Bondi Blues | Bondi Rescue

Part 23

With my return to Bondi came my return to training, and Jamie wasn't taking any time to ease me back in. I had morning doubles when I wasn't opening the beach, and I had a night swim, too. Jamie had even come up with the idea to have me working out during my lunch break, and he took it a step further than before - he was coming up to train me every day at my lunch break. Today was the first day of what Jamie had dubbed my 'hell week'.

I had done a couple of rescues here and there, but largely the day had been pretty quiet. For the last hour and a half, I had been up in the Tower with Bisho, Whippet, and Hoppo, and only Hoppo knew that Jamie was coming to put me through training during my lunch hour. Jamie had told me he put together a 45-minute workout so that I could have 15 minutes to resurrect myself from the dead to get back to work... This would be fun.

A knock came at the Tower door, and I wearily got up to go answer it. I already knew who it was. Jamie walked inside with his backpack full of tools for training, and I sighed heavily. I led Jamie up to the boys and said, "Boys, this is my diving coach, Jamie. Jamie, this is Bisho, Whippet and Hoppo." The boys all shook hands, and Jamie smirked, saying, "I remember Whippet... Better on the diving board than Reidy for sure."

After talking for a bit, I expected Hoppo to simply let Jamie and I go to train for my hour. Before we could leave the Tower, Hoppo said, "I've talked to some of the younger guys, and they want to get in on the action and train with you. I've already talked to Jamie, and he gave the okay. As long as you're okay with it."

I laughed out loud and said, "As long as they know they're signing up for death... Who is it?" Hoppo replied, "Whippet, Maxi, Jesse, Gonzo, and Harries." I smirked, knowing this was going to get really competitive, especially between Maxi, Harries, and Whippet. I guess that just meant I had to beat them all.

A bunch of the guys came down to where we would be training since there wasn't much going on at Bondi today. It was offseason, but it wasn't too cold outside quite yet. Jamie took us to the water's edge and began explaining the workout.

"You'll be running three laps from the north end to the south end of the beach as a warmup. After that, we'll be doing some resistance training in some of the rips, and then we'll do a dryland workout. After that, if we have time, we'll do some front and back lineups," Jamie explained, and the boys had no idea what a lineup was.

I translated: "A lineup is basically practicing your entry into the water, so you just jump off, don't do any tricks or fun things, and focus on being vertical and nailing your entry into the water."

We began the workout, and about a lap and a half in, our calves started burning. The resistance from the sand was making the run harder, and I knew that was what Jamie wanted. Whippet was keeping pace with me, and he said, "Jesus, he's really pushing you, hey?" I replied, "Yeah, I guess with Australian Olympic Qualifiers coming up, we really want to solidify my selection on the squad."

After those three long laps, we jumped in the water. Jamie had chosen Backpackers Rip as a perfect training spot, and all the lifeguards new that rip was howling today. We all knew what to do if it became too much; swim parallel to the shore and get out of the rip. For safety measures (but primarily to heckle us), Hoppo and Kerrbox sat on the ski near us.

"C'mon Harries, don't let Charlie beat ya!" Kerrbox jeered, and I saw Harries put his head down and turn into overdrive. I smirked as he paddled up next to me, and we both began pushing each other more and more. Once Whippet, Maxi, and Jesse came up near us, I pushed harder swimming than I had in a while. A wave of exhaustion and pure muscle fatigue hit me, and I was forced to go out from the rip and sit on the jetski, watching as the boys continued to try and win.

The worst part of the workout was next, and I don't think the boys knew what was going to hit them. After pushups, squat jumps, burpees, flutter kicks, planks, and another lap around the beach as a finisher, I sat on the sand as I caught my breath. Jamie remarked, "You've been training during that trip, haven't you?" I smiled up at him and replied, "Of course." He smiled back at me, replying, "That's the Charlie I know..."