studying's brutal

it's all become a bit competitive. the calender clinging to the fridge door is inescapable and as I'm a grazer as well as a big eater it means that I not only 'clock in' every day but have to face up to any slacking with every visit. my big push to learn more japanese is under watch as well as the bike training. as it's the off season I'm trying to do 3 rides a week but the weather often means I find 'pressing jobs' to do instead. I'm trying to get in about 160 kms tho. I'm also trying to get in three quarters of an hour worth of the old nihongo every week day but it's amazing what will try and distract you from hard graft. even ironing shirts suddenly becomes attractive.

crappy jobs can take your focus but it's often food that taunts me. I hate studying if I'm honest and I remember at school when I used to hide away to study with mountains of food. I went through a pretty serious digestive biscuit with margarine and jam craze but managed to go cold turkey during art school. they were a very convenient and tasty distraction. now my problem is karinto - a kind of light, fried snack covered in molases. mmmmm.

with cycling, the food intake thing is a pretty crucial part of the deal and is not difficult to get wrong. the worst experience I had was at a time trial a few years ago when I drank so much carbohydrate due to nerves that I was bloated by the time I started. I dragged my ass like a sumo wrestler against the wind for 10 miles at full pace. the positive side of it though, is that if you get it right you can go all day.

bananas remain a great source of fast carbs with dried chips being the most convenient although i did come across a good protector for those crowded back pockets. the other great thing about bananas is that the shops sell them half price just as they get ripe. the fools!