Chrysalisis

Captain's Log Drink From The Everlasting Cup: A. Water abounds. Like scratching an itch, the cold crystal stream nourishes my body. Feed The Knee Beat: A-. I could be working on the alternative exercises, but the usuals are doing me well. With regular work, my knees are becoming significantly more stable. Speaking Of Which...: C-. I've been working late and it's very dark by the time I arrive home, my road is way too dangerous to be on at night. I've been putting in a solid mile on the elliptical a twice a week though. Mental Pie: C. At least I'm not making more of a mess. While I haven't been on top of truly eradicating mess, I've been very on top of preventing more. And I'm learning a lot of cool things, which almost makes up for it.

This. Pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

I've always been active/athletic, and am looking to start lifting. One of my coworkers is a power lifter and is willing to sort of mentor me and help me on my way. What do I need to know going into this? What equipment is absolutely necessary, and what can I do without or improvise on? Any protips? Note: 5'3" 113lbs female, built like a miniature linebacker. With curves. I'm not concerned about "bulking up" or putting up tons of weight super quick. Ideally, I'd like to lose some of my fat (or just turn most of it into muscle), and be more strong-like-bull than ever before.

Closing in on a week (I technically started doing these things the day before I entered the challenge), so I figure its time for a proper update. I. Feel. Great. My diet has been spectacularly paleo, and I'm drinking at least 1 liter of water a day. I keep a liter bottle at work that I make sure to drain, makes it really easy to keep track of how much I'm drinking and when. I'll give myself a solid A for "drink from the everlasting cup" this week. As for my knee, I've been mixing my physical therapy exercises with my walks and some body weight exercises (read: lots of squats and yoga). I took Thursday as a rest day, and have been going strong every day otherwise. Some soreness here and there, but I don't feel like I pushed myself so hard as to cause damage. I think I'm walking that fine balance between "enough for significant benefit" and "too much" quite well. B+ for "feed the knee beast". It was beautifully warm for the beginning of this week, and I had a day off, which made getting out for a walk/jog with my dog very easy. Then we got hit with 12 degree (F) weather and about 5 inches of snow. I'll be heading out for my 3rd mile this week shortly, cold be damned! I'm a dwarf, and I am too stubborn to be driven indoors by this pesky New England climate. B- for "speaking of which..." But truthfully, I'm a huge puss about the cold sometimes. Oh jeez. Cleaning. It sucks, to be honest. I love cleaning (give me a dirty bathtub and a streaked mirror and I'll have a ball) but I hate trying to take a room full of stuff and make it look good. I have successfully foregone about 10 cigarettes in favor of 5 minutes of cleaning. I'm consciously taking the few seconds and wherewithal to put things away when I'm done with them. One surface is cleared (with the exception of many books), and the things that were on it now have homes. A large basket of laundry has been folded, another folded and drawer'd/closet'd. I'll give myself a C on "mental pie". Overall, it's been a good week. I've been kicking ass at my job, my COO will return from his vacation on Monday to find that I alone put out over $100,000 worth of product last week, with two days off (I'm in luxury retail, shipping/receiving). Physically, I'm feeling good. My abs are developing again. Mentally, I feel better than I have since before I blew my stupid knee apart. I'm listening to my body properly now. I've always paid attention to my body and taken my cues from it, but it was like trying to read Farsi. Now I feel like I have a translator and can actually understand what I'm being told. As long as I can keep my head together, I foresee a hard-bodied, frisbee-chasing, log-vaulting, iron-willed future.

Little kids are ridiculous climbers. Don't judge your performance off of those tiny monkey things. Goodness, I miss climbing. Best of luck on all of your goals; I dig them all. For your sweet tooth: do you like dark chocolate? I like to do mixed berried with 85% dark chocolate to sate my sweet tooth.

Thanks for popping by, BadWolf (dig your username, by the way)! So far, things are going well. Took my pup out for our mile today, jogged about .17 of it. Close to my goal of .2, but I supplemented the difference by using my elliptical for another half mile. Got halfway through organizing my hats, scarves, bandanas and gloves too, which also tackles one of the surfaces. Not sure where I'm at on water intake, but I can guarantee it's more than my usual! Rhyme, I completely agree. So much packaging gets left behind, mostly cardboard, because I always think I can repurpose it. I just hate to throw out perfectly good materials. Well, time to cut losses and remove those boxes! Thanks for the lowdown on attribute points, I'll definitely do that. Best of luck to both of you on your goals, and feel free to come at me for encouragement, ranting, whatever!

Hey Rhyme, thanks! I really love running (after YEARS of hating it/being terrible), so I think my biggest challenge will be holding myself back from further injury. 10 bucks says I push myself way too hard and tear my MCL again within a month! Any tips for reducing my stuff or keeping it neat? I seem to try this once or twice a year and never really get anywhere. And I definitely should allocate points for these goals. I'm just not entirely sure on the rules of how that works. I'm kind of winging it here.

Well hi! We have some similar goals...home cleaning and being able to run a full mile. How is your running form? Do you have a heavy heel strike? What's your cadence like? I used to get nasty shin splints, but once I switched to a mid- to fore-foot strike, that pretty much disappeared.

As the dwarven adventurer sets out on her first challenge with the Rebels, she ponders her life and where she is going. After much turmoil and debate, she finally settles on a handful of quests to complete first. Drink From the Everlasting Cup She finds that her intake of life-sustaining water has been measly, at best. Henceforth, the dwarf girl pledges to increase her consumption of the delicious drink up to 100% over 5 weeks of conditioning. By the end of the challenge, she will be drinking 3 liters of water per day. Every week, intake will increase so as to not startle the body. Feed the Knee Beast +3 DEX +3 STR After having been laid up for over six months due to knee injury, Chrysalisis finds herself raring to go. She knows better than to just go out and run a few miles; she must strengthen and condition her knee to bear weight at speed again. The frustration of immobilization is over, and so the work must begin. Every day, with one day off a week, she will engage in the exercises as prescribed by the physical therapist who has been treating her, working up to 3 sets of 30 reps of each activity. She just wants to run. Speaking Of Which... +4 STA +2 CON Finding herself able to slowly jog short distances with no ill effects for the first time since the injury, the dwarf girl is hopeful for the first time. By the end of this Challenge, she will be able to run one mile. No fewer than 3 days a week, and no more than 5 days a week, she will venture forth on the road with her faithful canine companion and walk a mile, running/jogging at intervals, with .2 total having been run. Running distance will be increased by .2 miles per week. Mental Pie +2 CON + 1WIS A quest for the ages...the dwarven girl knows she must have a clean and organized domicile in order to have a clean and organized body. Clothes will be ironed and folded, dust swept, floors vacuumed, surfaces organized, closet tidied, belongings pared down to essentials. As a lazy pack rat, this will be no small feat. This shall be accomplished by beginning with clothing, gear and footwear. Sorting, donating, selling, tossing, repairing, folding, hanging, organizing, all of it. Next comes surfaces. Non essentials thrown out, everything finds its place in her room, tabletops are cleaned thoroughly. Then all of the pure junk and clutter will be eliminated. After that, floors and walls will be scrubbed, and finally the room will be reorganized for maximum efficiency and comfort for Chrysalisis' new life. Edit: Mental Pie will also serve to help her smoke less. Instead of going out for a cigarette, she will move/place/put away 5 items.