Dark_Lady_Link

The creepy factor probably makes me run faster, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Dark_Lady_Link has returned to the battlefield! What's up everyone? Seems I slipped up for a while there.. but I'm back to kick butt and take names! There's still a whole bunch going on in my life, but I've finally stopped making excuses and decided to come back and try again. Starting with last night. I knocked myself back to week 2 of ZR and I'm actually thinking of looking for a new C25k app since this one creeps me out so much. It works well and I like the story line, but I find myself dreading the raspy zombie sound effects... they creep me out. Till then though I'm going to keep on doing what I was doing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had no trouble with the session last night; I was afraid I would have to start all over again, which would be disappointing. I haven't fallen too far back, and I'll be back on top of things in no time! 2 miles in 35 minutes. Getting back into the swing of things, I'm only going to run 3 times a week. The in-between days are going to be up to me to decide how quickly I want to improve, or if I want to take it slow. When I feel like going on, I'll do some yoga or circuits. For now, if I'm not feeling up to it then I'm not going to push myself and get burnt out. Once I'm back to where I was, I'll start pushing myself harder again. Good luck everyone on your personal quests

So sorry for the long silence again guys. I know I must seem super flaky right now, but I've been called in early and on my days off these past 2 weeks and it's absolutely worn me out. Good news is, it actually forced my sleeping habits to become almost normal (except that I can't stay awake past 9 anymore, which is really weird), bad news is the new sleep habit has thrown my routine completely off it's hinges and I haven't done any running since the last time I posted. I feel awful about it but I haven't had the energy. I have learned my lesson though, so I'm going back to my first plan which is to run at least a little every day (taking days off or doing other things instead made it a lot harder to go back to running, even just the next day). So tonight I will return to that routine. I won't push myself too hard and burn out by doing the current week session every night: I figured that if I do a current week every other night and fill in with previous (easier) sessions then I'll be able to handle it without burning out while running or at work. I feel like I should be past the rocky stages by now, but it seems like I'm still working a lot of things out. I'm not giving up though! Eventually I won't have any more silent streaks and I'll be able to just get things done till then, thanks for bearing with me!

Alright! Update 2! [sorry for the sparse updates, work is kicking my butt right now so I'm sleeping instead of updating]. Main Quest: During the 2nd ZR session this week I more than doubled my run time. One of those moments when a super good song comes on and you just forget everything and start jamming... when I the song ended I slowed back to a walk and checked my time - I had run 2mins 30 seconds! I'm super excited about that, though I'll probably change my main quest if I beat it within the first half of the challenge (am I allowed to do that? or do I just keep it as it is and say I surpassed it?). Quest One: Unfortunately.. Strike One on that. Somewhat unavoidable though, since during the first run this week I managed to destroy my phone (it fell out of my pocket mid-run and I kicked it into the wall.....), and by the time I got it fixed my weekend was over and work was wearing me completely out. Ah well, I'm not too upset. Just more incentive to work harder next week so I don't get another strike! Quest Two: On point! I haven't been measuring EXACTLY how much water I drink, so I can't say the exact ounces. However I know I've been drinking at least 2 cups a day. Quest Three: I only did about 30minutes of misc. exercise this week, but if all goes well I'm going skating tomorrow night so I'll catch back up easily. Life Quest: I have exactly 6 journal entries since Jan 5, and I'm going to be writing more after I post this up. So Doing good on that. All in all, things are going great! I think I may have set my goals a bit low, even for my first challenge. Still, it's good that I'm figuring out what level I'm on and which habits are easier to curb (Water intake is much easier than I expected, while it's amazing how well I can avoid doing 10 minutes of random exercise a day). Hope you're all doing well on your challenges! I'll be checking out the other posts on my next day off

Okay another quick post tonight I managed to get my plan transferred back to my old phone, so all is well and good. Did my run last night...the pattern got changed quite a bit so it threw me off a little, but besides that all went well. I can now run 1min 20secs without stopping or gasping for air! Best part: during the free run portion I managed to accidentally run 2mins 30secs without slowing (yay for music blasting so loud you can't hear yourself panting for breath)! I'm super siked about that! My thighs are still complaining even though I cut the leg parts of the circuit in half, so I'm only doing a few of eah tonight but more rounds to make it fair. Water intake is going good, and this weekend I'm going to try my hand at making salmon...hopefully I won't end up poisoning myself!

Ever feel like the world is trying to stop you, just to see if you'll keep going anyway? I was half way into my run last night, everything going fine even though the run times doubled, which gave me a great motivation boost. All well and good, when my hand accidentally hit my headphone wires... and yanked my phone out of my pocket. It fell at the perfect moment that - I was mid stride and accidentally kicked my phone. Obviously it didn't survive the crash. So my run got cut short. I'll be stopping by the phone store tomorrow to see what I can do about it, so hopefully I'll have a fix by my next session. As far as the bodyweight circuit is going - I did 2 rounds tonight. Remembering what happened last time I did squats, I decided to go easy on those this round and made up for it by doing more sit ups (which is one of my few strong points). I'm staying on top of my water intake and haven't had a soda since New Years, so that's going well. Paleo, unfortunately, has had a fall through. I'm not too worried about that though since I've never had a big appetite - so far just being mindful has made a big difference in my food choices, especially concerning sugar. I forgot to write this earlier: I've (obviously) decided against a weekly weight update. My reason for joining the rebellion wasn't to lose weight (though that's a big bonus) but just to get into a healthier lifestyle. I think this log will speak for itself about that as it evolves. That's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow, hopefully with a ZR update, but if not I'll figure out another run so I can stay with it.

You're totally right Lanithroe, I'll be keeping that in mind too. My work schedule is weird this week so I'm going to try to exercise around that (I actually have to wake up for work in just a few hours...which is why I'm not working out today). So running this week will be Tues, Thurs, and Sat. It's time I get back on a daily routine too, so on Wed and Fri I'm going to be doing the Link Workout by Nelia Rey. I probably won't be able to do it completely at first, but I'll work up to it. That's all. Just wanted to update because I felt like it sorry this thread has been kinda pitiful lately, I promise it'll get more exciting soon.

This is an awesome challenge! I love your attitude on all this and your updates are fantastic!! I will admit I'm a bit jealous of your skill... I can't cook for my life and your dinner looked amazing. Keep up the awesome work!!

Wow I did not expect this much feedback... hi everyone! Thanks for all the positivity!! Just to clarify there are two Zombies, Run! apps. The first is the original apocalypse scenario app, and there's now a second one which is a couch to 5k version... basically trains you for the other app. I have the C25k version, which I absolutely love. I'll be getting the original whenever I can successfully run a 5k. B00024228 - As a fellow short person, I get that all the time.. The app is actually interval training and I'm enjoying it so far (as much as I can enjoy running), so I'm on the same page there! However I've never even thought of breathing exercises... I'll definitely be looking into that. Thanks for the tip! CHALLENGE UPDATE: Quest One: I just finished my 3rd run for this week, so all done! Quest Two: Staying on top of things, I've got my big jug of water beside me right now. Quest Three: ....Nada. I'm going to have to do the whole hour tomorrow.. so that will be fun. Thanks again for all the support everyone!

I had no idea about any of that, but it makes sense! Thanks for the input guys Short and sweet entry today: I think the sick is almost gone... but I was around cats today so I can't say for sure (allergies). Did the same ZR run again but at this point it's getting boring so I'm actually excited to amp it up. Never thought I'd be looking forward to running more... so that's pretty cool! Started my first challenge (yay!) and part of it is drinking 16oz of water a day, so I've been doing that now too. That's about it! Nothing too special.. just taking things a day at a time.

Hiya! Dark_Lady_Link here trying out this 6-Week-Challenge thingy. Sorry I'm a bit late getting started, but I'm super excited about getting into the real life role playing and I couldn't wait for the next one to come around, so here I am! I think I'm supposed to say some things about myself here to, so: I go by Grace, I'm 19 and of the female variety. My nerd cred comes mainly from the Legend of Zelda series, with a bit of Skyrim and Wow mixed in plus a lot of book reading. I love dancing of all sorts, hiking, skating, and trail riding. I had asthma as a kid that caused me to me fear/hate running, and I haven't done it since. Up till last November I've never even tried to care about my health - I've never been particularly unhealthy, but I've never been fit (I've weighed between 175-185 for the past few years, and I was always 10lbs or more over the healthy weight for my age before that). I joined the rebellion because I decided to finally take control of my health and because I really want to do cool stuff like run a Warrior Dash or be able to look good in a cosplay. So here I go! Main Quest: Become able to run for 3 minutes without stopping. (I can only go about 45 seconds right now) Quest One: Do three Zombies, Run! 5k sessions a week. Measurement: A = 2 strikes* or less, B = 3-5 strikes, C = 6 strikes or more Reward: A = +3 STA, +2 DEX, B= +2 STA, +1 DEX, C = +1 STA [* I get 1 strike for every ZR session I skip (so if I only do 2 sessions in week 1, that's a strike).] Quest Two: Drink 16oz of water a day. (Some days I don't drink any water, and drink juice or milk instead, and I need to fix that). Measurement: A = 112oz or more per week, B = 96oz to 111oz per week, C = 95oz or less per week. Reward: A = +3 CON, B = +2 CON, C = +1 CON Quest Three: Do at least 1 hour of miscellaneous (skating, hiking, yoga, etc.) exercise outside of my house per week. Measurement: A = 5+hrs, B = 4-5hrs, C = 2-hrs Reward: A = +2 WIS, +1 CHA, B = +1 WIS, +1 CHA, C = +1 WIS Life Quest: Journal 3 times a week. (I used to journal all the time, but haven't gotten around to it lately and I want to get back into it) Measurement: A = 18 or more journal entries, B = 12 to 17 journal entries, C = 11 or less journal entries Reward: A = +3 WIS, B = +2 WIS, C = +1 WIS My motivation is that I want to get healthy and into shape, but my biggest hindrance is going to be my aversion to running. Losing weight and building strength is nothing compared to this obstacle, so I want to knock it out first. I've always avoided it at all costs, even to the point that some of my childhood friends made fun of me for not keeping up with them on hikes because they would run ahead and I wouldn't. Running is my enemy, and even if I lose weight, I won't feel like I've conquered myself until I defeat my foe. I know that if I can teach myself to run (or even, by a miracle, to enjoy running), then I can do anything.

Hey guys! Haha while I am excited to keep progressing, I'm going to be reasonable while I'm still getting rid of the last 5% of illness in me. It's 10F here and my treadmill is in the non-heated garage, so I decided to keep it in week 2 again so I don't over-do things and get more sick. I'll definitely be kicking it up a few notches as soon as I'm able to go an hour without coughing. So not much to report tonight. I did my run; though I was very cold till about mid-session. I felt like my heart rate was unusually high, especially since I didn't lose my breath... however I don't have a heart rate monitor (I just checked my neck pulse and noticed it was a lot faster than past runs) so I can't tell for sure. But that's all - nothing too eventful, just got it done. Side note of the night: Get Out Alive (by Three Days Grace) may be the most appropriate ZR song in my library. I'm thinking about recording my weight every Sunday or something like that since that's an easy way to track progress. Any thoughts?

My voice has returned and the fevers are gone, let's get back to it! Alright! So obviously I didn't do anything Sunday (tbh, I thought I said today and didn't remember to start running) except hours upon hours of traveling; however on my way back home I did stop and buy myself a scale so I could finally see how much I weigh. As much as I didn't want to I set it on my bathroom floor, took a deep breath, and stepped on. There was no drumroll, no time slower, no overly loud heartbeat like in TV (lame!), just a number....... 174.2lbs! That's obviously not a good weight, but it's WAY better than what I was expecting (which made it a lot easier to post here). Tonight, running was the thing I wanted to do AFTER the last thing I wanted to do. I'm still coughing a fair bit, so I went back to week 2 of ZR to not over-do things. I was afraid that being out of commission would make me back track a lot (not that there's a lot to back track on), but I was pleasantly surprised when I didn't lose my breath. I ended up running the majority of the free-run time, so when I run again on Wednesday I'm going to go back to the week I was on before I got sick. Of course, by the end of the run I was feeling better than I had before I started. As for the rest of this week, I'm going to run Wednesday and Friday. I'm still fighting off the last of my symptoms, so I'm going to wing the other days. I'll try to do some more forest walks or SOMETHING each day, but if I don't I'm not going to make a big deal out of it. I know I did a lot more on the first two weeks of this, but I'd rather back-track than burn out. That's basically it! Still using the Warrior Dash as my motivation, and hey, even if I only exercise 3 days a week, it's 3 days more than I was doing last year!

Happy New Year!! Thanks for the well wishes everyone! Still fighting fevers but the worst is over and my voice is finally starting to return. A well-timed vacation is helping that at the moment - busy cashier shifts are rough when you can't speak above a whisper. With luck and rest I'll be good to start running again on Sunday. Though I've never been one for "New Year, New Me" type stuff, the timing will make it easier to track progress [speaking of: the reason I never posted my long-ago-promised weight is because my friend's scale was actually broken and she didn't know]. I wish you all the best for 2015!

Woah! Awesome job on the gains!! You're doing fantastic!!