75 Hard - Wrap-Up

Seventy five days is a lot longer than it sounds. I can honestly say I am glad it is over. Will I keep doing some of the habits I have started, absolutely. Will I keep all of them, absolutely not. 

This didn't last long...my mirror was getting too cluttered.

THE RULES

Follow a nutrition plan of your own, no alcohol or cheat meals

This was sort of a gray area for me. I was going to try and follow the Mediterranean Diet (even bought a couple of recipe books) before I realized that it wasn't really a diet like Atkin's, keto, or whatever one you pick where there are hard and fast rules to follow.

North African Peanut Stew,
one of the Mediterranean Diet recipes I tried.
It looked like vomit but tasted pretty good. 

I remember doing the Atkin's Diet a long time ago and religiously sticking to the "Less than 40g of carbs" rule. I lost a lot of weight doing that, but I was also living off of cheese, meat, and pork rinds. Not exactly a healthy plan. I didn't want to do this again, so I did some soul searching about what this "nutrition plan" would look like for me.

Eventually, the "nutrition plan" I chose to follow was more of a nod to my time in "Overeaters Anonymous". I only had one hard, fast rule, "No eating after dinner". For me, that was my weak point that I wanted to focus on. I am an accomplished snacker and for some reason, even if I am full from dinner, I could always find room for popcorn or cookies or ice cream (Hey, it's keto ice cream! That doesn't count, right?)

I also stuck to the "No alcohol" rule. I had just come off of "Dry January" and had celebrated that feat with a weekend of wine (not too much, but enough). I noted that I really didn't like how I felt the morning after a night of sipping. That Monday, I started 75 Hard and once again pushed my wine glass away. 

For me, drinking wine had become a habit and it had gotten worse during Covid. It just became a thing I did. I would go to work, come home, do my workout, have a glass of wine and then another and then maybe another. Retirement only served to make the window of opportunity larger. I would complete my tasks for my part time job and have my workout done by noon. Who doesn't want a glass of wine with lunch? 

It took a while for me to replace the wine habit with something else, but I did. Actually, I didn't even realize that a swap had taken place until a few days ago. I woke up early and noticed that I was feeling excited for the day. I was looking forward to my new habits of getting up early to a nice quiet house, enjoying a cup of coffee while doing my reading (bible first and then whatever book I had chosen) and finally doing a bit of writing on my own book. I now look forward to the start of my day instead of the end and I am loving it.

Will there be wine in my future? Yes (I think). However, it is going to be the exception and not the rule.

Two 45 minutes workouts per day - one must be outside

Doing two workouts a day wasn't too much of a stretch for me. Although it did make for tired legs at a couple of races. I didn't find it hard to find a schedule that worked for me :-)

Tracking my 75 Hard workouts on Strava

Of course, it is easy to fit in a second workout when you don't have a choice about the first one. Before I started this challenge, our daily walk with the dogs was a non-negotiable (at least for the dogs). The only adjustment I really made here was making sure the walk was at least 45 minutes. Thankfully, HS and the dogs obliged.

Always aware of my pace when walking 
the pups...didn't want to finish in less than 45 minutes.

As I prepare to start officially start training for IRONMAN California, I am glad that this part of the challenge will be in my past. Yes, my training plan will have days where there are double workouts, but there will also be days of rest. I want to enjoy those days and get the most of my recovery without worrying about logging another 45 minutes even if it is only yoga or a second walk with the dogs.

Drink one gallon of water per day

I struggled with this one in the beginning and it was my miscalculation that had me starting over after Day 1. Thankfully, I have finally gotten into a rhythm of drinking consistently throughout the day. This is a habit that I will definitely keep. However, if I find myself in a situation where I have only drank 2/3 of a gallon and it's 8:00pm, I am going to let it go. No more chugging water right before bed and getting up several times during the night. Sleep trumps hydration at that point.

Read 10 pages of a non-fiction, personal development focused book

I was a "reader" before this challenge and I did read the Bible every day. However, my daily bible reading was from "The One Year Chronological Bible" which places the books of the Bible in chronological order broken down into readings by date. Most days consist of 4-6 pages. Since this was less than the prescribed 75 Hard reading amount of 10 pages, I added another daily book according to the rules that was non-fiction, educational and that could be used to improve any area of my life. 

Here is my complete reading list:

• The One Year Chronological Bible (not finished yet) *MUST READ*
• Never Finished - David Goggins *MUST READ*
• Atomic Habits - James Clear *MUST READ*
• Grit - Angela Duckworth
• Fervent: A Woman's Battle Plan to Serious, Specific and Strategic Prayer - Priscilla Shirer (Part of Bible study group, still reading)
• Story Genius - Lisa Cron  
• 28 Day Prayer Journey - Chrystal Evans
• Think Like a Warrior: The Five Inner Beliefs That Make You Unstoppable - Darrin Donnelly 
• Dear Food (Journal, still reading)
• A Hunger for God: Desiring God Through Fasting and Prayer - John Piper 

Take a progress picture every day

This rule seemed excessive to me, but I did it, begrudgingly. I have several photos in my PJs because I realized I hadn't taken a picture, so I went and snapped one before bed. On most days, however, I tried to take the photo in my workout clothes so I could see the change.

Angry pajama pic LOL

Moving forward, I am still going to take progress pics, but I think they will be on a weekly or maybe monthly basis. My monthly progress pics are in the final section.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 

The Good - Down 17 lbs.

I know that Andy Frisella gives the warning that 75 Hard is not a fitness challenge, that it is a transformative mental toughness program..."an IRONMAN for your brain" and yes, I agree it is. However, most people, including myself appreciate the outward changes too. In fact, you will find lots of before and after pics on his website. So here are my results:

• Starting Weight: 159 (and that was down from the start of the year!!!)
• Ending Weight: 141.6 (17 pounds in 75 days is pretty darn good)

After years of blaming age, menopause and bad luck, 
I would never have believed I could lose this much 
weight in 75 days!!

On to a new goal :-)

More Good - Progress Pics - Photographic evidence of change 

75 pictures of me, mostly unsmiling, in various running outfits is a bit much to show here. If I ever get motivated, maybe I will try and turn them into some sort of time-lapse video. For now, here are my monthly results. Moving forward, whether I take weekly or monthly progress pics, I will be more consistent in what I am wearing so it will be easier to recognize the changes. 

Day 1 (February 5, 2024)

A little thick around the middle, not much definition.
159 lbs.

Day 30 (March 5, 2024)

Not so bloated!
149.9 lbs.

Day 60 (April 5, 2024)

Don't ask me why I'm never smiling ;-)
144.5 lbs.

Day 75 (April 20, 2024)

No tan on the tummy!
141.6 lbs.

The Bad 

Going through my pictures today, I realized that I missed April 16 - aka Day 71. Will I start over because of this oversight? No way! As of today, I am done with 75 Hard and I am shifting my focus to IRONMAN California training. If I had skipped a photo on Day 21, would I have started over? Probably. 

The Ugly

Looking back, I can't really think of anything "ugly". Could I have made the challenge harder? Yes. Could I have pushed myself more? Maybe. All in all, I would call this experiment a success. It has helped me develop new, healthy habits that I hope will continue long into the future. 

If you are considering trying 75 Hard, do some research, get familiar with the rules and lay out YOUR plan. Remember, this is about sticking with something that is difficult, so hang in there!

P90X3 and Me (First Three Days)

I will always credit the original P90X for getting me and Hot Stuff on the path to sustained fitness. I think we did P90X four or five times before moving on to other workouts like INSANITY and P90X2. Eventually we got involved with triathlons and became focused on swimming, biking and running and unfortunately I just didn't have the time for P90X.

Results from first 90 days in 2009

Actually, every once in a while I still try to get in a P90X Yoga-X workout, but I just don't have the time to do the full program and continue with my triathlon training. Something has to give, and when you have a 70.3 mile race looming in your future, you tend to want to give the race all the time necessary...not that it's a bad thing.

So Where Do I Find the Time?

2013 is almost over...I finished Barb's Race as well as my second marathon. Both races were a success in my book, but I have room for improvement. As I re-read through "The Triathletes Training Bible" I was once again confronted with how to incorporate strength training into my workout routine. Here are a few excerpts from the book...

"Although I advise many athletes to stop strength training during the racing season, women in particular benefit from year-round strength training. Unlike men, women tend to lose muscle mass more quickly once they stop working in the weight room." 

"Most women duathletes and triathletes are relatively stronger in their legs than in their upper bodies. Especially in need of strength are the abdominal muscles and arms. This weakness impacts climbing hills when on the bike." 

"Strength work for the upper body involves doing pushing and pulling exercises that use all of the arm joints plus the back muscles and abdominal muscles."

I could have always gone back to P90X, but most of the workouts are at least an hour long and on the days you have to do ab-ripper, that adds another 16 minutes. I could not see working, doing P90X, and then doing my triathlon training...just not enough time in my day.

Then, last week, Beachbody released P90X3. This is an entirely new approach and is not intended to be a progression from P90X and P90X2. P90X3 is a 30 minute workout developed to give you the results of P90X in 30 minutes a day. I was sold and ordered it the next day.

It even came with a hat for Hot Stuff!

The Plan

My intention is to do the full 90 days of P90X3 while maintaining my regular triathlon training. I hope to see a marked improvement in my body. Hot Stuff and I both took our "before" pics on Monday. Here is a sneak peak of mine...

HS was pissing me off, hence the lack of smile

In the picture above, I am roughly the same weight as I was at the end of the first round of P90X back in 2009. I think I was a little more ripped in 2009 which is a little surprising to me given all of the training I have been doing. I will post another photo at my 30 day mark.

After Christmas, I plan on getting serious with the nutrition side of things.

Here is a quick recap of the workouts we have done so far...

Day 1 - Total Synergistics

Ok, if you've ever done the original P90X, you are familiar with synergistics. In fact, the original synergistics was one of my favorite P90X workouts... it just seemed to work out everything and the time flew by quickly. Total Synergistics did not disappoint. Some push ups, some pull ups, some resistance training...I was pretty tired at the end of 30 minutes.  Finished up with a 3 mile run with HS.

NOTE: I am really out of shape in terms of push-ups and pull-ups :-(


Day 2 - Agility X

Next week I will wear a different pair of shoes. Tony recommended court shoes instead of running shoes and I didn't listen. There is a lot of lateral movement and Tony was right...don't wear running shoes. This particular workout was similar to something you would see in INSANITY:Asylum.  Finished up with a 5 mile run at Fleet Feet.

Day 3 - X3 Yoga

The original P90X yoga is 90 minutes. P90X2 shrinks it down to about an hour. P90X3 knocked it out in 30 minutes. In the original, Tony spends a lot of time explaining things which is helpful if it is your first time doing the workout. If it is the 87th time you have done Yoga-X, not so much.

In X3 Yoga, there isn't a lot of explaining. If you are new to the workout, you may have to hit rewind to figure out what to do...don't worry, once you've got the moves down, you will appreciate being able to keep going through the moves. Did not run today.

Abs and pecs were sore from Monday's and Tuesday's workouts...its a good feeling :-)

Tracking My Progress

Writing stuff down (especially food) has never been my strong point. I do wear my Garmin 910XT for most of my workouts and this data is transferred automatically to Garmin Connect. However, I have found another tracking system called Training Peaks. Training Peaks is a little more robust and it has the option of downloading training programs...hmmm, I wonder if any of them have P90X included in the plan :-)