Week 17 - Mad March Hare 2023

Monday

I cycled in to work and then home. My legs and lower back were aching after yesterday's efforts.

I listened to my body and didn't lift any weights this evening.

No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

I cycled to work and back. I did an hour of weight training.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

I cycled to work and back. I did an hour of weight training. 

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

I cycled in to work. I did some fantastic cricket umpiring with the sports group and bowled a couple of overs (no wickets this time!) After work, I had to collect the race numbers for the lads in preparation for the Mad March Hare on Sunday.This meant riding to Kings Heath to collect the rider packs from Gorilla Cafe on Drayton Road. I was riding my enormously heavy mountain bike and it was pouring down with rain. The chaps at the cafe were very nice and even offered me a free beer while I waited (I declined of course - training!) I then struggled home in rush hour traffic in the rain. I was completely soaked when I got home. I then got stuck into an hour of weight training.

In the March Hare goodie bag, along with my race number, I found some hand warmers, a sticker, an old medal from 5 years ago (!?),  Vaseline, anti-chafe cream, and out-of-date coffee.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Friday

We drove into work today. Back at home, I took Lucy, Dodgy and Martha to the leisure centre where they went off to do different things, and I went to the dojo. Sensei Ronnie was in charge and he worked us on higher-grade combinations as well as spending some valuable time going over Hangetsu.

Home for two huge bowls of beef chilli before collecting Lucy and Dodgy at the train station. 

I was in bed by 11!

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Saturday

I made myself get up at 6. I will have to get up much earlier tomorrow. It was a bright, sunny, windy day. After muesli for breakfast, I went along to Halfords for brake pads and over shoes and then to Lidl for beer!

I worked on the bike in the sunshine - I degreased the transmission, re-lubed it and then set the new brake pads. After this it was time for second breakfast - bacon and eggs!

I walked the dogs in the park and got talking to a older chap whose dog wasn't very well. He was thinking about having his dog put to sleep and it was hard for him to talk about it. We chatted for the entire walk and it turns out he got to brown belt in Karate! He likes football but finds test cricket boring. I hope I get to talk to him again and I hope his dog gets better.

Home for fishcakes for lunch.

Ironing followed by Karate. I was the instructor in charge and we did some fast-paced basics followed by Tekki Shodan with some partner drills after that. We finished with some pad work.

Back at home, I had an early dinner of two bowlfuls of beef chilli. 

The weather report for the MMH is looking astonishingly bad: 90% chance of rain all morning with winds of up to 13mph. 70 miles with 5000ft of climbing in those conditions is rather daunting. I hope I can sleep tonight!

Karate,no junkfood, no alcohol

Sunday

I slept fine! Up at 5:45 (which, because of the clocks going forward this morning for BST, felt like 4:45.) The forecast was still atrocious so I cycled up to Jonnie's place wearing three tops under my rain jacket, two pairs of tights, overshoes, a scarf, thick hat, and two pairs of gloves with hand warmers. It was raining.

As always, Roger and James were there before me. We set off in our small convoy to the car park. The chaps set about putting their race numbers on while I stayed in the warm of Jonnie's car! At the start, Roger and I discussed taking some selfies but decided the fuss of taking off two pairs of gloves to work the camera simply wasn't worth it. I regret this now because we didn't actually take any snaps during the whole day.

We set off into the rain. James had studied the route and warned us about steep gravely descents in the rain early on. This put me in a cautious frame of mind and my descending, which is normally bad, was awful. Of course, every time the lads streaked ahead on the descents, I had to work harder to catch up with them afterwards. It soon took its toll!

Amazingly, the rain didn't last very long and the roads began to dry out. I still found I was overly cautious on the downhills and was frustrated with myself at the bottom of each one - I could have gone a lot faster.

As always, I enjoyed the climbs. My favourite was the Kinver climb past the gun club. I find I can keep a steady pace up a long climb and enjoy sailing past all the people that whizzed past me on the descents. It was a busy climb and I got separated from the lads early on. I tried to wait at a sensible average pace, but still enjoyed myself. 

A picture I stole from the photographer's website. It shows one of the rare moments on Sunday when I seem to be enjoying myself.

The big problem of the day was my back brake. I thought the pads were okay when I checked them yesterday, but they wore through extremely quickly today. They were worn to the point where they started to eat into the rear wheel. The wheel has been clicking and grinding away for months now. I decided that today would be its final ride. I had to keep using the brake although I tried to rely on the front as much as possible. To top it all, the back brake made a hideous grinding noise that let every rider in earshot know that I was killing my back wheel!

Eventually, we got to the feed station. There was a disaster when James and I got to the front of the queue: they ran out of boiled water! We stood around for about 5 minutes until we were told it would be a while yet and to come back later for coffee. By this time, Jonnie had scoffed his sandwich and was dispatching a flapjack or similar. I started in on a bag of nuts and a banana but soon found that it was time to go... I felt okay at the time, but this would spell disaster later on.

The rest of the day was spent negotiating a few more climbs until we found ourselves on a long flat section. Unfortunately, I had to stop for a few minutes because of cramp in my left foot. We got to the last big climb of the day - The Holloway. This 7.4% climb, after 65 miles of riding, was enough to splinter our little group immediately. Each man entered his own private world of suffering as he did battle with gravity armed only with his aching limbs and his determination. I did my best to settle into the pain and turned the pedals. My largest rear sprocket is a 25, which doesn't normally bother me, but today I would have benefited from a larger ratio with which to tackle this hill! At the top, stationary riders were strewn across the road eating jelly babies. I got a little frustrated at the hold up and grumpily refused the offer of the sugary sweets...A decision that would cost me dearly in a few minutes time.

After the Storrage descent, James and I decided to wait at the bottom for Roger and Jonnie to join us. We didn't have to wait long until we were off on the final 4 miles.

And this is when the Man with the Hammer struck.

The Hunger Knock, or the dreaded 'bonk' is where a cyclist (or endurance athlete) simply runs out of energy. I hadn't eaten enough to fuel myself to the end of the ride. As I tried to set off with the lads for the final 4 miles I suddenly, very suddenly, found it almost impossible to lift up my head. The hunger pains in my stomach were becoming nauseating, and my breathing was now ragged gasps, last experienced when I was recovering from COVID for the first time. The legs were the worst - they felt like empty alien things, belonging to someone else. I found it incredulous that, after 3 months of solid training, I had felt relatively strong for 66 miles, to then almost collapse in the last 4. By mile 68, I was seriously, SERIOUSLY, considering pulling over to sit in a hedge and eat whatever I had left in my back pockets. With only 2 miles to go the lads were straining at the leash to get over the finish line, whereas I could barely get the bike above 10mph. It was at this point where I had to use my secret weapon - my father died 8 years ago on this date, the 26th of March. I made myself imagine what he went through that day and it immediately made me realise how insignificant my sufferings on the bike really were! It was then quite easy to find the mental strength to keep going. And as always, we looked after each other - Roger and James took it in turns to nurse me to the finish line. 

As soon as we stopped, I started to shake. My arms and legs had pins and needles, my hands were numb, and it was only sheer force of will that enabled me to get my phone out of my back pocket to stop Strava. Unable to zip my jacket back up, unable to stop shaking, unable to speak, I wobbled off towards Jonnie's car, hoping that the lads would follow me. Of course they did.

Jonnie drove me home while I munched a chocolate brownie and sipped the last of my water. I already felt ten times better before I walked through the front door.

The rest of the day was given over to debauchery - beers, homemade curry and puddings! My neighbour Luke came and joined me to take over when Jonnie and the chaps went home!

In summary - this was the third longest March Hare we have ever ridden and certainly the one with the most climbing. There was 2000ft more climbing compared to the days when the Hare went to the Cotswolds! It was one of the hardest rides I've done, maybe even the hardest. My three riding companions out rode me easily, with Roger the fastest man in his age category! No doubt, we will ride the MMH again, but now even getting back on a bicycle seems like something I may not do for a while...

Cycling: 70.1 miles with 5644ft of climbing, junkfood, loads of beer

Week 16 - Working as a Team

Monday

I woke up tired and unmotivated after a bad night's sleep. There were howling winds in the morning so it didn't take much for Lucy to convince me to use the car for work today. For some reason, only half of my class made it to college. It was a quiet lesson.

Back home to cook dinner for the family and to do an hour of weight training. The right trapezius muscle is still sore, but not enough to stop me lifting.

Weight training, no junkfood, no booze

Tuesday

I cycled in today. It was cold but I was wearing several layers. Only my fingers suffered.

I wasn't much of a teacher today - I did my best, but both apostrophes and probability remain mysteries to most of my students.

I cycled home for a shower and then Martha and I headed off to the dojo.

It was a slow, stop-start session at the deep end. I enjoyed doing kata, but because we had a little trouble hearing/understanding the instructor in charge, we ended up performing Bassai Dai wearing our sparring gloves! We finished with a tiny bit of attacking/blocking practise but it was over far too soon.

Karate, no junkfood, no booze

Wednesday

I cycled in to work, I tried to inspire young people, I cycled home.

I did an hour of weight lifting which left my neck and shoulder muscles aching mightily, then I made dinner. I watched Narcos, did some work on my eBay and then read some Terry Pratchett in bed.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

At college, I did a warm up with the Sports lads, played a bit of football in goal and then umpired some cricket. Tonight was another night of weight training. 

I had 3 beers with my dinner!

Weight training, no junkfood, 3 beers

Friday

I cycled in to work and back. I decided not to go to the dojo in favour of this week's 10K run. It was a strange run tonight - I absolutely hated it as usual, but it didn't seem to completely drain me as other runs do. I managed to hobble around in 63 minutes and 42 seconds. Still desperately slow by anyone's standards.

After a shower, I felt it necessary to refuel with three bottles of ale...

10K run, no junkfood, 3 beers.

Saturday

In the morning, Mouse, Marth, Lily and I went bowling!

Lily won the first game and I won the second. It was a very nice time, especially as I managed 3 strikes in a row to get a total of 141!

At the dojo, I was the instructor in charge. I had a great time working with the young people, and I even subjected them to a 60 second lecture about Master Funakoshi and the need for respect in the dojo. We did some basics followed by kata followed by pad work. It felt good and I hope the students come back next week.

Once again, I ended the evening by sipping some beers with dinner!

Karate, no junkfood, 3 beers

Sunday

Our final bicycle ride before the Mad March Hare. Today's target was The Coughton Route: 54 miles with 2500ft of climbing at an average speed of 14.0mph.

We got it right, right from the start. We worked together for the whole ride, putting the strongest riders on the front and making sure everyone was at a pace they could handle while keeping the pressure on. As usual, my descending was my weakness, but I felt I was useful on the climbs. For the first 33 miles, I was having trouble keeping the bike in gear. When we got to the cakestop, Roger and I set about examining my rear derailleur - the ten year old part had finally become loose and there was no way to tighten it up (I looked it up later that day - the only solution is a replacement.) I dialled in my gears as best I could and I'm pleased to report that my transmission behaved itself for the last 21 miles. There was some discussion about replacing the derailleur before the MMH next week, but I decided to leave it now that it was working properly again (sort of.)

Back as base (Jonnie's place) we agreed that this was the first year of MMH training where we had managed to achieve the target average on every ride. I'm convinced that this is because we are all working together as a team this year.

I scoffed some lunch, walked the dogs with aching legs (mine, not the dogs') and finally cracked a beer.

Cycling, junkfood, 3 beers.

This week could have been a great one for training were it not for the fact that I consumed a total of 12 bottles of beer! Must do better...

Week 15 - Snow!

Monday

I drove to college today. I was a bit of a grumpy rubbish teacher and was glad to get home to lift up some weights while blasting out some heavy metal on the stereo. I made dinner, watched The Last of Us, and read a book in bed.

Weight training, no junkfood, no beer

Tuesday

A cold ride in to work. My fingers were starting to go numb by the time I reached the college. I had a decent day's teaching - better than yesterday anyway. I cycled home, jumped in the shower, and then Martha and I went to the dojo.

Sensei Mark was in charge tonight and he was in no mood to mess about! After a very active warm-up by Martha, Sensei Mark had us throwing punches with an opponent. I was lucky enough to work with Sensei Joey and Sensei Jason - two blokes who like to take things seriously. We did a fast-paced line up and then some more partner work up against a wall. All good fun. It was nice to go home with a few bruises on my arms - it reminded me of the old days with Sensei Jodi. We even talked about Jodi on the way home. I miss training with that guy.

At home, I scoffed two massive bowls of homemade chicken curry and watched The Mandalorian with the family. What a good evening!

Karate, no junkfood, no booze

Wednesday

Lucy has a really bad back at the moment. It got worse throughout the day. We made it to work and back, but she was in a lot of pain when she got home. I walked to the shops and then made dinner. I didn't have enough time to get any weight training done today.

No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

Snow everywhere! Lucy wasn't well enough to go to work. I drove very slowly and carefully through the snow blizzard to get to college. The car skidded on the A34 three times under braking. It was a bit hair-raising (if I had any hair.)

It was meant to be my desk time this morning but I had to cover for staff who couldn't make it to college. I played football with the sports group and we were all very surprised at what a good job I made of keeping goal! For the last 48 years, I've always been completely useless at football, until today!

Back at home, Lucy was well enough to make a wonderful dinner while I walked the dogs and then got some weight lifting done. There is still pain in my right trapezius muscle, but it's not bad enough to stop me training.

I decided to have a night off and drank some beers while watching The Walking Dead!

Weight training, no junkfood, 3 beers

Friday

A very cold and snowy morning. I stepped outside the front door to take some photos:

Lucy and I made our way in to work (the car twice skidding alarmingly). Only one of my students turned up, so it was a very quiet day in my classroom.

Back at home, I cycled down to Halford's to get a new chain for my bicycle (the one I had ordered online had not arrived.) Then I wrapped up warm, went to the garage and set about stripping the transmission (chain, cassette, rings) from the Specialized.

I went along to the dojo tonight. At first, Sensei Jason was in charge. We went through some complicated combinations until Sensei Gary took over and had us doing some much needed kihon ippon kumite drills with partners. I worked with Sensei Jason who likes to go hard when practising techniques. It was good to work with someone who keeps me on my toes!

Back at home, with a couple of new bruises, I poured myself a beer and enjoyed my dinner!

Karate, no junkfood, 3 beers

Saturday

Back in the garage to continue working on the road bike.

New parts!

I love fixing bicycles. The first thing I did was to clean the Specialized from top to bottom. I was wrapped up against the cold so I took the bike outside and gave it a thorough wash with a bucket, sponge and toothbrush. I used some degreaser too. When it dried, it was simply a matter of attaching the rings and then cutting the chain. Once the chain was at the right length (thanks Park Tool on YouTube!) I cut it and then fixed it in place with the connecting pin. Then a polish with Muc-Off Protect and Shine. From a distance, my 9 year old bike looks almost new!

Some lunch, followed by ironing, followed by Karate!

Sensei Gary had asked me to run the Saturday session. Sensei Jason was there (a higher grade) but he kindly encouraged me continue with my lesson plan. The first thing I did was to explain to the group about Master Funakoshi and how he set rule number one for Karate: it begins with respect. The reason for this was I had noticed that purple belts and brown belts were shuffling into the dojo without bowing, and they were in no rush when asked to line up. I let them know that this needed to change.

After that, we did a warm-up followed by basic kicks up and down the hall. Three kata to follow, and then we ended the session with pad work - mawashi geri and enpi strikes. 

I hope the young people got what they wanted from the session - I sometimes think I may be too strict with them. I can't seem to bring the sense of fun that Sensei Gary can deliver to a lesson.

A bit later, I collected Mouse and Nana Jane from the train station. We had a lovely chicken and potatoes dinner. Lucy and I watched some more Narcos on TV and I didn't drink any beer.

Karate, no junkfood, no beer

Sunday

Up at 7. On the bike with the chaps at 9. Today's target was 50 miles with 2500ft of climbing at a minimum average speed of 13.9mph. That was quite challenging enough, but we also had wet roads and a 15mph cross wind to contend with!

I was a bit of a rubbish team mate to start with. I kept getting distracted and wandered off the front a few times. After a few miles, I refocused and did my best to make sure we were riding as a team and looking after each other.

It was a good ride. We worked hard, we left no man behind, and no one went off on a solo break away. We were totally focused on the target and worked accordingly. The only downside to working this hard is the lack of chatting, the absence of banter. I look forward to the rides after the MMH when we can ride along at a relaxed pace and have a chinwag!

At the cakestop, we had a choice of two cakes - chocolate or lemon. All of us chaps opted for a slice of both!

There were loads of floods about today so eventually we all had wet socks. Also, there was one point where I was on the front and took a wrong turn, and only Jonnie noticed! He quickly put us back on the right track.

We finished more or less together with an average speed of 14.0mph, a little above our target. We all went home feeling satisfied with a hard 4 hours in the saddle.

Later, I ate loads of food, watched some cricket, did some college work, ate loads more food and drank some beer!

Cycling, junkfood, 3 beers

Week 14 - Riding as a Team

Monday

Back to work!

I cycled in this morning. I thought it was colder than it actually was, I put on too many layers, and was sweating heavily by the time I cycled the 4.6 miles to college! The cycle home wasn't as bad - I left off my balaclava!

At home, I set about doing some weight training for an hour before having dinner with the family. It was nice to have Tilly with us too.

After the washing up, I sat down to wrap Mouse's birthday presents while watching the final day of the New Zealand/England test. I went to bed at 11pm but found myself dreaming about the cricket! I woke up regularly to check the score until Lucy and I ended up watching it at 3am! It was so disappointing to see England lose by 1 run - it even hurts to write about it now...

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

I woke up very, very tired... Lucy convinced me to go to work with her in the car.

We got back home to see Mouse on her birthday. She opened her presents and then went off up town with her friends.

I set about lifting weights for an hour and then stuffed myself with two huge bowls of homemade beef chilli.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

I woke up with a soreness in my right upper trapezius muscle. This must be because of the amount of weight training I'm doing at the moment, and the fact that I'm trying to increase the weight or volume of lifting each time. After work, I dropped off Lucy and Mouse at the train station and then went home to have some dinner with Martha. I didn't try to do any training - I declared today a rest day.

Later, I drove up to Birmingham City Centre to collect Lucy and Mouse after they had seen a musical. 

Late to bed!

No exercise, no alcohol, no junkfood

Thursday 

I cycled in to work. I had an enjoyable afternoon with the sports group - we did some warm-up exercises, then a self-defence drill followed by some indoor cricket. I didn't push myself hard (I had planned to do some circuit training with them) because of my shoulder strain.

After cycling home, I set off on my weekly 10K run. As usual, it was hard, uncomfortable, boring and seemed to go on forever. In fact, it went on for 64 minutes and 49 seconds.

10K run, no junkfood, no booze

Friday

I cycled in to work and back. As soon as I got home I set about slinging the weights around for an hour. I was relieved to find that the rest day had done me some good and the pain/stiffness in my neck and shoulder didn't stop me from completing the workout.  After that, I wolfed down as much of my dinner (chicken and pasta bake) as I could before driving Debbie and Lucy out to Kings Heath to take part in a pub quiz raising money for Breast Cancer Research. James and a couple of other friends made up our team. It quickly became apparent that Debbie and I were useless. The vast majority of our answers were supplied by Lucy and James. I think I contributed 4 correct answers in the whole evening: Julius Caesar, Othello, Zelda, and 10 Things I Hate About You.

The quiz didn't end until after 11 and I didn't make it into bed until 12:10...

Weight training, no junkfood, no booze.

Saturday

I got up at 7 to eat loads of breakfast and then I met Roger, James and Jonnie for our weekly bicycle ride. We are currently training hard for the Mad March Hare sportive at the end of the month. Today's training target was to ride 50 miles with 2500 feet of climbing and an average speed of 13.8mph. Before we set off, I suggested we try something different: up until this ride, we pretty much rode along however we wanted to. This normally meant that there was a man off the front testing his legs, a couple of chaps having a nice chat, and a bloke suffering at the back, half way up a climb. Today, I suggested that we ride together, at the slowest man's pace, protecting each other  - basically riding as a team.

I'm pleased to report that it was a great success. As in previous years, riding at this point in the training plan is usually done without much chit chat - we are working hard from the start and saving our breath. Working together like this meant that at least there was some banter as we went along. It was a good experience.

As usual, the cake was excellent. The lanes were dry but the wind was cold and against us on the way home. However, working together meant that we were able to get back to base with a 14.0mph average after 50 miles. I personally had more in the legs and I'm sure the lads did too. I rolled back home feeling good about this year's Mad March Hare.

After three fried eggs for lunch (protein!), I took the dogs for a walk. Later, I picked up Lily and we had dinner with the family. We watched A Quiet Place part 2 which is a worthy sequel to the original. The best part was seeing the first day of the alien invasion and how the family survived. For pudding I helped myself to ice cream and some chocolate!

50 miles of cycling, loads of junkfood, no alcohol.

Sunday

It was so strange to have a lie in on a Sunday! I'm ashamed to say that I didn't open my eyes until 9:05. Almost 10 hours of sleep!

Lucy and I went shopping and then I made us bacon and eggs for breakfast when we got back home. After that, I immediately had a second breakfast of muesli! 

After the evening's Karate session, I got back home to crack a few beers (the first of the week) and to watch Liverpool hammer Man U 7-0! Cheers!

Karate, no junkfood, 3 beers