Delayed End to Final Swim...

Today was supposed to be the final swim of the season - however the ocean gods decided it was not to be.

To start off the course had to be changed simply because the waves out the back were just too big. They were having trouble keeping the pontoons (or cans) in place to mark the course in the deeper water so they brought the course in. At first I was happy with this as it would be a course which I have swam before, plus the obvious advantage of not having to swim in the extremely deep areas.

I was all set to swim the 2.4 K, however as the 1K group was going the 4 rescue boats, jet ski, and 20+ surf life rescue people in there there were quite a few people who turned back.

Before I tell you what happens next, I'd like to just educate you on the Bondi rips. There are two permanent rips at bondi - the North Bondi rip and one at the south which is called the Backpacker Express as that's where all the backpackers get stuck. With the new course using the Northern rip to get out of the waves much faster. However the danger with this is that, if the waves are big enough you will be pushed against the rocks which are on the other side of this rip.

So with this group of people, there were some which decided about 20 meters in that they didn't want to continue, and were promptly swept into the rocks... not good! Then to complicate things even more, a massive wave came in a swept one of the pontoons out of it's secured location and into the rocks. Luckily, the pontoon didn't hit anyone on its way to the rocks.

However this turn of events was a blatant sign for the organisers to cancel the race... which they did. I must admit that I wasn't too sad as there was a pretty decident rip right where we were set to swim back to the beach. So this would have proven to be a very challenging race to say the least.

The plan is for them to reschedule the event to next Sunday, however I have a bachelorette party on Saturday night so I might not be capable of swimming. I will keep you posted on how things go. :)

In the mean time, my knee is feeling good due to my limited drinking which also means I have saved money and spent less time standing in line at the bathroom at the bar. :)

General Update

Things are chugging along here, and I figured I'm overdue for a update.

The Flat

I've furnished the living room area of the flat as all the old furniture was my old flatmates. I ended up simply making a couple trips to Ikea and am pretty happy with the results. My flat has blue carpet so I was pretty limited with what I could use without making the room too dark... so it is a very black and white decor which surprisingly works.

I allowed myself the luxury of the chase as I figure I'll more than justify it during my recovery time

My favourite part is the new HD TV :)

The second wave of furniture will come when I am able to pay down some more of my debt, so for now I still have the old dinning table

As far as flatmates go - I have a new one (obviously) and while it did take me a while to find one I also stepped out of the mold a bit. My new flatmate is a lawyer from Perth, who just moved to Sydney in January. His name is Raury and so far we are getting along great. The new part is that I typically live with girls, so this is a bit of a new adventure. So far we've sorted out the cleaning schedule and are getting all the little things sorted out so things are going well. :)

Swimming

Monday is the last swim of the season - a 2.4K swim at Bondi beach. It is a different course (picture below) and has us swimming out further than normal so that will be interesting. The group which swam today said they saw large sting rays and some other sealife before they hit a large pod of stingers. So my hope is that the sting rays and fishies are around with out the jelly fish.

The typical swims stay inside the two points, so it's quite a bit further out...

My Knee

My knee has been bothering me a bit more these days - so I am taking drastic measure and not drinking. I'm also noticing certain things which make it ache/hurt like crossing my legs. So sorry mother, but I won't be able to sit as lady like as I should as it hurts my knee. I think it has something to do with the whole fact that it puts pressure on my knee in the direction in which I don't have the ligament supporting.

I have my surgery scheduled for the 23rd of June after I get back from the states and luckily my mother is going to be able to come take care of me/keep me company while I'm recovering during the 2 weeks off.

Until then, I am allowed to swim, cycle, and run (but only in a straight line). Which makes things interesting, but at least I have some things I can do.

The Verdict Is In

I have torn my ACL. :(

If you are like I was and have heard about this surgery but have no clue what it means... allow me to enlighten you. The ACL or anterior cruciate ligament is the ligament which essentially the ligament which holds the femur and shin bone together when you bend your knee forward - so it's kind like your brakes. It also provides you knee with support when you do any sideways or pivoting type motion. Without this ligament I have to be extremely careful with any sideways movements especially when my knee is bent. If I'm not careful the bones can slip out of place and cause all sorts of pain and suffering on my part.

Lovely I know. I feel like I'm an old lady who could break with any wrong move - literally!

So what does this mean for me... I can almost walk normally. I say almost because I know I'm not extending my knee completely but to everyone else I look normal. No soccer, basketball, or virtually any other sports... but the worst of all is I can't dance or wear heels (especially no heels when drinking as this typically leads to dancing). I can swim (as long as I am extremely comfortable going in and out of the ocean), cycle, and run in a straight line. So again at least I have my swimming. :)

I do, however, need surgery if I ever want to do any of the above again without the potential of my knee giving way. As it is it feels unsteady and every now and then it feels like the torn ligament bits are saying hello to their friends in places they aren't supposed to be, and I can tell you it is as uncomfortable as it sounds.

The challenge comes in that I have a trip back to the states end of May early June, so if I do the surgery now I could be almost normal by the time I go home. However if there are any complications with the surgery it could compromise my ability to fly. Additionally, there are 3 of our 8 team members from work currently on vacation for the next 3 weeks so if I leave our team will be severely strained in a time when i can do some good stuff. So, I have scheduled my surgery for the Wednesday after I get back from the states.

Until that date I'll be playing it very carefully to make sure I don't do anything to make the situation worse.