The week started like the previous one finished – hot. I know that I complain about the cold but at least it is possible to put on more clothes.
The results are available from the sportive. It seems that 100 riders did the 50 mile route that I did and I was fifth fastest – on only my second ride since April. Our sportive is relatively low-tech with the focus on great routes and terrific home-cooked food, so no age group results are published.
Yet more mowing during Monday and then a very hot turbo session in the late afternoon – 15.3km (9.5 miles) in 30 minutes – and back on the turbo for another unpleasant 30 minutes on an even hotter Tuesday – 14.8km (9.2 miles).
The friend I am doing the triathlon with suggested that we should join the swimming club at the lake where we’ve had our two lessons, and go for non-coached sessions to get more practice.
We signed up and booked for Wednesday – then I read the sad headline ‘Seven drown trying to cool off’ documenting deaths in lakes and rivers in England over the weekend.
Fine, I will be wearing a wetsuit, attached to a tow buoy and the lake is professionally managed with proper safety measures, but nothing has changed my view that it is scary open water (henceforward referred to as SOW). Despite that, the swim itself was very good. I have no accurate idea as to how far we swam but guess it was about 1km.
I tried some different methods of sighting. Although I (sort of) managed the instructor’s way of doing it, I prefer the simpler way suggested by the general oracle that is ‘unironedman’ (on wordpress and at unironedman.com). Sighting is a welcome skill to have a nodding acquaintance with (I will not say I have ‘mastered’ it by any means) as I appear to be totally unable to swim in a straight line in the SOW.
I seem to have improved a little at getting out of the wetsuit – one key thing is not to let it dry (on the outside) before removal.
On Thursday we drove to Bournemouth to join our older son and his girlfriend who have spent some time at the house, working and then holidaying. We had a great walk around Hengistbury Head (7.5km – 4.7 miles) and a swim in the sea in the afternoon. The water was about 16℃ (60℉) and without a wetsuit felt pretty cold. Potentially ESOW (even scarier open water) it was very enjoyable staying fairly close to shore – but I’ll stick to the lake for the time being.
Another hour of walking in the evening going to a tapas restaurant made a really good day – but tiring. Our son’s phone app registered over 23,000 steps. The tapas was very good indeed in parts – but any dish that takes three times as long to explain than it takes to eat, and involves 15 ingredients and 12 processes but produces so little, has to be questioned.
Back to Oxfordshire on Friday and croquet in the evening to finish a great couple of days. The weather broke early on Saturday and it was forecast to rain pretty much all day but I ran our usual 7.2km (4.5 mile) loop in the morning with our younger son, between showers. Later we went to the wedding of a friend that we have known for nearly 40 years.
Happily, the forecast proved over-pessimistic and the wedding was excellent – and dry at all the right times (photos, walk to the reception and pre-meal outside drinks). On Sunday the bride and groom hosted a BBQ and the poorer weather never arrived – it was a fine way to round off a very good week.
Interesting stuff this week
1. African wise words: If you offend, ask for a pardon; if offended forgive
2. BBC News Website: Swimmers sent home from Olympics after selection mistake
Poland have sent six swimmers home from the Tokyo Olympics initially 23 athletes were picked only 17 were allowed under the world governing body qualifying rules.
Polish Swimming Federation president has apologised and said he understood the anger of those who have returned home. The majority of the Poland swimming team have signed an open letter calling for the board to resign over the incident.
3. BBC News Website: Beach Handball Championships: Norway hit with bikini fine
Norway have been fined 1,500 euros (£1,295) for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms at the European Beach Handball Championships.
The European Handball Federation (EHF) said it had imposed the fine because of a case of “improper clothing”. The issue has been debated in beach sports circles for several years as some players find the bikini both degrading and impractical.
If beach handball deserves its place in the sporting calendar, it’s has to be as a sport not some sort of titillation show.
Oh, the irony of this appearing the day after reports that UK world champion para-athlete Olivia Breen was told to wear “more appropriate” shorts after an official at the English Championships said her the briefs were “too short and revealing”. Would the shorts have been OK if she’d have been playing beach handball?
4. BBC News website: Covid-positive man boards flight disguised as his wife
A Covid-positive Indonesian man who disguised himself as his wife to board a domestic flight was caught mid-air. He wore a full-face veil and was carrying his wife’s passport and her negative Covid test result.
He may never have been caught but he changed into his regular clothes midway through the flight, causing a stewardess to raise the alarm.
Police say they will move to prosecute him as soon as his quarantine ends.
5. The Guardian (UK newspaper) headline: Tokyo Olympics 2020: Carapaz wins men’s road race, boxing, swimming and more – live!
Now, that must have been quite a day for Carapaz
(an Old Man in Lycra) 
Sounds like you had a great week. It also sounds like you are getting more used to the SOW. Sometimes, I don’t feel like I can run in a straight line, so I’m sure my sighting in the water would be horrible! It is very sad that seven people drowned in lakes over the weekend.
I agree totally with the African Wise Words this week. I feel bad for the Polish swimmers that had to go home. Doesn’t sound like they are abiding by these wise words. Maybe later.
Being fined because you are wearing shorts and not a bikini! Really?! What century are they living in?
And the guy getting on the plane disguised as his wife…that is so disturbing to me on so many levels. First, he could potentially have given people CoVID, knowingly. Second, someone with a Burka can board a plane and not really be checked to make sure they are who they say they are, like the rest of the population. I get that it is a religious thing, but that seems way too unsafe in this day and age. There has to be a way. Three, why would he change into his normal clothes during the flight?
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You are so right – it feels that the world is getting stranger in many ways.
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Thanks for the nod. Not sure I qualify as an oracle, but I’ll take it!
Nothing helps the confidence in the open water like lots of swimming in open water, so good plan to have joined up for more of that. And of course, always good to remind ourselves that we all float in water, even in a pair of Speedos 🙂
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My pleasure – I feel like I can now sight (well enough to get by) but hope that the more open water swimming I do will reduce the need for it a bit. Strangely, I only float with two big lungs full of air – I am more suited to wetsuit swimming. I must avoid any summer lake triathlon as the water last week would have been a no-wetsuit swim.
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Do they give you the choice of suit or no suit?
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I think there are UK rules according to water temperature ranges (that also very by swim distance) where suit is compulsory, suit is optional, suit is not allowed.
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I’ve done a few open water events where you have a choice alright, but never a triathlon in just a trisuit. Longest I ever did in the sea was about 4k and that was in a suit, and my hands got so cold towards the end, I couldn’t keep my fingers together (which makes swimming a little tricky, as it happens…)
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The only one I’ve done was in a pool – and even then I was tempted to use a wetsuit. As I remember I was overtaken by a lady doing breaststroke.
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Rebecca Adlington?
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More like a one-legged septuagenarian.
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I’m pretty straight up about the whole beach volleyball/handball uniform… and this works for Olivia Breen as well; “if the cooter fits, you must acquit”. If it doesn’t, well there you go… and I’d simply add, on the occasion of such a show, a simple “Thank you”.
As for the guy who boarded the flight with COVID, oh, how I’d like to have a go at that fella. What does Africa say about someone like that?!
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I’m not sure African wise words contemplate such selfishness but your own Harry S Truman said “Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles.”. For an African version, “Selfishness is the root of sin.” Lailah Gifty Akita
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That all sounds wonderful until you realize the freedom one has to give up to root out greed and selfishness. I would say a leader who had to blame his or her poor performance and troubles on the selfishness and greed of others shouldn’t be leading anyone. Therein, as they say, lies the rub…
I wonder if you mistook my comment, though. In an offhanded way, I was agreeing that the mess with the handball team wearing shorts was silly and wrongheaded. Those uniforms should have been fine by any standard.
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There’s not too much between us – perhaps I’m a bit more accepting of the (minimum necessary) restriction on individual freedoms in favour of a functioning society but it’s a tough one and I certainly do see your point. Fully aligned on the issue of the shorts!
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