Madness Indeed

Again, I link to the Manolo for tri-related materials, this time:
High Heel Racing

Seems a waste of a perfectly good blocked-off sprint course....

Margaritaville

On my post of almost two weeks ago two people commented that they were unaware of the restaurant/bar chain Margaritaville. Having little else to blog, and being on a recovery week, I went there for lunch today.

This location is definitely designed with the cruise ship tourist ("cruiser") crowd in mind. It is in The Island Plaza. From the (north) cruise ship terminal on the sea side, there's one major crosswalk for people to get into town. The crosswalk leads directly to Island Plaza:




Looking up a little, they'll see the sign for Margaritaville and its patio; perhaps they will think, "We'll go there for lunch and a drink!"




If they do so, they should know that they will pay a premium for the location - but hey, they're on vacation! Here's the view from the doorway of Island Plaza, to highlight that the Plaza is nigh-on unavoidable for cruisers:



From the ground level of Island Plaza, one enters Margaritaville by way of its shop:




Yes, they will sell you merchandise on both floor one:




and floor two:




From floor two one may access the water slide:




or proceed into the restaurant/bar:




or go through the restaurant/bar and out to the patio, where one can get a (limited) harbour view:




Me, I sat at the bar and had conch soup, steak fajitas, and a margarita (the "Off To See The Lizard" variant - don't ask me exactly what differentiates it from their other margaritas). I quite liked the soup, found the fajitas a bit too salty for my taste, and thought the margarita was just passable.

Best comment overheard at the bar (from a patron who'd had a bartender make him one of her specials): "It doesn't taste very good, but I'm getting drunk."

Making Do

The pool at the condo complex is out-of-service, and has been for weeks. :-(



Much work is in progress:



On the plus side, when all is done the elevated circular tub section (also visible at right above, with the deep blue band) will be heated:



In the meanwhile, if I want to do stroke work outside of Masters sessions I could use the pool in the courtyard at the office:



Tragically, they don't even fill, let alone heat, the jacuzzi at work:



Ah well, at least they do keep up the landscaping:



And the waterfall is a nice touch:



Explanatory Note: I work in leased space in an office building that was converted from being a hotel.

Swimming Counts 'Round Here

Lead sports story in today's Caymanian Compass:
Shaune Fraser dips under 50 seconds in 100m Freestyle at Pan Am Games

Increasing Latitude, Dangerous Attitude

In the comments on my previous post, Krissy asked where I am - I infer that a week without blogging stretches audience patience.

In addition to not posting for a week, Sunday I called it quits at 4.0 hours into a planned 4.5 hour brick. That was at the 1.0 hour mark on the treadmill. My legs were holding up just fine, but I was tired of staring at the wall. Not a first, but rare. Must maintain minimal standards of training discipline this week.

Maybe Jimmy Buffett had a point: With all of our running and all of our cunning; If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.

[Aside: there's a Margaritaville here. As my sister pointed out to me via e-mail, word is that it will soon be challenged by Hooters. I suppose that presages the arrival of more buxom young women ex-pat service staff. Have I mentioned how tough life can be here?]

Just Can't Let It Go....

The Manolo does it again:
more that's suitable for the well-heeled woman swimmer

Specific Adaptations

Went out on the social donut ride this morning. This week some of the more serious cyclists weren't with us. Consequently I was with the front of the pack until the inevitable push in the last couple of miles - then I was stranded in no man's land behind a breakaway pack of four.

So as IMMoo looms, at least I'm not awful at going slow.

In the water the effect is more pronounced. Going easy or warming up my (low effort) pace exceeds the rest of the Masters swimmers in the intermediate lanes. Once we're in serious intervals that sure isn't true!

I also seem to be adapting somewhat to the heat & humidity. Under controlled conditions (Friel heartrate zone 2 on my stationary trainer) my sweat rate is down. One impact for me to keep in mind for IMMoo is the potential decrease in Gatorade intake and consequent need to take in more gels.

I Can't Believe I'm Posting This...

...but my sister hasn't, and it may amuse some.

For the well-heeled woman swimmer