How to Achieve a Black Belt in your Forties (90 days to go)

July
The final week of teaching is always fun and I think Lucy and I celebrated a little too hard.
What I do remember is that during the two-hour Karate session on Sunday I made a hash of blocking a kick and took a full-on mai geri to the tip of my middle finger.
It was shockingly painful!
I was hopping around the dojo for a minute but then decided to carry on. When I woke up on Monday morning, the finger was purple, very tender and rather swollen. A couple of people at work were convinced it was broken. I was talked into going along to the minor injuries unit in Solihull. An X-ray showed that it wasn't actually fractured. Phew. Sorry for wasting your time, NHS.

Anyway, the last day at work came and went and then on Thursday, the family jetted off for 10 days of fun in the sun in Spain!
It was a relaxing time, very very hot, and great to have a change of scenery. Martha and I even got to practise a bit of martial arts on the beach:

The beginning of kata Kanku Dai or "Viewing the Sky." It seemed appropriate.

Although I drank beer and ate ice cream every single day (we went out for a three course dinner every night!) I still only put a pound on during the time I was there. No doubt it was down to all the walking (we lived about a mile away from the beach) and swimming that Lucy and I did.

Now that I'm back, the emphasis is on training. At the time of writing, the black belt grading is only 19 weeks away...

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Oops.
The emphasis wasn't on training at all.
It's now the 26th August and during the rest of the summer break, the emphasis was on beer and ice cream! When I got back from Spain, I did go for some bike rides, went along to the dojo and even lifted up some weights every now and then. I didn't run at all. Mostly, I relaxed in the garden, played records, started sipping beers in the sunshine at about 5pm and raided the fridge on a regular basis. As a result, I am now eleven pounds heavier than I was at the end of June!
Eleven pounds!
It was a bit of a nasty shock when I realised that the black belt grading is less than 100 days away.
I restarted my training programme on the 26th August:

Monday (day 1 of 97)
Weight: 10st 11lbs
A bank holiday. I met James and Roger at the Harvester on the Stratford Road and then we cycled off into the sunshine. We set a good pace on the way down to Temple Grafton, with the steep hill (The Average Destroyer!) on Croft Lane in Haselor proving to be no problem for James. He vanished up it at a tremendous pace and then rubbed salt in the wound by waiting for us at the top!
We did a short stint on the B439 and then turned left to the bottom of the Binton climb. I latched onto James' wheel and let him drag me all the way up to the Blue Boar. As a result, I got a gold cup on Strava!
We all enjoyed a slice of homemade cake at Wilmcote before setting off back to base through Ullenhall and Tanworth in Arden.
I covered 40 miles at 14.4mph. The other chaps did more miles than me because they live farther away.
In the evening, our neighbours invited us round for drinks in the sunshine. I hadn't anticipated this at the start of my training reboot! It would have been rude to say no...
I was offered a selection of lovely dark ales in 500ml bottles and all over 6% strength. I mustered up all of my will power and instead opted for two 330ml bottles of San Miguel and sipped them slowly to make them last.
Cycling, one slice of cake, two small bottles of lager

Tuesday (day 2 of 97)
Weight: 10st 9lbs
After work, Martha and I went along to the dojo. I was pleased to find that it was Sensei Russell in charge! As usual, he did a non-nonsense, high-speed session with something for every grade. By the end of it, I had taken part in 5 sparring fights (three of which were with black belts) and performed lots of kata (including Kanku Dai.) The sweat was running off me!
Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Wednesday (day 3 of 97)
Weight: 10st 8lbs
I got up early and did a fast and light weight training session. I was having to work late today at college. I was helping with enrolment for the department. 
I cycled in to work.
I continued to eat healthily: Lucy makes wonderful lunches such as tuna pasta salad or savoury rice with vegetables. I also drink loads of water and keep nuts for nibbling at my desk.
I cycled home for a healthy dinner.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday (day 4 of 97)
After work, I went out for a 10K run. I suffered all the way around and couldn't wait for it to be over. I staggered home in a disappointing time of 65 minutes and 31 seconds which is outside of the time I set for myself this week.
10K run, no alcohol, no junkfood.

Friday (day 5 of 97)
I cycled in to to work and back.
I attended the Friday night Karate session. Unfortunately, it was a mainly standing around and watching demonstrations type of a lesson. These lessons are essential to development, but not quite what I was looking for after a day's work!
We blasted Basai Dai at the end which was good. 
Karate, no alcohol, no junkfood.

Saturday (day 6 of 97)
Weight: 10st 7lbs
After Lucy and I got back from this week's big shop, I made us a high-protein breakfast of bacon, eggs and tomatoes. An hour later, unhappy with my effort on Thursday, I forced myself to set off on another 10K run. I tried to stay on my toes as much as possible and was relieved to get round with an improved time of 63 minutes and 22 seconds - over 2 minutes faster than Thursday's time!
Martha and I went along to Sensei Tony's afternoon Karate session. We did some pad work before the lesson started (which hurt my STILL bruised and swollen finger) and I managed to work up quite a sweat. The lesson consisted of 5-step sparring for the lower grades. Martha and I were encouraged to continue our own training by concentrating on ju ippon kumite. 
I'm not quite sure what is expected of us in the grading. We went through the defences against the usual 6 attacks - oi zuki jodan and chudan and then the kicks. Sensei Ronnie has shown us several different counter attacks against kizami-zuki and gyaku zuki so we practised those too.
We were certainly working hard with both of us taking some hits and the sweat running off my head. My gi had to be washed as soon as I got home!
In the evening, Jane and Eric came over, and I stuffed my face with homemade chicken casserole with wholewheat pasta.
10K run, Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.


Sunday (day 7 of 97)
Weight: 10st 7lbs
James turned up at my house before 9am and then we cycled off to meet up with Jonnie and Roger. We set off on the Coughton Route - 48 hilly miles! As was expected, James is the strongest rider on the climbs and he set a good example today - the rest of us simply tried to hang onto his back wheel!
It was a very pleasant ride but hard work. The scenery was great, the sun was out, the chats were flowing and the day reminded us all what a great hobby cycling truly is!
We clocked up some good Strava times including gold cups along the Salt Way.
We were all very glad to arrive at the cakestop after 33 miles in the lanes at an average speed of 14.1mph..

At the cakestop. Looking forward to Ed riding with us again.

After tea, two types of cake and some more banter, we clambered back on the bikes and headed north for 15 miles of climbing.
When the route turned west, we faced a headwind. To cope with this, we took it in turns on the front - the idea was that each man takes a 10 second turn in the wind before peeling off and letting the next man through. Where it went wrong: the man on the front was going too fast, or the man on the front rode for 2 minutes instead of 10 seconds! Also, there was an incident of random braking on a descent which sent Jonnie speeding up the right side of our little peleton almost crashing into the man who was trying to peel off the front!
Despite all the problems, this technique kept the pace high and, even though we decided to tackle The Farm on the way home, we still managed to maintain our 14.1 mph average speed.
Today's ride: 48 miles at 14.1mph.
Back at home, I scoffed some chicken and vegetables while watching yesterday's Vuelta highlights.
After a shower, I headed off to the advanced class at the Tudor Grange dojo.
My legs had almost 50 miles in them and felt heavy. I made sure I gave them a good stretch before the lesson started.
Sensei Ronnie set the bar high today. He wanted the best from everyone and he really let them know about it. He demanded that we were aggressive, gave each technique 100% and that we were switched on and sharp at all times. 
It wasn't a lesson that left you feeling good about your Karate. It was the kind of lesson that makes you think about how you could improve. Sensei let us know that, as brown belts, our fitness isn't what it should be. He said we weren't aggressive enough, he said we need to think about and develop our combinations.
Some people may have come away from that session feeling bad about themselves. I came away wanting to put things right. 
My black belt grading is exactly 3 months away. I can't remember feeling more determined to succeed in anything.
At home I scoffed loads and loads of chicken and vegetables. I need all the protein and vitamins I can get!
Cycling, Karate, no alcohol, 2 slices of cake