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

How to Lose a Belly When You're 44 (part 7)

The last two weeks were hectic.
I spent the first week preparing for an Ofsted inspection. This meant staying very late at work every day (I think I did four eleven-hour days on the trot and then 8 hours on the Friday.) Then, at the weekend, Jonnie and I went down to London for a day to ruin our health on a pub crawl with my brother.
The following week was the Ofsted inspection. This also meant working long hours each day. Needless to say, after eleven hours at work, Lucy and I were glad to get home for a glass of wine or two in the evenings.
I haven't been training.
I think I managed one weekend bike ride and about three Karate sessions. I haven't done any running or weight training and my diet has been shocking.
The big news, however, is that Martha and I have been approached by Sensei Gary to take part in the Ruach instructor's course! I have recently been daydreaming about becoming an instructor but thought I'd wait until I reached 2nd Dan before even mentioning it to Sensei! I was very pleased and shocked when he approached me about it.
This, coupled with the fact that there is a grading at the weekend, has inspired me to get back into training in a serious way.
Here we go again...

The start of a journey I've been wanting to take for some time.

Monday
Blood pressure: 138/73
Resting heart rate: 61
Weight: 10st 4lbs
I cycled to work in torrential rain. Happily, the weather was mild so being soaked through didn't mean I got cold. It was an interesting day with lots of managing behaviour to be done as well as contacting parents for meetings.
I cycled home for a lifting session. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't have to use lighter weights for any of the exercises. Perhaps the two week rest did my muscles some good? I completed the lift in almost exactly 60 minutes and then set about making a protein-rich dinner for the family.
Weight training, no junkfood, no alcohol

Tuesday
I cycled to work and back.
Tonight's dojo session was all about the kumite. We were warmed up with some basics, did some one-step sparring, and then found ourselves in a line-up. It was a good session.
Afterwards, Martha and I had a meeting with Sensei Gary to discuss our involvement with the instructor's program. Martha and I are very excited!
Karate, no junkfood, no alcohol.

Wednesday
I cycled in to work. Today, I found myself unable to resist the chocolates and biscuits in the staff room. I cycled home feeling only slightly guilty.
I did a good weights session and didn't drink beer.

Thursday
I cycled in to work, didn't eat the biscuits, cycled home and then did a good weights session.
Didn't drink alcohol.

Friday
I cycled to work and back.
Tonight's dojo session was my last training opportunity before the grading on Sunday. Sensei Russell was absent so Sensei Gary took the session. As part of the instructor's program, Martha was asked to take control of a group of white belts while I taught Tekki Shodan to a purple belt.
I think I would have benefitted from going over the techniques I need for grading, but I was still very happy to get some valuable teaching experience! Martha, as usual, was an excellent, natural teacher.
After the session, Martha and I raced home to pick up Lucy and then the three of us headed off for Jonnie's birthday night out. Six of us enjoyed curry and drinks followed by ice cream at our local Indian restaurant.

Saturday
I went along to observe the young students grade at our Saturday afternoon dojo. I helped a trio of dedicated and enthusiastic white belts practise their kihon, kata and kumite. Then, during the actual grading, I had the great honour of handing out the belts to the successful students. I wish I had worn my karategi instead of my civies!

Sunday
The day of my grading.
I was up at 7 to go cycling with Jonnie. We put together a gentle 35 mile route with the usual cake stop. I treated it as a warm-up and just span the little gears all morning. I didn't want to risk any soreness in the legs and certainly didn't want to end up with that empty, aching feeling you sometimes get after a hard day in the saddle. The wind slowed Jonnie down on the way home so I didn't feel so guilty about making him wait for me ticking along in a tiny gear. We eventually rolled into his drive with a very pedestrian average of 13.4 mph.
4 hours later, I was warming up in the dojo with about 15 other nervous karateka. Sensei Ronnie Christopher gave us an inspirational talk before we started and then, after that, he mentioned to me that he thought I was going for my black belt today! I took that as an encouraging sign!
I started well by joining in with the lower grades which got me nicely warmed up. The ankle was aching but I had some Deep Heat rubbed in and a bit of strapping in place. I was confident that it would hold.
For my grading, I thought the basics went well because I concentrated on staying fast and relaxed. However, my kata was disappointing: I was feeling the pressure and managed to get things wrong at the first kiai point of Kata Jion. I'm not sure if Sensei picked up on it (he probably did!) but he didn't say anything.
The real disappointment came when we did our ju ippon kumite. Firstly, I was partnered with a teenage girl! I immediately had to change my mindset from "I'm not going to lose a single point and I'm going to be faster and stronger than my partner" to "I've got to be mindful of my control and not hurt anyone"! Secondly, what I'd been practising for the last five years has been a big step backwards to avoid the attack followed by a thrust in to counter and close the distance. This afternoon, Sensei Ronnie let me know that this was wrong. He wants me to cut out the thrust when I counter and to stay at a fighting distance. Obviously, the middle of the grading is no time to start to adjust your technique so I was left doing the best I could with this information.
Needless to say, the mistake in Jion and the ju ippon kumite  meant that I barely scraped by with a pass. At least I got my new belt.

From a distinction to a merit, and then just a pass.

The new belt

A bit of relaxation after the pressure...

Monday
My first day on the road to a black belt! I cycled to work and back and then did some weight training. No junkfood, no booze.

Tuesday
I cycled in to work today. One of the ladies I work with brought some sweets in for me so it would be rude to refuse them (I had four.) I cycled home.
Tonight's dojo session was kumite focused. I struggled to keep up with the pace of the line-up and was relieved when it was all over. Must get fitter!
no alcohol.

Wednesday
Cycled to work and back. Did some weight training. No junkfood, no booze.

Thursday
The same as Wednesday!

Friday
I cycled to work. Lucy was in a good mood and brought me a tasty sweet treat to go with my lunch! I cycled home ready for dojo. It was a brilliant session with both Sensei Russell and Sensei Ronnie delivering a useful, non-stop session with something for everyone. The only thing we didn't get to do was fight someone of our own grade. We were asked to partner with a beginner for each fight.
In the evening, lots of fabulous people from work went along to the Christmas staff party. There was free food and beer all night. I got stupidly drunk and then went home and carried on drinking. I think I wandered off to bed at about 4am. Needless to say, the rest of the weekend was a hungover mess. I was still too ill to go cycling on Sunday. What a waste of my two days off...

Training Targets for 2015

As some may know, I've had some injury problems recently :
A suspected broken finger, a painful right knee and a VERY painful right shoulder.


After today's gentle 32 miles in the muddy lanes.

These injuries eventually stopped me training (except for a few road bike rides) and no weight-training, no Karate, no running and no mountain biking made me rather frustrated. I substituted training with beer and junkfood and set about being a happy slob for the last month. I even ended up getting amazingly drunk one Friday night and making an idiot of myself on social media...(Note to self: I must make sure I don't get left alone in the house on a Friday night ever again.)
I'm now happy to report that, although the finger and knee are still a little sore at times, the shoulder seems to have righted itself!

With this in mind, I did an MOT on myself to assess the damage done:

Start of September:

10st 2 lbs

Blood pressure: 125/76

Resting heart rate: 51

 

Today:

10st 1 lbs 

Blood pressure: 127/75

Resting heart rate: 40 [checked twice on both arms!]

Erm, so what does this mean? That cake and beer and no exercise lower your heart rate? Isn't a low heart rate an indication of fitness? Why have I lost weight? Could I have lost muscle mass through lack of exercise?
Confusing stuff. I suppose that 6 weeks of inactivity isn't long enough to have an adverse effect on the body.

Anyhoo, the serious training starts tomorrow and I've got a simple plan:
Cut out the sugary foods, dramatically cut out alcohol (aiming for 2 or 3 ales per week), and exercise every day. I'll be emphasising the running and cycling and cutting back on the weight-training in an effort to keep the shoulder happy. At least until Christmas.

So what am I training for? I have 5 definite targets with 2 others that I'd like to do:

• The Cannock Chase Winter Classic - a mountain bike race that hasn't got a date yet. This year it was in February but I didn't ride it.

• The Mad March Hare - 65-75 miles of road riding on 1st March. It will be cold and probably wet. With a massive hill somewhere along the route it has been a challenging but enjoyable ride for the last 2 years!

• The Dynamic 100 - I enjoyed riding this road cycling event with mates this summer and raising over £200 for Macmillan. As the name suggests, it's just over 100 miles long!

• Race the Train, Tywyn - My biggest challenge this year will be running 5.5 miles off road in Wales, chasing a steam train!

• 3rd Kyu - A brown belt in karate. I'm sure that Martha will be able to achieve this with me next year.

My 2 other targets are both mountain bike races:

• The Cannock Chase Summer Classic - a great race with a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed it this year even though I was badly (and painfully) hampered by injury.

• Forest of Dean Enduro - I've entered this race twice and enjoyed it both times. Quite possibly my favourite thing to do on two wheels.

If anyone would like to do any of these challenges with me, get in touch! The more the merrier. I'd love to train together with you too.

So that's the plan. I'm aiming to complete at least 5 of these 7 next year, but to do that, the serious work needs to start now. I'm in my forties and living on beer and cake. Things have got to change!

Frustrated at the Dojo

After Sunday's huge effort at the Mad March Hare, I discovered that I have a very tender right knee. When I woke up on Monday morning it was so stiff and painful that I was limping. To make matters worse, I had to abandon my usual ride into work and turn back to use the car!
The biggest concern, however, is the fact that I'm due to run in a charity assault course on Saturday morning:

The Major Series

This means that I have to look after the knee and give it time to heal. This in turn means that I couldn't risk aggravating it by doing karate tonight. I had to be a spectator - one of those dour-faced parents, sitting on the benches at the side of the hall flicking through a phone for an hour or disrespecting the dojo by talking to a friend for the entire lesson.

Martha was very brave and went ahead with the lesson even though I couldn't take part. I made sure my phone was switched off, politely ignored the woman sitting next to me who tried to talk to me, and focused my attention on the karate. Martha's karate is STRONG! She was by far the best orange belt there tonight and her confidence is growing every lesson. I was very proud of her. Every time she came over to our kit-bag for a drink or to put on her training mitts, we exchanged a few words - mainly encouragement and discussions on improvement.

I felt sorry for the other young people whose parents were present but who were staring glassy-eyed at mobile phones, newspapers, books or chatting away to each other and popping out to smoke cancersticks. They should try to take a little more interest in their child's fantastic new interest - Shotokan Karate - and they would probably find that the hour would fly by, just as it did for me.

I was desperate to join in tonight and even considered volunteering when Sensei was demonstrating a technique - even though I was wearing jeans! I can't wait for the knee to heal so I can strap a gi on and get stuck in once more.