I lasted ten days doing 75 Hard. But that does not mean I’m quite done with this endeavor yet.
Last week, I traveled to Denver, Colorado, to see about a job opportunity. I left Tuesday morning and came back to Ohio on Friday morning. When I got back to the airport in Cincinnatti, I decided to drive down to Nashville for the weekend to see one of my best friends in the world. The drive took about five hours. On the way down there, I told myself I was going to get in both workouts – the only thing I had to do to complete the challenges for the day. However, when I arrived in Nashville, it was dark and cold, and I convinced myself that it was too late to complete them both. My friend and his girlfriend wanted to go get dinner, and I didn’t want them to have to wait for an hour and a half. So I failed. At that point, I decided to recalibrate for the weekend, let loose and enjoy myself. My diet on Friday actually wasn’t bad. I had a bagel in the morning before leaving for the airport in Denver. I had some coffee at the airport in Cincinnati and didn’t eat again until I went to dinner with my friend and his lady.
However, I went a little off the rails on Saturday and Sunday, eating a Bojangles chicken biscuit for breakfast, and a Philly Cheesesteak for dinner. Sunday I consumed a burger and fries, a slice of pizza, Chipotle, and lots of alcohol both days I was down there. Not exactly a surprise that my stomach was in shambles the entire weekend.
All that being said, today is a new day. I’m back home, I cleared my head, and got all of that shit out of my system. I’m disappointed that I fell off track, but at the same time, I had an incredible and much-needed weekend of fun. So today, I’m restarting 75 Hard.
This time, I’ve restructured my diet. I’m going to try a vegetarian diet for the first time in my life. There are a few reasons for doing so. First of all, I have a friend who is very near and dear to my heart, who believes in veganism and has been a vegan for 3 years. She is a huge inspiration in giving this a try. The second reason is that this diet will be a challenge for me. I’ve been eating meat for as long as I can remember. I’ve never been a huge fan of vegetables, so I feel like this will help me get over the mental block that is eating veggies.
I’m also going to do a more rigid exercise routine – primarily based on improving my body for soccer. I coach high school soccer and am pursuing a career in coaching the beautiful game. So, following an exercise routine that I can use in the future for my players, and learning it intimately will be a challenge, albeit a very rewarding one.
As for the reading portion of 75 Hard, I managed to pick up a handful of soccer and coaching books while I was in Nashville. This adds to my library of coaching resources, and I’m absolutely thrilled to digest all of the information within these pages. I anticipate learning a lot and becoming a better coach because of these books. The book I’m currently reading is “Leading” by Alex Ferguson. I feel like I’ve learned a lot already, but still have a lot to learn. Why not learn from the best?
One final note – I’m very proud of myself for restarting this endeavor. The old me would not even bother to restart the challenge. But I’m determined to see it through and continue growing as a coach and as a man. Over the next two and a half months I will continue to share my progress as well as insights I pick up while undergoing this venture. Let’s get after it.
Thank you for reading along, I hope this is able to inspire others to want for more, and desire to strive to be a better version of themselves. Peace & love y’all.
-Footy
Footy Foster 