Monday - 15km

I got absolutely smashed today with that wind. A howling easterly wind ensured any speed I had wouldn’t be expressed in terms of holding a solid average pace. But it could have been much worse. I woke up during a thunderstorm - lightning and pouring rain. Had to psyche myself into it, although I felt good so that wasn’t as hard as I thought it would have been. By the time I had procrastinated enough, the rain had eased substantially to a very light (barely there) drizzle. Apart from the wind, the best thing about these conditions is that you avoid the crowds. So I essentially had the whole beachfront to myself. Running to Shelly Beach and then back from Manly to Queenscliff (from 12 to 14km) were absolutely brutal though. I was running at least 20 seconds per kilometer slower during these parts. I only counted eight B&B swimmers going out at Manly LSC, with ten others walking to Shelly to swim. So even they weren’t crazy enough to battle the weather. I’d pretty much managed to stay (mostly) dry, then at the 11km mark a massive wave hit the rocks on the way to Shelly and drenched me and few others. Other than the conditions, I actually felt really good - so the time doesn’t reflect the pace I ran. Finished in 55:22 (3:41’s) feeling strong. Looking forward to some dry weather which is forecast from tomorrow onwards.