TLog: Of perfume and sweat

The smell of perfume is unmistakle, especially when you don't expect it. There I was, doing my drills at the pool when the wiff of perfume caught my nose shen I rotated to breathe. And I smelt it before I could see the swimmer.

Talk about distraction. Perhaps I am just becoming more sensitive to olfactory stimulus?

I suppose we are more comfortable with the smell of sweat. The very next day, I was pedaling down coastal road when another cyclist overtook me. Usually, there weren't that many cyclists on the road at 6 am on a weekday. I decided to draft him, and came close enough to smell the sweat off him. I'll take sweat over perfume any time.

Anyhow, I increased my cadence to over 90 to build up to 30kph (at big chain ring and third largest rear gear), and went closer to 100 to overtake. At least I had the satisfaction of knowing that my speed could be achieved at that gear combination with high cadence. So the past high cadence sessions seemed to be working.

Then there's the smell of stale sweat that goes with gyms and workout machines. The handles and floor reeked of musty fetid sweat. That's me going back to the gym for weights training. Must have been months since I did weights, so started light with just three sets.