After three months I finally jumped in the pool today. I’ve recently joined up with Fitness First for the primary reason that I can use the gym near my work at lunchtimes as well as the one near my home which has a 25m pool. This morning I rocked up at 7:45am and without hesitation dived in and swam for forty minutes. It felt fantastic. I’m hoping that I can make it a Saturday morning habit.
I did notice though that I have a lot of things to work on: my form and my speed. When swim training I find it hard to swim easy. Each stroke I pull hard, each time I kick I aim to kick hard. In a race that’s great, in training not so. For the next few weeks I’m going to take it easy and work on form and technique. That’s what is going to help me swim faster when I race. Later, I can add speed work to put it all together. Today’s swim session looked something like this:
300m warm up (combo of freestyle and breaststroke)
4x50m free
4x50m pull
4x50m kick
4x50m free
300m cool down (combo of freestyle and breaststroke)
The rest of day was delightful. I really like Saturday’s like today. They’re filling and satisfying – like eating your favourite Thai curry or a double chocolate cheesecake, or whatever your favourite meal is and not wanting any more or any less.
We went out for brunch with a large group of friends to Barcino’s at Nobby’s Beach. Some friends I hadn’t seen in a while, while others I make sure I see on a regular basis. It’s lovely to just be able to sit around a table, enjoy great food and each other’s company on a sunny morning.
Afterwards Jarek and I decided to head down to the beach for a stroll. The wind howled a bit and we walked for only half and hour but it was quite relaxing and healthy to be spending quality time together and making most of the fresh air and early autumn sunshine.
In the afternoon I took the plunge and tried a new recipe. Lately, I’ve been really getting into quinoa. It’s delicious and full of nutrients. So today I made Warm Quinoa Salad with Grilled Haloumi.
In a small fry pan I fried up some diced onion, capsicum and eggplant.
Then I poured 500ml of beef stock over it and added one and a half cups of quinoa into the pan.
I mixed all the ingredients together and poured an extra half cup of water in.
Fifteen minutes later the meal was almost ready.
I stirred in chopped up sage and a little parsley.
On a separate frypan in went the four pieces of haloumi cheese. I let it grill about one to two minutes on each side and placed the cheese on top of the cooked quinoa and vegetables.
Here’s the finished product, it was delicious if I don’t say so myself 🙂
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| Warm Quinoa Salad with Grilled Haloumi |
Now I’m enjoying an evening at home. I’ve cooked, walked my darling dog Kola, cleaned and scrubbed the bathroom, and now I”m enjoying a smooth glass of Jacobs’ Creek Sauvignon Blanc, munching on Orea’s and filling blank pages with words. It has been a satiating day.
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| Kola enjoying herself on one of her walks |
