As Well As Can Be Expected

Just a quick update cause I really should pretend to do some work at some point (I have just eaten the most enormous lunch courtesy of one of my staff – cutting a very long story short, a couple of weeks ago I suggested that we should lay on a simple breakfast, in the office, for all the staff one day soon, just a couple of pastries sort of thing – Arab hospitality being what it is we had a great breakfast and this seems to have set a hare running.  Last week, and I missed it, lunch was laid on in celebration of one of the staff getting a new car (?) and this week another insisted that she wanted to provide lunch for everyone – I’m not sure why but there was enough food for a hundred people, never mind 15 !........... I may have to go for a nap later………after I’ve been training obviously………)

Back to the story – I went to Dubai on Thursday night and stayed at Julian’s new apartment, which is on the 60^th floor of a new block not very far from where he used to live.  The difference between the 9^th and the 60^th floors is staggering, I haven’t got a before picture on this laptop but this is what it looks like now –

And there was this picture taken during recent fog (I can’t take credit for taking it though……) –

It’s a bit surreal isn’t it…….. 

Anyway, as usual, he seems to have fallen on his feet, and good luck to him – he’s been incredibly generous to me and I couldn’t wish for a better friend in Dubai (can I have the money now please…..)

Back to the plot (again) – I got up early on Friday morning (having gone to bed at a relatively sensible hour relatively sober) and went, on my own (missing Psycho see !) and did an Olympic distance triathlon with P II (who performed very well) and my old legs and swimming style (which didn’t perform all that well – but at least there’s room for improvement on both those fronts !).

The short excuse for a mediocre time is that I’m a dreadful swimmer who just “gets the swimming over with” and having been properly fitted for a time-trial bike for the first time I’m having to train new muscles to do their bit.  This was fine in the bike section but what I hadn’t anticipated was the pure pain I would have to go through when I got off the bike to run.  They call it the brick for some reason (it might be because I felt like I was trying to run with two bricks shoved up my arse !) and I’d been fine the last time because I’d practiced and practiced jumping off the bike after a ride and then running for a few K but because of the new bike position I’ve started using muscles for the first time – so, in theory, I’ve now used up that excuse !   We shall see I guess.  My next effort is the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on 3^rd March and I will be soliciting sponsorship cash from everybody and anybody, in aid of some small fluffy sick deprived animals or children or something (I’m a sucker for blondes with big blue eyes fluttering their eyelashes, especially if they’re women !)

I do at least have a picture of me this time

Not particularly flattering but it could be a lot worse believe me !

Friday saw me vainly trying to spend money around Dubai but failing miserably to get any of the things I wanted (except for my Valentines present for my wife – cause despite everything, I at least try and look like a good husband !), and in the evening played pool with Jules and had pizza (yeah !).  I then had another horribly early morning on Saturday because Jules was flying back to the UK and needed to get a whole load of things from the room I was in…….. at 6am !  After that I slowly but surely wandered back, via various places, to my desert hideaway .

On a slightly related note, I have finally given in and joined the gym at the local hotel.  Mostly because the family are coming out on Thursday and it’ll be nice to go there over the weekend and the kids can annoy the locals in the pool, but also because I have to sort out the swimming thing, even if it’s just by churning out thousands of lengths.  I’ve sent an e-mail to a swimming coach to see if I can get on a course or something, in Abu Dhabi at the weekends, so we can see if we can address the technique issue at the same time (I read somewhere that I would need to do 154 lengths of a 25m pool to cover the correct distance for an Ironman swim…….I can do 60 now (Olympic distance) so it seems like a doddle !

Changing the subject completely, and finally, my family arrive in the early hours of Thursday morning so updates on here may be limited for a few days………but you never know !