Weight: 10st 0lbs
Blood Pressure: 136/67
Resting Heart Rate: 58
I cycled in to work and back, ate healthily, didn't drink any alcohol, but didn't do any exercise either.
Tuesday
Weight: 10st 1lb
Blood Pressure: 144/ 72
Resting Heart Rate: 53
I cycled in to work, didn't eat junkfood, didn't drink booze and went along to do some Karate.
Wednesday
Weight: 10st 0lbs
Blood Pressure: 131/69
Resting Heart Rate: 51
I cycled in to work. After lessons had finished, I went to join in with Mr Roger's interval training in the college gym. We did a dumb bell circuit that lasted over an hour! Mr Roger is a little older than me but has trained himself to be incredibly fit. He was throwing 16kg dumb bells around during many of the exercises he had us doing. I tried my best to try to keep up but the heaviest I could manage was 10kg for most of the techniques. Somewhere in the back of mind I knew that 10kg was still too heavy for me - the dumb bell exercises I do at home use 8kg and 6.5kg weights...
Towards the end for the circuit, I was trying to perform a set of Turkish get ups. I was struggling with the weight, my muscles already tired and shaky after all the other exercises I'd done. As I forced myself upwards I felt a familiar pain in my right arm. It seems I'd aggravated an old injury from last year.
So what did I do? I forced myself, injured, to carry on with the circuit.
Needless to say, I'd now damaged myself but I didn't yet realise quite how badly my arm was injured...
I cycled home to eat healthily and avoid alcohol.
Thursday
Weight: 10st 1lb
Blood Pressure: 137/70
Resting Heart Rate: 55
I cycled to work and back and then went out for my weekly 10K run. I returned home in a time of 64 minutes and 37 seconds. I ate healthily but did let myself have a couple of beers after dinner.
Friday
Weight: 10st 1lb
Blood Pressure: 138/74
Resting Heart Rate: 56
I cycled in to work and back.
It was grading weekend at Ruach Karate but I'm nowhere near ready to claim my black belt. Instead, I decided to do a lifting session.
I started with a set of 6 front raises using dumb bells. There was the sickeningly familiar shooting pain in my right arm, just at the top of the arm, roughly where the triceps meet the deltoid - the same pain as I had experienced during Wednesday's circuit training! After completing this set, I performed 9 barbell curls. So far so good. But when I went to complete my second set of raises, the right arm didn't want to move - it was weak and even a little numb. I swung it up to get it moving and somehow completed the set. I followed this with 9 more curls.
When I went to complete the third set of raises, the arm was useless. It felt just like I'd slept on it and it was now a 'dead arm' as we used to say as kids. I tried to think positively, to not see my muscles wasting away because I couldn't train anymore, to not see me having to wait another year before trying for black belt, but I couldn't do it. My mental strength, as well as my physical strength, wasn't enough. So I dumped the weights down and I spent the rest of the evening feeling sorry for myself.
Saturday
Weight: 10st 0lbs
Blood Pressure: 136/68
Resting Heart Rate: 54
Today, Jonnie, Roger and I were trying a new route on the bicycles. I'd spent at least two hours in the man cave this week plotting the way on Google maps. I then wrote out the directions in note form using my smallest handwriting on a rectangle of card that fits inside my cycling jacket front pocket.
The first part of the route was an abridged version of High Cross. It meant that we were approaching Snitterfield after just 13 miles. The weather was bright but cold and we had a gentle crosswind coming from the east as we headed south.
However, instead of heading into Snitterfield, we continued south. This meant negotiating the A46 - the least enjoyable section of the new route! We had to travel along this very fast and busy road for 700 metres before turning off into a country lane. It was a hair raising experience as traffic roared past us at the national speed limit! We continued south to Hampton Lucy.
Unfortunately, the roads were a lot busier than I'd anticipated. It was a Saturday after all, and it was the type of village that would attract tourists on a sunny day like today. So, mindful of the traffic, we turned west after Hampton Lucy and carried on along National Cycle Route 41.
Eventually, the traffic lessened, the lanes got quieter and we really began to appreciate the day, especially as we now had a tailwind helping us along! We had to negotiate a couple of busy trunk roads but they were worth the trouble to get to the excellent cycling to be had south of Stratford Upon Avon.
We found a bench in Lower Quinton and had some snacks.
After a brief rest, we climbed back on the bikes and headed for Binton. We kept a steady pace back up the Binton bends (achieving silver cups on Strava for our efforts!) and were glad to get to Wilmcote for hot tea and homemade cake. Unfortunately, the cakemaker was out running a jumble sale at the village hall, but I did a good job of being the waitress!
With only fifteen miles to go, we set off again at a tremendous pace. However, it was soon clear that my legs weren't up to the task and I found myself hanging on at the back. My injured right arm was now throbbing and it was an effort just to lift it to indicate that I was turning. I suffered for about twelve miles until we eventually rolled into Jonnie's drive with a frustrating 13.9mph average.
 |
| The bike said I'd completed the ride with an average speed of 14.0mph |
The verdict on the new route: it is busier than we usually like our rides, maybe we should try it on a Sunday. It was very exposed in places and a strong wind would dramatically change the complexion of the route. The lanes and scenery are quite beautiful, however!
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| Our reward after the ride. Thanks, Jess! |
In the afternoon, I built the first level of a huge raised bed in the back garden.
In the evening, the family returned to Wilmcote for dinner and drinks (although I stayed sober because I was driving.)
Sunday
Weight: 10st 2lbs
Blood Pressure: 138/67
Resting Heart Rate: 54
So now I'm putting on weight too. I can't remember what I did on Sunday but it didn't involve exercise and it did involve alcohol.
The following week, I tried to deal with the fact that I was injured again.
And failed miserably.
Suffice to say, I drank more than I should, and ate things that I shouldn't.
The first bit of exercise I did (besides cycling to work and back every day) was my 10K run on Thursday. I surprised myself by setting a faster time than I had the week before. I managed to run the distance in 64 minutes and 1 second. This is still embarrassingly slow, but still better than my previous effort!
I went along to a fantastic Friday Karate session led by Sensei Ronnie Christopher. It was all kumite based and full of useful stuff for grading.
Saturday saw Jonnie and me cycling off into a cold but sunny morning on bone-dry lanes. We rocketed down the Widowmaker (I found my descending nerve today) and chatted our way to Featherbed Lane. We got ourselves a bit confused when we reached the Mary Arden Inn: Jonnie turned right to the cakestop but I was turning left towards Luddington! It transpired that Jonnie had 39 miles in mind whereas I was hoping for a 50 miler. We compromised at 45 miles by having tea and cake and then heading home via the Temple Purity route. Riding down the Average Destroyer on Croft Lane is a lot more enjoyable than riding up it - I managed to set my English speed record today (I think) of 34.9 mph. The only place I can go faster than that is on the way back from Happy Valley in Wales.
After the Purity Brewery, things got tough. We were against the wind and the terrain was very up and down. Jonnie and I met the task head on but the best we could manage was a 13.9mph average over 45 miles. Jonnie's Strava claims he did it in 14.0mph but he obviously hasn't got it set up correctly...
In the afternoon, I finished building the raised bed that I'd started the weekend before.
In the evening, the family set off to Wilmcote to meet Laura, Carl and their two girls. Ten people and three dogs all had dinner together and watched the Masters golf tournament on TV. I was the driver so I stayed sober.
On Sunday, Lucy put me to work filling up the raised bed in the back garden. This meant a trip to Jonnie's to fill up 4 bags with donkey manure followed by a trip to B&Q for more compost. It was when I lifted the first of the 125 litre bags that I was aware of the shocking pain in my left wrist. Oh joy, another injury...
Back at home, I lifted the lot from the car and into the back garden. This time, however, I was wearing my various straps including a weight lifting belt to support my back, an elbow support and a powerlifter's wrist strapping.
In the afternoon, after walking the dogs, I attended Sensei Ronnie's advanced class. I was lucky enough to be partnered with a 2nd Dan Black Belt for the evening. The lesson was entirely kumite based and I know that everyone came away with something useful for their own self-defence. Another great session.
Yes, my injuries bothered me, but I guess I just have to get used to being injured rather than hoping my injuries will go away now that I'm in my mid forties.
I went home to watch the end of Paris Roubaix and to get slowly drunk on Cava and real ale.
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