It's been a tough week!

This last week has made it tough to stick with my plan.  This is week three and I've had some issues when it comes to both my workouts and my eating, but I'm not giving up.  Between work, school and making a trip to Oakland for Logan's 3 month post treatment doctor's appointments I've had some ups and downs.

Yes, I've run twice and lifted twice, but they were both double days, so now I've got to do two more double days to hit my goals.  The biggest issue has been my eating this week though.  Yes, it could have been much, much worse.  One food that I truly enjoy is tacos, and who doesn't love tacos?  I'm not talking the healthy fish tacos I've had a couple times, I'm talking crunchy fast food or taco shop tacos with ground beef and lots of cheese.  Del Taco original Del Taco tacos are my crack......... I love them and I've been craving them for weeks.  I've never eaten them regularly, but prior to this I would eat them once a week or so when I really got a craving and until Tuesday it had been a month.  With Tuesday being national taco day I couldn't hold out anymore, so tacos and beer it was.  Then Wednesday on the trip to Oakland I held out until lunch, but ended up having some pizza and a little bit of soda for lunch and we drove through In-and-Out for dinner on our way home.  Again, it could have been much worse.  At lunch I had 1/4 of a soda and dinner I had water to drink and Nancy, Hunter and I split an order of fries.  But the important part of this for me is I tracked each and every thing I had to eat in MyFitnessPal so I can see what I did and take responsibility for it.

Even with these lapses I am still seeing some results, both with my weight and my over all fitness.  Last Saturday I ran my fastest 5K since I started running and the training runs I have done have continued that trend.  I did a 3 mile trail run Thursday night at a 12:24 minute mile pace, which is quite a bit faster then any trail run I've run before.  As of this morning I'm weighing in at 272.2 pounds, down from 280.7 pounds when I started this, which is over my goal of 2 pounds a week.  While my weight and runs are going in the right direction, the one area I am still lacking is getting in to the gym.  Yes, I'm lifting and doing some Train To Hunt workouts and some of the Black Iron Gym  programming here at the house, but it isn't the same.  Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I can get all this dialed in and really start seeing some results.

Overall, the biggest thing I have taken from this, and want all of you to see, is even with small lapses you can get it done.  Just because you break down and eat 4 tacos and have a few beers isn't a reason to give up 3 weeks of hard work and dedication!!

Keep at it, I know I will!!

WOW!! I truly surprised myself!!

On one of my earlier blogs I talked about setting and reaching goals.  In that blog I talked about the fact I had been chasing a running goal of a sub 36 minute 5K.  In the past I had come close but had never reached it.  Yesterday morning I ran a 9K race as a fundraiser for the Sheriff's Office K9 unit.  When I started my goal was to finish and have a decent time compared to previous runs I have done.  Over the last few weeks I haven't really pushed my speed or distance in my runs, I just got it done.  I started out fast for me, but it wasn't until I finished my first mile, which was 9:57.  This was probably the fastest mile I have run in close to 20 years!!  At this point I knew I needed to slow down or I'd burn out.  As I closed in on 5K mark I knew again I'd be faster then any previous 5K, but here I was running a 9K.  When I crossed the finish line and I puled up the numbers it really hit me.  Not only did I beat my previous 5K time by over 4 minutes, I finished the 9K at 11:57 per mile pace, well faster then any race I have ever done.

The hard part for me now is setting a new goal.  I'm built for comfort, not speed!!  Can I run a sub 30 minute 5K?  Can I run at a 10 minute mile pace?  I'm not sure, but I sure as hell am going to try.  I will say for the first time I am seeing what a good, healthy diet will do for you.......... Your body truly is an engine and you need to fuel it properly!!

Here I am coming in to the finish of my 9K!

Just keep this in mind........ If I can do it, anyone can!