This post is a little late - for good reason. Instead of finishing up on September 5th as I had planned, I decided I would extend the deadline of the challenge another week in preparation for the triathlon.
In review
When I began, my goal for the 75 days was to get physically stronger. I can definitely say I got stronger - but definitely not in the manner I was anticipating.
When I first decided to do my second trial of the 75 Hard, I had no clue I was going to be challenged to begin competing in triathlons, so I was anticipating bulking and adding general muscle mass. Once I began doing more endurance training, I found it was quite difficult to add on to muscle mass, thereby not necessarily getting stronger in the gym.
Though I sacrificed the gains in the gym, I definitely got stronger in the pool, on the bike, and on the road.
What I gained
When I first signed up for the triathlons midway through July, I had never really spent time in a pool actively swimming. So to go from that to 750m in 24 minutes... I'll take it.
I'd ridden beach cruisers around all my life, but never for more than a casual little ride, maybe five miles max. The first time I hopped on a road bike was mid July. After a "short" 14 mile ride with my neighbor, I was GASSED. Now, I can pretty effortlessly ride 30 miles at an average of 18 mph...
Sweet!
If you know me, you know I like to go fast.
So, pacing myself is generally a difficulty (as can be seen by my swimming experiences). Prior to beginning training, the furthest I had ever run without taking a break was three miles. I can now comfortably run double that without stopping.
So yes, you might say I didn't reach the goals I set out for, but realistically I did need to change my target in order to reach the goals I set out to reach in my triathlons.
I'm pretty satisfied.
Will you do 75H again?
Honestly probably not. In retrospect I did a really bad job listening to myself. When I completed 75H last year, I had journaled about how much of a time commitment it was and how much of what I was reading and learning suggested I could be much more efficient in my training.
Plus many of today's top health specialists and biohackers like Ben Greenfield and Mark Hyman advocate not only for exercise, but adequate rest and recovery.
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