Race, Brunch, Repeat

AM: Hot hot and hot. Knew this was coming and with the baby being a free 5am alarm bell, I rode to A.B.C. and snuck in a lazy dip. Pool is very popular at 6am on weekdays!

Once again, unsure what the day would entail.

Kicked it off with 8km jog to work. Followed Para Rd, passed Central and shot down George Street. A complete non-event sort of recovery run.

PM: figured a Redleaf pool run would take too long. In such steaming hot temp, some sort of dip was mandatory.

Thus I did the shorter version, just as hilly. This involved a jog to the North Side with Yum Cha. Got to Cremorne Point, jumped into the public pool and jogged back. To my heart-break, I left my HuRTS visor at the pool. Thoroughly enjoyed the whole hour!

11km all up in 60 min. Still a few niggles in the foot, but nothing chronic.

Resting the feet today. Wise decision as I feel a few niggles from 120km last week and Sunday's race. This meant skipping the 8x5 min intervals around Farm Cove.

Lined up the diary with Yum Cha Wong for some secret swim coaching A.B.C. Turns out it was a good decision. Funny enough, Jeet was also loitering in the pool area.

YC set the task of 1km hanging onto his feet. I'm told drafting is a 'real thing' in the pool. Turns out, this is true! Held on for 400m at 55s/lap, then started to fall away. Luckily, coach was willing to wait at each lap end. Hit 500m in 9 min flat (record).

Battled again for another 500m in my desperation to stroke his toes. Some laps success, other laps no where near. Enjoyed the challenge.

Stopped the clock at 18:17, suggesting 9:17 for the 2nd half. So it's true, drafting helps.

Closed out the swim with 200m with a floaty wedged up my groin, then 400m avoiding drowning whilst free-styling with closed fists. I love the challenge of staying alive!

Thanks to Coach Yum Cha for a great swim. If I were a betting man, he's on track for sub-16 min 1km on Friday (the time trial). If this eventuates, some celebratory spring rolls will be consumed.

1.6km swimming, 4km running. The cool-down around Farm Cove saw me cross paths with the HuRTS runners on rep #7. Only Crossy was up front. Saw the likes of Timmy, Renee and others sheepishly jogging at the tail.

Redleaf with Conway and Co tomorrow. That's 7km run, a dip, then 4km return. It will be warm.

Really struggled to get the legs moving. To be honest, it's a familiar feeling on Mondays.

Joined Renee and Conway for a usual recovery run around Farm Cove and down to Barangaroo. Maintained 4:50s, which should be easy. Did not feel comfortable. Perhaps the heat, wind or yesterday's difficult 10km.

12km in 63 min.

PM saw me add 5km running home at 6 min/km. Looking forward to mixing up the exercise this week.

Balmain Fun Run - last one for 2015. So I'm told this is not flat.

Why do I always get such sore calves from swimming? Struggled to eject myself from the bed, let alone head out for a usual Saturday Bay Run.

Thursday - Annual HuRTS Awards Night

AM - legs still very flaky from Tuesday. Sammy J had similar excuses and we skipped the 3x2km intervals in favour of a run out to Cremorne Point pool.

In 36 degrees, this proved a magical decision. The 5km run across the Bridge was gnarly due to the elevation changes past Kirribilli. We toughed it out and the reward was the best 5 min dip I've ever had. First time in the Maccallum Pool, west side of Cremorne Point. It's a good run/swim/run alternative to Redleaf. Quite the hidden gem.

Great mental aptitude shown by Sam and I in actually exiting the water and returning to work. Legs felt so heavy on the re-climb back to Milson's Point.

11km all up.

PM- real value of the day was the must anticipated annual awards night at the Tilbury.
With very few exceptions, it was an amazing turnout! 8 awards on show, 50-odd in attendance and lots of banter equals much fun.



So the question was, who will clean up Performance of The Year (POTY)? The other focus was the unlucky few nominated for Underachiever Award.

On the later, it was a close one and I felt for Irish nice guy Enda. Certainly harshly done by considering he has a 75 half marathon at GC next to his name.


POTY-wise, was my 2:30 GC in July realy enough? I'm thinking, NO WAY.

I'd trade my effort any of: Barts' sub-46 C2S, Tommy's 4th place in SMH half and just last week, Quentin's sub-17 JPM CC.

Well, Chairman puts an end to the uncertainty ...



Embarrassing. And a victory speech? I managed some short spiel re disappointment in the lack of a blogger award. The question is, who gets the POTY cup in 2016 and what will it take (2:26 marathon)?

Turns out I voted for the other winners, all of whom definitely deserve pats on the back.



Triathlete Award to Crossy (no brainer). Ultra (walking) Award to Heyden (squeezed out CT). Timmy has really lifted the HuRTS community in 2016, meaning Spirit Award was a must.

With consistent PBs, Gus took Improvement Award and will run sub-35 min 10km in 2016. Female POTY could only go to Erika, of course. Sub-3 hour Melbourne marathon.

Swimming Awards soon followed, hosted by the charismatic Timmy and PW. My involvement is pretty early stage, however the talent is indeed deep!

It's all about the beverage consumption and banter that follows. Timmy's questionable fashion sense continues to concern me.



Per photo below, it's predictable to see Conway with no closed shoes and little shyness putting those guns on display. Luka has also committed to another suicidal  24 hour solo treadmill charity run in 2016 and challenged the crew to break the 24 hour relay world record. Sounds horrible.


James, Biggsy and Champ can not only boast impressive running abilities, but are more than handy on the bike / in the pool. I've asked for some free coaching, in exchange for my best cafe picks.


Did a Houdini (5 week old newborn type curfew) before the night descended into one of multiple beers combined with a visit to Harry's Cafe de Wheels. No doubt, I missed out on the fun.

Thanks to good friends that attended and actually read this blog (i.e. just myself).

Must be 9 months since our last Redleaf pool visit. Inspired by soaring temps and catalysed by a classic Conway blast email, we had a great little turnout. Out to enjoy the hills - dip - hill set included Conway, Tom, Tym, Charlie, Lambert, Nathan and JW.

7km via the long-rout at the insistence of Conway. Legs actually felt fine but it is never easy with the hills around work working the hills once you pass Rushcutters.

A quick 5 min dip doing freestyle around the pool perimeter before taking the short 4.5km route back to the CBD. Seems just Charlie, Tym, Nathan, Bruce and I had the discipline to return at an acceptable hour. Slowing us down was the rule, if temp > 35, walking the stairs is OK.

12km all up.

During the swim, Conway laid down a 1km swim challenge at A.B.C. on Friday. Completely unfair battle of a 16 min swimmer vs 19 min dog paddler. It must be his desperation to bank just 1 race for 2015.

Looking forward to HuRTS awards night tomorrow.

Indigo enjoys a strategic monopoly in one of Sydney's most affluent yet culturally devoid locations, Double Bay. If you are hungry and 45% of your salary does not go to the ATO each year, please avoid. Reflected in scarce parking and long queues, the locals love it.

We are quickly profiled by the staff: Soccer mums? No. Latest model BMs? No. Clumsy parking job? No. That's 0/3 in terms of preferred customer status.

Standard latte - $4.00.



Cup one is cold, cup two is scalding. Quality control matches school kids manning an instant coffee stand at a fundraiser.

I read 'fresh from the farm' on the menu then see near 30 choices. Instant disqualification because no farm has that many crops. Eyeballing the adjacent tables, we blindly follow.

Breakfast bruschetta with bacon, eggs, avo and tomato salsa - $23.90

Awkward chopping job and a messy, monotony of familiar flavours. A finish of olive oil is as clever as the price ($24). This is bacon and eggs on toast with a tomato overload.

Yolk porn comfort is sought. 5/10.


Open snapper omelette with snapper pomme purree, spinach and light cream - $21.90

Long-list of unheard of ingredients, similar to packet Campbell Soup. However, snapper arouses my interest.


No sign of my meal after 60 min and once delivered, something is fishy...

Chef must be a terrible fisherman. The slippery beast was never caught! No visual nor flavour cues to suggest this anything more than an egg-only dish.


$22 for a well-sized, fluffy omelette with a soft cheese overlay that lacks salt. Satiety and pretty scatter of leaves enables some ratings recovery. 7/10.

A departing comment on service. Bruschetta takes 15 min to arrive, no sign of omelette after 50 min. Waiter forcibly explains I did not order 'clearly enough'. Must be my working class accent.

Avoid, avoid, avoid:

- Food - 6/10 - menu-oversell disguising fairly standard offers. Decent execution.
- Value - 6/10 - suburb name has 'double'. Apply this to 'normal' pricing.
- Other - 3/10 - deep queues post 9:30am, cramped space, rude staff.
- Overall - 5/10 - inexplicable popularity with the locals.

In Chinatown, rude service is a leading indicator of authentic food. In Double Bay, it's a lagging indicator of a low-quality cafe.

Will I be returning?
No