Am I cut out for this lifestyle?

It is just after 5am as I type these words on my laptop on the terrace overlooking the esplanade at Alexander Headland. Today is going to be another scorcher; about an hour ago the sun rose on the horizon to my right as I look out to sea and the heat off it is already pretty intense.

Based on past revelations it may come as a bit of a surprise to you to hear that I am not up at this time of the morning on the tail end of another huge session, in fact last night I was in bed just after 9pm, hence the early rise. The sound of the waves crashing onto the beach 100m from where I sit and the sun shining through the window providing an early wake-up call that even I don’t mind.

But why the sudden urge to write? Well, apart from the fantastic setting, which is enough to give even the most illiterate of people an urge to wax lyrical, I have been sitting here with an early morning cigarette, watching the world pass me by.

And what a world it is.

The whole esplanade is a hive of activity. It seems that half the town is not only up and awake but also exercising as if their very life depends on it. Which come to think of it, it probably does. There are cyclists, joggers (one of them pushing their kid in a pram), people walking their dogs and power-walkers.

Ah yes - the power walkers.

Dozens and dozens of power-walkers have passed me by since I took my seat here, bleary-eyed and sporting some fantastic bed hair. Me, not the power walkers. Oh no – the power walkers are the very model of fitness, frantically going from A to B with a fierce and determined manner.

As I light another cigarette, I cannot help but feel guilty at all this action before my very eyes. It’s 05:23 for Christ’s sake – way too early for all these people to have so much energy.

Moreover, this is before I even begin to talk about the swimmers, the body-boarders and the surfers.

Ah yes – the surfers.

I have just taken a head count and there are 32 of them out in the bay at the moment, with more joining by the minute. A sexy woman with a fantastic figure has just now pulled up in a 4x4 and brought her surfboard to join the party.

The guys are pretty awesome looking as well. Tanned and athletic, I am certainly feeling a little inferior in my slightly flabby Irish body. One guy of about 50 has pulled up in a battered truck and in other circumstances that would be of some consolation but even he is tanned, rugged and pretty well sculpted.

OK – that is it – I am away for a jog.

First one last cigarette, it is best not to rush these things…