thist514

So I priced out archery lessons at my local range.  It looks like they're $35/30 min including equipment (which is way less than I thought it was going to be!).  I need to look up how much a north face jacket will cost me and I'm going to budget for these as though I'm going to get a 4.0.  If I don't then any extra $$ will be put into my savings.  SUCH EXCITE!!!

Thanks guys! I know that budgeting is going to be one of my hardest challenges, but I think it's super important. That's why I'm giving myself the pass in a few things. I'd rather bend the rules and create the habit than be a stickler and get discouraged.

Stamina Feat completed effective 1/5!  It's been really hard for me to find the time to update my challenges.  I'm doing them, I'm just not sharing my accomplishments....

My Stamina Feat was to swim on Tuesday (which I did) but it was definitely a challenge.  Tuesday was the first day of my semester and I scheduled my swim session in between a doctors appointment and my first class.  Well naturally the doctors appointment ran long and I was going to "reschedule" my swim session which would have meant me not going at all.  Instead I acknowledged that I wasn't going to be able to get in the amount of time that I wanted to, but that some was better than none.  

I was in the pool for 5 minutes.....

BUT, it turns out I probably couldn't do a whole hour workout, and 30 minutes might even be pushing it.  See my injury recovery post in my battle log for more details.  Either way, I got into the pool, did my thing and am all the better for it.  I didn't let life get in the way of what is important to me and I'm one step closer to a habit that will be pivotal in my injury recovery/prevention.  

Mom2sjm I think I might try out a sleep mask.  Normally I'm a "princess and the pea" and every time in the past I've tried them I don't like the squish of my eyelashes.  But I think I'm more mentally fortified than I was, so I can overcome the slight discomfort knowing that it will help me achieve my goals.  Thanks for the suggestion!

Double Post!

Life Challenge:  Budget

So I've set up my budget!

I'm giving myself permission to add a few things as they come up and not consider them as "spending outside of my budget".  Things like a dentist appointment I have next week that I forgot about, school books etc.  This is my first budget in over 6 months and I forgot about some of my spending habits so I'm giving myself a break.  

That being said I am still counting some things as going outside of my budget.  I went out to lunch today and I spent WAY more than should have so that will be considered outside of my budget.  

This is probably going to be a very difficult challenge for me because it's my first time paying attention in quite some time, but I think that's ok.  

Mini Challenge 3:  Be in bed by 11 "radio silent"

This was me at the beginning of this challenge.  I was bored!  I kept begging my boyfriend to just come and lay in bed with me to keep me company.  But I haven't wavered yet, 100% so far, and I'm getting used the routine now. I'm even getting tired earlier.  So SUCCESS!!

One of the things that I've found that works for me is getting all of my techno noise done with before I get in bed.  This has caused some unforeseen side effects though.  One of which is not posting to my challenge threads.  I'm trying to figure out my routine around posting though, as I want this sleep thing to become a part of my every day life and I still want the challenges to be a part of my every day life.  As of right now it looks like a morning thing 1-2 times weekly will be my posting schedule.  

Mini Quest 2: Workout 3 days a week

I sprained my ankle right before Christmas and have been working with Kate Galliett to recover.  I've mostly been focusing on glute isolation workouts since apparently that is why I get ankle/knee injuries.  Swimming is pivotal in this because I focus exclusively on flutter kicks which is a glute workout.  Well it turns out when you beat the crap out of your glutes and lift the next day.... it's gonna be a bad day.    

DOMS aside I feel really good about my workouts this week.  Scheduling is still a little shaky, but I'm working on it.  

I swam on Tuesday but I was only in the pool for 5 minutes (I'm still counting it for my Stamina Feat).  I had an appointment before swimming that ran long and I thought about rescheduling the swim but decided it was better to start the habit today even if it wasn't the length of time I wanted to be in the pool.  Turns out though, I couldn't swim for 30-60 minutes if I wanted to.  At least not doing exclusively flutter kicks.  I did straight boogie board flutter kicks for 5 minutes and I could barely walk.  While I was at the aquatic center I looked at the hours again and it turns out I misread them and I wont always be able to swim on Tuesdays so I'm adding Thursdays as an option too.  That will be denoted in my challenge in red.

I did a whole body workout on Wednesday.  My workout routine looks like this:

Warmup - Mostly movements from Kate Galliett's Unbreakable body

Dumbbell Deadlifts

Planks

Dumbbell Overhead Press

Side Lunges

TVA Wall Leg Drops

Dumbbell Bench Press

Cooldown - Yoga

I went pretty light on my weight for this workout because I'm still recovering from my ankle injury.  I also got my back adjusted on Monday and slipped it out on Tuesday walking around campus like a pack mule.  So needless to say my body wasn't prepared for a heavy load.  But I wanted to get in and again get the habit started.  That I did and I'm definitely feeling the work I put in, so it wasn't a waste!

Today I will be doing my fun activity which is yoga.  I'm bringing a friend along who has never practiced before so that is SUPER exciting.  I'm also trying to get her involved in NF but with little luck.  She was all amped up to start this challenge with me, but it didn't pan out.  I'm hoping to coerce her today

I'm going to do this by mini challenge instead of days.

Mini challenge 1: eating at home/what I packed.  Last semester I decided to not focus on my healthy lifestyle and depend solely on the habits I had formed in the 6 months prior.  I wanted to eat healthy but didn't take the time to plan out anything.    

Yeah... it didn't go so well.......  So this semester I'm getting back to meal planning and all the good things that come along with that.  And by "I'm" I mean I recruited my boyfriend to meal plan for us (MWAHAHAHAH!).  He did really excellent last week and I think he even kind of likes it!!  Score!

So this week I've been doing excellently.  I have only eaten out once, and I will probably eat lunch out today too.  The best part is, because of the way that I worded this challenge I'm not beating myself up.  Normally I would say "don't eat out ever" and then give myself a break in the grading scale giving myself days off and still being able to get an A.  But the wording is so important!  Like "they" always say "one bad meal wont make you unhealthy just like one good meal wont make you healthy".  So I'm giving myself permission to enjoy some of the things that might not be the best for me, but only sporadically.  Turns out I don't crave it all that much when I do it this way (thanks Amy Clover for helping me break through this mental barricade).  

Also yesterday I REALLY wanted a snack, like a not good for you comes in a crinkly bag sort of snack.  But I knew that I was going to go to lunch today and that the snack would take me off my trajectory.  So I scoured my kitchen and I found some mini golden Oreos that my brother had laying around.  They were in my house so they don't count as an "eating out" and they satiated my craving so I didn't run out and buy something (also hurting my budget scores).  That may seem like a cheat, but again not beating myself up over it is making me not want to eat more, or do it again.  So all in all, I'd say this is successful mini challenge for me.  Yay!

I CAN UPDATE MY THREAD FINALLY!!  

I started my semester on Tuesday and between that and the challenge I've been a little consumed.  Good news though... I'm doing great on my challenge!  I apologize in advance for the spam that is about to ensue, but I'm excited about some of the things that happened this week and I want to share

P.S there will be updates to the Fellowship is gonna Ranger and my battle log too!  

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth I promise! This whole going to bed at 11p has really put a damper on my progress updates. Hopefully I'll be able to do a full update tomorrow

Hi archon! Following along to support a local

Since I was little I've always been drawn to the bow. I think it's a very elegant weapon and whenever I see/read about an archer character I always craft an affinity for them. I think it's because I naturally respect things that require a lot of skill. I find skillful people more attractive in almost every attribute. I am more attracted to ballerinas than jazz dancers and I appreciate high end resturaunt food more than diner food. It spans all categories I think.

Specifically with the bow though I run into a chicken/egg situation. I LOVE fantasy elves (the tall skiny ones, not the short dorky ones) and they usually wield bows. Not sure I love them for weildingb bows or love bows because elves tend to wield them.

Ether way, I want to be an elf archer. I was the cliche of MMORPGS as a female player roling a NE Hunter with a cat in WoW. But I did it in beta which according to my inner hipster means that I'm not just a basic gamer girl.

Thanks guys!

The "radio silent" thing came from Steve.  I can't remember if it was a blog post or a Q&A but he mentioned not having any lights or anything in your room.  I can't accomplish that, but I do have my phone set to do not disturb and I'm going to try REALLY hard not to be on it an hour before I go to bed.  Here's to hoping!

I'm so excited about this challenge!

Here's the details of my "important quest"

THE CHARACTER SHEET 

Character Name: Thist

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Race: Human
Class: Ranger in training
Occupation: Alchemist specializing in awesomesauce
Character skills:  Talking my way into awesome things, training awesome animals, mixing things together to make them more awesome and crafting awesome systems

General Knowledge: Crafting awesome tasting things

Weaponry: Who needs weapons when I'm this awesome, but just in case my awesomeness fumbles I'm learning to use a bow

Feats

Strength: Focus specifically on form during my lifting sessions.  Video my lifts and post them to my thread so that my followers can critique my form

Agility:  Fit a yoga session into my weekly workouts.  Either add on an additional day or make it my "fun activity" on Saturdays

Stamina:  Swim one day a week.  Focusing solely on flutter kick to isolate and strengthen my glutes.

Ranger: Research archery ranges in my area to prepare for my rewards from this challenge.   

Yay for inspiration!!

Former assassin here too! I'm excited to see how your challenge unfolds. Also the new format should be super interesting!

So here we go, so much work to do. searching for a place to store my Assassin's Cloak, seeing how i fit in my new Ranger's Uniform!

Also a former assassin here! Excited to see how this challenge pans out for us!

Thanks guys!

I'm excited to share my journey with you guys

IAmDoll I have not taken archery before but it's something I've always wanted to try. I figured that would be an awesome incentive for me.

So excited! First challenge as a Ranger. That and all the changes that are happening.... I'm like buzzing with enthusiasm!

Hi!  Following!  We have the same "3x a week" workout schedule.  Mine is also sort of vague so I'm curious to see how/if that vagueness has an effect for you positive or negative.  Good luck in the coming weeks

Following your progress on this one.  We have a few similar goals (creating a bedtime routine and I will be throwing some yoga in as my "fun activity").  Excited to see what works for you and to share in the struggles

Hi Rangers!

My name is Thist (Caitlin for those of you who may have seen me on the facebook groups) and this is my first challenge as a Ranger, as well as my first challenge in a while.  Since joining nerd fitness I've always assumed I would grow up to be an Assassin based on the things that I liked to do when I was younger.  I was operating under the impression that the reason I stopped doing the things I enjoyed back then (gymnastics, dancing etc) was because I was overweight.  Since losing some weight I've tried getting back into gymnastics and dancing and they just don't spark my soul the way that they used to.  So I made the tough decision to leave the guild I've been a part of since challenge number 1.  I was torn between the Rangers and the Druids, but ultimately I think I'm in the right place.  I love me some Druids but I think they're a little more emotional/spiritual than what my focuses are right now.  

I believe whole heartedly in the four pillars of fitness (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) and the Rangers really touch on my spiritual fitness which is a pillar that I need to focus on.  I am very interested in becoming self sustaining and getting in touch with the natural world.  It seems as though that is a focus in this group and that excites me!  Also, part of me becoming self sufficient is crafting a toolbox of a body.  That is what interested me about the assassins but it seems as though that is also a priority here.  So without further ado.... 

Major Quest

Lose 60 lbs

This is outside of the scope of this challenge but I'll take any weight loss as a win!

Minor Quests

Nutrition:  Eat home/Pack every meal with two exceptions weekly

A = 3/3 Weeks B = 2/3 Weeks C = 1/3 Weeks F = 0/3 Weeks

*This portion of my challenge will end 1/23*

*I will be staying in a hotel 1/19-1/20 and I will not count my evening meal on 1/19 or my breakfast 1/20 as eating out as I will not be "at home"*

Fitness:  Workout 3 times weekly

Swimming on Tuesday/Thursday, Lifting on Wednesday and a Fun Activity on Saturday

A = 4/4 Weeks B = 3/4 Weeks C = 2/4 Weeks D = 1/4 Weeks F = 0/4 Weeks

Mental Fitness: Be in bed "radio silent" Sunday - Thursday by 11pm

A = 12+ Days B = 9-11 Days C = 6-8 Days D = 3-5 Days F = 0-2 Days

*This portion of this quest will end 1/25

Life Side Quest

Start and Maintain and Envelope Style Budget

A = Spend outside of my budget 3 or less times B = 6 or less times C = 9 or less times D = 12 or less times F = more than 12 times

*This portion of this challenge will end for me on 1/23*

*There are exceptions to this challenge because I will be traveling for my 10 year anniversary the last week of January.  While I understand that I need to learn to travel and maintain my routine, frankly my anniversary is more important to me.  So I am making the conscious decision to give my self permission to just enjoy that week.*  

Motivation

To create a body that I am proud of.  One that matches the awesomeness that I have inside of me.  

I am not currently "ashamed" of my body I am just not proud of it.  There was a point in my youth that I was in shape and had a body that I was damn proud of.  My goal is to get to that place again (not the same body, but the same confidence) 

To be able to explore and enjoy the world without restriction from my body

Rewards

4.0 - Pre-pay for 4 weeks of Archery lessons and a northface-esq lightweight jacket

3.5-3.99 - A northface-esq lightweight jacket and 2 Archery lessons

3.0-3.49 - 2 Archery lessons

2.5-2.99 - 1 Archery lesson

2.0-2.49 - Nice socks

0-1.99 - Get a high 5 for trying

I second (third?) the "when are we going to be able to start posting our challenges".  I haven't done a challenge since camp and I. AM. PUMPED!!  I just want to get my enthusisim onto the boards before it wains. 

I second (third?) the "when are we going to be able to start posting our challenges".  I haven't done a challenge since camp and I. AM. PUMPED!!  I just want to get my enthusisim onto the boards before it wains.