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