Albany adventures

Looks like the bullying worked… Sean finally graced his own blog with a guest appearance! Read his race report below; another day, another win!

Last week’s recap;

Monday Back to swim squad with Stadium Tri Club and despite being easy week, I still found myself having to work pretty hard. Seems everyone in the squads i swim with have taken a step up and I seem to be plateauing dang it! I had to work had and finished with 3.2km which seems to be the distance every session is these days and I’m not even getting out early! Hopefully some 4km+ sessions will be coming back into my life soon.

Tuesday Sue and I decided to join Bulldog’s ride again and unfortunately for me I got dropped after pretty much 5 minutes! Managed to get back on at various stages and finished with a pretty good ride. Tonight I had long run but with the heat and race this weekend, plus a special lady to pick up from the city, Sue and I joined Stadium for a quick 45-minute run in Kings Park with a couple of hills thrown in. After sweating it out a little, I picked up my best friend Leila who is in town for one night only! Hello lady!

Leila arrive at chez o'neill

All the hottest guys in town were queuing up to join us, but only the most handsome was allowed in.

You know you can't compete with that

So fun times ensued, Sean cooked us dinner (well, he chopped some chicken and conveniently disappeared and amazingly by the time he reemerged, dinner was ready) and Mum, Leila, Sean, Oscar and I had a fun catch up.

Wednesday was rest day so I could maximise time hanging out with Leils. We went for breakfast at Bouchard which was pretty yummy, but the atmosphere looking over the city is so nice there and my plans for further convincing Leils to move home were falling to place… muhahahahaha. Night was spent eating salmon and sadly dropping Leila back to the Duxton so she could make her merry way back to Dubai boo hoo. Come back soon please!

Thursday I was starting to really get into easy week! Sue and I rode from my house around Mt Henry and nattered the whole way, it was fun. We stopped off to say hello to a couple of gems dining at Brew Ha (hello Sandy, Rich, Owe, Nera etc!) and had some energy left by the time we dismounted our trusty steeds. Tonight was supposed to be an easyish run with Robyn’s group, but it was sooo grossly hot, Sean and I went to Cottesloe for a swim and fish n chips instead – glorious. Such a fun night!

Friday started off with my favourite session – Deli Chi Chi! And a little swim first, 3.2km (again!) and Anna and Chris made me lead a couple of sets, so not used to that position but they were having fun after Rotto and I was forced to take charge. I don’t think I liked it. Managed to force Bulldog into taking one set which was quite awesome, he got totally lost, ended up in another pool and was found crying for mummy later. Boy doesn’t know how to handle without a set of feet to follow. Funny!

Then i was off for a day of fun, taking a workshop at the Perth Writers’ Festival. It was fantastic and so inspiring to listen to editors, publishers, fellow writers all tell how they made it in publishing. It was at UWA too, which is such an incredible setting and just being there I felt instantly more scholarly. See how pretty it is!

The clock tower at Winthrop Hall

Arches out front of Winthrop Hall, the mural detail was beautiful

Friday night was spent at the moofies, we saw The Blind Side and it was fantastic. Go see it. Now. Sandra Bullock was kick ass good, quite Erin Brockovich in her characterisation and I loved it.

Saturday Road trip to Albany which was fun, coffees from Brew Ha, fun tunes to singalong to and only one pee stop (quite a triumph for ole peanut bladder – me, not Sean, man is a camel). We had a quick lunch at Venice Cafe on the main strip of Albany (their soup was soo good!) and arrived at the Pelican Holiday Villas which was quite nice (although lady owner was rather rude!). We had a walk down to the beach which was a bit wild and I was praying they wouldn’t convert things into a duathlon (could kiss a win goodbye if that happened!). Night was spent eating pasta, shooting the breeze and watching a chick flick hehe sorry guys the girls were totally in control of the remote.

Sunday was race day. Hurrah! Swim was on even though it still looked a little gnarly. We got to wear our wetsuits though, despite the water feeling pretty warm. I had a good start, rough ocean seems to suit me and I managed to stay in touch with superfish Kylie English which was great. We even caught some of the open girls who had set off 3 mins earlier which was pretty cool. The ride was windy!! And hilly, always a fun combination. Had lots of guys pass me after I’d passed them in the swim and got lots of nice hellos and I feebly tried to keep up with them. Saw Sean looking good with James Lewin and him duelling for front spot and the bike machine Brynt chasing them down like a man possessed. Finally finishing the bike and not too much damage done (think only Rach Smith passed me? Nice one!) I entered the run feeling pretty good. Loretta Wesley passed me straight away but i managed to keep her in sight for a lot longer than usual! The run was 2 laps, out and back, so I could see my opposition chasing me down. I felt pretty awful on the way back on lap 1 and wished i’d had another gel to take, my energy was lagging. But i held on, had a few powerades at each aid station and managed to hold off my training bud, Sue, just by about a minute. She was running so fast! Dang I think she’s foxing me in training! I also won my age group by 6 minutes which was awesome although i know i have a lot more work to do on the bike and run to get under 5 hours at Busso. Thanks for a fantastic race, Albany!

Sunday night…

Dave with his arm candy for the evening, Sue, Kat, me and Sandy!

Monday seeing as it was a public holiday, this can be included in last week! We got together for a ride around Albany to loosen up the legs after a hard race. We rode out to the Gap which was very cool! Pity about the testosterone levels of a couple members of the group (cough, TIM, cough) which split us up riding home but my girl, Sue, waited for me and helped my poor, tired legs get home in one piece. Here’s us at the Gap!

Everyone, minus me, soaking up the sunshine and amazing Albany scenery

Hehehe David forgot his cycle kit so had to ride in his tri suit and sperm helmet. Funny. Dale was totally jealous of my blonde ponytail too, his has been lacking in shine lately so I gave him some tips. It’s all about the deep conditioning treatment, keep your eyes peeled for C)4u brand it’s amaze.

Now it’s back to business, hard week again and body is feeling it already. Seeing as it’s Thursday, enjoy your weekend!

Lisa xo

Filed under: Lisa's Corner

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