Week 1 - MMH Training and Instructors' Training

I tried to continue this training blog in December and even wrote drafts for a couple of posts. However, I realised that rather than being a record of my fitness training, it had become a record of my partying! To be fair to myself, I did become a bit poorly in the second week of December. Too ill to exercise and too ill to drink anything other than Lemsip and water. I did manage to keep teaching though. But at the end of term, which was also Lucy's birthday, the party floodgates had opened and I let myself go.

Now, in the new year, like many other people in the country (in the world?), I've decided to restart my training program with a renewed determination to succeed.

Monday

I woke up feeling a little worse for wear after last night's New Year's Eve celebration. I'd spent a lovely evening with some friends in two different bars, and I even ended up playing pool - I don't think I've done that for over a decade!

Anyway, after a slow start and some breakfast, I clambered up onto the bicycle and headed out into the lanes. It was a slow, wet ride over 17 miles at 13.6mph. I felt a bit better when I got home.

In the evening, I enjoyed a few beers with dinner!

Cycling, no junkfood, beers

Tuesday

Still feeling the affects of party season, I set up my man-cave for a weights session. This time, as a reintroduction for my old muscles, I did two or three sets of each of the eight exercises I use:

• Barbell curls
• Barbell shrugs
• Barbell squats
• Barbell dead-lifts
• Barbell military presses
• Dumbbell front raises
• Dumbbell side raises
• Dumbbell curls

I did sets of 10 reps. I estimate about 180 reps in total, at various weights.

Weight training, no junkfood, no beers

Wednesday

Back on the bike again. This time I covered the 17 miles with a much faster pace of 14.1mph. I had to alter the route slightly because of huge floods in the lanes that would have soaked my feet to pedal through. It's still very wet everywhere! I gave the bike a good clean when I got home.

Today, I designed the training plan for the Mad March Hare sportive event on the 24th of March this year. Over the next 11 weeks our distance and climbing will increase steadily:

Cycling, no junkfood, no beers

Thursday

Feeling better than I have for a month, I leapt up on the bike again. The lanes were still soaking wet with gravel everywhere. I had to be cautious in places but I still managed to maintain a decent average of 14.0mph over 19 miles.

Today, a friend who had had a terrible couple of days came to stay with us. We had a few drinks with our dinner.

Cycling, no junkfood, beers

Friday

I woke up feeling fine. After getting loads of work done for college, and scoffing a protein rich lunch (bacon and eggs!), I set up for a weight training session. I did a full circuit of 6 exercises, with 3 sets for each, along with 300 body-weight exercises (triceps-dips, press ups and leg raises). It took me almost exactly an hour to get it all done and was a little red-faced by the end of it!

Unfortunately, I then disappointed myself by have a few drinks (with Lucy and our guest). 

Weight training, no junkfood, booze

Saturday

I woke up just before 8 and felt surprisingly good! I watched a bit of cricket on the TV with my breakfast, and then set about putting stuff up for sale on eBay. After lunch, I put some stuff up in the loft and then got ready for Karate.

This afternoon's session was a three hour martial arts extravaganza! At first, I had my usual class where I was the instructor. The session went well. I focused on pad work with partners. I wanted to do something a bit more fun to welcome the students back. Then, at 4pm, we had a two hour instructors' session led by Sensei Ronnie! Suddenly I was the lowest grade in the room and the pressure was on. We went through a total of 13 kata in great detail and we did 100 press ups and 100 sit ups just to make sure we were serious about our fitness! My abs were burning nicely at the end.

Even though the session was all about kata, Sensei Ronnie explained that these were just tools: everything in Karate is about fighting. That is the end goal: to be able to defend oneself if needed.

With this in mind, we had a brief brainstorming session with Sensei Gary after the session. I had a lovely cup of tea.

Home for a big dinner and plenty of water.

Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol

Sunday

The first ride of our Mad March Hare training plan! 

With Jonnie away, James and Roger got to mine at 9. I was somehow running behind even though I had been up since 7! With the lads waiting, I was faffing about with two pairs of gloves and my hand warmers. I ended up with my hand warmers lying across the back of my wrists - far from ideal! Anyway, with warm wrists and cold fingers, I followed the lads on to the A34, across the motorway island and then down Gate Lane. We were on our High Cross route. The roads were very wet but it wasn't raining, we were at a comfortable pace, with Roger a little way off the front.

After about six miles, we were overtaken by a pair of riders who then settled in front of us, and then seemed to gradually slow the pace... After about half a mile of this, I launched off the back and encouraged James and Roger to follow. I don't know what that was about, some people are just strange.

Anyway, we cruised along as I struggled to see in the bright morning sunlight (I guess my £2.99 Aldi shades aren't quite up to the job...)

We arrived at the cakestop with a decent average. The cake was lovely as usual. Roger revealed how much money he spends on cycling clothing which left the rest of us flabbergasted! 

It was a a cold restart out of Wilmcote. We headed up along our Petticoat Route. It was there where it became obvious that one of us was struggling a little. We slowed the pace but stuck to the route. We got back with an average speed that was lower than we wanted, but at least we completed the required distance. The amount of climbing fell short and I'm not sure why that was. Because we didn't start from Jonnie's house perhaps?

It's not just about cycling, it's also about style and fashion.

After moving some firewood from the front of the house to the back, and a lightning fast change of clothes, my mate Mark came to pick me up in his huge electric car. We whooshed off to see my old mucka Crazy Ed! We found Ed washing his car. He was selling his old Specialized Allez Sport (the same as mine, just newer and a lot cleaner.) We had a chat for an hour before Mark bought himself the bike and we zoomed off back to Solihull. Hopefully, Mark will become a regular rider with us, but as a beginner we don't expect him to join in with the MMH training!

In the evening, Lucy and I went next door for a fantastic Sunday dinner with our neighbours Dave and Lucy. I met their friends, drank a few beers and then went home to drink a couple more!

Cycling, junkfood, beers

Summary

Not a good start to the year as far as training is concerned. However, it could be worse, and some things are more important than training, such as friends and loved ones.