Blood Pressure: 134/91
Resting Heart Rate: 54
I cycled in to work on the Specialized and agonised over the creaking/ticking noise it's been making ever since I had the bottom bracket replaced last month.
At lunch time, I dropped it back to Scotts Cycles. Pete was on duty and he did his best to assure me that there was nothing wrong with the BB that he himself put in. I tried to convince him to check the BB because that was where the noise was coming from.
We spent over an hour fettling with the bike on the shop floor! We tightened the cones on the front wheel, and tightened the bolts that hold the chainrings on. He tightened the headset. He took the left crank off and put it back on again. We even swapped the pedals for some standard plastic flat ones in the hope of finding the cause of the noise.
Each time we changed/adjusted something I went for a ride and listened carefully for the creaky ticking noise. Each time, the noise was still there. Eventually, after more than an hour, he agreed to check his work on the BB. I had to leave the bike there overnight. I offered him beer or biscuits for his efforts but he didn't want either.
I look forward to hearing what he finds when he checks the bearings...
I cycled home on the Raleigh which had been stored at work since last week.
At home, I checked my blood pressure which gave some rather worrying results (but after last week, perhaps it's understandable.)
I went for a 30 minute sweaty run. My quadriceps were protesting mightily but I kept going.
I made a super-healthy dinner.
I sipped red wine in the quiet of the evening when everyone was in bed.
No junkfood today.
Exercise
Cycled to work and back (9 miles)
Run: 30 mins 6 seconds
Booze:
2 glasses of red wine
Food:
2 slices of wholemeal toast with peanut butter
2 cups of tea
Glass of grapefruit juice
Banana
Apple
Two mouthfuls of cold chicken breast
Mexican Scrambled Eggs: eggs with peppers, mushrooms, onions, wholemeal tortilla, and homegrown tomatoes served with potatoes from Mom's allotment.
Tuesday
I cycled in to to work. Today was a much better day with all students working hard and behaving themselves. It made me glad to be a teacher again. I tried hard at the healthy eating and my lunch consisted of fruit and nuts.
I cycled home and then headed off to dojo with Martha.
Tonight, Sensei Mark drilled us hard a for an hour - basics, kumite and kata were all covered at break-neck speed. He expected us to be giving 100% and he really let us know it!
I finished the session, sweaty, aching, hoarse and feeling a lot better than I have done recently.
Lucy made a marvellous healthy dinner - and lots of it! I actually ate all of my massive dinner and then helped myself to some leftovers.
In the evening, I prepared for tomorrow's lessons while sipping a stout and then some red wine.
No junkfood today.
Exercise
Cycled to work and back
An hour of intense karate training.
Booze
1 bottle of stout
2 glasses of red wine.
Food
2 wholemeal toast with peanut butter
Cup of redbush tea
Glass of apple and raspberry juice
1 banana
Cup of Earl Grey tea
Apple
Handful of pistachio nuts
2 plaice fillets with homegrown green beans, homegrown tomatoes, and savoury rice
1 chicken breast with more savoury rice.
Wednesday
After a disastrous day at work I was very glad to get home. I couldn't even commute on the bike today because I had to teach over at Handsworth which meant transporting bagfuls of workbooks and pens.
No time for lunch.
When I finally got home, I immediately got changed and went for a 30 minute run.
Lucy fed me Italian food and I drank a beer while we watched Bake Off.
My legs ache.
No junkfood today.
Exercise:
Run: 30 minutes 8 seconds
Booze:
1 bottle of stout
1 bottle of ale
Food:
2 slices of burnt wholemeal toast with Marmite
Apple and Raspberry juice
Cup of redbush tea
Lucy's homemade bolognese served with wholewheat spaghetti.
Thursday
Cycled in to work on the Raleigh. Another splendid day's teaching! For the last hour of the afternoon, I took the sports group to the hall and we did an intense circuit training session. The lads were shouting encouragement to each other and the energy was really high!
After the students had gone, I walked round to Scott's cycles to see about the Specialized. Pete explained that he had removed, regreased and replaced the bottom bracket and he said it was perfect. He also said that he had ridden my bike in quiet roads and he couldn't get a creak out of it! I eagerly jumped on the bike and...the creaking noise was still there.
I took it back and described the sound and how I'd noticed that when I stood up on the pedals, the sound went away. At this information, Pete suddenly brightened up. He explained that he had ridden my bike while standing up on the pedals - the seat was too low for him and he didn't want to adjust it!
It turned out to be a completely dry seat post. Pete greased the post and reset it. I rode the bike around and heard nothing more than the whirring of the chain. Bliss!
I tried to pay Pete for his time but he wouldn't have anything. I managed to force a tenner on him which he said he would put in his children's money box. What a nice chap.
Whatever I've written about Scott's Cycles before, I take it all back!
I cycled home on the Raleigh; the precious Specialized in the back of Lucy's car.
At home, it was Dungeons and Dragons night with the kids and Tilly. After I'd dropped them all home, I set up for a weight-training session. An hour later, just after 11pm, I'd finished. I'd managed to lift heavier than last week. I retired to the couch with three Weetabix because I was terribly hungry!
No junkfood, no alcohol.
Exercise:
Cycled to work and back
100 press ups
100 triceps dips
100 leg raises
Over Head Press (29kg): 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Side raises(6.5kg): 5x5
Barbell curls (33kg): 5x5
Squats (33kg): 5x5
Deadlift (54kg): 5x5
Shrugs (48kg): 5x5
Booze:
None
Food:
Cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk
Cup of redbush tea
Banana
Nectarine
2 chicken kiev with noodles and cucumber
3 weetabix with semi skimmed milk
Cup of Earl Grey tea
Friday
Cycled in to work and back.
A fighting based karate session tonight with lots of kumite techniques but also lots of standing around and listening to instructions. Didn't work up a sweat.
Home for beer and loads of unhealthy food!
Exercise
Cycled to work and back
Karate training
Booze
2 bottles of ale
Food
Cornflakes with semi-skimmed milk
Apple juice
Cup of red bush tea
2 cups of Earl Grey tea
1 chocolate biscuit
1 flapjack
2 digestives
2 x Bananas
Nectarine
Pasta with tuna, homegrown tomatoes and cucumber
Spicy pork belly with potatoes and salad with homegrown tomatoes
Ice cream
Saturday
Resting Heart Rate: 41
This morning I had to go to the funeral directors to arrange things and make the final choices. After that, I went to the bank to close Mom's bank account. I then joined Lucy at Mom's allotment where we met with some of her wonderful friends to organise the wake.
When I finally got home, I went for a run but it didn't make me feel any better.
In the evening, a fantastic mate from school and university came over for dinner. We ended up going to the pub and then sitting up way too late sipping single malt Scotch.
Exercise
Run: 30 minutes 0 seconds
Booze
4 bottles of ale
Several pints of ale (5 or 6?)
Several measures of Scotch whisky
Food
Bacon, eggs and homegrown tomatoes on wholemeal toast
Cup of tea
2 Snickers bars
Lucy's homemade chicken curry with mushrooms, green beans, poppadoms and white rice.
2 Scotch eggs
Sunday
Woke up with the hangover from Hell.
 |
| Hair of the dog... |
Didn't do any exercise. Had some aspirin. Got out of bed at about midday. Drank some beers to try to feel better. Picked at some food.
Weekly Summary:
I exercised for 6 of the 7 days
I stayed sober for 1 day
I ate healthily for 4 days
Again, a small improvement. The week could have been a lot better if the weekend wasn't so boozy. I'll give my liver a break over the next few days!
Amazing commitment! Keep up the good work!
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