Saturday - 8 x 5 minutes (off 1 minute) (deep water running)

This session just grows by the week. Up to 8 reps now (started with only 4 reps four weeks earlier), but surprisingly it’s not as psychologically draining as I’d otherwise anticipated. Just get in there, break each rep down without thinking about the next one, and count to 300. That seems to be an effective strategy. Great conditions out there at Manly Cove this morning, not a breath of wind and super smooth. Always glad to get through these Saturday session’s. Finished off with the usual 15 lengths along the sharknets. Then up to The Emporio to catch-up with the Manly Crew post Parkrun. Great to see everyone again - it won’t be long now until I’m back there with them.

Thursday - 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1 (off 1 minute) (deep water running)

Another stunning morning out there today. Out there for my Thursday pyramid session, always a sharp and tough session that I actually really look forward to. Quite happy as I managed to get my heart rate up to 170 bpm for the final one minute effort - a new record for me throughout my deep water running adventures. Finished off with 15 lengths of Manly Cove. Was wondering why The Narrabeen ferry sat there docked at Manly Wharf during my entire session - I’ve just returned home to news headlines saying that the ferries were delayed due to fog this morning. To be honest, I wasn’t really paying attention, but it didn’t seem too bad from where I was? Rest day tomorrow!

Wednesday - 90 minutes steady (deep water running)

Best conditions I’ve experienced so far in Manly Cove this morning. Barely any wind, warm water (although a bit of rubbish from yesterday’s downpours) and all sorts of combinations of rain, clouds and sun. 90 minutes steady this morning, I tried to up the intensity ever so slightly. Witnessed The Collaroy, The Queenscliff and The Narrabeen ferries dock and leave throughout the 90 minutes. Another session ticked off.

Tuesday - 2 sets of 5 x 2:30 minutes (off 30”) (2 mins between sets) (deep water running)

The equally toughest session of the week (along with Saturday), although despite the progression of an extra rep this week, it was arguably better as the session was broken down into two sets with an easy 2:00 minute recovery between, allowing for the heart rate to come down nicely. Back out to Manly Cove this morning in almost identical conditions to yesterday - cloudy, with a moderate southerly wind. Finished off with another 15 laps next to the shark net. Got home just before the rain, so can’t complain about that!

Monday - 2 sets of 9 x 90 seconds (off 30”) (2 mins between sets) (deep water running)

Another week means more reps for each session. Today’s was a big one indeed. Back to Manly Cove once again, the surf still too massive following the weekend. Conditions in the former were much better today, with only a moderate southwesterly wind making it much less bumpy than yesterday. Each effort was equivalent to 100 strides (much nicer than Saturday’s 300), although there were 18 of them all up, with only 30 seconds easy between. Had the heart rate monitor on this morning, and interesting (and great) to see that I can really get my heart rate up to a respectable level while deep water running (maxed out at 165 today, about the predicted 10 less than running, which is good to see). Finished off replicating my typical B&B swim by doing 15 laps of the sharknet (around 100m per lap). Great way to kick off the week!

Sunday - 2 hours (deep water running)

Another change in location today due to a shark sighting along the beachfront yesterday. That, combined with big surf and the sun rising later everyday was well and y enough convince me to go to the harbour instead. So today’s location (and in all likelihood, will remain the location for the remaining time I’m rehabbing as the sessions are getting longer while the days are getting shorter) was in the sharknet enclosed area at West Esplanade. The only downside to this was it was massively exposed to the southerlies. At least it made the two hours go faster. That, and my amusement at watching the ferries (The Freshwater, Collaroy and Narrabeen) navigate the swells when crossing The Heads. And, most importantly, the water was still warm! Can’t complain about that! In other good news, this marks four weeks since my injury - so the unofficial halfway mark! Looking forward to returning to the land!

Saturday - 7 x 5 minutes (off 1 minute) (deep water running)

I could never quite understand it when people would say that it is warmer in the water than out, but today I was enlightened. Walking out into the dark ocean just out the front of Manly LSC at 6:05am into massive surf seemed suicidal, and this almost turned out to be correct. After about two minutes of warming up, a massive set came and broke just before me. So Plan B it was! I got out, rode my bike to Shelly Beach, and preceded with the session there. At least by now the faintest signs of dawn were apparent. Today was mammoth session, and something that I was somewhat dreading. Similar last week, th key is to simply focus on one rep at a time, and in that rep, just focus on counting to 300. I can honestly say that I don’t enjoy these Saturday sessions as much as the week day ones, mostly because the volume of the session is so much greater that you really have to pace it appropriately by being more conservative to an extent. Other than being bombarded by numerous different swimmers throughout who were concerned about my welfare, I got through it in the end. Followed this up with a reverse B&B swim, taking extra care to avoid a head on collision with the official group given our opposing directions. Then home for a quick shower before heading straight back down for a coffee with my good friend Kris and her lovely parents. A great way to start the weekend!