Archbishop Turpin

Thanks, I-Jo. I'm much looking forward to the terrors and challenges. I'll have enough water to camel up through the desert sections, and repellent for the Sierras and beyond. My boys pointed out that my handkerchief was the equivalent of my towel, so I will always attempt to be a hoopy frood who knows where his towel is.

Thanks! It has been a dream for a long time, but I wasn't certain I'd ever actually get to do it. Right about the time I started thinking about it more seriously, I found this site, and it not only helped with my physical training, but Steve's thoughts on pursuing adventure really helped stoke the fires. And seeing all the pretty great things the other Rebels were up to added extra fuel. Godspeed on your journey as well.

Hey, all, This site has been instrumental in helping me to get in shape to chase my dream: thru-hiking the 2,665 (or so) miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. And in part thanks to the ethos and hope this site encourages, I'm making it come true this year. I'll be leaving in three days to hike from Mexico to Canada. If anyone is interested in following along with the journey and helping me with nerd tips along the way, feel free to drop by and peruse my blog (which will be updated from the trail): www.professorerrant.com Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement and your enthusiasms which helped fuel these fires. A Professor Errant ps--I'm too lame to upload it, but you can see pictures of my sweet TARDIS backpack over there in the blog...

A wonderful start to your quest, ma'am. As another parent and someone trying to set a good example for kids, I salute you! It sounds as though you are doing a tremendous job, and you shall succeed brilliantly. It is amazing how much people sometimes insist we join them in their activities; it's part of our social conditioning, really. I try to remember that they aren't actually trying to sabotage me or full of bitter resentment over my making my diet choices, though it can feel like that. They really do just want to share the experience with you and don't know how to deal with it when you don't go along. They'll get used to it, and you can wear the badge of "the weird, health-obsessed zealot" with pride. My worst food-avoidance moment: this year when my 40th birthday rolled around, I had started a VERY strict diet with my wife that was supposed to stave off candida and other ailments she fights: no dairy, no grains, no sugar, no "fermented" foods, no caffeine(!), no nothing. A handful of meats and vegetables, and it did not allow for slip-ups or breaks from the program. (This makes my current paleo diet seem a breeze by comparison, which is no bad thing.) My colleagues at work actually brought in a beautiful cake for my birthday and presented it at a staff meeting, and I had to be the heel who said, "That's amazing! And I can't eat it! But thank you!" I was a sad man that day, but we all survived. Godspeed, Jolly!

Keep it up, O dweller in the maze of Crete. Your awesome inspired awesome in the rest of us.

I wanted to drop in and return the favor of your kind encouragement over on my journey. I, too, am sorry to hear about your food poisoning--food should not poison one!--but pleased for you that your mighty power overcame and destroyed the invader. I struggle with the whole sleeping thing as well. What I've found is that, while I have all kinds of wonderful plans for that time late at night, and I like to imagine I'm terribly productive then, it turns out I'm not. I get a lot of amusement and entertainment in, less actual, useful activity. Still, once it's ingrained, it's awfully hard to kill. JessFit's advice is sound, though when I've tried that tactic I feel miserably tired during the day, but by the evening I feel awake again, leading into a declining spiral until I crash. I found myself having to make it a rule, like Steve's robot-living suggestion: "IF my watch says 10:30pm, THEN I will get ready for bed." Also, cutting out electronics tends to take away most of my reason for staying awake save for books, and those can often get me to sleep (especially if they're not particularly good books, and if I read them lying in bed). In any case, keep at it, sister, and godspeed. You will awesome your way to your goals.

So the first week went almost entirely well. I was spot-on for exercises, even pushing up the reps on the Rookie training because I felt like I wasn't as sweaty as Steve said I ought to be. I'm hoping to maybe move up to the Recruit level in another few weeks. I had actually started this the week before the challenge, so it was more of a continuation, and the extra week to iron out the kinks probably helped as well. The diet is a similar story. I almost died when I had to bring home pizza for my kids and their friends (is there any greater enemy to diet than the smell of pizza filling your car? Probably, but at the time I couldn't think of one), but other than that temptation it's been good. Our house is pretty paleo as it is, so it was a relatively minor adjustment. The killer here, though, is the bed time. I did make it a couple of evenings, and I've been going to be earlier than average, but I'm just not certain if my current schedule will allow for the total switch-over. Maybe that's an excuse, but my work keeping me up late is just a deal breaker. I'm contemplating changing it out (if that's allowed--even on a site with few rules, I'm worried about breaking them somehow and cheating) for a provision I can keep to: 3) Cut down on the electronic amusement/triviality! I teach online courses and work extensively on the computer, so I can't escape the machine. (I did set up a standing desk in my office, though--at least temporarily--so that's a better thing than the sitting thing.) But I fritter away vast wodges of time on pointless internet excursions: checking and rechecking email and Facebook, checking in here and other message boards, reading online comics and articles with interesting information and articles with useless information and articles with pointless information which discuss issues with which I'm not even familiar... I have point-and-click disease. It's just so much easier and moderately more interesting than composition essays. So I set up a schedule of times to check the internet a few times a day, with a ten minute time limit each time (save for one longer period in the evening for catching up on things requiring more investment). I tried it out the last couple of day and it really made me think about my time, how I wanted to use those ten minutes. And, as hoped for, I was also far more productive than usual. I can feel this one will get more challenging as the novelty wears off, but I'm determined to try. As an addendum, in the evening after finishing my audio work, part of this vow is to avoid all electronics of whatever kind. No TV, video games, internet, tablet reading. Zip. If what they say is true about how such devices monkey with your internal clock, hopefully that will get me to sleep once I do get there. And, given that this will probably be read by four people, that seems like enough. Back to grading for me.

The workouts have been going well this week--just did a 2.5 mile circuit for my 30 minute cardio deal this morning, and shaved a minute or so off my best time, so there's a thing. I can feel that I'm moving better than I used to, though it still feels piddly and small. I have a real acceptance-hate relationship with the cardio. (I can't quite call it love-hate, for there is no love.) I like hiking, but I've been pushing myself to throw in some running, especially for the 10-minute sessions as part of the Rookie workout. I thought I was just really miserable at it before I really thought about the fact that most of the streets around my house run at a 10% to 14% grade, which mentally makes me feel a bit better but physically still makes me feel like a walrus. It's better than being slow and full of Doritos, though. The getting to bed on time thing has been the largest challenge. I've managed to do it up to last night, but at this point I'm struggling with that vow conflicting with the life goal for this challenge: finishing my audio book. I can only record at night due to family and--even more so--ambient noise. It's rough enough in my little not-well-enough-insulated studio after 9pm with vehicles going by; it just can't be done earlier in the day. And to get the work done generally takes a couple of hours at a shot. And then it becomes tremendously difficult to just walk in the house and fall into bed without a bit of winding down. Hrm.

I'm always intrigued by yoga, but not nearly enough to actually try it. It's shooting for flexibility, yes? How goes the journey?

Thanks for the fashion encouragement, Sakag. The bento has been useful in keeping to the paleo thing. Whenever a diet says, "Eat when you're hungry," I will find that I am hungry ALL THE TIME. I can't trust my stomach or my brain's connection to it, so the bento is useful in keeping the portions wise. I don't think it'd be that great on the trail, though. (One of the lovely side benefits of the PCT through-hike is the ability to eat whatever and still be in better shape than when you start.) And yes--we need a team. A league. A cadre of power. I haven't yet found one here, though I haven't looked feverishly yet. Oh--and there's an exercise thing. Did the workout yesterday, did the cardio today (with added actual running! On a few short occasions!). The diet is on track. So a fine day (though I, like you [and here I address the totality of the human race] want to nap).

I love "Assassins do not slack." I need one of those. Your regimen sounds tough; kudos on hanging in there. I found that the Rookie workouts take me longer than I expect as well, and I resent them for that. Keep kicking gluteus muscles.

Ultan, L4dyh4wk, Selene--thanks for the encouragement! I took a set of photos at the beginning of last week, and another set just this morning before the first workout of this challenge. I don't know if it's a common or a rare reaction, but looking at those photos tends to make me feel worse. When I can't see myself, after I work out I feel better and somehow imagine I look better. Then the mirror serves as an unpleasant reminder. I am hoping that being able to observe the changes over these coming weeks will reverse that sourness. And now I have to get a cool character stat sheet as my signature, because the ones you folks have are awesome and make me jealous. Jealousy is a good motivation, right?

I've spent a week on the paleo diet and performing the Rookie workout. I am absolutely not the kind to sign up for a public challenge. Yet here I am. I am a troll trying to wrangle himself into a scout, though rangers are intriguing. I am encouraged by the quote about my namesake taken from The Song of Roland: "No tonsured priest who ever sang a mass/performed such feats of prowess with his body." I'm inspired by the stories I've read here. I'm enormously hopeful that having others around to encourage and be encouraged by in turn will be a turning point in my journey to fantasticness. So here's the lowdown: Main Quest To lose weight and see the changes in the mirror I'm still feeling my way through this fitness thing, and I don't know what kind of specific changes I ought to be looking for. But I want to be able to see the alterations and be pleased. Three Goals 1) Stick with the paleo diet for six weeks I've done fairly strict eating regimens before and had some success; paleo is actually a little kinder than some, but has some features that are taking some readjustment. In addition, there's a learning curve to this kind of eating--experimenting with when and how much to eat will be a requirement. 2) Complete the Rookie workout regimen, moving up to Recruit if and when warranted I've been doing somewhat regular cardio, so the Rookie jump wasn't awful, but the new weight training and pushing the cardio a bit further has been keeping me sweating. Perhaps it's a pipe dream, but I'd love to get up into the Recruit level by the challenge's end. 3) Get to bed on time (11pm)! I have a terrible time getting myself to rest before 1 or 2 am; the grogginess and sourness and pain in the morning is never enough to make me climb into bed the same night. It's probably a combination of habit, agitation (since I usually feel I haven't completed enough during the day to deserve rest), and a chance go have a bit of space to myself. (I'm an introvert, and the rest of the day spent among colleagues, students, and family tends to drain my battery.) But I know that more sleep would make me a far better person. (At least, that's what all sources seem to be telling me.) I'd peg this even earlier, but I do have some work that can only be done at night (in this case, recording work). Life Side Quest Finish my latest audio book I've recorded a couple of audio books; I have a contract to complete one more, and though I'd love to keep doing it, between teaching, family, and my own writing, I just don't have the gumption to keep it up at this point. (I hope to be able to pick it up again when I get my schedule and my own habits under control.) I have to finish this book and get this monster off my back. My Motivation Being in shape to hike the Pacific Crest Trail This is a common enough goal for folks here, but it's been a motivator for me off and on for years. I have secured the necessary permissions from my family and may have a chance to request the time from work; now that it's actually looming as a possibility, I want to be in shape to take on the adventure with power and grace. Wordy? Yes. That would be me. I'm nervous, excited, and new to this whole thing. Forgive me. And off I go. "Think but of warlike deeds!/The field is ours; well may we boast this strife!"

Sakag is the high priestess of awesome. I fear the dangerous levels her awesome will reach if she continues to improve, but I'm all agog to watch the glorious process. You will succeed, sister.

Awesome. I look forward to seeing the mighty blade in all its metaphoric glory. From a troll to a minotaur, Godspeed.

Thanks, Batwoman. Like so many things that I long resist and fight against because they seem too silly, odd, or illogical, it turns out that it was mightily uplifting. And don't be too concerned about the writing. I am confronted with the horrors of poor communication all day, and so far as I have seen, the posters here are more articulate than many a student in my charge. Besides, once I take off the tie and jacket, I lose my English powers until the following sunrise.

I thought I might be the clever fox who would be the first to suggest that their initial act of courage would be posting on the forums. After reading a selection of introductions, it seems a good number of people are in the same boat, which is somewhat comforting, and suggests I'm in good company. I'm a 40-year-old English professor whose deep love of geekery and long resisted desire to get in better shape met their perfect match in this site. My initial forays into the character generator put me pretty squarely in the troll camp with strong leanings toward working on the scout discipline, though ranger is intriguing as well. My great dream is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in the next couple of years, and I've found that having that goal is the only thing so far in my life that has made me take exercise and health seriously. I'm 6'2" and I've been sitting at around 260 pounds most of my life, and my deep love of hiking really brought into focus how not useful that is. After entering the world of ultralight backpacking, it was made plain that the most important piece of gear I could lighten would be myself. After a fairly strict diet early this year (undertaken with my wife to help her with some serious food issues linked to fibromyalgia), I dropped down to about 225, but have since gained back about ten pounds. I also took up more regular, serious walking and hiking, but sort of plateaued out. This site speaks to my undying passion for the epic. All the embarrassing, dorky impulses I usually keep to myself in polite company were encouraged here, and I'm thrilled to begin the journey. I've taken up the Rookie workout this week, and it's gone well so far. I'm looking forward to taking up the next six-week challenge and finding a guild to quest alongside. And finally, because a friend on social media asked me how I would answer the questions, I include here my superhero alter ego, The Wayfarer. It was surprisingly useful on my last hike. When I felt weary, it was hugely encouraging not to think, "I'm a guy walking on a nature trail," but, "I am a ranger, wise and wood-crafty, on a journey through the wilds." A man of the wild, wise in the way of forest and trail, able to survive in any environment. The Wayfarer's strength lies in his implacability: no obstacle can withstand his strength, no impediment long slow his advance. Armed with endless endurance and fortitude, as well as a growing sense of balance and agility, he moves through the wilderness like a force of nature. Clothed in long-walking boots and a green cloak of the forest, he observes keenly and lives with simple joy in his Maker and the world He has created. His motto is taken from Tennyson (for The Wayfarer loves books nearly as much as his wild home): "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." And when The Wayfarer needs an emotional kick, he listens to "Conquest of Paradise" by Vangelis, for The Wayfarer's goofy nostalgia for 80's and 90's cinematic power ballads is strong!