Attempt Seventeen

LAST MEAL: All-you-can-eat breakfast - fried, continental, everything else.

SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING: Signing up for Brighton Marathon 2017.

METHOD OF FOCUS: Checking out my shoes between shots.

LUCKY LANE NUMBER: 8

BEST SCORE TO DATE: 164

CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF STRIKES: 28

What's the best way to tell my family that they're no longer welcome at Ocean Bowl? I think this is going to get a little awkward.

I went on my own due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control and I seemed to be in the zone, concentrating only on the pins and nothing else (except my shoes, as previously stated). Whether this was loneliness or just what I need I'm not sure, however my run of spares was achieved with relative ease. Only the one strike to speak of and a missed pin in the last frame, both of which mean my score is lower than I thought it would be yet it has risen slightly and I am very happy with that.

I should also mention that, although applying for a marathon shouldn't count as supplementary training, it has shifted my mental state by an unfathomable distance and this may even have caused the positive effect on my game. We'll see how the coming weeks prove or disprove this theory.

Attempt Sixteen

LAST MEAL: Chicken kievs, but not the shop bought things. Cheese wrapped in chicken wrapped in bacon. 

SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING: Building a go-kart.

METHOD OF FOCUS: Contemplating Guatemala.

LUCKY LANE NUMBER: 3

BEST SCORE TO DATE: 164

CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF STRIKES: 26

Here's a graph of my scores over the past few weeks -

I can't seem to stop the rot but if Apollo 440 are anything to go by then you can't stop the rot, can't stop the rot, you can't stop the rot, can't stop the rot. You know, hashtag misheard lyrics.

Not even two strikes could cheer me up this week. I felt a bit peculiar going into frame four but that's no excuse for anything, particularly as the support of the Ocean Bowl staff was still with me.

Incidentally, look at these cheeky little buggers.

More crime solving and bowling next week, folks.

Attempt Fifteen

LAST MEAL: Everything. It was a concoction of leftover casserole, leftover curry, fresh vegetables and a handful of spices, hence I named it Everything. 

SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING: A 26.2 mile bike ride from Helston to Land's End.

METHOD OF FOCUS: Taking a six year old.

LUCKY LANE NUMBER: 1

BEST SCORE TO DATE: 164

CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF STRIKES: 25

I'm not completely sure what happened today. Things were just about back to normal at Ocean Bowl as the school holidays had finished so the lane ambience was more familiar however I couldn't manage to make the big round thing knock over the long things at the end of the aisle. That said I just about managed to get one more strike to add to my tally, although that's not the name of the game.

People who don't know me may think I love to exercise as I've completed a half marathon and a marathon bike ride this year but sitting on the sofa and watching TV is my default setting and it's very much business as usual from now on. My sporting focus will be 100% bowling.

Here are the scores; as you can see I very nearly got beaten by my youngest daughter.

Attempt Fourteen

LAST MEAL: Roast Chicken and Pepper Pasta. 

SUPPLEMENTARY TRAINING: Watching the film '300'. Turns out it wasn't even about bowling.

METHOD OF FOCUS: A subtle arse wiggle before each frame. Nothing inappropriate.

LUCKY LANE NUMBER: 5

BEST SCORE TO DATE: 164

CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF STRIKES: 24

Ugh. Just ugh. I made it to Ocean Bowl after a lengthy trip to Treliske (nothing out of the ordinary) and it was just enough to throw my routine off. Furthermore we discovered that my middle child is bad luck; after the first three frames she wandered off and my score speaks for itself. Frames seven and nine were spent discussing what bad luck she is and they were no good for me either. In the future she will be kept at a distance.

I was a bit gutted to see my score sink so low and the lack of strikes damages my chances of getting 100 strikes this year. I'm going to have to pull something big out of the bag next week to make up for my poor, poor form and if that means sending the children abroad I will have to give it a go.