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!
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