Week 8 - New shoes!

Monday

Cold and frosty everywhere. I drove in to work with Lucy. When we eventually got back home, I had a motivational crisis. I made dinner for the family, drank some beer and did no exercise.

A very poor start to the week.

No exercise, no junkfood, 3 beers

Tuesday

I got up determined to do better. I drove in to work again, however. 

Back at home, I took Martha to her dog grooming course. Unfortunately, I didn't quite have enough time to fit in dinner and a weight training session before I went to pick her up again.

No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Wednesday

Another day in the car. It was actually snowing today, and bitterly cold. By the end of the day, I had an ache between the shoulder blades. Another motivational crisis at home meant another few beers instead of exercise...

No exercise, no junkfood, 4 beers.

Thursday

Weight: 10st 2lbs

In the car again, a thin covering of snow/frost on the ground. I was determined to do better today so was looking forward to doing a bit of training with the sports group in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, as I was getting changed, I discovered I had neglected to bring my trainers with me to college. I ended up being a cricket umpire for an hour.

Happily, when I got home, I set about doing an hour of weight training and even managed to get close to my personal record for the deadlift. I got on the scales after a shower and was pleased to find that I hadn't gained any weight over the last three lazy days.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Friday

Lots to do at work. Paperwork and planning for the most part. Teaching lessons is the easy bit.

After work, Martha cried off Karate but I went along and was glad to see Sensei Gary after his trip to Japan. Tonight, the class was very busy! My task was to instruct two beginners. It was hard to make myself heard over the other students and there wasn't much floor space. Later, I was put in charge of a small group of green and yellow belts to do some self defence drills.

We are moving into a bigger hall next week, I'm looking forward to it!

Back at home, I had three bowls of Lucy's lovely pasta while we watched Happy Valley. Off to bed early to read a few chapters (Terry Pratchett - Wyrd Sisters).

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Saturday

This morning, Lucy and I went shopping. I needed some new trainers for my weekly 10K run. We had a good look around on both floors of the Sports Direct shop in Shirley. In the end I had to decide between  Adidas Run Falcon 3.0 and Asics Gel-Kayano 28. The Adidas were very light, very comfortable but seemed a little flimsy. The Asics were very well put together but were a little heavier and considerably more expensive.

In the end, I couldn't decide. So I bought both.

A little later, even though it was still below freezing and there was still plenty of frost about, I went for my weekly 10K. At first, the Asics trainers were super comfortable and put a spring in my step. However, by the time I had covered 4 miles my toes were going numb. After 6 miles my toes were burning and I was struggling to keep going. I managed to get back in 64 minutes. I guess I just need to wear these trainers in a little. But my feet are a stupid shape anyway.

I watched some cricket, drank milk and ate tuna straight from the can. A shower. Then Jane and Eric came for dinner. I scoffed loads of turkey and ham pie, didn't drink beer and didn't eat any pudding.

10K run, no junkfood, no alcohol

Sunday

I got up at 7am to take Martha in to work. The roads were thick with frost. The car even had frost on the inside of the windscreen! My phone said it was -3 degrees. Proper cold.

By the time I got home, James and Jonnie had very sensibly decided not to ride. Rog was still up for it, however! He got to my place just before 10am, the frost still thick and white across the roads. We set off carefully!

Needless to say, covered in the white frost with the sun low in the sky, the countryside was beautiful. The world looked like a Christmas card.

It was pretty easy riding for the first few miles although I was reluctant to come off the brakes when descending Tom Hill. Frost isn't really a problem. The dangerous parts were when we suddenly came across sheets of ice stretching across the lane. This was nearly always near a farm or agricultural building. The water had streamed out into the lanes and then frozen solid. We took things very carefully. As always, Roger was much more confident than I. At one point, he even overtook me on a descent riding one-handed while I was clinging onto my brake levers for all I was worth!

Speaking of hands - my fingers almost instantly went numb as soon as we started. By the second mile I had lost feeling in my right hand and most of my left. I had to look to see if I was positioned on the brake levers because I couldn't feel anything. As hard as it might be to believe, my hands didn't thaw out until mile 19 - and when my fingers did start to thaw, the pain was quite something!

After the Billesley Wall, Roger shot off the front and vanished over the hills and far away. I didn't see him again until the cakestop. He said he thought I was on his wheel, but I don't believe a word of it! 😁

After some lovely cake, we set off again. This time, although bloody cold, it was a little warmer and my fingers didn't suffer. We applied a bit of effort and got the average up above 13mph. Roger seemed really strong today, stronger than he has been for a while, and it was difficult for me to make myself useful! I did get on the front a few times but I don't think I needed to!

We got back to my place after 36 miles with an average speed of 13.2mph.

With no time to spare (or eat, or shower) I found myself going for a two hour walk with Lucy and the dogs over Earlswood lakes. It was very beautiful to see the sun low in the sky over the frozen water. 

Back at home, I made dinner, did some ironing and then settled down to watch the always fascinating Happy Valley before bed.

Cycling: 36 miles, junkfood, no alcohol