Weekly News Number 28

The week Spain became Football World Champions.

To be honest, I only checked the live scores to see who won. For many people back in Switzerland, this probably marks the beginning of the summer break when not much is happening. The good news is that my Weekly News doesn't take a break. So at least you can count on a new blog every week instead of only every four years like a World Cup final.

The weather here has felt more like winter lately. Rain and strong winds dominated the second half of the week. Luckily, there were still a few sunny periods in between, which meant it was possible to get some training done without getting completely soaked.

A bit of variety

The week started as usual on the bike. Nothing has really changed there.

But there was something new this week.

After talking to Kurt on Thursday, he asked me if I had ever done a parkrun. My answer was an easy yes.

For everyone living in Australia or New Zealand, I probably don't need to explain what parkrun is. For everyone else, here's a quick explanation.

Every Saturday at 7:00 am there's a free 5 km run. It doesn't matter whether you want to race, jog or simply walk. Everyone is welcome.

At first, I thought these events were fairly small.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Last Saturday there were an incredible 197 people at the start. The whole event is organised by volunteers who give up their time every week without getting paid.

There are 548 different parkruns across Australia alone, and many more all over the world.

This was my second parkrun and definitely not my last. Over the next few weeks I'd like to try a few different ones around Noosa. The Noosa course itself is quite hilly, so it's not the fastest course around. The good thing is that I can simply jog there, enjoy the run with plenty of other people and meet some new faces afterwards.

Running hard is just a little easier when you're not doing it on your own.

Me afther the Noosa parkrun

By the time I got home, it was only just after 8 am, but I was already so tired that I needed another short sleep before heading out for my next training session.

Swimming in the ocean

The second highlight of the week was our Sunday afternoon swim in the ocean.

As I mentioned earlier, it was very windy. Even so, I went for a swim at Noosa Main Beach.

Back in Switzerland, I don't think many people would willingly get into the water in those conditions. Here it's completely different. There were surfers everywhere, so you're never really alone, which also makes it feel much safer.

Once you get behind the waves, swimming actually becomes quite enjoyable.

The best part is that these are exactly the kinds of conditions you need to practise. Swimming in the ocean is very different from swimming in a pool. You can't glide as long because the waves slow you down, so your stroke naturally becomes a little shorter and more active.

Meat without Feet

To finish the week, here's a little story.

Last week I told you about the fisherman who comes to Noosa every Friday.

Well, I finally found out the name of his business.

"Meat without Feet."

I think that's a pretty clever name.

And once again, the fish was outstanding. I think our Friday visit has officially become part of our weekly routine.

So that's it for another week.

Enjoy the quieter weeks of summer if you're in Switzerland, and keep an eye on the Tour de France. After Jonas' unfortunate crash, the battle for second and third place could become really exciting. Let's see what the final week of the Tour has in store.

See you next week.

Cyrill