Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 131/75
Resting Heart Rate: 53
I cycled in to work. It was a terrible day with students using racist language and threatening each other. I suspended one of my group and reported another to her head of school. There was lots of confrontation and anger.
At home, I couldn't face the idea of exercise: my head was still spinning from all the bad vibes. I made dinner for the family and drank 3 beers!
No exercise, no junkfood, 3 ales.
Tuesday
Weight: 10st 4lbs
Blood Pressure: 140/72
Resting Heart Rate: 59
Tonight's Karate session was everything I'd hoped it would be! It was a fast-paced kumite lesson with lots of cardio thrown in too! Martha and I had shiny red smiling faces - the first time we'd actually broken a sweat in the dojo for months!
Half of the lesson was actual freestyle, against adults of my own grade. Exactly what I needed! Yes, it highlighted where I need to improve but it also showed me that I can score a point or two when I'm focused and on my toes. I did take a hit to my groin AFTER yame (stop) had been called, so I was very glad to be wearing my box! My bouts were refereed by Sensei Joey who offered lots of advice and kept the atmosphere serious but not moody. A great session, just what we needed, and I hope we get a lot more like that. Unfortunately, I think the rooms we use on Friday and Saturdays are too small for freestyle.
Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol
Wednesday
Weight: 10st 5lbs
Blood Pressure: 141/67
Resting Heart Rate: 55
I cycled in to work and back. I went for a run tonight. All my various injuries seemed to behave themselves and I got round okay. However, two of the toes on my right foot were numb for most of the run. According to Strava, I ran 4 miles in just over 40 minutes. I'm happy with that pace - it's a good foundation to work on as the distance increases.
Back at home, my back was aching but I didn't have time to stretch. I made dinner for the family instead.
Run: 40 minutes, 9 seconds, no junkfood, no alcohol.
Thursday
Weight: 10st 4lbs
Blood Pressure: 140/73
Resting Heart Rate: 45 in bed, 54 after breakfast
I cycled in to work and back. Tonight's exercise was an hour of weight training. Again, not too much trouble from my injuries and I felt fairly strong. Lucy cooked up plenty of chicken and pasta.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol.
Friday
Weight: 10st 3lbs
Blood Pressure: 142/72
Resting Heart Rate: 60
I used the car today because we were in a bit of a rush after work.
Tonight's dojo session was run by Sensei Ronnie and Sensei Mark. The Friday session is now so popular, and therefore so crowded, that it's beginning to affect my performance in kata. This may not be the case for other karateka, it's just my opinion. For example, I was unable to go full speed in Jion tonight because I had to wait for other people to complete their moves so I could carry on without crashing into them. The Friday night session is done so well that everyone wants to join in! But that success creates its own problems...
Back at home, I made sure I ate healthily but I did indulge with the beer!
Karate, no junkfood, 4 tins of beer
Saturday
I woke up with a bit of a sore head and forgot to take my fitness measurements.
Lucy and I went shopping and then we headed home and I made breakfast. I had a healthy option: eggs and tomatoes on wholemeal toast.
Then I once again set about trying to get the back brake to work on the Specialized. After a wasted hour of spannering and twisting Allen keys, I took the dogs out for a walk.
Then it was time for dojo.
This afternoon's session was run by Sensei Tony. He did a fantastic job of running the young karateka through their basics with plenty of instruction about getting it right. He told them what was expected of them at a grading and the kind of things Sensei Ronnie likes to see in his students. Unfortunately, all this instruction didn't suit all of the young people there. The young man with ADHD has yet to develop his listening skills and as soon as Sensei Tony started talking he would hurl himself to the floor and pull faces in the mirrors! I took charge of this young man and tried to help him focus on his Karate. He eventually did a good job of going through some basics up and down the hall and even managed to be my partner for sanbon kumite drills.
Back at home, I continued to wrestle with the bike. I even changed the back brake completely and put on a 105 brake from the old Orbit I used to ride to college. I couldn't get that to work properly either. So I got myself into a rage, gave up and drank some beer.
Karate, no junkfood, 4 beers
Sunday
Weight: 10st 4lbs
Blood Pressure: 145/73
Resting Heart Rate: 61
I didn't set an alarm last night so I woke up 40 minutes later than I usually do. Imagine my rage...
Also, the weather was horrible - rain and wind this morning.
I climbed aboard my bike with one brake and set off into the rain.
Jonnie and I had a target of 41 miles at 13.5mph. It was hard going for me at first - I hate steep descents at the best of times, and steep descents in the wet are no fun. Today, however, I was trying to descend in the wet with only one brake! I was struggling and Jonnie had to do a lot of waiting as I tiptoed down the hills at 20mph.
I focused on giving it my all on the flats and climbs to make up for my crappy descending. However, Jonnie was going strong and was riding the wheels off me for most of the ride to Wilmcote. We got to the cakestop, wringing wet, with an average of 14.2mph.
During tea and cake it became obvious that Jonnie still hadn't fully recovered from the illness he was suffering with last week. He was aching and coughing.
The return leg was slightly longer at 21 miles. Thankfully, it had stopped raining. There was a fair amount of climbing to be done which suited me but Jonnie was beginning to show signs of fatigue. I kept the pace high and relied on him catching me on the downhill sections (he is a far superior bike handler.)
I struggled with the sharp descent from High Cross (four horses coming the other way, one of which was doing a bit of "Hi-yo, Silver! Away!" as its rider struggled to keep control, didn't help much!) but once I was in Lowsonford I knew it was uphill for the remaining 10 miles home. I opened up the taps and gave it my all.
The wind picked up which made the going tough but Jonnie and I battled through. We got home well within our target. I was chuffed!
 |
| A filthy bike with no back brake. |
In the evening, Jane and Eric came round and I had a few beers with our dinner!
Cycling, junkfood, beers
So, as can be seen from my fitness measurements, I don't seem to have made any progress over the least six weeks. As from tomorrow, I'll be tweaking the training plan to make it more effective.
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