Coming back thru the “washing machine” was tricky and round the point. I made the error of following someone who cut too close to the break and we ended up on the wrong side of the surfers – luckily made it out before we got smashed against the rocks. Had time for a quick coffee at grind (aka the best bloody place to get a coffee EVER. ANYWHERE). Drove straight to Burning Palms for patrol again. This time the wind was up and the waves were shite but still made it swimming.
Sunday I was back again for the club championships – I amazed myself by competing and finishing all events and not coming last in any! The Swim was cool (and I got soundly thrashed coming in 2nd or 3rd from last out of approx 15) and I nearly didn’t enter the board ride due to the big surf and pommy background but I did ok and even rode a BIG wave in. The “marathon” run was up the beach, tap a rock and come back, I thought I’d do well in but came in 5th from 6 – its a lot harder on sand. There are some fit people there! In the afternoon we saw a whale and Dawn plus kids came down. (actually Kody was there all day). Did Skype with Mum/Dad in the UK and also Ian my brother who is there on holiday.
Monday I had a lie in as I felt stiff & sore all over (just like running!). Made it out of bed to do the washing up as Dawn was working last night then went to Miranda to see The Lorax in 3D. I was very impressed and especially as it had such a strong environmental message.
Am not looking forward to the real world of work tomorrow!
23-Dec-2011 Massacred
Was up approx 5.20am and left to drive to Cronulla for a swim with Mick and Stu. Car park was full so had to park elsewhere and run to the start for 6.30am – seems like it was boot camp and surf lifesaving/nippers Xmas parties so early in the morning. There were approx 20+ people for swimming. Water was meant to be 21 but felt cold to start with. Quite big waves, but swam well and came in approx 2/3 down the pack. A great swim. Went for coffee afterwards. Drove home and took it easy until approx 2pm as I had to go out to buy a new mixer for Dawn and a USB bub for Jazmin from the Good Guys at Caringbah.
Drove onto Kogarah and went to Crossfit there for the 4pm class. the WOD (work out of the day) was: 4 reps of 5 mins, of as many of rounds of these as possible within the 5mins (2min 30secs between each rep) :
- 5 Pull ups
- 10 Push Ups
- 15 Air Squats
I generally did 2 or 3 rounds per rep, for 11 rounds all up. Obviously the pullups were not the proper ones, as I am far to weak for that – I was using a green elastic band. I was totally shattered afterwards although surprisingly not quite the worst in the class (but pretty close to it). All up I had 55 pullups, 110 pushups and 165 air squats. What make it worse is that I can do approx 30+ pushups straight off, but these are nose to floor, the Crossfit ones today were chest to floor and they are MUSH harder.
I had time for a quick jog to Ramsgate beach and had a quick dip and run back to the car to head back to Caringbah for the 6 o’clock yoga (the last class before a 4 day xmas break).
Unfortunately it was obvious that a yoga class straight after crossfit was a big mistake. BIG MISTAKE. I couldn’t put my arms over my head, couldn’t balance, missed a few poses – I was a total wreck – Massacred. My muscles on my arms were twitching and the girl next to me thought I was about to pass out.
Did some final food shopping and got home by 9pm. wrecked.
ps the Crossfit-FX facebook page is well cool – shows all the daily workouts, usually with cool videos too.
19-Dec-2011 at home day
Monday is the first proper day of the holidays was got up late 10am, Dawn was up at 11am – amazingly the kids are well trained and no one was up any earlier than 09.30am. Posted approx 10 pairs of shoes in the Loco Closing Down Sale. Took the older 2 (Jaz and Chel) and Peter up to Sutherland as they were going to the city as the weather was raining. They were going Xmas shopping. Then I went swimming in the rain – the water was pretty warm, maybe 19C. Did some work work (refer here) and cooked dinner, then picked up the kids. Then went running along Bonnie Vale, went for a quick swim at the end, then picked up rubbish on the way back (in the pouring rain). In the evening watched the CrossFit every second counts movie. Nice end to the day.
13-Dec-2011 Swim to Cronulla coming up
Its funny how everyone in the Shire is connected in some way. I was wondering about the pre-Xmas swim from Bundeena to Cronulla (best part of 4k) would be – well I got emailed the Bushies newsletter today :
Christmas Eve run: Saturday 24 December is Christmas Eve and the run will begin at Bundeena Wharf. After the run a number of Bushies will join some others for a swim from Bundeena across the bay to Cronulla Beach. A highlight of this swim is watching Kevin Tiller battle his way across the bay. People would pay good money for the entertainment that Kevin provides, but we get to watch if free of charge. Any kayak paddlers who would like to escort a swimmer, just bring along your boat and after the run you can help them out. I’m sure any assistance would be appreciated. However, if you want to follow Kevin Tiller, you had better bring some lunch.
Well I will be there for sure on Xmas Eve!
1-Dec-2011 First (Cronulla) swim of summer!
I often swim with work mates Stu and Mick at South Cronulla – in fact they were the ones that showed me that amazing swim group existed and for that I will be forever thankful. This year, they have both been a bit slow to get going for the summer season – we are meant to start end Oct but by late November there had been a few half-hearted attempts but nothing eventuated. I have been by myself a few times though at Cronulla (and a lot at Bundeena also).
So we arranged to go today, 1st December, quite accidentally the first day of summer. However the weather last night was pretty crap – wet and windy – so knew that Mick wouldn’t turn up (even though he’s the best of us by far, he only likes the warm water). Stu did turn up but the water was A LOT coder than the promised 18C, more like 16C, so he almost piked straight out without even getting his hair wet.
There was only about 6 of us and the swell was big heading to the Point. I was amazed when they decided to continue, not round Shark Island, as that was very dangerous looking, but we swam to the nearside and returned. As I was committed to the turnaround I kept going but the sea was very rough and quite dangerous. Luckily I made it back in one piece, but my feet were very cold and did not warm up until almost at work in the City.
A really great experience (one of many) on the high seas at Cronulla.
25-Jul-2011 Journeys on the silk road
I went along to this function this evening, “Join Joyce Morgan, senior arts writer for The Sydney Morning Herald, as she discusses her new book. Journeys on the Silk Road follows the remarkable discovery and journey of the world’s oldest printed book, the Diamond Sutra.
Sealed for a thousand years in a cave in the Gobi Desert, its emergence has illuminated the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road and coincided with the growing appeal of this ancient tradition in the West.”
I was interested as I went there (Dunhuang, China) back in 1987 even before the authors of the above book! Also its good top support the local community – lots of people there!
Didn’t go swiming (still haven’t been since getting over the cold) but there was a good article in the Guardian about “Wild Swimming“.
16-Jul-2011 Best. Workout. Ever.
After Kody’s soccer & visit to Ramsgate Organic Markets & Pet Shop blah blah, I felt like I needed a bit of me time. So approx 2pm I kayaked to Cronulla and ran to greenhills where I did as bunch of pushups, balances on balance bar, pull ups, monkey bars, dips etc – I am getting stronger in my upper body was was massively outclassed by some of the other people there.
Then I ran back to South Cronulla and went for a swim almost to The Point. The water felt cold but the sign said 17.3C. It said there were some rips and it was obvious when I stepped into the water, pulling this way and that. However the swim was great but had to time it well when landing back on the beach due to big waves and weird rips., then ran back to where the kayak was and kayak back home.
I was very cold and had to have a warm shower to re0vitalise – overall took 2 hrs exactly – perfect time – not too short, not too long, but so many sports – I was on a bit of high (when collapsed on the sofa). Needless to say, after I had dinner I just zonked out.
11-Jul-2011 Passed swim trial
I had today off work, as Dawn was off, and Kody has been at home by herself a lot. They both didn’t get up until almost noon, so I spent some time in the morning doing some work, all the household chores etc. Then in the afternoon I ran to Maianbar, swam across to the Spit as the tide was high and ran back along the beach to Bonnie Vale. The water was cold, probably 17C, but I have been swimming most days so it was ok. In total it was approx 7km, but it looks like my legs really are fixed now. phew !
Then I drove Dawn to yoga whilst me and Kody went swimming at Sutherland Pool. I am thinking of being a lifesaver at Burning Palms but to pass the test you have to swim 400m in 9mins, and I have no idea if that is easy or hard so decided to do a time trial. I swam 8mins 8secs in the outdoor pool (25C) which was ok as my arms were still sore from doing pullups, monkey bars etc from yesterday. I then went inside with Kody to do some more swimming (30C). Her swimming is getting a lot better.
Then we both went to Sushi Train at Cronulla for some dinner, before picking up Dawn and heading home.
14-Apr-2011 A Cold Mornings’ Swim
There was an article in the paper: Sydney Wakes to Coldest Morning of the Year or pdf version however it wasn’t really that cold – approx 9C at Bundeena that morning, the next was 10C and then 11C. But the water was still 22C and it was pure bright shining sun.
I made an effort to go swimming each morning, just for 5mins or so – it was just perfect, and a nice warm all over feeling as you got out. In fact after 3 days in a row I decided I should try to do this every day as its just too beautiful to miss out on.
21-Mar-2011 Post Sixfoot Tiredness
I am still really tired, not sure why but I am blaming it on running six foot last weekend. Anyway over the weekend I did the following:
Saturday – got out of bed real late, like 11am. It was raining hard but I went for a swim in the biggish waves. In the afternoon I went to yoga then watched the Black Swan film, and mucked around on the pc and went to bed at 2am – maybe that’s why I’m tired !
Sunday – Got up very late again, 10am or after. Went for a run around Maianbar and thru the mud (it was quite warm & sunny) then dashed off to yoga (again). By the evening I was totally buggered & dehydrated. However I always do better with yoga on the 2nd consecutive day – it’s a bit like running – the more I do the better I get.
7-Jan-2011 Ocean swimming grows in popularity
A great article in the paper today about Ocean-swimming:
http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/fitness/monster-wave-of-support-for-a-sport-with-deep-satisfaction-20110106-19hmy.html or pdf version
It neatly sums up why I like it. I also like that the good guy ratio is quite high when compared to other sports like running !
Note for rss feed subscribers – this was posted on 11th April 2011 but relates to 7th January 2011.
7-Aug-2010 A Slow Saturday
Got up late and just pottered around. Sorted kids out. I think its just been a busy week at work – late nights and early mornings. I have a bit of a headache – not sure if that is due to the wine or not …
This afternoon I ran to Jibbon and swam probably 500m. Water very cold but clear. All up was approx 5km run but felt great. Especially after the zap all over I got by getting back out of the water.
I would say that I really enjoy swimming in the cold. Not “endure” or “put up with” but actually “enjoy” and look forward to it.
Will probably do some CoolRunning and/or Sixfoot stuff tonight and go to bed early.
Note – not my photo – just linked from one on Flickr.
2-Aug-2010 Monday = Bank Holiday
I work for a Bank and Monday was a Bank Holiday so no work! Even better as the kids were all at school!
Although I am sure my leg is not fixed I went for a run anyway. It was great 8km of running in the cold wind but it felt to be out again (although it was well sore byt he evening but it could also have been the walking on sand that did it in)
I went swimming at Hordern’s beach – although it looked beautiful and clear, I reckon it was the coldest I have ever swum in. Check out the photos.
I also went for a walk with the missus along Bonnie Vale. Then in the evening I went running so needless to say I was totally cactus by the time I got home (late).
1-Aug-2010 I saw a shark when swimming!
What can I say. Went swimming with the 7.30am Sunday morning group at Cronulla. First time I have been on a Sunday – there was easily 15 people there. Most with wetsuits and flippers. I was just in my speedos. We saw a shark – admittedly a fairly safe Port Jackson Shark (just like these pics) – no one else worried. It was funny as we were regrouping and I asked what kind of fish that was (which is why I googled it when I got home). We went completely around Shark Island as usual. It was pretty cold – 16.3C – temp still dropping. Afterwards I went to Grind for a double Expresso. Amazed I could get in there as its usually so packed.
Took Kody swimming at Sutherland in the afternoon and then went to yoga later. VERY hot/humid.
26-Jun-2010 Cronulla Swim
Went swimming at Cronulla – the first for a while. It’s been getting colder but another new guy from work (Rod) said he went on a saturday morning at 7.30am. There were a whole bunch there approx 12-15 in total. I was the only one without a wetsuit. He showed me where the Hulme Report is – some guys swim at 6.30am every day and post up the temperature and how many sleeps til Melboune cup (!). We swam around Shark Island. We saw a small sea turtle and a big blue groper which was super cool. Obviously it was cold getting in the water but after a few mins I had warmed up ok. The swim was of course just totally stunning and I love swimming there so much. Went for a coffee afterwards, which was quite cold sitting outside.
23-May-2010 Paddle Board
I went for a cold-ish swim for 1km in Sutherland Pool whilst Kody was having her lesson, then went for another km at Hordern’s beach. I paddled the stand-up board from Bundeena to Darook Park, Cronulla. I only fell in once on the way back. I decided to wear my wetsuit so it was ok in the water. The really cool thing was that I surfed right up onto the beach without falling off, then just stepped off the board without falling in. I was sooo impressed!
22-May-2010 Swimming Video
In the morning I took the Ko and Chel to the open days at Kids Yoga then I took them both to their parties then I went Swimming – see below video.
Then after that I went running with Dawn – Bundeena Trig to Big Marley 12.1km return.
16-May-2010 Regular weekend
Took Kody to her swimming lesson and swam 1km in 20mins. the outside pool was getting a it nippy (at 25C !). At home went for stand-up paddle – definitely getting better – then a bit more swimming whilst Jaz and Chel went out. Then went for a 9km run. Yep my calf seems fixed now and I actually ran well for a change.
Kevin Tiller 
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