Sumner

Whaaaaaaaat!? I only today realised the challenge has finished! I was about to go to the gym too - eff that now I'm taking a break, it's freezing outside XD The results are in... Punching and Running I think overall I've done really well with this goal, I've stayed as consistent as possible (stopping for injuries and time away) and jumping back on the horse when I needed to. I can't convince myself I gave it an absolute 100% (who can?) but I think a solid B+ is in order. +2 STR +2 STA There and Back Again this was always going to be an odd goal. I can very easily convince myself not to go walking in the countryside (fuel cost, lack of companion) so instead I've been running in the gym. Mainly for this reason, so I think that's a redeeming aspect. A flaky C- +1 STR +1 STA +1 DEX Awesome Chef I started off very strong on this goal (don't we always?) But as ever, when things got a bit tough I slowed right down, in this case to a complete stop. There were reasons however, so it's not completely my fault. B +2 WIS +1 CHA I made level 2! Yus!

Ahhh, I've sucked at updating this week. However, I have been busying away in the gym, I'm now trying interval training on the treadmill, as my friend told me it's worth more than running for half an hour, and boy, does it tire you out! I can only manage 10 minutes with a lot of pushing, it makes me physically out of breath, whereas my half hour run just makes me ache from running for so long. I've been keeping up with kettlebells too, and pushing myself harder this week. I've still not gotten around to cooking at all this week though, I've really reached a stumbling block with this stupid gazpacho. The main reason is using the blender. We have one, but I don't know where it is, and it's a pain to find, so it's very easy to put off. And even if I skipped this, the next meal has eel in it, and that's gonna be a pain to get a hold of too. Maybe I'll just skip both of them and then once I've gotten back in to the swing of things I'll come back to them. Walking is going well, I can see the end of the Old Forest to the south!

Just a quick update... Not had time really for anything this weekend, I've been so busy with work that I've been working, eating and sleeping in that order. So I've still yet to make that damned gazpacho, but hopefully i'll have time next week. Hit the gymon Friday though, and managed to get my 30 minutes of cardio and kettle bells in respectively.

Ahh, not had much chance to update for a while, but then again nothing major has happened. I've been busying away in the gym (although Monday I couldn't make it as I was out of town), but this time my ipod ran out of power, so I tried a fitness program thing on the running machine, which alters the speed and gradient at certain times, it was ok. Not had chance to cook anything this week either, I've been so busy in the evenings it's really annoying me. I've got everything I need for gazpacho too, just need time.

Update: Forgot my ipod at home today, so I was super bored at the gym and decided to walk instead of run. Anyway I only made about a mile in half an hour, which is lame. Also kettlebells were fine. Got a few ingredients ready to make roasted garlic and gazpacho tomorrow night!

I second that! I would love a job where I get to use my muscles, it feels more rewarding I think. Keep it up HulmeK!

Thanks! I'm getting much chance to do it the way I wanted to, but at least I'm making progress on it. A quick update then: I ran again today, but had trouble with my knee again, which was very frustrating, because I don't know why it hurts, I just know it does. So I stopped for 5 minutes about 20 minutes in, then went back and finished it. got my 2 circuits of kettlebell exercises in too, but found myself getting really tired today. That too was frustrating. EDIT: Just realised this doesn't make sense because I didn't say last time that my knee hurt while running. It did. Did a lot of cooking these past 2 days, yesterday I made Asian scrambled eggs again, and tried tuna fishcakes instead of crab. They were much more substantial, but I think I made too many for one person, so next time I'll split them in to two servings. Also the cheapy noodles I got were shit, they tasted like spaghetti which I hate, even with spring onions and soy sauce. Today I made a Spinach, tomato and avocado salad which was delish, and tomorrow I'll do it again cos I've only used half the ingredients I bought, plus I'll make this fried courgette thing again. I'm really getting the knack of cooking these few meals now, whenever I go shopping I think "Oh if I only buy these 2 things I can make 3 meals worth of food", it's really helpful having similar ingredients for things. Think I'll move on to some more new recipes next week though, or even this weekend.

So Poland was great! And I did end up doing a lot of walking, I estimated about 20 miles in 23 days, which isn't bad at all! In regards to my other tasks, I got back in the gym yesterday morning and did my half hour run, but I was pushed for time, so I didn't get my kettle bell workout in, I'll pick that up again on Wednesday. So I've leapt ahead, past Woody End, and over the Brandywine Bridge, and I'm now on my way to Buckland! Gonna get cooking this week too, might try tuna fishcakes instead of crab this time, and maybe try another steak, because it annoyed me how much it sucked last time. Looking forward to a good week!

It's pretty basic really, spring onion, ginger and soy sauce added to eggs while cooking - easy, but it changes the dish drastically! I LOVE North African eggs, cumin, mint and garlic powder, the mint makes them amazing. Another quick update: Had a final run and kettlebell workout on Friday, I was pretty tired by the end of it, I think three days in a row really wore me out. Didn't cook anything spectacular over the weekend as I was working for most of it, but I got back in to the gym today. Think I hurt my leg somehow on Sunday though, so I found it quite hard to run and only ended up doing about 10 minutes, and one set of kettlebells. In other news I'm going to Warsaw on Wednesday for a couple of days so I won't be able to workout anymore this week! I figure that since I'm on holiday, I can have a break, it's just a shame I couldn't really go at it today because of my leg. Hopefully I'll get a lot of walking done in Poland though, so if I can work out how far I've been, I'll add it on to my Hobbit Walk. I'll probably wait until next Monday to update again, since I won't have much to report!

At least you've got your plan sorted, and big goal to aim for, all the best with your challenge!

I had the opposite problem, found the cauliflower easy but the steak hard! Problem I had was it never got to temperature in the oven, so it just stayed in there for ages, and was really tough by the end. Waste of steak really, I was annoyed too because I did everything exactly as he said. Oh well, I tweak every recipe anyway to make it easier or more to my liking.

Just another quick update since I didn't get to earlier this week... Went running again today, to make up for missing Monday, I got really tired though which was annoying. Maybe it's because I had Shreddies for breakfast instead of a protein shake, which is what I usually have on gym day. Anyway made 3 more miles, well on my way down the East Road now, I know I said I'd be at the trees near Woody End by the end of last week, but I read the table wrong and I wont make it until next week now. Not to worry, the East road is very pretty! In other news, I made the crab cakes last night, which were ok, a little dry though. I'll probably try them with Tuna next time, see how different it is.

Glad you made them again! I think with cooking scrambled eggs you can't really go wrong, but it's good to hear you're trying different ones. Good luck with the cauliflower mash and steak, I'm sure you'll do better than I did!

I managed to get Harissa Paste from Tesco, making them tonight so we'll see what happens! Not sure I even like Crab anyway, but I'll try it Thanks! Yeah I came to the realisation today that my Kettlebell workout is really for functional strength, and at this point I don't need to bulk up, I just need to exercise, so functional strength is perfect for that... Update! I made Sexy-time Steak on Sunday night, but it didn't go well. for some reason it never got to a high enough temperature in the oven (I seared it first) so I ended up overcooking it and it was really well done. Stupid recipe. So I don't think I'll do that one again, plus Rib-eyes are expensive. On the other hand, last night I made Bittman's Chinese Chicken, which doesn't seem a lot like a recipe for Chinese food (this is what my girlfriend said, she is a chef) but it was delicious nonetheless! I think I'll try marinading the chicken next time though, just to see if it changes the flavour at all. Making Crab Cakes tonight too, I'm really getting in to the swing of cooking regularly now, this will be my third meal of the week already, plus 'Asian' scrambled eggs this morning! I didn't make it to the gym on Monday as I was too busy, but I got my half hour of running in today, and maybe I will go again tomorrow to make up for it... Made another three miles today, so I'm still on the East Road.

So what's next on the list for cooking? Have you tried any of the scrambled eggs from different countries yet? I LOVE the North African version, the mint is really a refreshing flavour for something so familiar...