Talvi

Hey, well done Lady Pineapple! I don't see many 92 percents or 100 percents on challenge summaries!

Hi there Tinkerer, Well done on your pass. I think you definitely deserved to level up after how much work you put into this challenge - so many workouts! Sorry about your cold bringing you down in the last week or two. Ski googles?

Mmmmm.... From that list, I'd guess the sponges will either be for attracting butterflies or making more sponges Oh good, I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough stops to powder my nose and fix my hair! In all honesty, I think the hot stone massage station is an award-winning idea for a mid-marathon break! The rest of Week FIVE (I've been traveling) 1) [3/3 Completed] On Thursday, I ran 4.22km back home from work. On Sunday, I was back in the UK. Storm Desmond meant that off-roading was not a viable option, so I jogged 5.31km through the floods around my village. Nice to breath some fresh air for once. 3) [Completed] I went for a 45-60 minute walk about one of the nearest hills with my sister on the Sunday. This wasn't hard, but at least it got me out of the house. 4) Guilt-o-meter is at 50% - I 've been on holiday and I can't feel guilty about that. Plus the majority of my habitica is now just doing the Edx coursework. 5) HOLIDAYYYYYYYYYYYY Summary of Week FIVE [Good] Did my three runs, but ended up a few km under my target 16.73/19.5km.[mmmm] I did go for a walk, but I still feel a bit lazy here...[Good]: 2 dark red, 4 red, 6 orange, 1 yellows remain. [lol] Nope.

Oh my god, the hype is real!!!! http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/egp/marathon-de-paris/mdp16-a4-parcours-fr-1-dec-md.pdf And what are you supposed to do at a sponge station?

I hope so! I usually plan a route that it is approximately the right distance, but I get fairly easily distracted or disorientated and end up adding on a few extra km. Even though this appears to be a consolidating week, I don't feel like I need it this early on in the program so a few extra shouldn't matter too much. Aww man, the disruptions are already here! A friend is getting married next week in the UK, so I'm pinging ponging over the channel to try and avoid taking the whole month of December off. I've taken more days off this year so at least my visits won't be rushed. I think I have been working more and more like that to get through the to-do list. Nearly everything on it has a to-do date that accompanies it now, and I've made loads of progress. I do have a Spanish chat to-do that has turned red (it has got lots of habitica points behind it now) - would be good to speak before Sat if you can Otherwise, it'll have to be the end of next week. 1st December (Week FIVE) 1) + 2) [1/3 Done] Did a 7.2km run back home from work and it felt very easy. Trying to get two of my runs done before I start traveling to less polluted places this weekend - I'm really looking forward to my weekend run in the countryside! Although, I have no idea where to run because there are no pavements and very small roads. I'm not sure whether to risk hurting my ankle on sheep trails through fields or to don a fluorescent jacket and wander the roads. 4) Guilt-o-meter is at 40% - My list is beginning to look a lot fresher - hardly anything has been left on it for ages now and those few which have survived so far have allotted deadlines. 5) PYTHON: Did the 4th Problem Set on the Edx course. DRAWING: I finally made a plan, it only took me 4 weeks to do this simple task!!! Sarcasm aside, I'm interpreting my procrastination as a lack of enthusiasm. I don't think I'll be able to achieve the drawing goals on my epic quest list, since they require more time and practice and motivation then I've been willing to give them. I made those goals because last year I learned how to make vector computer images in Inkscape, and I thought improving my manual drawing skills would improve my computer-made images by exercising creativity, experimentation and technique. But I didn't have any drive to do it, so I'm going to refocus on digital drawing with manual work as a complement. For each week in the next month: I will try to learn at least one new thing about inkscape, 30 minutes practice on inkscape and 30 minutes doodling with pencil and paper (crucially, this is something cumulative that I can do whenever I have 5 minutes between tasks at work).

Yay for habitica! I find it ridiculous how RPGing my chores is actually helping me out. Have you got a pet yet? That obstacle course looks like so much fun - I'm very jealous. Was it a special event or is it always there? I'm going to have to find me one of those. And I know the answer to this question before I ask it (Answer: Internet, d'uh), but why on earth does a celery/racoon meme even exist??? Unless you made it?

Well done on the handstand progress - 7 seconds with adjustments is great! I'm also pretty excited about your mental calculation practice - how do you even practice those? Do you learn from others or do you have to come up with your own methods? *Fingers crossed for Las Vegas* Which goals are you aiming for next on the megalist? I notice those sprinting and running goals are covered in dust. I also notice that today and tomorrow have nice warm weather where you are (before it starts to rain for the rest of December). Hint hint hint

Happy Thanksgiving! And now onto the Christmas joy! I'd never scorn a good spreadsheet! It looks like you are doing great - you are 28 days later, almost 50 miles and 18 hours away from where you were at the beginning! Congrats on your beardsicles and your long run (I think that may be my longest run to date too!). I have never run in snow before - Isn't there lots of ice around? Or do you avoid that problem by not running on pavements?

As I think you can guess, I just ran around the outside and then ran back home - but you have the best ideas! It is going to take a good few challenges before I can sing without breaking glass though. It is probably more my style to just leg it over the stage and then see how far I can get before I'm stopped Oh, thanks! I think that is one of the advantages of these forums. They put you in contact with people doing all sorts of things, and then you begin to think about the things you could do too. I'm sold! I'm going to try and bike once a week (to or from work). I'm still a bit shocked at how it is activating such different muscles, and it feels nice to give the top of my legs a workout for once. Week FOUR (Sorry, I ghosted out of NF this week) 1) [3/3 Completed] These runs were all clustered towards the end of the week, which was not ideal. But I did do them and I haven't broken my running habit yet, so boo ya! Ran about 7km on Thursday after work, 4.5km on Friday after work and 14.5km on Sunday evening = 26km in total. The program I am following prescribed 2 x 5km and 1 x 11.2km this week, so I'm overshooting somewhat even if I didn't expressly try to. Next week will be my third on the program and I'm aiming for 1 x 6.5km, 1x 5km and 1 x 8km - seems to be a rest week. 2) [3/3 Completed] On Thursday, I saw some great street art by an artist called Tristan Eaton and some questionable modern art. Friday was my usual route back from work and I got a christmassy picture of the local town hall. On Sunday, I needed some extra motivation to leave the house so I decided to jog to the Notre Dame and back (distance running is opening up so many possibilities!). 3) [Completed] No yoga this past week, but I did cycle back from work again for about 4.2km. This time I managed to cycle a little further up the last hill before getting off and walking to the bike station. I like to think that I have strong legs from all the running, but I almost collapsed from jelly legs when I got off. 4) Guilt-o-meter is at 70% - I've done a few things but the list has been pretty static. 5) This goal suffered this week: The only thing I did was that I started making a script of statistical functions in Python, so I was coding. Summary of Week FOUR [success!] 26km ran in total over three runs.[Good, but feel that I could have done more] Crosstrain by a 4.2km bike ride.[Going well, but not going anywhere fast]: 4 dark red, 3 red, 8 orange, 1 yellows remain. [Rubbish] Just keep trying...

Thanks Awesomesue, it is interesting to hear that people reacted by going to parks too after 9/11. Seems to me to be a healthy way of coping. Yay for biking!!! I'm thinking of doing it once a week on the way back from work. It makes sense to me that biking should complement running, but have you felt any specific advantages from it? Well put, and thanks Dan Yeah, I actually am excited about starting something new. It is a nice little extra enthusiasm and motivation booster midway through this challenge. It is weird to have set mileage goals, but I'm looking forward to the challenge when it starts to push me. These first few weeks have long runs of 10 to 16km and I feel like I'm still doing foundation work. But I have decided to have some faith in the program and to try and stop myself from peaking my performance too early by pushing myself to hard too soon. Second half of week THREE (Fri, Sat, Sun) 1 + 2) [3/3 Completed] Proud to have gotten in three runs this week. It took effort to leave the house, but I ran a boring 7km on Saturday as soon as the rain subsided. I had a more glamorous run today (Sunday), since I took the metro to the Opera and then ran 10km back home via la Louvre, la Seine and la Nation. It was a beautiful clear day and I really enjoyed it. 4) Guilt-o-meter is at its lowest of 50% - On Friday and Saturday, I worked through my list from bottom to top with the rules: if I can, do it immediately. If I couldn't do it immediately, I broke it down into smaller tasks. I got a lot of chores off my mind this weekend 5) Worked a bit more evenly on my projects this weekend: PYTHON - Finished lecture 7 and almost finished the mid-term Quiz of my data science course. No game work done. PULL-UPS - I officially trust my bar again Did one small routine: 40s deadhang, 2 x 60s long plank, 2 x 20 preacher curls (3kg), 2 x 24 dumbbell rows (3kg), 2 x 10 knee push-ups, 2 x 4 full push-ups and 2 x 3 chin-up attempts from standing (got some good upwards lift going) and 1 x 3 failed pull-ups. DRAWING - I copied some drawings of a LoL character named Jink and a little creature called a porro. I doodled a lot of porros to experiment with different styles. This is nothing huge, but I feel happier after having finally drawn something. LEARN - Between refugees and the Daesh, I have decided to learn about Syria and its current situation. I tend to live in my own bubble, even if I am unhappy with that. I started with the wikipedia page and once I understand the basics, I'll read about the current situation from a variety of sources. Summary of Week THREE [success!] 23.24km ran in total over three runs.[success!] Crosstrain by a 4.2km bike ride and 30 minutes runner's yoga.[Great effort!] A few ancient tasks were cleared from my to-do list this week and I'm very happy about it: 7 dark red, 0 red, 7 orange, 3 yellows remain. [A sprinkling of effort for everything] This goal is just too big and diverse to actually do amazingly in everything, but I'd be happy if I could keep doing a little of everything like I did this week

Hey there, First pull-ups and chin-ups are particularly hard goals for anyone - even more so if you are a beginner to fitness and/or if you are new to upper body strength. Since your main goal is discouraging you, I would make it a long-term goal and introduce a new mid-way goal. Find another way to quantify the results from your workouts, because you are surely getting stronger! There are plenty of other exercises that build strength that you will later find useful in a pull-up/chin-up. I recommend negative pull-ups/chin-ups, dumbbell rows, preacher curls, jumping into a pull-up/chin-up and holding that position for as long as you can, core exercises like planks, deadhangs (for grip) and L-sits are another thing you can do with your bar - although there are loads of other exercises around. Try and have fun with your exercises and to play as much as you can

I thought of another suggestion for you to try today! Have you ever tried doing crows pose? It is an assassin guild favourite with a load of variations. It is especially fun for beginners since you end up rolling around a bit to begin with and the first time you feel yourself balancing (even if for only a second) makes you feel like you are doing something impossible. An assassin called Nymeria (I think) made her own set of tutorial videos if you fancy a try

Did you want to thank your staff? I know nothing about American Thanksgiving (except for the importance of turkey), but I find food to be be gratefully accepted in general. Not sure if you are good at baking, but that is rather low cost. Or else, turn up with breakfast for everyone or a pizzas for anyone working late. How do you celebrate Thanksgiving normally?

Fantastic! Getting out for the run is always the hardest part, but you are already doing great if you can desire a run. I think I lot of people start running without really wanting to, but you are much more likely to succeed in your goals if you enjoy what you do

And now I have a craving for a banana cinnamon smoothie.... I do have a banana (a highly suspect banana found in the long forgotten depths of the fridge), so I might give that a try for breakfast tomorrow. Well done on keeping paleo so far. How is the running going?

Strange though it may seem, running and biking are the least affected activities in the city. The weekend after the attack most people stayed home, and so the streets were quieter than usual. I particularly noticed this on my Sunday run, but as soon as I got to the big park east of Paris, I was really surprised that everyone and their grandma were out and about. That day I made an effort not to go into the centre, and I think everyone else did too, resulting in an abundance of joggers in the woods. Since then, the number of joggers on the streets has returned to normal again. Probably through thinking that you are not an easy target if you are running. In any case, the joggers here are not easily deterred! A longer lasting change in Parisian behaviour is that less people are using the metro system to travel at peak periods (too many people and no security). This in turn means that alternative transport such as cars, buses and bikes have become much more popular. On the surface, Paris returned back to the working norm on Tuesday but I find that everyone is making subtly different decisions on where they go and how. Understandable for the time being. I currently use Habitica as a universal to-do list and it also works really well as an incentive for me to do routine boring stuff. You can be as generous or stingy with yourself as you like, but you aren't playing against anyone and the leveling up doesn't happen as quickly as you'd think anyway. Also if you start collecting pets (from random drops after completing tasks), you can only find 5 things max per day. I find that even if I put things on there that I'd certainly do anyway, I at least do them quicker! In any case, I like it and I have got my boyfriend to join a party with me too - my house has never been so clean And yes, my formal marathon training is starting this very week!!! I'm going to be doing 3 runs a week from Hal Higdon's novice training plan, and this week I'm aiming for 2 x 5km and 1 x 10km. Easy peasy Oh man, this reply has turned into an essay - sorry!

First half of week THREE (Mon, Tue, Wed and Thu) 1 + 2) [1/3 Completed] Some of the attacks last Friday happened very close to my place of work. On the way back home on Wednesday, I added to the tributes in front of one of the restaurants and spent some time relighting the candles in La Republique. There is a still a sad ambiance, but it is comforting to see such unity from everyone who was there. I ran 6.29km from my work back home and when I properly started running home I was well-paced. 3) [Completed] Paris has a bike rental system that anyone can use free-ish for the first 30 minutes of each journey, so I have signed up to that. I biked home for the first time on Monday, and I'm pretty pleased that I navigated the mad traffic without injury and somewhat displeased with the discovery of two hills between work and home. I did get off my bike halfway up the second hill, so there is room for improvement. I felt the burn after only 4.2km. I can do better. On Thursday, I also did 30 minutes of yoga following Runner's World Class 2. So crosstraining this week is definitely done. 4) Guilt-o-meter is back to 140% - I'm not even going to look at my to-do list right now. 5) Mostly been working on the assessed problem set for my Python and data science course. I am definitely improving in terms of problem solving and coding skills, so I'm satisfied here.

Ha, after the first hour I actually thought "this is simple as long as I take logical steps"! I have since realised that I was being an idiot and that I have difficulty taking logical steps, and this is definitely going to be a challenge!!! Oops, I made a typo and the Thursday run was in fact the Sunday run. That is why my photo of France and Peace was no accident, although my original feelings for the photo were too idealistic now that I take into account the renewed French military effort in Syria. Thank you very much. I hope to gather quite a collection by the time I'm ready for my marathon in April Yeah, I totally agree with you about the satisfaction. When I started, I really had no idea how useful I would find habitica. I'm currently in a party with some friends, although I am hoping to join an NF party when my friends lose interest. I'm part of the NF guild, the python programming guild and the running guild, but I really haven't found any benefit from them. Do you interact a lot with the guild system?

If the challenges don't benefit you, then you are right to stop and it is good sign that you can identify things that don't work for you. Hope you continue to do well with your cycling and the new semester treats you well! Have fun questing with your group

Well done on getting the dentist appointment out of the way - you are free from that procrastination now!! Freeeeeeee You are being a very good example by listening to your body and deciding when it is best to workout. These challenges don't really account for the unforeseen, and you shouldn't force yourself too much

Ha, it seems like you have spent a lot of time cycling like a looney this week I'm sorry to hear that your sleeplessness and hip have been throwing you off this week. Saying that, it looks like it hasn't stopped you from doing much, so well done. How has weightlifting been going so far?

I'm a little late to the party, but congrats on your first 10km race!!! Your whole time was really good and the cherry on the cake is improving your 5km PB!! Yay for new shiny races!!!

My first double post! Have a batcat!

Awesomesue, you are swimming through this challenge awesomely! Particularly well done on your mileage at this point. I'm sorry about the plague of headaches in the last week though - hope you feel better soon. New things to try: Museums/heritage sites nearby that you have never visited, roller blading, murder mystery game night, hiking expedition (perhaps overnight), painting, one new biking route each day of the week, make more star wars-themed food (BB-8), fly a kite, juggle, learn a little coding, make some gluhwein

Second half of week TWO 1) [2/3 Completed] I assume my excuse was that I was resting on Thursday. I was working fairly late on Friday, and then on Saturday I didn't fancy going outside because of the events on Friday. I did go for a long run on Sunday to make up for it though: 15.80km in 1:44:40. It started off really well and at a good pace but I walked a lot in the final km as I started to feel exhausted. I think it might be a problem of not eating and drinking enough beforehand. 2) [Completed] This time, I took a picture of a allegorical statue of France holding Peace. 3) [Completed] Got in a 25 min yoga session on Saturday by doing the essential yoga (class 1) from Runner's World Yoga Center. I have also been reading of way to reduce injury, so I may do a couple more exercises after each yoga session to strengthen my hip and knees. 4) Guilt-o-meter is back to 110% - 1 yellow, 3 orange, 6 red, 8 dark red (18 tasks to go). 5) I tried making a practical plan but I'm pretty reluctant to let go of any of these goals. My priority is currently on coding in any case. PYTHON - Finished lectures 5 and 6 on my data science course GAME - Started! I've written the first class and functions in the prototype of my prototype PULL-UPS - Fixed the pull-up bar and secured it on the kitchen door. Did a small routine: 50s + 30s deadhang, 1 x long plank, 2 x 20 preacher curls (3kg), 2 x 20 dumbbell rows (3kg), 2 x 10 knee push-ups, 2 x 3 full push-ups and 2 x 3 chin-up attempts from standing (not great form at all). Summary of Week TWO [Mileage done] 22.89km ran in total over two runs, but the mileage was equivalent to week one despite the loss of a run. My official marathon running starts this week now![Done!] Crosstrain via runner's yoga done[Trucking away] I have been productive this way, but next week I'm going to particularly target the long outstanding dark red tasks[started] Taken the first steps with pull-ups and game making. Next week, I'll try to allot some time for drawing.