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Sunday, January 27, 2019

How to Lose a Belly When You're 44 (part 12)

Monday
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 132/71
Resting Heart Rate: 59
I haven't lost any weight at all so far this year! I'm still the same weight that I was on New Year's Eve! I'm sure that all this exercise must be having an effect somehow...but obviously not on my belly! I'll give it another couple of weeks and then I may have to tweak the training plan if I don't see any progress.
Today I cycled my poorly bike in to work and then, at the end of the working day, I dropped it off at Scott's Cycles. Unfortunately, as well as the ruined bottom bracket, Pete the mechanic also found that my headset bearings were shot, so he has to change those too. Lucy took me home in the Multipla.
I cooked a healthy meal for the family and drank tea.
I'm still aching after all the karate, cycling and weight training at the weekend. I decided that a rest day was in order.
Rest day, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Tuesday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 155/72
Resting Heart Rate: 61
I cycled in to work and back on the horribly heavy £100 mountain bike. It was raining all the way home and I got soaked. Happily, when I got home, I received a call from Pete to tell me that the Specialized was ready!
Today's session was a mix of kihon, kata and kumite. Sensei Gary and Sensei Mark kept the pace high and, although it was too cold in the dojo to get a sweat on, I felt that I'd had a decent workout.
I went home to eat healthily and drink tea.
Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Wednesday
Weight: 10st 4lbs
Blood Pressure: 155/70
Resting Heart Rate: 60
I drove into work and then, after lessons, went to collect the Specialized from Scott's Cycles. It now has a new bottom bracket and new headset and the bike feels steady as a rock.
After making dinner for everyone I did a late night weight lifting session before meeting Martha from work at 11pm.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Thursday
Weight: 10st 4lbs
Blood Pressure: 161/67
Resting Heart Rate: 53
Convinced it was too icy on the roads to ride, I drove into work today.
Tonight, I went on my weekly run. It was cold, but not too cold. I managed to run for 29 minutes and 5 seconds without stopping. I was slow and only covered 2.8 miles. More than last week, however! The ankle felt a little week but not painful. The back held.
I hate running.
In the evening, I relaxed in front of the TV with the family and sipped a coffee.
Running, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Friday
Weight:10st 3lbs
Blood Pressure: 148/68
Resting Heart Rate: 42 in bed, 57 after breakfast
I remembered to measure my resting heart rate in bed! It was 42. According to charts I found on the internet that means I'm a "highly trained athlete." Erm...
I cycled in to work and back on the monstrously heavy mountain bike. I was hot and sweaty when I got home.
At tonight's karate session, Sensei Ronnie and Sensei Russell drilled us in some ippon sparring and then kata. I got the chance to do Basai Dai which Sensei Ronnie seemed reasonably pleased with. He said it was "quite close."
Back at home, I enjoyed the first beer of the week, followed by another, followed by a third! Hydro and Mouse provided the entertainment by dancing to Backstreet Boys and Tenacious D while I giggled into my ale.
Karate, no junkfood, 3 bottles of ale

Saturday
Weight:10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 153/70
Resting Heart Rate: 53 in bed, 57 after breakfast
I woke up with a banging head after a terrible night's sleep. I guess I'm not used to drinking much anymore and those three beers affected my sleep badly. My raised heart rate upon waking indicates how unsettled I was.
I eventually got up at about 7:30 and made breakfast for Lucy and myself.
I then shuffled around Morrison's with Lucy for the week's big shop. My head was killing me. Back at home, another cup of tea with some homemade cake went someway to making me feel better. By the time I'd had a shower and got in the car to go to the dojo I was feeling fine.
This afternoon, Sensei Gary asked Martha and me to teach! Martha was given free rein to do whatever she wanted with the lower grades. She was awesomely confident and managed to keep them entertained and training hard for the whole hour. I was seriously impressed. Meanwhile, I was working under the supervision of Sensei Gary and getting it completely wrong. I was asked to take the rest of the class through Heian Shodan and found myself going through Kihon Kata instead! I was so embarrassed. It's not easy being in front of people who are paying for a service and then find themselves being taught the wrong stuff! I tried to redeem myself when taking the class through another two kata but the damage had been done to my confidence. I was trying to remember moves in advance while correcting students and demonstrating what they should be doing. I was rather more nervous than I've been in a long while!
It brought back memories of early on in my teaching career 16 years ago when I was stumbling over my words at the front of the class, with my knees trembling so badly that I had to sit on the edge of a desk to steady myself!
I now have even more respect for the Ruach instructors (and those from other clubs I've trained with) who stand at the front of a class several times a week and make it look easy.
Once I was home I realised that I'd strained my right shoulder. I don't remember hurting myself in this afternoon's lesson. However, the pain got worse until an hour later when it became difficult to raise my head! The only comfortable position is when my right arm is hanging straight down with my head bowed looking at the floor. Hardly dignified.
Later, even a few beers and Lucy's homemade curry didn't make me feel better.
I went to bed early to try to get comfortable.
Karate, junkfood, 3 beers

Sunday
Weight:
Blood Pressure:
Resting Heart Rate:
I had a terrible night's sleep. The pain in my neck/shoulder kept waking me up. There was just no way I could get comfortable while lying down. I rolled out of bed at 7, covered my shoulder in Deep Heat, swallowed some painkillers and then climbed up on the bike.
Jonnie, Roger and I set off at 9am aiming to cover 36 miles at 13.3mph as part of our Mad March Hare training. Trouble was, the lanes were very wet and there was a howling crosswind! I struggled with the descending even more than usual. The wet lanes and the buffeting winds made me extra cautious and I only felt comfortable when climbing. By the time we got to Snitterfield, the average was a disappointing 13.6mph. I managed to lead along the Armouries until Jonnie took over on Featherbed Lane. We crawled along Aston Cantlow Road, utterly spent, at 10mph!
We were extremely glad to reach the cakestop. While we recovered, I checked the weather report: According to the BBC, we were battling against 40mph winds!


A bit windy, then?

We started off into a stiff wind and just had to keep going. Jonnie and I were glad to get behind Roger for a lot of the route back! At one point, we were caught in a hailstorm but had to keep going even though it was stinging our faces. Unfortunately, we didn't achieve our 13.3mph target but rolled into Jonnie's drive with a 13.0mph average. Although disappointed, we were still pleased with our efforts and the fact that we got up and out of the house when most cyclists would have been put off by the conditions.
I went home to clean the bike, eat leftover curry and drink beer. (The shoulder did actually feel a lot better after the bike ride and I considered going to the dojo this afternoon. However, I decided I'd better rest it, just to make sure.)

So, another week when I managed to stick to my training plan. As I stated at the start of this post - if I don't see an improvement soon I'll have to adjust the plan and make it a little stricter...






Monday, January 21, 2019

How to Lose a Belly When You're 44 (part 11)

Monday
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 155/66
Resting Heart Rate: 42 in bed, 55 after breakfast
Last night, I had a good sleep by wedging myself between two pillows. That way, the pain in my back didn't wake me up when I moved. Of course, this meant that I really struggled to get out of bed because I was so comfortable!
I cycled in to work. I was relieved to find that the student I was worried about on Friday was present in my classroom today. She said she was doing okay.
I cycled back home to cook dinner for the family and to rest the back.
No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Tuesday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 148/70
Resting Heart Rate: 43 in bed, 57 after breakfast
I cycled in to work. The morning session was awful, the afternoon session was great.
I cycled home.
My back had hurt me only once today when I was leaning over a student to check his work. I think I scared him a little bit with my sudden reaction to the pain!
I cycled home.
Martha and I went along to the dojo. Sensei Gary was in charge and, as a regular reader of Shotokan Cyclist, he wanted to know about my back. He told me not to suffer unnecessarily. I got through the gentle warm up at the start but then, when we moved onto the fast-paced kumite stuff I was aware of an ache...
I was okay working with yellow belt Matt, but when I changed partners and worked with brown belt Justin, I was put under a lot more pressure. Then I suddenly got the electric pain in my lower back and had to pull out. I gave myself a bit of a stretch and then set about supervising some of the youngsters.
With twenty minutes to go, I was put in charge of teaching Heian Godan to a new purple belt. He had never tried the kata before. He's a bright lad and got the hang of it very quickly. We performed the kata at the end of the session. He got though it okay at half speed and my back held up too!
I must admit, the ankle and back were aching after the session, in fact, I'm still aching as I type this just before bed, but I'm so glad I can train again!
Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Wednesday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 141/72
Resting Heart Rate: 54
I woke up with an aching back, but there were no sharp pains when I got up.
Today, my training plan states that I was meant to do a weight lifting session. With my back the way it is, I didn't think this was a good idea. I decided that a jog would be a more sensible form of exercise.
I cycled in to work and back and then set off for a run. I was moving a little easier tonight. The ankle throbbed and back protested but I managed to keep going for over 23 minutes. I covered 2.2 miles.
I'm getting there.
I got home to cook dinner for the family and daydream about having a glass of ale while reading comic books. Instead, I drank tea and stayed up until 10:30pm planning tomorrow's lesson.
Run, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Thursday

Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 137/68
Resting Heart Rate: 44 in bed, 56 after breakfast
I cycled in to work and back.
The back wasn't aching, but it still didn't feel right. I decided to leave the weight lifting to one side and went for another run, just in case. When I was getting changed I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My gut was protruding outwards, with the running Lycra stretched obscenely over it. I looked like one of those middle-aged men who had left things too late, desperately trying to exercise his beer belly away. Then I realised: that's because I am one.
I managed to run 2.5 miles in 25 minutes and 32 seconds. Not bad for me, slow for anyone else.
Unfortunately, after the run, I was checking the water in Tilly's car when my back pinged again. It was only a small twinge but it let me know that it wasn't healed yet.
I had a healthy dinner and, somehow, didn't sample one of the lovely ales lined up in the kitchen.
Run, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Friday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 149/73
Resting Heart Rate: 54
I didn't cycle in to work today. I had to visit two different campuses and then the post office before getting home in time for Karate. So I used a car.
I attended a long and boring meeting in the afternoon (two and half hours with no break.) To make matters worse, the tables were strewn with chocolates and biscuits. I had two satsumas and felt smug.
Tonight's karate session was run by Sensei Ronnie and Sensei Russel. Sensei Ronnie took charge of the higher grades and we did basics followed by some ippon kumite. It was good to gradually get back into things but I was disappointed not to break a sweat. However, as Sensei Paul Hexley once told me - you get fit to go to dojo, you don't go to dojo to get fit.
In the evening, we had homemade meat balls and pasta and then settled back to watch the Solo Star Wars film. It was very entertaining. I pretended to enjoy cups of tea and didn't have a beer.
Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Saturday
Weight: 10st 3lbs
Blood Pressure:155/73
Resting Heart Rate: 58
We went cycling today.
It was cold and wet when Jonnie and I set off into the lanes. Unfortunately, it stayed that way for the rest of the morning! Today's target was 35 miles of our Temple Purity route (1900ft of climbing) at an average speed of at least 13.2mph. Of course the rain slowed us down and my descending and cornering really suffered. Jonnie found himself waiting for me a number of times. What was really bothering me, however, was the pain in my right foot: I was wearing my incredibly thick waterproof socks in my rather narrow shoes. My toes were crammed in on top of each other. As we cycled up to Wilmcote, each turn of the pedal resulted in an irritating ache followed by numbness in my toes.
After tea and cake, I changed into thin socks and was instantly more comfortable.
Of course, as soon as wet set off again, the thin cotton socks filled with water and my feet were dramatically cold! I think I preferred this to the pain, however.
The wind was behind us and blew us home. We didn't have much trouble reaching the target speed and we rolled into Jonnie's drive with an average of 13.6mph.
During the ride, I was noticing a wobble on the bike. When Jonnie and I checked, we quickly discovered that my bottom bracket was shot. It was loose and wobbling all over the place. It looks expensive to me...
During cups of tea with Sally, we discussed my high blood pressure. I think it was generally decided that I do all the right things but my blood pressure stubbornly refuses to come down. I'd like to give myself a little bit longer to see what I can do about it before visiting the doctor.
In the afternoon, I went along to the Saturday Karate session. It was great fun as usual - today we were encouraging the youngsters to attack pads in order to develop their confidence and fighting spirit. I was asked to demonstrate and it was very quickly clear that my fitness was not where it was needed to be. I was tired and gasping after only 15 seconds (of course, having 35 miles in the legs didn't help.) Sensei had to use a video to show the youngsters how it should be done. Towards the end, I was put in charge of a group of five and we practised lots of techniques with plenty of spirit.
Sensei Gary then asked me if Martha and I would like to come along to an instructors' training session! (Actually, he told me that we were going to attend!) I went home to tell Martha the exciting news.
In the evening, I cooked a chicken and mushroom curry for Lucy and myself and enjoyed one or two beers! Then off to bed with the Sunday morning alarm set for 6am...
Cycling, Karate, junkfood, beers

Sunday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 162/76
Resting Heart Rate: 51
I struggled out of bed at 6am. It was quite a shock to the system - as my blood pressure shows!
2 hours later, Martha and I were at Cocksmoor Woods leisure centre for the instructors' training session led by Sensei Ronnie Christopher. We were the only non black belts there which was a little nerve-wracking. I don't mind admitting that I was a little anxious when the session started but I soon got hold of myself and started to enjoy the session. We went over the five basic kata with Sensei pointing out the differences that Sensei Dave Hazard wanted us to make. I don't like the idea of changing kata that have been handed down over decades (as Master Funakoshi urges us to "perform kata exactly".) However, the changes that Sensei Hazard has made do make sense in relation to how the body works and actual combat situations. It makes our beloved martial art functional as well as beautiful. After a thoroughly enjoyable hour of kata, we then switched to kumite. I got a little bit lost towards the end but managed to have a good go at most of the techniques. I was kindly partnered by Sensei Russel, Sensie Gary and Sensei Tony. All three of these gentlemen managed to refrain from knocking my head off during the session! I did end up taking a mawashi geri roundhouse kick to the head which resulted in a trickle of blood, but other than that I emerged from the session injury free.
Martha was brilliant.
Not only was she the second youngest there, she was also the only female in the room. I was very proud of her today. She got stuck in and gave it her all in true Karate spirit.


Martha, me, and 12 black belts!

As soon as I got home, it was a rush to get changed and go out again. Today, there was the unveiling of the Cheswick Green War Memorial. Jonnie had been chosen to give a short speech and to cut the ribbon. He was surrounded by dignitaries including the Mayor. He did a fantastic job and made the entire family very proud.
We retired back to the village hall for tea and sandwiches and then back to Jonnie's place for some beer.
I drank one beer with Jonnie and then walked home in the bitter cold. Once thawed out, I set about a weight training session before Jane and Eric came round for dinner.
Hydro was there too, on the scrounge for free food as usual.
Needless to say, I indulged in a few more beers and some pudding!
Karate, weight training, junkfood and alcohol





Sunday, January 13, 2019

How to Lose a Belly When You're 44 (part 10)

Monday
Weight: 10st 7lbs
Blood Pressure: 144/69
Resting Heart Rate: 46 in bed, 59 after breakfast
I actually put weight on last week! I'm not worried, though. I have faith in my training plan - it just requires some persistence and patience.
I cycled in to work and back.
Tonight, I did a good lifting session before making a beef stir fry for the family.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Tuesday
Weight: 10st 7lbs
Blood Pressure: 137/69
Resting Heart Rate: 61
I forgot to measure my heart rate when I woke up.
I cycled in to work in a very strong head wind. I could barely get the bike above 12mph.
The ride home was much faster!
The family has had some terrible news this week, so the five of us made our way up the road to be with Jonnie and Sally. Of course, this meant no training and plenty of alcohol!
No exercise, no junkfood, 5 beers

Wednesday
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 144/70
Resting Heart Rate: 45 in bed, 59 after breakfast
I woke up with a headache. I managed to measure my heart rate before sliding out of bed.
I cycled in to work in the cold. I cycled home from work in the cold - my fingers were going numb!
Once I'd warmed up, I did a weights session for an hour followed by a bit of stretching.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday
Weight: 10st 7lbs
Blood Pressure: 152/70
Resting Heart Rate: 55
I forgot to measure my resting heart rate when I woke up.
I cycled in to work and back.
Tonight, I went for a run. I managed to run for over 20 minutes without stopping. My ankle started aching after about 11 minutes so I limped back as best I could. I was slower than last week but at least I managed to run for longer. Slow but steady progress.
In the evening, I managed to cook a healthy dinner for the family and resist alcohol. I tried to convince myself to go to bed at 9:30 but I was too wide awake. I stayed up a bit later playing video games.
Run: 20 minutes 36 seconds, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Friday
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 148/71
Resting Heart Rate: 58
I cycled in to work. I had to stay really late at work to help support the safeguarding team with one of my students who was having trouble at home. We called the police at 12:30 but by 6pm, when the college was being locked up, they still hadn't arrived. The student refused to go to a police station so we had to send her home in a taxi. I'll be worried about her all weekend.
I cycled home feeling angry and helpless.
I was getting changed to go to pick up Martha from the dojo when disaster struck: I put my back out bending down to get a t-shirt out of a drawer! Then when I tried to stretch it out, I pinged it again.
I hurt it a third time when I was getting out of the car. The worst was when I got to the dojo: there were no seats at the edge of the room so I had to stand. My back got worse and worse and worse...
I got home feeling pretty low, sat on the couch wearing my weight lifting belt as tight as it would go and then drank most of a bottle of red wine!
No exercise, no junkfood, bottle of red wine

Saturday
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 152/72
Resting Heart Rate: 62
I woke up with a horrible head and aching back at 4am. After some aspirin I tried to get back to sleep. I crawled out of bed at about 8:30. My back was still really tender.
Lucy, Tilly, Martha and I went over to see Jane and Eric. Lucy went to get some shopping for Jane who isn't well, and I cleaned the kitchen.
My back was aching the whole time but I'd convinced myself it was felling better.
Martha and I were determined to get to the dojo this afternoon. Before jumping in the shower I tried a few basic Karate techniques but it was hopeless - there was a sudden electric pain in my lower back whenever I tried to move into a technique. Oh well, I went along to the dojo as an observer while Martha trained. At least I got a seat this time.
I got home for a huge but mainly healthy dinner and to resist alcohol (which I found really difficult!)
I just hope my back lets me ride in the morning.
No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Sunday
Weight: 10st 7lbs
Blood Pressure: 159/70
Resting Heart Rate: 62
Yes, I'm worried about my blood pressure.
My back was better this monring. I took it very slow and easy and slid out of bed. So far so good!
When I got on the bike I found that spinning along in a mid-range gear was fine. The problems were when I had to slow down and then get going again. So I dreaded junctions - the acceleration needed to pull away put pressure on my back and then the electric pain would come. Oh well, people suffer with worse.
Today's target was to ride 40 miles at 13.1mph. It was a very windy day! Jonnie expressed some concern and didn't think we'd be able to hit the required average speed. He was suffering with a painful hip to go with my aching back. Roger, the oldest of the three of us, was cruising along nicely!
At Snitterfield we turned into the wind. I dragged us along The Armouries, doing everything I could to keep the average above 13mph while trying not to destroy my back. After crossing the A3400, Jonnie took over for the Featherbed Lane section. The lads had to wait a bit for me as I'd emptied my tank along the The Armouries, but Jonnie set a good pace and by the time we rolled into Wilmcote we had an average speed of 13.4mph.
After filling up with tea and cake, we tried to set off for the return leg. Unfortunately, Roger had punctured! He did a great job of replacing the inner tube on his rear wheel while Jonnie and I helped by watching him.
Back in the lanes, we found that we were going well, better than we had expected. Roger was very strong and his turns at the front were very useful indeed. By the time we climbed up into Tanworth it was obvious we were going to get back in time to reach our target average. I took the effort out and rolled the last three miles at a relaxed pace. We got back to Jonnie's place with an average speed of 13.6 mph. There's still lots of work to do but an average like that in these headwinds is encouraging.
Back at home, I walked the dogs, had lunch, did the washing up and some ironing. Lucy made a wonderful lamb dinner followed by apple strudel and ice cream! I even managed to find a few leftover Christmas chocolates!
Although sorely tempted, I managed to avoid alcohol.
Cycling: 40 miles, junkfood, no alcohol.

So, this week was still within my training plan but the bad back stopped me from attending any martial arts sessions. I hope I'm fighting fit next week!




Thursday, January 3, 2019

How to Lose a Belly When You're 44 (part 9)

Christmas went as expected: great fun with family and friends, staying up late, eating terribly unhealthy foods and drinking loads of beer and red wine!
So I 'achieved' the expected result - a fat belly and little energy. I did manage to go for a highly enjoyable Christmas Eve ride with Fast Ant followed by a equally splendid outing with Jonnie and Roger a week later.

But now, it's time to get serious. I have two very clear goals in 2019: to prepare for both the Mad March Hare and the Tommy Godwin Challenge (they are only a month apart this year) and to achieve my dan grade (black belt) in Shotokan Karate.

My training plan is based around healthy eating, cutting down on booze and trying to exercise every day. Of course, I will allow myself some slack each week so I can relax and socialise, but I know I won't achieve my goals with the lack of willpower I displayed last year.

Onward and upward...

Monday 31st December 2018
Lucy put me to work as soon as I'd had my breakfast. We set about wrenching up the decking at the back of the garden. This involved 90 minutes of sawing, lifting and heaving with a crowbar! Needless to say, by the end of it I was sweating heavily and very aware of my lack of fitness.
I measured my stats when I finally had a sit down in the man cave:
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 146/79
Resting Heart Rate: 73
After this, I went off and did 16 miles on the bike at a 14.1mph pace.
Later in the evening, Lucy and I went to visit the next door neighbours to celebrate the New Year. Obviously, this involved unhealthy foods and beer!
Cycling, junkfood, 5 beers

Tuesday 1st January 2019
Happy New Year!
I woke up without a hangover which was rather nice.
I didn't find time to do my stats this morning.
However, I did find a video from Strava which showed my training activities for 2018:



Obviously, the 81 days of activity mentioned in the video only refers to cycling and running. I don't use Strava to record my weight lifting or Karate sessions. I've been active for more than just 81 days of the year!
Jonnie, Sally, Lucy and I took the dogs for a walk over the Clent Hills. Then we went back to their place and only iron willpower helped me to politely refuse the offer of a beer! I pretended to enjoy tea instead.
Back home, I did 50 minutes of sawing up bits of decking until my arms were aching. After a healthy lunch of tuna (protein!) I did a weights session. I didn't do any leg exercises. It's leg day on Thursday. But I did do barbell curls, overhead presses, shrugs, side raises, front raises and isolation curls. Along with 300 body weight exercises! Phew. I was glad to get my breath back and do some stretching afterwards.
I spent the rest of the evening not eating junkfood, not drinking alcohol and trying not to feel smug.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday
Weight: 10st 7lbs
Blood Pressure:147/75
Resting Heart Rate: 63
I'm the heaviest I've been since September.
I spent another hour in the garden with Lucy and Jane. I tore up the last of the decking (yay sledgehammers!) and then set about sawing it up.
After this, I jumped on the bike and did 20 miles at a 14.1 pace. I came back red -faced and happy.
For the rest of the day I got on with some eBay stuff, did some marking and made a healthy dinner for the family.
Cycling, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday
Weight: 10st 6lbs
Blood Pressure: 142/75
Resting Heart Rate: 46 in bed, 61 after breakfast.
Today, I measured my heart rate as soon as I'd woken up, as opposed to after breakfast. It made a big difference! After marking some work, I walked the dogs. It was so cold that my hands went numb. And I was wearing gloves!
After another healthy lunch (tuna again!) I did some housework and then set about lifting weights. I was feeling strong so I went for it hard. I was even seeing stars when I put down the bar after some deadlifts! I did a bit of stretching after the hour of lifting.
I had a healthy dinner and drank lots of tea and water. I took Tilly to a pub quiz in Shirley and then collected her 2 hours later. So I had no choice but to stay sober tonight.
I went to bed to read Jaws and then, predictably, dream that I was being hunted by a shark.
Weight lifting, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Friday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 142/81
Resting Heart Rate: 68
I forgot to measure my resting heart rate when I woke up. I'd slept for over 8 hours which is a long time for me.
There's still no Karate training this week so I did another weight lifting session today. I felt very strong doing deadlifts this morning. After an hour of lifting, and then a bit of stretching, I had tuna, wholewheat pasta and green beans for lunch while watching a documentary about Ronnie Coleman.
Then I went for a walk with the dogs. It was very cold!
I spent the afternoon doing little jobs like ironing, marking and parcelling up stuff for eBay. Lucy went out for dinner and the girls went to the cinema.
I had plaice, wholewheat pasta and green beans for dinner and then treated myself to some beer while playing video games!
Weight lifting, no junkfood, 3 ales.

Saturday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 135/72
Resting Heart Rate: 46 in bed, 60 after breakfast
So, I let myself have a bit of cheat day today. I enjoyed a few leftover Christmas chocolates and some mince pies after shopping with Lucy.
This afternoon, I went on my first run since I twisted my ankle back in the second week of October.
The left ankle did hurt, and it made me limp. This also caused a pain in my left knee and, for some reason, my lower back on my right side.. After 1.6 miles I'd had enough. But I'm pleased I'd managed to make it that far. Obviously, next week I'll be looking to improve on this distance!
Lucy made a fantastic curry in the evening. Jane and Eric came to join us and we had cheesecake for pudding!
I did, however, manage to avoid alcohol and got to bed early.
Running: 17 minutes, 5 seconds, junkfood, no alcohol.

Sunday
Weight: 10st 8lbs
Blood Pressure: 148/75
Resting Heart Rate: 54
I forgot to measure my heart rate when I woke up.
By 9am I was round at Jonnie's house with Roger and the three of us set off into the lanes for the first ride of our Mad March Hare training. We were tackling the 35 miles of our High Cross route with a relaxed target of 13.0mph average speed. We found ourselves going well and kept the average above 14mph as we headed into Snitterfield.


The plan: it's all organised.

The lanes were incredibly busy with cyclists and runners. I would say the only other time I'd seen the lanes this busy was in 2012 when everyone was feeling the Wiggo effect.  There were clubs tearing through the lanes in peletons and as well as red-faced blokes on steel mountain bikes. There were also lots of middle-aged ladies in running tights jogging along too! It was fairly obvious to tell the regular exercisers from the New Year Resolutioners! 
There was excellent cake to be had at the cake stop before heading out for the remaining 15 miles up hill. The weather was beautiful, the lanes were dry and the sky was blue!
Unfortunately, Jonnie has recently become a lager lout and had spent last night drinking his fill of 'wife-beater' at a friend's house. He wasn't his usual sprightly self on the return leg of our trip. However, we still got home well within our target with a final average speed of 13.7mph.
Well done chaps!
This afternoon, I was treated to a bowl of last night's curry before being put to work building a massive IKEA wardrobe. This monstrosity took OVER THREE HOURS TO BUILD and fix to the wall! By the time it was done it was 7 o'clock and definitely time for a beer!
Cycling: 35 miles @ 13.7mph, junkfood, 3 beers

So, the first week of training is complete. I did indulge in beer and also some sugary treats. However, most of the time I stuck to a healthy diet and I did manage to exercise every single day. We're back at work tomorrow - lets hope I can stick to my training plan!