Adventure 10 - The one with a cold exit

Where: HBF Stadium, Mount Claremont

When: September 2016

My Adventure Companions: Mrs Jack

“How about a swim?”

Mrs Jack was injured so our planned run wasn’t going to happen. With two babies a piece, getting to spend time with friends sans babies is a multitasking masterpiece (or nightmare?) and when one piece of the puzzle doesn’t work you have to think of something else. So here we were, about to get into an outdoor pool at the beginning of spring. I’m such a chicken about getting into the water. I hate the feeling of the cold on my tummy. As it turned out, it wasn’t so bad this time.

I used to swim a lot, both when I was training for the Ironman and after, when I lived in Dubai. Not Olympic ‘a lot’ but just normal person ‘a lot’. However, I hadn’t really got back into the groove after a shoulder injury acquired when I first moved to Perth. It felt good to be back into the water. We swam a length, chatted a bit, swam another and so on. We managed a grand total of 600m; a far cry from either of our expectations but it was a start and it was fun. Then came time to get out. I formally reverse my opinion that getting into the pool is the worst part of a swim. Getting out is definitely worse. On top of the cold, it was really windy. Brr.  

I'm not sure where this swimming will take me, if anywhere other than just the pool on a week night. However, I’m going to take the opportunity here to put this out there: whilst I am enjoying my running and swimming at the moment, I have no intention of returning to any kind of triathlon, long or short distance [I can hear Mr MAP breathing a sigh of relief].  

Website: https://www.hbfstadium.com.au/

Opening Hours: 5:30am-8pm weekdays (varies on weekends)

Cost: $5.50  

Bonus Adventure

Where: Whistlepipe Gully, Kalamunda

It was another great spring week with lots of hiking. My mid week adventure was exploring Whistlepipe Gully with my hiking buddy and her bubba. We spent a very pleasant couple of hours exploring the trails around The Gully and admiring the spectacular views from the top. This was a great little walk and it was much appreciated by Velcro Dog, who was allowed to join us today.