Mistborn

Okay, here is the level-up allocation challenge: 1. Goal allocation: Q1: Follow Current Running Training Plan STR 1.5 DEX 1 STA 2 Q2: Make Running Schedule For November/December WIS 1 Q3: Eat healthier, natural foods for 2 meals a day CON 1.5 CHR 1 LQ: Read Bible Nightly with Wife WIS 2 2. Mid Challenge Summary: Q1: Follow Current Running Training Plan = A (100%) Q2: Make Running Schedule For November/December = A (100%) Q3: Eat healthier, natural foods for 2 meals a day = D (60%) LQ: Read Bible Nightly with Wife = B (80%) 3. Challenge allocation: Q1: A (100%) = 1.5 STR, 1 DEX, & 2 STA Q2: A (100%) = 1 WIS Q3: D (60%) = 0.9 CON & 0.6 CHR LQ: B (80%) = 1.6 WIS 4. Signature: STR: 1.5 / DEX: 1 / STA: 2 / CON: 0.9 / WIS: 2.6 / CHR: 0.6

I leveled up! I have about a dozen RPG fanfares blending in my mind at the thought, which is incredibly awesome! Check out the sig for the new stats. Unfortunately, the last few days haven't been completely kind on two of my goals. I have been keeping up with my running, and last week I completed a mini challenge that let me map out my running plan for the rest of the year. But my eating habits have gotten slack and I've missed a few days of reading the Bible with my wife (although I still did some reading and studying on my own) But this is the midchallenge slump and I think today's leveling up will provide the motivation I need to kick things back into high gear for the remainder of this challenge session!

So did you get it finished and entered? I sent mine in on the 28th! I'm a writer as well of Fantasy and the occasional Sci Fi short story. I've written a fantasy novel that I'm trying to find an agent for and recently had my first publication with a piece of flash fiction. I'm looking to increase my list of stories published while seeking an agent for my manuscript. Anyone here listen to the podcast Writing Excuses? I've only listened to the first season so far but it has been very influential!

Jitters, I plan on getting to that series sooner or later, although I think I will probably go through most of his other work before that. Including another attempt at reading the entire Wheel of Time series. I tried about 6 years ago and lost steam in book 5. I wonder if I can get through all of Sanderson's works, and the Wheel of Time series, before the next Song of Ice and Fire book comes out... Right now I'm taking a short break from Sanderson after finishing Well of Ascension. I'm reading Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey. Yes, I'm just now reading through the early novels in her Dragonriders of Pern series. Don't judge me!

While I haven't gotten a pair of Vibrams, I have been running this year in my first pair of Zero Drop shoes from Merrells. I actually went with their trail running shoe but have rarely been able to trail run, but they've done great for me on roads and sidewalks and gravel shoulders and treadmills. As cautioned above, there is going to be a period where your legs hurt in places they never had. It took me nearly 3 weeks to be able to run beyond a mile again (partially due to pain, partially from a lowered level of fitness over the course of the winter) but since then I've shattered P.R.s on distance all year long. Before this year my longest run was a 10k, and even that was with some walking. This year I've run 12 miles straight and aim to make it 14 this weekend. I am definitely getting another pair of Merrells shoes after my half marathon to break in this winter, although I'll probably go with one of their barefoot road shoes for the thicker padding. I can say that now it hurts to run, or even walk for distances, in non-barefoot shoes. My feet and legs can tell the difference almost immediately when I try to go back for a day!

Mini challenge three has been vanquished: 1. I was having issues coming up with a plan for running in the coming winter months, as I have always been HORRIBLE at making a schedule or plan but have now learned I'm actually pretty good at sticking to one. 2. I searched the forums to find this question (http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic-50357-how-much-distance-per-week-can-you-add) about adding distance each week, which led me to a Hal Higdon winter training plan. 3. Between that plan, and a new goal of hitting 100 miles for October with some running buddies at church, my schedule was able to take shape and will be unveiled in my challenge thread in the future. I feel good about the direction my running will be heading for the winter, focusing more on running for a length of time rather than running distances.

Yesterday was another day of success. The eating went without a hitch, I ran on the treadmill when I got home, watching an episode of Classic Doctor Who. Also went on a mile walk with my wife, read two more chapters of Matthew with her before bed, and had a much easier time with the 3 sets of 10 pushups this morning. All told, things are looking up today! Now to take a look at the new mini challenge and get started on that!

Okay, so here is the latest after the weekend: Eating has been an overall success, although not a 100%. I can already tell that my body is getting used to healthier foods, which is awesome. I feel great, and look to continue to reduce any slip ups that I might have with my eating. I ran 4 miles on Sunday, which was hot but went well. I'm looking forward to my 14 mile run this coming weekend. I got out a few times to walk with my wife, which is helping her to get back on her old walking routine. And, as of this morning, we're both doing 3 sets of 10 pushups to build up a little strength again. Baby steps. And, best of all, we are yet to miss a night of reading the Bible together.

Okay so its been 24 hours and I thought I should do an update. I just got in from my 30 minute run, which went okay as far as runs go. But I feel good for doing the run, regardless of its ease or difficulty. Eating better has been almost a hit, although I did suffer a weak moment. But it has been one instead of many! I have done the first two mini-challenges from the Level 1 rebels thread, thus securing some bonus stats when I get to gain levels. Also I did my initial weigh-in at work: 230 pounds. Let's hope that begins to decline.

I've been a long-time reader of Nerd Fitness, usually finding myself reading the articles more often whenever I fall into a "I need to get healthy" kick. I turned 30 this year and I am, frankly, tired of being overweight and falling short of my maximum potential. I know there is so much more that I can achieve if I can build and maintain momentum, but if that were easy we wouldn't need somewhere like this, right? So in brief, here is a bit about me. First the boring stuff: I work for a material handling company full-time during the day, entering orders into a computer. I also am obtaining my Master's Degree online, and should have that wrapped up next spring. This semester marks the start of my sixth straight year of working while taking classes, having gained the Associate's, Bachelor's, and soon the Master's Degree. My studies are in English, with a love for Medieval (read: Anglo-Saxon/Middle English) literature. So texts like Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Canterbury Tales fall into my interests, even though that wasn't a pursuit I was able to specialize in. As far as fitness goes, I've fluctuated a lot over the years. I've hit good times where I was able to diet (bad word!) and do enough working out to lose some weight. Last year I learned that I love to do both Bodyweight exercises as well as Freeweights (Deadlifts were my favorite, somehow!) but I have completely fallen away from that and need to eventually return to my strength training ways. A few years ago I also trained to run a 5k, as that was on my bucket list. I spent two years running intermittently during the nice months (winters in Iowa aren't exactly opportune running months!) and struggled to break past the 3-4 mile range for my runs. This year I set a goal in May to run a half marathon this October and my training has been a success so far. Which is why, if you visit my challenge thread, my goals all pertain to running so that I maintain and keep this running momentum. But eating habits have prevented me from seeing any sort of improvement physically, apart from the ability to run farther. That needs to change. I have been a fan of fantasy and science fiction since early childhood, although I was late in my teen years before I discovered Tolkien. I still read a lot of books in those genres, and have written short stories and even finished a novel this year that I'm hoping to get published in the future. I am also a huge fan of board games, and play a range of games on my PS3. I have been blessed with a beautiful wife, and we both spend our Sunday and Wednesdays helping teach children at our church. Oh, and I am also a huge fan of Firefly, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones (books and show), Lord of the Rings, Marvel, and many other nerdy things.

I'm currently about halfway into Brandon Sanderson's The Well of Ascension and loving it as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series. I actually just discovered Sanderson this year and have read through The Rithmatist, Mistborn: The Final Empire, Steelheart, and Mitosis already this year.

This was, undoubtedly, one of my more enjoyable reads this year. I simply couldn't put it down, nor could I stop smiling at all of the references to 80's culture, as well as Sci-Fi/Fantasy culture. I am making a mental note to try and find a way to listen to the audiobook of this soon, as I can already imagine the narration by Wil Wheaton.

Okay, first things first, the way you laid out your challenge thread on that first page. I'm tempted to go and set mine up in a similar fashion but I fear you'd strike me down. I love your Shield Maiden theme as well! It is incredibly fun and what drew me in to check out your thread. I haven't seen Vikings yet but it is moving up higher on my "to watch" list now. I have an interest in Anglo-Saxon literature and that time period, and our Old English is so similar to Icelandic that they just seem to pair well together. I should read some of the old Norse literature soon. You have a great set of goals, and you'll continue to do awesome at them. This first challenge will be conquered in a manner that only a Shield Maiden could accomplish. I'll be dropping back in from time to time to see how you're doing. Keep on rocking the goals!

Hello there Hemlock, I'm Mistborn and I thought I'd drop in and let you know that you are totally rocking this 6-week challenge so far. Keep up the running - up until this year a 5k distance was about as far as I could push my body. I always wondered if the Zombies! Run app was worthwhile, but I downgraded from my smart phone before I had a chance to test it out. Way to go on juggling school and work and fitness - I've been in the same boat for a while now. I'm about a year away from finally being able to take a break from taking classes and transition to using the degree I've worked hard for. I'll be following along with you for the coming weeks, so don't be surprised if I pop in to give you random words of encouragement from time to time! Keep on running!

Okay, a little late jumping into the game as I just joined up today, but here goes nothing: Week 1: (+1 WIS after challenge ends) Is your overall quest achievable (over a short or long period of time)? Is it reasonable? The overall quest is quite achievable over a short period of time, which should have long-term effects. Do your 3 quests all build towards your main quest in little ways, or are you taking on too much? Do your quests have sub-quests or is it just one thing to focus on? They certainly do, with one a focus on hitting running goals, one planning out future runs, and the third one based on eating better so that I feel better and can run longer. Are your main goals realistic? Can you scale them to smaller steps to fit your life better, even if it will make it take a little longer to achieve them? They are realistic and should be achievable, so long as I can conjure the necessary willpower. Are your goals able to be measured and tracked? What will you use to track them? All 3 are trackable in some fashion, with the first tracked by days running, the second one on a completion of a schedule, and the third measurable on the number of good meals vs. bad ones. How are you grading your goals? Are they pass/fail (“every dayâ€, “not even once over the six weeksâ€)? Is there a reward for the effort, or are you only grading yourself on whether or not you “lose the weight†or “run the distanceâ€? These are definitely along the lines of pass/fail. If I don't run, I can't kind of pass for the day. If I eat good all day and then eat a giant pizza, what was the point in eating right earlier? What is your plan for continuing/altering/grading those goals if you become ill or injured? If an injury occurs, it will only affect one of the three, and even then I would modify to walk a comparable timeframe that it would have taken to run that distance. Did you take into consideration any special occasions (Labour Day, Independence Day, birthdays, anniversaries, etc) that may occur during the challenge? What modifications do you need to build into your goals for those? Not taken into account because there are no relevant things that might interfere in this scheduled period. Do any of your main goals conflict with each other? Will one goal make it hard to do another? The goals work together in harmony to help me reach a running event and maintain momentum rather than get lax during an extended recovery. Do you already have the time in your schedule to actually complete the goals you’ve set? If not, what are you planning to do to make time for them? Yes - mornings are when I try to get the runs in but I am always able to get an evening run in if I fail to go in the morning. Are you trying to build multiple habits, or is all your energy focused on your main quest? This challenge is all about focusing on the one main quest, with diet being the least obvious but perhaps the most important. Week 2: (+1 CHA after challenge ends) #1 done, and #3 is done now as well, encouraging and following Hemlock Tea and Magnhild!

Okay, so Mistborn has nothing to do with the video game that inspired the thread's title, but who says we can't intermix our nerdiness? The name is the easy one to figure out, since it is the series name for the books by Brandon Sanderson. They are really, really good and I recommend them to anyone seeking a great fantasy trilogy to read. The title, of course, is inspired by one of the oldest and greatest RPG series: Dragon Warrior. Those were the good old days of 8-Bit RPG glory! I turned 30 this summer and am tired of being overweight. I've been able to get stretches of time where I could lose some weight and inches, but it always comes back because I always get lax in my discipline. I have good discipline in other areas of my life, but for some reason can never seem to manage my fitness or my eating. Especially not the eating. It doesn't help that I work at a desk and people bring in goodies almost every. single. stinking. week. Ugh, no wonder I haven't seen or felt the results I've been working hard at. I've been running 2-3 times a week since May. I have my first half-marathon coming up on October 19th, and while I am excited about accomplishing that goal, I know that I will feel better, look better, and have an easier time with running if I lose some of this excess baggage my body is clinging to. Any pointers or words of wisdom from runners will keep me going. I have my 14-mile long run on the 5th before tapering down, and I need a motivation booster! Main Quest: Complete my first half-marathon and maintain the running momentum afterwards. Goal 1: Complete the remaining scheduled runs as follows: 30 Minute Runs on 9/25, 9/30, 10/2, 10/7, 10/9, 10/14, and 10/16 3 Mile Runs on 9/27 and 10/11 14 Mile Long Run on 10/19 Goal 2: Create a running plan for the end of October, November, and December. Have the October runs be shorter runs to recover and resume long runs in November, focusing on increasing running speed now that endurance/distance has been improved. Goal 3: Eat/drink more natural foods. Turn to meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts/seeds for the primary source of daily fuel and water for fluids. Life Quest: Read the Bible daily with my wife & pray together daily. While improving my physical wellness this is the perfect time to find improvements in my spiritual life, too. Motivation: I'm tired of not living up to my maximum potential. Small changes done daily can reap great results.