A day of rest.
I've been aching a lot recently - chest, shoulders, arms and especially my back. Today, I drove in to work. After work, Lucy and I went to buy a new bed. I had no idea how expensive they are so I ended up spending £1000 over what I'd budgeted for! After that experience, I needed a beer. Which, of course, I couldn't have because I'm being Sober for October!
We went home and I made dinner for the family and then 'enjoyed' a cup of tea before bed.
No junkfood, no alcohol, no exercise.
Tuesday
Weight: 10st 1lb
I've lost half a stone since I rebooted my training on the 21st August.
I woke up feeling good. However, on the ride in to work, I collided with a flat bed truck and hurt my arm. The truck had decided to change lanes, it didn't matter that I was already in the lane it was moving in to! It forced me further and further over until I had nowhere to go and I hit the corner of the truck. My bike sprawled out on to the pavement and I ran after the truck. The driver saw me but didn't stop. I went back to get my bike. It didn't hurt at first...
When I got to work I discovered that I had a bit of swelling and some missing skin on my right arm. This damage occurred through a base layer and my rain jacket! What was worse, however, was that it had aggravated my already injured arm (the karate injury from March) which was already throbbing from building the planter on Saturday!
At the dojo tonight, Sensei Gary dedicated his entire hour to working with the 6 karateka (myself and Martha included) who will be travelling to the competition at the weekend. It was quickly obvious to me that my right arm was severely weakened and it hurt just to do a simple gyaku zuki. Oh well, at least the competition will be good experience for Martha.
Home for homemade bolognese.
No junkfood, no alcohol
Wednesday
I woke up with my arm like a dead weight. It was an effort just to move it and painful to lift my cup of tea. There's no point in wishing something hadn't happened but I can't help thinking what unfortunate timing yesterday's crash was - just before the competition!
I cycled in to work where I discovered that it was painful to write on my whiteboard!
I cycled back home, found I was locked out, cycled out to meet Martha coming home from college, and so we cycled home together.
Tonight, I went for a run. Happily, running doesn't hurt my arm at all. However, I developed a dry cough which lasted for most of the run. Also, I'm considering getting some headphones for the run so I can play music or listen to Radio 4: I get so bored on the run that I often find myself thinking about things to think about! I finished the 10K in 65 minutes 8 seconds which is slow even for me.
When I got home, Martha and I fitted our new gumshields in readiness for the fight on Saturday. Mine is uncomfortable but I have a feeling I'll only be wearing it for about 30 seconds!
Sober for October is getting a little easier - I didn't even think about a beer after the run tonight.
No junkfood, no alcohol.
Thursday
Weight: 10st 1lb
Blood Pressure: 131/84
The arm feels considerably better but is definitely still very tender when lifting anything. I cycled in to work. In the afternoon, I did a good martial-arts warm up with the Sports lads followed by two full circuits of tricep-dips, battle rope, medicine ball, skipping rope, bench steps, focus pad, heavy bag, hurdles, leg raises and press ups! Phew. Then I cycled home.
At home, I set up for a lifting session but a part of me knew it was all in vain. I managed to get through 5 bar curls but when I tried to do some dumbbell side raises, my right arm simply couldn't lift. It was too painful and the arm was too weak. Plus, you're not supposed to train an injury anyway. Right there and then I could have quite happily murdered the driver of that truck on Tuesday.
I needed a beer but I couldn't have one so I did some ironing instead.
In the evening, frustrated and angry, I let myself have a treat of some Roses chocolates and a bag of Monster Munch while watching the last episode of Preacher Season 2 - one of the silliest, most fun and sometimes beautiful series I've ever seen. (Even Hitler and Arseface escaping from Hell was shot with gorgeous colours and careful framing that made some scenes seem like a painting!)
No alcohol.
Friday
Cycled to work. A lady had brought some birthday cake in to the staffroom so that was the end of healthy eating for the day. Cycled home. Martha and I took part in Sensei Ronnie Christopher's 2 hour training session tonight. It was a great session with lots of kata and kumite. Sensei told some great stories including his best yet which involved kicking a Japanese team captain in the head causing him to stagger into his own country's flag and hang on to it to keep himself upright!
I left feeling very positive about tomorrow but Martha is still worried to the point of tearfulness. She's very brave to continue with something that makes her so nervous.
At home, with the working week done and 2 hours of training behind me, I was desperate for a beer. I had a mug of hot chocolate instead...
No alcohol
Saturday
Up at 6am ready for the competition. We met the other competitors from our club (Ruach) at the leisure centre and then we set off for the competition in Wolverhampton. It had quite a good turn-out with 120 people signing up to compete in various categories. There was a very broad range of abilities on display - fast and strong senior grades, including a lot of black belts, right down to beginners struggling to get to grips with Heian Shodan. There were a lot of nervous people today and many forgot their kata techniques - one black belt even performed the wrong kata entirely!
Martha and I both lost our kata competitions but that was because our opponents were judged to be better, not because we had made any errors.
The afternoon was all about fighting. Martha did exceptionally well and managed to score against the black belt woman who eventually went on to take the gold medal. She was happy with her fight.
I had a hard fight against a black belt who beat me in extra time but not before I had scored against him:
He managed to get some good hard kicks in which left me in pain but I didn't let him see that. I had to go outside after the fight to get some air but I was okay after about half an hour. I'm still limping now, however.
Martha, Sensei Gary, Sensei Jodi and myself awarded ourselves with pop and biscuits on the drive home!
No alcohol
Sunday
Out into the lanes with Jonnie and Nigel. My back, right arm and left leg were all aching and/or throbbing in pain but not enough to stop me riding.
It was great to see Nigel back on two wheels. We headed off on out Honiley route with our usual chatting and banter.
There was a bit of a crisis in Wilmcote due to the microwave drying out the treacle tart. Happily, there was plenty of homemade coffee cake to go around. Phew!
After cake and tea, we sped off into the lanes. Unfortunately, Nigel found his legs lacking today so he had to take it easy on the way back. I rode with him and we had a pleasant journey home in warm October sunshine.
At Jonnie's we had soft drinks even though I would have loved an ale. Nigel is also being Sober for October and is finding it rather boring!
In the afternoon, I cleaned and serviced the bike. I managed to get rid of an annoying tick that had plagued me on my ride today. After that, I went along to dojo for a fast paced kumite and kata session with Sensei Gary and Sensei Jim. Throughout the lesson, I felt bruised, battered and drained. I questioned the wisdom of training while carrying at least two injuries. Oh well, it might just toughen me up.
On the drive home, I fantasised about drinking a pint of best bitter. When I got home, I did some ironing instead...
Please sponsor me while I'm Sober for October - it's harder than all of my bike rides and runs put together!
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