its all about the swimming: where to from here and missing toenails

merry christmas to anyone who takes the time out to read my not so exciting little blog. i am still on holidays and really do not know how i will ever be able to go back to work.

so recovery wise things have been really good. much better than last year. i have had a couple of easy rides, ran a couple of 5 k loops and swam 3 times. i went for a swim with a group from my triathlon club. i have been a member for four years but have only tried to get involved a few times. it was at a pool that is not that far from home but i had never been to before. well that was a revelation as it is one of the nicest pools i have ever swam in. the swim was easy and turns out i knew one of the girls from the triathlon course i did when starting out back in 2008.

so besides the little bit of training i have been taking the dogs to the beach and working around the house. most of the garden is re-done and the big stuff will be finished after the new year. i am paying my gardener to do it so there goes my new road bike. figured it was time to be a responsible home-owner. by the time i go back to work i will have finished the painting inside as well so that only took me a year. but the advantage of this is that while training for cairns i will not have to feel guilty about anything.

next week i am doing a sprint triathlon. i am really looking forward to it. it has been a year since the last one and this is at a course i have not done before so should be as close to fun as you can get. my training for ironman cairns starts february 3 so i want to enjoy myself and do whatever i feel like until then. i will build back up again so when i start i am at the right place fitness wise. i am being so organised. i have booked my accommodation and hire car for cairns. i decided to stay at the same place as the rate of $132 per night for a fully self-contained apartment with ocean views was just too good.

my toes were fucked after busselton. i am going to post photos so be prepared as they may gross you out. my socks solved the blister problem but the size of toe box could be causing this to happen. i am not too concerned as i think it only gets this bad if i run 42k. but it appears that a blister forms over the end of the toe and includes the toe nail. so i think the toe nail will actually lift off. last night i was soaking in the bath tub and so things had softened up and one whole toe nail just peeled away. it was like something from an episode of criminal minds. BTW i have now watched all eight seasons and feel lost without it. anyway i have warned you but i do think the toes look worse than in the pictures and they have improved - i just couldnt get decent photos. as you will see i really shouldnt be wearing open toed shoes this summer but at least the little ones grow back a great deal quicker.

Now you see me ...

Now you dont !! Raw toe.

i have also purchased more pictures from ironman western australia. a big tip if you do this is to search the lost photos as i found at least 8 pictures of me that had not been included and they were good ones. i have quite a few favourites amongst this years.