This week felt different from Week 3. Instead of spiraling with slip-ups, I felt like I was testing my limits and proving consistency. The runs weren’t easy — I keep waiting for one of those effortless “cruise control” days — but I’m noticing signs of progress, both in the numbers and in my mindset.
I always tell people that if you hate running, you’re probably running too fast. I know I’m running too fast. But here’s the difference: it’s not making me dread the next run. If I ever get to that point, I’ll back off. For now, the improvements feel steady and, in my mind, surprisingly quick.
Intermittent Fasting & Nutrition
This week was a lot better than last week. For the most part, I stuck to my plan. There were a few slip-ups — breaking my fast earlier than scheduled, grabbing some highly processed foods here and there — but overall I stayed on track.
Saturday was a highlight and a challenge. Our family dessert was a pumpkin cake with cream cheese salted caramel icing, and it was amazing. The important thing is that this was part of my plan — I’ve built in a weekly family dessert so I don’t feel deprived and can enjoy those moments guilt-free. Unfortunately, it just happened to fall on the same day as a less-than-ideal processed lunch, and the combination didn’t sit well with the scale the next morning.
I don’t weigh myself every day, but I do step on after days like that — or after a stretch of really strong discipline — just to see where I’m at. It’s not about obsessing over the number; it’s about learning how my choices show up in the results.
Takeaway: Progress doesn’t mean perfection. The plan worked better this week because I mostly stuck to it — and when I slipped, I didn’t let it spiral.
Weight Progress
- Starting Weight: 320.3 lbs
- Last Week: 303.5
- Week 4 Weigh-in: 301.3
- This Week’s Loss: 2.2 lbs
- Total Lost: 19.0 lbs
- Pounds Till Goal: 81.0 lbs
I’m right on target. My aim is to lose about two pounds a week, and 2.2 keeps me on pace. Honestly, I feel like I’m holding a little extra water weight this morning after a couple salty meals over the last two days, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens on the scale next week.
If I’d dropped just a little more, I would have dipped below 300 for the first time since October 2023. According to my app, I’ve bounced between 300 and 320 for the past two years without realizing it. To be this close to breaking through feels huge.
Takeaway: Progress is progress. Each week gets me closer to breaking the 300 barrier — and this time, I’m not letting it bounce back.
Run 1: Dead Legs, Hidden Progress
Conditions: 60°F | 87% humidity | 59° dew point | 3 mph wind
Distance: 2.32 mi | Pace: 14:41 | Elevation Gain: 111 ft
Avg HR: 140 | Cadence: 129
Splits: 12:36 | 12:50 | 13:05 | 13:21
VO₂ Max: 32.1 (started at 27.1)
Music: Muse – Simulation Theory
This run landed somewhere in between. It wasn’t miserable, but it ended with dead legs, and during it I kept asking myself: Am I actually improving? That’s been the hardest thing to figure out — what makes one run feel smooth and another feel like a grind.
Looking back though, the details tell a different story. This was a 5/1 run-walk, meaning more running and less recovery. On top of that, my elevation gain was the highest I’ve logged yet. Segments two and three each had big hills, so of course my legs felt dead by the end.
And there were moments of real progress tucked in there. On my second segment, heading uphill, my heart rate jumped from a comfortable 145 to 153. I settled into pace, glanced at my watch, and saw something I hadn’t seen since starting this: my heart rate dropped — 153, 152, 151 — while I was still running uphill.
The third segment ended halfway up the steepest hill in town. My heart rate barely dipped below 150 before I had to start running again, spiking to 155 at the top. But even then, it came back down to 151 as I kept running. That kind of recovery mid-run wasn’t possible for me a few weeks ago.
The last stretch finished with two short but brutal hills, and that’s when the dead legs set in. It wasn’t pretty, but it was the finish.
Afterward, I checked another number I’ve been quietly tracking: VO₂ max. When I started, my Apple Watch measured me at 27.1 — “low” cardio fitness. Today, after this run, I’m at 32.1. Still not impressive by any outside standard, but that’s a steady climb, and it moved me up into the “below average” range. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s proof that the grind is paying off.
Takeaway: Dead legs don’t mean I’m not improving. Sometimes the hills and harder run-walk ratios make the progress feel hidden, but the numbers show it’s there.
Run 2: Pushing Boundaries, Finding Belief
Conditions: 63°F | 94% humidity | 61° dew point | 4 mph wind
Distance: 2.23 mi | Pace: 14:19 | Elevation Gain: 60 ft
Avg HR: 146 | Cadence: 132
Splits: 12:53 | 12:15 | 12:44
VO₂ Max: 32.4
Music: None during run; Kaleo — Mixed Emotions (cooldown)
My run-walk ratios are slowly turning into more running and less recovery. This one started with a 0.3 mile run, 2-minute walk, then two 0.6 mile runs broken up by a 3-minute walk. By the time I finished with a short walk and cooldown, I realized each run is pushing the boundaries of what I’ve done before.
I keep waiting for one of those effortless “easy runs” again, but they never seem to show up. Part of it is probably me — I don’t want to slow down. The problem is, I don’t really know how. I already feel like I’m barely running, and when I try to go slower, my form falls apart. I heel strike instead of landing mid-foot, and that turns my calves into tight softballs that pull on my tendons. So instead I hold on at this pace, even if it means finishing with dead legs.
Maybe that’s the athlete in me resurfacing. During my last run segment, halfway through, the thought flashed: “Man, I want to walk.” But then another voice cut in: “Fuck that. I’m not giving up now. I’m better than that.” That’s the competitor I haven’t felt in a long time.
I’ve given in plenty of times before. But not today. Today I proved to myself I’m in this for the long haul. For the first time, I thought: “I’m really going to do this.” And my VO₂ max backed it up — ticking up again, from 27.1 when I started to 32.4 today. Small jumps, but steady progress.
Takeaway: Each run keeps stretching the limits, but I’m no longer the guy who gives in. That shift in mindset may be the biggest improvement yet.
Run 3: The Big Hill, The Struggle Bus, The Streak
Conditions: 71°F | 89% humidity | 67° dew point | 3 mph wind
Distance: 2.93 mi | Pace: 14:23 | Elevation Gain: 117 ft
Avg HR: 146 | Cadence: 129
Splits: 12:08 | 11:56 | 12:44 | 13:03
VO₂ Max: 32.6
Music: Running playlist (various songs)
Today I experimented with stride. I tried lengthening it while slowing things down — I’m not sure if that’s a contradiction or even possible, but for the first two segments it felt like I nailed it. The splits were quick, but I didn’t feel overworked. My heart rate stayed right in the zone I like, and whenever it crept up a bit, it recovered fast. Even my walk breaks gave me a full reset.
Then came segment 3. Two minutes into a 6-minute run I hit what I’ll officially call from now on the Big Hill — the steepest climb in town. By the top my heart rate had spiked to 168. Miserable. I managed to recover some, but before that segment ended there were two more short, steep hills. By the time I finished, my heart rate was still in the high 160s.
My walk break didn’t help much — I only got back down to 153. That was the warning sign. Sure enough, the last 6-minute segment was pure survival. I hovered at 160+ the whole way, came close to stopping at least three times, and by the end I felt like I was running in place. My lungs were gone. My legs were gone. But I finished.
The numbers say it was a tough day, but there’s another number that matters more: this was my twelfth straight run in four weeks. I’ve now hit three runs a week for a full month. That consistency is a bigger win than any single pace or split.
Takeaway: The Big Hill humbled me, but the streak matters more. Four weeks in, I’ve proven I can show up, no matter how messy the runs feel.
Perspective
Four weeks in, I see a pattern. My diet is steadier, my runs are longer, and my VO₂ max keeps climbing. The improvements don’t always show up in the moment — sometimes they hide behind dead legs or a bad meal choice — but when I step back, the story is clear: I’m building consistency.
I’ve also started to notice that the “athlete voice” in my head is back. The same drive that once pushed me as a competitor is starting to show up on these runs. It’s not about perfection; it’s about refusing to quit, and I can feel that switch flipping.
Final Thought
Four weeks. Twelve runs. Nineteen pounds lost.
The biggest win isn’t any single run or weigh-in — it’s that I’ve shown up, over and over, when it would have been easy not to. My VO₂ max says I’m fitter. The scale says I’m lighter. And my mindset says I’m not the same guy who would have given in before.
The easy runs haven’t come yet, but they will. And when they do, I’ll know it’s because of weeks like this.
