Where do dreams go?

Once you've had them that is? Do you think they disappear somewhere inside you, filed deep in your subconscious to be trotted out as 'Deja Vu' or any one of a number of similar 'spooky' experiences we've all (I'm sure) had?

Or do they somehow float from the very imaginations within which they are born, rising through one's sleepy skull like a bubble might float from the hand held blowing device of a young child, and floating away into the atmosphere before bursting and raining down their constituent parts upon others and seeding their dreams which are born and die in a similar fashion.

So maybe dreams are more human than we know.

Maybe.

Today's pic is Dali's Metamorphosis of Narcissus - a painting I've always loved and which has always left me feeling I'm looking some kind of surreal dreamscape. Which, being a Dali painting, is exactly what I am looking at, I suppose. Anyway... study it... there's a helluva lot in there.

I had a dream the other night. It was that I'd swum a 1 hour 25 minute Ironman swim. It's some indication of how far my swimming has come that it was not so much a dream as a nightmare. I awoke, sweating and feverish, panting in the transition of my troubled imagination, panicking that I was 25 irretrievable minutes down on my goal time. But I got to thinking about it and maybe it wasn't a nightmare. Maybe I'd do better to slow down the swim a bit and keep fresh for the bike and run. There are a couple of guys at my club who swim that kind of time yet still come in ahead of me on their Ironman.

Food for thought.

I'd love to know what my children dream of. What are their hopes and fears. How do they see their lives shaping in the future. Of course, I ask. Of course, they tell me as best they can. But I'm intrigued to know if they think as deeply about life and our place in the scheme of 'Things' as I often do. Probably not.

Anyway, enough musings. What news do I have for you this week? I have returned from a week in Manchester and a successful production up there. It's always so great to be back home with the girls and there truly is no place like it. Work is busy busy busy and I've been managing to stay off the booze (no alcohol since my monstrous day at Twickenham watching England v Argentina on November 14th) and do some decent training. My calf seems to be healed and I figure I'll know for sure in a week or so whether its something I can consign to the 'old injury' list. I'm determined to have my book ready for my agent's desk by Xmas so that I can get back onto the sauce with some considerable gusto (just in time for my annual forced abstinence throughout January).

I've been road biking and am still feeling pretty strong on the bike but the weather is closing in. I'm planning a 'Winter Century' (a 100 mile bike ride) with some mates on December 5th and have the feeling that will be quite a challenge. Maybe that will mark my return to the ale. Who knows.

I'm currently taking a break at the moment from writing as the wind howls and the rain lashes outside my office window. I'm shortly to be positioned in my 'thinking chair' where I shall take a ten minute power nap following a rather energetic swim this lunchtime.

I wonder if I will dream.

Go Easy on Me...

... I've not done this before. Or, at least, not for a long time. It's been so long since I've blogged I've forgotten how to do it. So I'm going to just roll with it a while if that's okay with you.

Biggest problem has been that I've really lost the will to sit here and churn out stuff that is simply to keep a weekly schedule intact. 'Every Monday' it says. Well, I used to go to the pub 'Every Friday'. Then I didn't. Now I do again. We go through phases where we don't do things because we somehow fall out of love with them.

Of course, certain things are worth working at to ensure you never find yourself turning away from them. Marriage for one. Fiona and I have always worked hard at our marriage, to keep it on track and (hopefully) fresh. Takes some doing that. But it works. As a result we've been happy together for three years.

Just kidding - it's close to twenty nine years we've been together now.

With triathlon itself, I allow myself to drift in the off season. That's where I am now, just drifting. I've been drinking a few beers, eating a few (proverbial) pies and putting on a bit of weight. And that's cool because I know I'll come back strong in January for six months of hard yakka.

So I guess that's where I've been with the blog. Just taking it easy. I hope you'll forgive me for its absence and the slightly pointless ramblings of this week.

But hey... I finished my book! 90.000 words of children's adventure. Not only that but I've also read through it, made notes and have started to polish and re-write. So that's kinda exciting. I want to plop it down on my agent's desk (the book, that is) in the new year. I'm feeling kind of energised by it and am so glad I persevered. There are a few things that don't work but not half as many as I thought there might be.

Erin, Alice and Fi are well. We had a great time in Paris recently and the girls continue to act as living, breathing reminders of how great this life is. Photo this week is of me, Erin, Alice and Fi on the steps at Sacre Coeur.

One of my closest friends (who doesn't want to be identified) has been very sick recently so that's been playing on all our minds. We are delighted with the progress they've made and are a hundred percent dedicated to doing everything we can to ensure a complete recovery. Please pass on positive thoughts. Everything helps.

I feel better for sharing. Especially that last bit.

There could be something in this blogging business after all.

There are many congratulations due and I'm going to forget so many. To my mate Tom, who's now writing for Triathlonplus magazine. To Brian Payne, who did so well in the 70.3 World Champs in Clearwater. To Jamie H. from Team MK who did a 9:49 in IM Florida. To all of you... whatever you've done. Congratulations on doing it and may you do many more things.

It's good to be back and I'll try to be more focussed next week.

Oh, yeah. Isn't 'Tiny Dancer' by Elton John a great song. The guy is kind of a figure of fun now but go back and remember he wrote 'Your Song', 'Daniel', 'Candle in the Wind', 'Tiny Dancer', 'Crocodile Rock', 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road' and so many others... all before he'd turned 25. I'm not sure there's anyone in recent years that's come close to that kind of output.

Told you I wasn't focussed.

Toodle pip...