The first day of my rest week. The idea is that because my body is rested, I'll be able to hit a decent average speed on the bike at the weekend. I suppose it's an experiment.
I drove in to work and back, ate whatever I liked and in the evening I enjoyed a couple of ales.
So far, so good.
Tuesday
Weight 10st 1lbs
I cycled to work and back today. The legs didn't feel any different.
Again, I allowed myself a few treats and in the evening, Lucy and I had a couple of drinks.
It was strange not going to the Tuesday night Karate session!
Wednesday.
Weight 10st 1lbs
I cycled in to work. The legs don't feel any stronger than they usually do. I went biscuit mad at work and then struggled home in a headwind. I made a chicken stir fry for the family and then drank some red wine. I staggered off to bed at 11.
Thursday
Weight: 10st 1lbs
I woke up feeling a bit crap! This 'week off' isn't doing me any good! I felt fine after the bike ride in to work, however. I ate whatever I wanted at work and had to stay late until 7pm (11 hours is enough for anyone.)
I actually felt some strength in the legs on the ride home!
Unfortunately, with the prospect of Eid and an empty classroom tomorrow, I got a bit carried away with the drinking. Lucy and I stayed up late in the back garden and I went through 3 bottles of ale and 2 large glasses of red wine! Hic!
Friday
It gets worse:
I cycled to work and back, fuelled by tons of junkfood.
I picked up Martha from the dojo. On the walk out of the club I was talking to one of the other karateka. He just happened to mention that he used to attend a deaf school. I was very shocked. He explained to me that he lip reads in the dojo and that he has always reacted to the other karateka's movement, not the instructions from the Sensei (because he can't hear them, obviously!) This man is now a 5th Dan black belt and I've been training under him since I joined Ruach in 2013. Amazing!
In the evening, Lucy convinced me to go out to the work's night out up town "for a couple of drinks." After two drinks, I suggested to the Mrs that we should make our way home. She wanted to stay a bit longer. I ended up drinking 6 pints of Guinness followed by another beer when I got home. Spannered.
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| Drinking up town: "Can I have a Flake with that?" |
Saturday
Weight: 9st 13lbs
I woke up feeling crap at about 5am. I drank a pint of water and had 3 aspirin. I woke up again at about 9 feeling marginally better. After a slow breakfast I decided to fix that dripping tap that had been annoying me for weeks.
About ten minutes later, I was trying to hold the tap in place with one hand while using my phone to call Jonnie, Sensei Gary and Sensei Tony with the other! The water was running out of the pipe, down my arm and was in danger of flooding half the kitchen. Sensei Gary gave me some valuable instructions and Jonnie rushed round to find the stopcock for me. It was Sensei Tony who saved the day: he gave up his Saturday afternoon in front of the World Cup to get under my sink with his spanners. An hour later, the sink was behaving itself and order was restored.
I don't think he reads this blog, but if he does: Thanks once again Sensei Tony!
What a way to cure a hangover!
I dropped Martha off at the dojo and went home to recover. An hour later, I came to collect her. She was at the front of a line-up using a technique Sensei Ronnie had first shown me on one of his advanced sessions. Martha was doing a great job of it too! Everyone there seemed to have been working hard for the hour and there were lots of shiny happy faces!
After the session, Sensei Gary, Sensei Tony and myself discussed potential plans for the increasingly popular Saturday afternoon session. There was talk of using two rooms at the same time or extending the class to two hours. Should the session be split by age or grade? Exciting times ahead! Watch this space, and this space.
Later on, Martha and I built a bar in the backgarden ready for the next two weekends of parties in honour of Tilly's 21st birthday. Worryingly, I had a pain in the crook of my elbow anytime I lifted something heavy.
In the evening, I stretched out on the couch with two recovery beers.
Sunday
Weight 10st 0lbs
This was it: the big test. Had six days of rest had a beneficial effect on my body? Only one way to find out: I jumped on the bike and called for Uncle Jonnie!
Disappointingly, I was still struggling. Jonnie was happily spinning away at nearly 17mph while having a chat. I was gasping out one word answers and trying to keep up. The legs felt okay, it was my chest letting me down - the fitness wasn't there. I was very glad to get to the cakestop after 23 hard-fought miles.
Strangely enough, after a sit down, two slices of cake and a hot cuppa, I was ready to give it another go. We headed off hard, determined to get up to 40 miles and put in a good performance. We had to alter our usual ride slightly to get 40 miles in before we got back to Jonnie's. I'm pleased to report that I felt a lot fitter and Jonnie said I looked like I might have another 10 miles left in me. So maybe the rest did have a beneficial effect, just not as dramatically as I would have liked.
I was on driving duty this afternoon, fetching Lucy from the NEC, so I couldn't go to dojo. I'll be glad to get back into training next week!
The most surprising thing about this week of debauchery is that I didn't gain a single pound in weight...
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