How to Lose a Belly When You're 42 (part 6)

Monday
Cycled to work in the rain. I ate healthily all day and just had fruit and nuts for lunch. I tried to talk to my class about a healthy lifestyle - they just leaned back on their chairs and tried to sneak a swig of Fanta when I wasn't looking.
I cycled home in soggy clothes.
As soon as I got in I went for a run. I ran for 35 minutes which is better than last week.
I cooked my famous Mexican scrambled eggs with all natural ingredients. However, I couldn't resist a beer while cooking.
Went to bed early. No junkfood.

Exercise
Run: 3.5 miles at 10:06 min/mile pace.

Booze
I bottle of best bitter

Food
2 wholemeal toast with peanut butter
Glass of apple juice
Cup of redbush tea
3 cups of Earl Grey tea
Banana
Nectarine
Plum
Handful of pistachio nuts
Mexican scrambled eggs with mushrooms, peppers, onions, wholemeal tortilla and homegrown potatoes from Mom's allotment.


Tuesday
Cycled in to work.
I managed to eat healthily through lunchtime. On the cycle home, I stopped off to buy biscuits for the minister who was coming round to discuss Mom's funeral arrangements with me.
As it turns out, as soon as I started to arrange them on a plate, I found myself munching on the custard creams! So much for willpower...
After I'd told the minister all about my Mom, and he'd driven off, I put my trainers on and tried to run the experience away. I only ran 3 and a half miles but it was a fast time (for me.)
I made dinner for the family.
Later that night, when everyone was in bed, I raided the fridge for cheesecake and a choc ice!
Oh well, at least I didn't have a beer today!
No alcohol.

Exercise
Cycled to work and back
Run: 3.6 miles at 9:36 mins/mile.

Booze
None

Food
2 x wholemeal toast with peanut butter
Glass of apple juice
Cup of tea
2 x cups of coffee
Banana
Nectarine
Handful of nuts
Biscuits!
Stir fried chicken, mushrooms, peppers, onions and garlic served with white rice and noodles.
Cheesecake
Choc ice


Wednesday
Up at 6am. Had to drive in to work today. I had a healthy breakfast but then I ate absolutely nothing at work. I scoffed a handful of mixed nuts before getting the weights out for a session. I managed to lift slightly heavier than last week.
Lucy prepared a huge and tasty meal which I dispatched while watching TV. After some ironing, I picked the girls up from a party. It was after 10pm when I got home.
I sat on the couch and watched cycling while drinking 2 beers and eating cornflakes because I was still hungry!
No junkfood.

Exercise
100 press ups
100 triceps dips
100 leg raises
Front raises (8kg) 5 sets of 5 repetitions
Dumb bell curls(17kg) 5x5
Barbell curls (34kg) 5x5
barbell squats (34kg) 5x5
Deadlift (54kg) 5x5
Side raises (6.5kg) 5x5

Booze
1 bottle of ale
1 bottle of stout

Food
2 x wholemeal toast with peanut butter
1 glass of apple juice
1 cup of redbush tea
Handful of mixed nuts
2 quarterpounder burgers with green beans, homegrown tomatoes and new potatoes.
Bowl of cornflakes


Thursday
Cycled in to work.
Ate healthily all day. I intended to join the advanced Karate class tonight so I had to have dinner at work. I opted for chicken salad sandwich on some kind of brown bread from Greggs. Is that healthy? It tasted too nice to be healthy! It'll do if I don't make a habit of it...
I cycled home, jumped in the shower, jumped in the car, and went to the advanced class.
It wasn't anything like I'd hoped it to be: I was the lowest grade, I'd expected that, but what I hadn't expected was the class to be so difficult! I'd hoped to emerge sweaty, bruised, maybe even bleeding, after fighting people faster and stronger than me. Unfortunately, the class was very, very technical! I was trying to learn unfamiliar combinations at breakneck speed with my training partner Sensei Ronnie Christopher - 2 times World Silver medallist and 2 times World Team Champion! I'm sure the class was very useful to my progression as a karateka, but all I needed tonight was to hit something/someone or to get hit.
Back at home, with everyone in bed, I stayed up to watch Zulu - a film I remember Mom and Dad enjoyed watching together.

Friday
Mom's funeral today. In the morning, Lucy kept me busy with a trip to the bank, a trip to the post office and a trip to Tesco.
The funeral itself went as well as could be expected with lots of fantastic friends and family supporting my brother and me. Afterwards, I didn't feel like eating but I did feel like drinking!
I stayed up late with Jonnie, Lucy and Debbie and I drank more than I could keep track of...

Saturday
Hangover. Recovery ales and junkfood.

Sunday
Unfortunately, the second day of my hangover coincided with Tommy Godwin 100k Cycle Challenge!
Tommy Godwin was a cyclist from the Midlands who won two Olympic bronze medals in 1948. He also managed the British Olympic cycling squad in 1964. He ran a bicycle shop in Kings Heath for 36 years, and was the president of the British Cycling  Federation and of the Solihull Cycling Club who meet every weekend just three miles from my house.
He died at the Marie Curie Hospice Solihull in 2012.
The Tommy Godwin Challenge is a charity cycle ride whose profits go to the Marie Curie Hospice in Solihull.
It had been a soaking wet night and the roads were damp with plenty of standing water around when Jonnie called for me at about 7:50am. We made our way round to Nigel's to meet with him, Noel and Andy. We got to the start line far too early so had plenty of time to stand, chat and pose for photographs. Thank goodness it wasn't cold!

Nigel, me, Jonnie

Three of our group were leading from the front due to our number allocation; Noel and Andy had to start a little later. When we got going, I quickly had to get used to the sight of much faster and fitter men racing past me (including Pete May!)
The sun came out and the lanes began to dry.

On the way to Snitterfield, I had to stop for a wee (I'd been drinking loads to help with the hangover.) Nigel was ahead and Jonnie was behind. I clambered off the bike and waited a few seconds for Jonnie to come past. I asked Jonnie to catch Nigel and ask him to slow down. Then I went for a wee.
As it turns out, Jonnie couldn't catch Nigel (who is now freshly nick-named as Andre Greipel) so he didn't slow down! I managed to catch up with Jonnie but Nigel made it to the halfway point a couple of minutes ahead of us.
Noel rolled in a little later, despite starting 30 minutes after us! He had to set an average pace of 17.1mph to reach us whereas our speed was only 15.6mph at this point. Andy, very sensibly, had opted to ride with other friends!
After tea and cake, we headed back into the now dry lanes and made for Feckenham. We turned Northwards at Feckenham which meant the Astwood Bank climb! I was disappointed, but not surprised, to learn that the last few weeks' drinking and lack of sleep had taken its toll on my climbing ability. Noel sprang away up the hill but I was left spinning a tiny gear in an effort just to get up it! Oh well, plenty of training rides to come...
The ride finished on familiar roads through Ullenhall and eventually Earlswood Lakes. Luckily there was a tailwind to blow us all the way back!

Note the cornering styles: Nigel can and I can't!

We finished together and decided the most sensible form of recovery was a couple of rounds of beer back at my house. The ride home was a real struggle - the tailwind was now a headwind and we had nothing left in the legs!

In summary, Jonnie and I have decided that the Tommy Godwin Challenge is now our favourite organised rise and we intend to ride it every year for as long as we are able.