The Swimming Challenge

While enjoying fantastic company in a fantastic location, running along the Bibbulmun Track on Sunday, there was some banter about people who raise money for charity by doing some sporty thing-or-other.

I said there was no way I could ever raise money for charity with my running, because people already expect me to do silly things. They'd just say, "Yeah, you would have done it anyway." And they'd be right.

So one of the guys offers a sizeable donation to charity if I swim to Rottnest Island (that's 19 kms away. In the ocean. With jellyfish. Ewww. Forget the sharks, it's the jellyfish that creep me out. At least with a shark you're dead). And then there's that small part about how I can't swim.

Considering perhaps the excessive danger of it all (for me, that is - lots of talented people can swim to Rotto), he offered an alternate: swim 20 kms in a pool.

Now I can't put the darn idea out of my mind. Hurdle 1: Find a pool willing to stay open 24 hrs. Hurdle 2: Find out how you avoid turning into a prune by being submerged 24 hrs. Hurdle 3: Swim 800 laps of a 25 mtr pool.

It's really just a track race, right?

In other news, I saw the Assn of Cdn Ultrarunners accepted and posted my 6 Hr W40 record. I'd love to have a crack at a 100k now, but the timing seems all wrong with the heat of Oz summer on us. I need cool weather to try to maximise chances of success.

On Saturday I did trail maintenance on my section of the Munda Biddi - so there's 10k where you shouldn't brush up against any parrot bush. I had one embarrassing going-too-slow-in-the-thick-pea-gravel spill - very rusty after garaging the bike since the Espresso AR.

Now, enough writing...let's all get back out there to enjoy our training in the 40 degree heat (well, those of us in WA, at least)! Remember, it's altitude training :)