Week 3 for me wasn't the mental test that week 2 was. On my last update, I posted about the mental challenges I was going through with respect to all of the evil negative diet influences. Seeing all of those beer and pizza commercials during the Football playoffs were killing me. Seeing my favorite candy on sale for buy one get one free, could have put me in a sugar induced coma where I'd be lying on the floor with drool coming out of my mouth, and maybe a lemon head friend stuck to my forehead. But it didn't. I made it through the week. I conquered. I overcame. And I made HUGE strides. When I woke up and saw that email from my running partner telling me that he wasn't going to show up at am for our run, I made a point to go out there and run harder. I ran 8x400m interval sprints up a pretty nice hill. While he was deep into slumber, I was out there working my ass of to get stronger.
Tuesday I did my final Chest and Chest workout for phase 1. Looking back at the workout logs, it's pretty amazing how far I've come in 3 weeks. I look back at week 1 were I couldn't even finish the entire workout, to where I was Tuesday night, totally drenched in sweat. I'd managed to up my push ups in ever single category. I'd done more Lat Pull downs then the previous 2 weeks. And I got back to LOVING the burn. And then I sat down for a little more motivation to watch Biggest Loser. And seeing the Twin brothers gain 9 pounds EACH totally made my hard effort even that much better.
On Wednesday I convinced my running partner to quit slacking and get out for that 5am run before work. When it came time to make the decision to turn for the 2.8 miles, or extend to 3.5 miles, I casually looked at him and said.....we're going longer today.....He grimaced at me, but then quoted in true fashion that it was his punishment for wussin' out on Monday. With a little laugh, I said.....how he had read my mind. But when we were done, he felt better about his efforts, and I managed to keep up to my goals of increasing my mileage each and every week.
Thursday came to my most favorite workout of the week. I absolutely LOVE anything that has to do with biceps. Tony Horton calls it the glamor muscles. I 100% agree. And I totally BROUGHT IT. I upped my curls from 15 to 17.5 pounds, and still did the 15 reps, with the last 3 being pushed to failure. By the end, I was totally wiped out. I could barely lift my arms.
With Friday being my designated off day, I rolled into a busy Saturday that started with my sons Flag Football game, of which I'm the coach. This is the point of the blog where I get to divert attention from my goals to my sons. We started off our season 2-0, with two very impressive wins in our double header debut. We had some high hopes going into week 3, but we fell quite a bit short against the best team in the league. We didn't have our A game going on, and it you want to beat the best, you have to up your game and play your best. So, at 2-1 we came into Saturdays game against a team that we lost to last year, but a game that was by far the most exciting game I'd ever coached. Last year, down by 6 points, we had the chance to score the winning TD with about 45 seconds to go. We fell short that day, but the kids sure played their hearts out. This year, as if deja vue, we come down to the final 45 seconds of the game with 1 last ditch chance to tie the game. But this year we had the inner fortitude to move the ball down the field, methodically and score a the game tying TD with 11 seconds left on the clock, on our FINAL down. After failing to convert the extra point (pass called incomplete by the refs) we went through not just one but 2 overtimes. the 2nd overtime is a 2 point shootout. You get one play in an attempt to score. Our defense came up HUGE and we shut them down in their opportunity. When it came time for our chance, I called a quick timeout to talk it over with out offense. I made a crucial switch in personnel that ended up being key. I split up my two best receivers to opposite sides of the field. This split up their double coverage. I used my best player as a decoy, and had my QB pump fake to him. Everyone bit enough on the fake, that it gave my son Dylan the extra step he needed to clear his coverage. My QB made amazing throw and my son Dylan made a catch, outstretched on the sideline of the end zone to complete the catch for the win. I couldn't believe we pulled off the victory!!! It was HUGE!! There had to be 150 people watching the game at that point. The next teams who were to take the field, all their parents. All our parents.....Random people at the park. It was AMAZING. And to be honest, I credit P90X training giving these kids the strength to get through a game like that. I incorporate P90X moves into their practices. And it's helped with speed and focus that's for sure.
So, coming off a high like that, I went out for an AWESOME 4 mile run that afternoon. I was still so jacked up, that each mile split got faster and faster. My final mile split was 7:45. We finished off the night with a little Super Hero action of Ironman. And after a game like that, and a run like that....I truly felt like I was Ironman!
Sunday I went out for a nice easy 6 mile run. Managed to get in 17 miles for the week. I'm slowly ramping up the miles each week, so that when my 90 days are over I can roll right into half marathon training. I want to be lean and strong when I get there in April. Can't wait to get there. Larry Fitzgerald lives by three words. Faith, Focus, Finish. I've adopted these three words to help me get better each and every day.
So, until next week: Work hard, and Keep pushing play!
