Week 16 - 0% chance of Rain

Monday

After work, Luke and I travelled over to Wilmcote to move some furniture for Jane. On the way back, we accidentally went to the pub to enjoy some HPA on tap! My wonderful wife had a homemade curry ready for when I got back home!

No exercise, no junkfood, beers

Tuesday

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

Lucy and I used the car for work. It was open day at the college and we stayed late until 7pm. After work, the family went along for dinner at The Fieldhouse. I sampled some good beers and had a proper giggle. The only downside was that there was simply no time to exercise.

No exercise, no junkfood, booze

Friday

I got to the dojo early and used the time to get a sweat on using the heavy bag. My left knee is still very tender so I concentrated on punches, elbows and mawashi geri using my right leg (not my favourite leg.) This evening's Karate session was run by Sensei Ronnie. After I led the warm-up, I was asked to teach the white belts. I like coaching, but unfortunately it means that I don't get to train! I led them through basics followed by kata followed by some pad work. Back at home, the wife was already on the wine, so I decided to have some beers with my dinner!

Karate, no junkfood, 3 beers

Saturday

Up at 6am to drop Mouse at the train station. It was a gloriously sunny start to the day but very cold - literally freezing at zero degrees.

At home, I used Youtube to find some heavy bag drills. I didn't restrict myself to Karate: I found some interesting boxing and Muay Thai drills too. I intend to try them out with my group this afternoon.

After dropping Lucy at the train station, I walked Freddie in the sunshine. The park was rather busy even though it was a very cold day. Home for lunch.

My Saturday Karate lesson was well attended by some fantastic young people ready to train hard for their grading. Sensei Gary came to have a look at their kata skills and then set instructions for the session before bowing out. I mentally binned my lesson plan and started a kata session! The standard was good but we worked hard to make it better!

At the end of the session, we did managed to do some of the heavy bag drills I'd been looking at earlier in the day. The students seemed to enjoy it and left in a good mood. The only downside to today's session was one of the family members of a late arrival who wanted to stay to watch. She was playing noisy videos on her phone - even when we kneeled to bow at the end of the lesson! Rather disrespectful...

At home, Tilly and Jake came round to watch Doctor Who. Then they stayed to talk all the way through Strictly Come Dancing. I stayed sober and grumpy.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Sunday

It was a cold day, at zero degrees when I left the house. Happily, there was no frost or signs of ice on the roads. The four of us set off along our Nutbush High Cross route. It was very quickly apparent that keeping my road bike in the garage for a month had done it no good at all. The headset was a little stiff which affected my ability to lean the bike over in the corners - it turned in straight lines instead of a smooth arc. I fiddled about with the bike with the help of James and Roger, but I had rounded one of the bolts so it was fairly fruitless. I struggled on and took it easy on the bends.

According to BBC Weather, there was absolutely no chance (0%) of rain this morning. It started raining at about 9:30 and by the time we reached Wilmcote we were fairly soaked. My new gloves performed fantastically well in the conditions so my hands were okay. My feet were a bit chilly however. Jonnie was suffering with his hands and had a hard time warming up at the cakestop.

We ate lovely chocolate cake (my first sugary junk food for a month), James gave us some great news, we chatted to Yvonne and Jane, and then we reluctantly stepped outside again. It felt even colder now than when we had arrived! I was eager to get going and keep the pace high in order to warm up. I had to find the right balance of speed and not dropping anyone as we went along. 

About 7 miles from home, Jonnie's bike suffered a puncture to the front tyre. Roger actually helped him find the thorn and then put a new tube in. James and I had a chat and made unhelpful comments.

Jonnie and Roger fixing the bike. I helped by taking selfies.

We got back after 34 miles with a careful average of a little over 13mph. As cold and wet as I was, I made time to clean and lube the bike before putting it away. 

In the evening, Jane came over for dinner and I enjoyed a few ales!

Cycling, junkfood, beers

Summary

Needless to say, with two days without exercise and plenty of beer, this week was a training fail!

Week 15 - Club Competition

Monday

Storm Debbie made it a wet and windy morning with gusts of over 40mph. I decided to use the car to get to work! This means that I have to wait for Lucy to finish work too. By the time I got home, it was too late to start lifting weights so I made dinner for the family instead. 

No exercise, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday 

Cycled to work and back. Picked some weight up for an hour. Drank beer for no reason.

Weight training, no junkfood, beers

Thursday

It's been a week since my last 10K run. Unfortunately, my left knee is still painful. I didn't risk going out for a run. I picked up the weights for an hour instead.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Friday

Friday night dojo was run by Sensei Gary. After a warm-up, we were put straight into small groups for kumite. I was very happy to win my two fights. I even had some success with reverse kick - it does work if you can do it fast enough. Unfortunately, somewhere in my two fights I suffered a cut to my left foot. I didn't notice until the floor started to feel slippy. Sensei Gary was kind enough to fetch his first aid kit so I could tape it up and carry on. Later, we worked on kata and I got to practise my competition kata - Empi (or Enpi). As usual after a good training session, I went home feeling good about things.

Dinner and beer. Life is good.

Karate, no junkfood, beers

Saturday

I spent Saturday morning trying and failing to stop the bath tap from dripping. In the afternoon, I worked with Sensei Gary for the first half of my Karate session, then he let me take over for the last 30 minutes. We worked on some ippon kumite and then some competition kata until we ran out of time.

Back at home, I had to stay up late so I could collect Mouse and Hydro from a boyband concert at Resorts World. I got to bed at about midnight!

Karate, no junkfood, no booze

Sunday

Up at 6:45 ready for the club Karate competition! It is one of my favourite days of the year and I am pleased to report that we had a good turnout. The only disappointment was that I was the only instructor taking part. I felt a bit self conscious to be honest. Last year we had senior grades such as Sensei Omar, Sensei Joey and Sensei Kai taking part. This year, adult black belts were few and far between. As a result, there were only 5 of us for adult kata and 3 of us for adult fighting. I claimed gold and silver respectively. There were loads of youngsters, however, and the standard was higher than ever. I was genuinely impressed by the technical ability of the students taking part, matched only by their confidence and spirit. This was the first year where I didn't witness any tears from any our young competitors!

I realised it was after midday as the fighting finished and the kata was winding down. My plumber mate was coming over to look at my leaky bath tap so I had to head back home. I waited for him while ironing and watching Australia snatch the World Cup away from India. I waited for him until about 5, sent a couple of messages, didn't get a response, gave up waiting, and then enjoyed 3 beers with my dinner. Cheers!

My knee is killing me.

Karate, no junkfood, booze

Summary

Just like last week and the week before, I didn't indulge in any junkfood, which I'm rather pleased about. I drank on three different days, and didn't go for a run. I didn't have time to exercise on Monday. I'd say an average week of training, can do better.

Week 14 - Running Again

Monday

Cycled in to work and back.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

Cycled in to work and back. 

At the start of tonight's Karate session, the instructor in charge asked for a black belt to assist him. I raised my hand thinking he wanted to demonstrate a technique. I was told to teach kata to white, orange and red belts! So I didn't get to train tonight, but it was still good fun working with our enthusiastic beginners.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Wednesday

Cycled in to work and back.

Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Thursday

I used the car for work.

Back at home, I put on my running gear, pressed play on my Spotify playlist, and started out of the door. The first song was by Frankie Valli! It was a cold start but I was wearing three layers so I soon warmed up. I was expecting trouble from the left knee, but it behaved itself for the most part. It was a lot less painful than the last time I went running (Week 7 in September.) I had a dull throb at the back of the knee after a while, nothing serious. I was feeling rather tired, however. I even considered slowing to a walk at one point. Luckily, I managed to keep going. At the 4 mile mark, Every Time I Die came on the playlist which certainly helped me to keep going! Unfortunately, it also put me in the mood for a beer! Eventually, I managed to stagger home after 10K in a very pedestrian time of 66 minutes and 57 seconds. The three layers meant that I was far too hot for most of the run.

A quick shower, and then some beers with my chicken and pasta!

I went to bed pleased that my knee wasn't hurting.

10K run, no junkfood, beer

Friday

My knee is hurting. 

It's a pain at the side of my left knee, the inside, and below the patella. Anyway, wherever it is, it's obviously strained. Running sucks. Karate tonight should be fun...

I cycled carefully into work. My knee ached. An impromptu meeting ran on for too long and I left work too late for Karate. I cycled carefully home.

Rather than put more pressure on the knee by lifting weights, I decided to go for a ride. In the dark. At rush hour. I will never do this again. I intended to do some laps at the cycle track at Tudor Grange. When I got there, I discovered it was strewn with mud and, unbelievably, people were still shuffling around the track with a dog! It wasn't even on a lead! I tried to get round but was averaging at 12.4mph. I may as well walk. I quickly gave up on that idea and decided to get back on the roads. It was so aggressive out there, the drivers almost killing themselves and each other to get home a bit quicker. I almost got hit twice in the same half mile stretch OF A CYCLING LANE! An old fella simply drove across the cycle lane to park up on his drive. I was forced to brake. When I discussed this with him, he demanded to know why I didn't have any lights! I obviously had top notch lights blazing front and back. The silly old fool shouldn't be driving. I rode away.

I eventually got home after 15 tense miles and a pathetic average of 13.6mph.

Beers!

Cycling, no junkfood, beers.

Saturday

Today was a busy day! After breakfast, I set about cleaning the oven. After leaving the cleaning solution to work on the grease and grime, I cycled down to B&Q to get some woodstain and some more sandpaper. Back at home, I carried on working on restoring the farmhouse chairs from last week while listening to TMS. After this, I jumped in the shower and then cycled to the dojo to deliver my Saturday afternoon class. Today, I had 19 respectful hardworking students who gave their best and showed some real development. I love to see how far they have come in the few months I've been lucky enough to teach them.

After this, I met Lucy and two of the other instructors to celebrate a Karate family member's birthday. Cheers! We had to leave sooner than I'd liked so that I could get dinner ready. Jane was coming round to sample my 24-hour curry and to watch Strictly with us! Of course, I had another beer while preparing the dinner...

Karate, no junkfood, beers

Sunday

I got up at 7 ready to go cycling. It was a cold wet day. Both the Met Office and the BBC agreed that it would rain all morning and it would stay cold (between 4 and 7 degrees). I consulted with Jonnie and Roger on Whatsapp and they felt that it wouldn't be any fun in the lanes today. We'd be cold and wet almost as soon as we set off. So we cancelled the ride.

Unfortunately, poor James had left the car behind and had already started the 7 mile ride to Jonnie's place! Sorry James mate!

Back at home, I immediately got stuck into cleaning the oven while feeling guilty about not riding. After this, I carried on working on the chairs (in the garage with the door open). Later, I did an hour of weight training before mopping the kitchen floor. In the afternoon, Lucy and I ended up having one drink in the Beech House pub in Solihull. It's a lovely place but bonkers expensive. Definitely a once in a while treat!

In the evening, Lucy prepared a fantastic dinner while I enjoyed yet more beer...

Weight training, no junkfood, beers

Summary

Just the same as last week, except I managed to go for a run on Thursday. I exercised everyday, didn't have any junkfood (14 days and counting) but just couldn't resist relaxing with a beer in the evenings. I'm running the risk of letting my love of craft ale ruin my training...

Week 13 - Half Term

Monday

Today was dry but there had been a lot of rain recently. I jumped on the race bike and headed off to the outdoor cycling track at Tudor Grange. The 0.5 mile circuit was strewn with mud, standing water and wet leaves. I couldn't really get up to speed but I could get round at over 15mph. Unfortunately, people still insist on walking dogs on a cycling track. Even when they can see I'm training there. I find it hard to believe, even as I type this, that people would let an animal loose on a cycling track, currently being used by cyclists, and then shuffle around after the dog as if it's a quite normal and acceptable thing to do. Even when I ask them "Excuse me, do you know this is a cycling track?" they don't reply, just gawp at me like I'm speaking an alien language. So then I have to navigate running dogs and their imbecile owners.

Anyway, I returned home after 15 miles at 15.6mph.

Cycling, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday

Weight training, no junkfood, no beers

Wednesday

Weight training, no junkfood, no beers

Thursday

I got up at 5:45am. Today I was a deputy chief invigilator at the NEC. I was responsible for a room of 122 doctors taking a professional qualification. I had a team of 5 invigilators working with me. At first, I was a little out of my comfort zone, but I felt better once I had the microphone in my hand and had the attention of the room! It was a three hour exam that started late. Then I had to count all the papers, put them in alphabetical order and check them against a list. I got home at about 3:30pm!

I did an hour of weight training before having a sit down and a chat with Sally and Lucy. Then I helped myself to a beer...

Weight training, no junkfood, beers

Friday

I woke up feeling a little rough, but not too bad. I walked Freddie in the park, and the idiot dog trotted off from me and then walked home by himself. I have no idea how he navigates his way across the busy roads or why he does it. It's not the first time. Anyway, the fresh air helped and by the evening I was firing on all cylinders and ready for Karate! 

Sensei Ronnie was in charge and we did lots of work on Kata including Hangetsu and Sochin. I still can't get the two kicks to work in the middle of Sochin - I have no idea what to with my hands. I'll keep working on it. We also did a bit of basic one-step sparring. I was lucky enough to partner Sensei Kai. He certainly put me under pressure and I like to think I kept him on his toes too.

At home - fireworks! Mouse invited her friends over, I set a fire in the fire pit, Lucy and I poured a drink or two, and I had a whale of a time letting off rockets! The young people were in fancy dress and they even enjoyed sparklers! A top notch night and only 3 beers.

Karate, no junkfood, alcohol

Saturday

I cycled to the dojo. It was a very cold and wet day. However, that didn't stop my students from turning up. We focused on basics for the first half of the lesson and then turned our attention to one-step sparring. We looked at two different counter attacks to a jodan punch, working with partners. As always, heavy bag to finish!

No beers, early to bed.

Karate, no junkfood, no booze.

Sunday

Up at 6:30am ready for instructors' training! When I got there, it was full of young black and brown belts, but there were only 3 of us instructors. Sadly, Sensei Ronnie decided that wasn't enough to do instructors' training. We did a fitness circuit instead. Then on to kata for the rest of the lesson. I got useful tips/info about Kata Empi which I will use in the competition on the 19th.

Back at home to do loads of ironing. I also spent a couple of hours restoring a wooden kitchen chair donated to me by neighbour Luke. It's starting to look good.

In the evening: a huge chicken dinner accompanied by some top quality ales!

Karate, no junkfood, beers

Summary

I exercised for an hour each day and managed to not eat any junkfood for the entire week. However, I didn't go for a run, and I drank beers three nights out of seven. I still feel that I made a bit of progress this week, but I need to push it harder next week as the competition gets nearer.

Week 12 - 5 days of weight training!

Monday

Cycled to work and back, an hour of weight training, no junkfood, no booze.

Tuesday

Cycling to work and back, an hour of weight training, no junkfood, no booze

Wednesday 

Cycled to work and back, an hour of weight training, no junkfood, a few beers

Thursday

An hour of weight training, no junkfood, no booze

Friday

Today was a teacher training day. Unfortunately, somebody decided that it was a good idea to host this 'event' at our Handsworth campus.

I drove over with Lucy and three other members of staff crammed into my car (I like driving the Nissan Juke, but there isn't much room in the back.) The CPD itself was crap but we did have a couple of useful conversations with managers. I then drove home through rush hour traffic.

I was about ready to collapse on the couch with a beer when I suddenly changed my mind and started setting up my man-cave for a workout. I spent the next hour lifting weights: curls, overhead presses, squats and dumbbell stuff, along with 300 body-weight reps too. After an hour of this, I then allowed myself a beer! And then another beer, and then another beer... You get the picture!

Weight training, no junkfood, loads of beers

Saturday

I woke up with a shocking head, really not in the mood to anything. Instead of feeling sorry for myself on the couch, I made breakfast for myself and Lucy before going food shopping with her in Shirley. I felt pretty rough shuffling round the supermarket but I got through it. After this, I dropped Lucy and Mouse into Solihull, and then walked the dog in the park. I was starting to feel human again.

In the afternoon, I cycled to my Saturday afternoon Karate lesson. Today, my young people were a little slow to get started and it was hard to get them revved up. However, by the end of the lesson, they were going hard at the heavy bag and everyone seemed to go home happy.

In the evening, Lucy made a lovely dinner, I had a few drinks and the family watched Strictly. 

Karate, no junkfood, booze

Sunday

Up feeling fairly relaxed after an extra hour in bed - the clocks went back last night. I met up with Jonnie and James at 9. There had been a lot of rain last night. In an effort to avoid the huge puddle on Tithe Barn Lane I took the lads along Dyers Lane. After this Jonnie took us along Cut Throat Lane and then turned left. Unfortunately, this did nothing to avoid the puddle - our mental geography had obviously let us down! We ended up tiptoeing through the deep water anyway!

We went along past the brewery, scampered up The Average Destroyer and then hurled ourselves up The Billsley Wall, all the while being mindful of the puddles and wet gravel strewn about the lanes. The conditions affected our average speed which I think was under 14mph when we rolled up to the cakestop. As always, the homemade cake was excellent, and today there was World Cup cricket on the TV. It was struggle to get back in the lanes, but the sun coming out certainly helped.

Jonnie called for a Petticoat return which was a good shout. After we had crawled out of the Lowsonford, we turned left along our Bushwood route. There was where we encountered a lot of gravel and quite a bit of traffic, but we negotiated it all safely. We got back to base after almost 40 miles and over 2000ft of climbing. I intend to use this route as part of our New Year training schedule.

I undid my good work by sinking a few ales in the evening while making a curry.

Cycling, junkfood, beers