Jormungand

And that, as they say, is that. Fantastic job all around. Those are some impressive numbers with the running, the push-ups, just the whole bit. (And the pictures are pretty, too.) I've started planning for the next challenge, and I hope you're not offended if there are portions of my next challenge that resemble yours. I'm putting more of a focus on bodyweight exercises to go along with my running regimen, and I might be taking some inspiration from you.

Also, I am right there with you on the mindful eating. Generally, I feel like I'm doing fine, but there needs to be a way to get more organized that doesn't involve meal tracking. Maybe that's asking too much though. Again, well done and I can't wait to see how your next challenge rolls out.

Here's to an awesome race.

You're doing admirable by maintaining a positive attitude despite the myriad things throwing you off kilter. Hopefully they even out soon.

Back home so I once again on familiar roads. I went for a 4 mile run yesterday morning. Temps were in the high 30s and felt perfect for a run. 

One last run in the basement gym this afternoon. Not much, just a quick 3.1 miles. 

Got in to the basement gym this morning before my sessions start. I ended up doing 4 miles. 

This week, I am in Atlanta staying in a place that has a very small gym but a gym nonetheless. I did 3 miles on the treadmill before giving it up to someone. But I will attempt to do more tomorrow morning. 

Also, I did this week's Assassin mini challenge which consisted of some core moves. 

AMSAP Plank: 53

AMRAP Leg Raise: 11

AMSAP Hollow Body Hold: 17

AMSAP Superman Hold + AMSAP Hollow Body Hold: 5x

17 hours ago, Sevasan said:

10 minutes in, I knew I was hooked!

I also did the trial when my freshman-year roommate started playing. I made an account and played for about half an hour. I decided right then and there that I could never play again if I wanted to stay unaddicted. That was the first and last time I ever played WoW.

Week 3 Recap:

A really solid week overall. I finished up the third week of the Movnat Primer yesterday, so I'm ready to finish out the series. The last week is a combination of a lot of the moves I've been doing recently, so I'm looking forward to it. Diet and nutrition were pretty good, too. On the days I was home, we usually fixed our own meals. Not so much on the days I was away at a conference. The food was your typical conference fare, but I tended to stay away from anything sweet and/or dessert-ish. I ran for a total of 13 miles, so I finally did some over the weekly limit. Now, I just need 14 miles this week to hit my goal. I'd hoped to be closer by this point in the challenge, but that's not an impossible number to hit.

The only issue I foresee this week is that I will be traveling again starting tomorrow, and I won't be back until Friday night. The place I'm going has a fitness facility, so I will make it a point to visit that while I'm away. I will do a better job of checking in with all of you, as well. Here's to finishing off this challenge in style.

Definitely check out Blizzard HQ if you can. I haven't played a lot of the more recent games, but I definitely grew up with WarCraft I and II, StarCraft, and Diablo I and II. My college dorm mates and I missed a lot of homework due to playing Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. I quit right around the time WoW came out, mostly because I could see myself falling too far into that world. 

I finished the third week of the 4WMNP today while watching some football with the ally. I got to use my 15# backpack this time around. Today's movements weren't too bad, but the reps were high and that's where the strain came in. 

• Deep Squat x 20
• Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 8 (Hold the tall stance for 10 seconds)
• Deep Squat to Deep Kneeling x 20
• Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 20
• Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling to Split Kneeling (Alternate sides) x 20
• Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 20

The final week's movements are combinations of everything I've been doing so far. 

On October 11, 2016 at 10:05 PM, SaltyDragon said:

Life happens, and we all gotta deal with what's in front of our faces every day, first. Just keep dropping in when you can, to remind us all what we should aspire to.

You're not wrong there. I appreciate the kind words. 

Life certainly has been happening. I was traveling Tuesday-Friday last week and will be doing the same this coming week. Then, I will be home for a while. It's not that I mind traveling, and I'm thankful for the learning opportunities that I have, but it is nice to be home.

Reading up on all of your challenges is refreshing and it's great to see you all doing so well. Sometimes I need a reminder why I participate in these boards. You're all inspiring. 

That kind of running volume is something to aspire to. It really sounds like you're settling in to this new environment, especially with all of these opportunities you have to run, on top of just getting out and enjoying nature in one form or another.

On 10/13/2016 at 10:02 PM, SaltyDragon said:

It's getting really hard during the week. I work almost all of the daylight hours, and after that, the running schedule comes first. At this point in my training, my shortest runs are 5 miles. I'm running five days a week, with a long run on the weekends and a longish tempo run mid week. I think it's going pretty good, but my body is still getting used to the abuse, so the energy for other activities is a little low!

I read somewhere recently to imagine that all of your energy for working out (be it cardio, weight lifting, yoga, what have you) as liquid in a bowl. Every time you do an activity, some of the liquid comes out, and there is only so much to go around in a week's time. It kind of makes sense, if not completely accurate, but I imagine that it relates somewhat to the fatigue you're seeing in the other areas. Five days a week of running (especially when the shortest runs are 5 miles) is pretty intense. I have full confidence that, as you continue progressing, you'll fall into balance. 

I'm digging the ink. Is that a dragon tattoo?

That is a pretty wild story about your publisher and former mayor, although not altogether surprising. It seems like newspapers are just havens for drama anytime elections and politicians are concerned. A few years go, we had a politician (I don't remember what he was running for) come in and cuss us out because the election ad he was running looked like garbage (even though he'd already seen and approved the proof). He claimed that it was going to cost him votes and he would sue us for losing him the election. We told him we'd try to change what we could before it ran again, but he didn't leave very happy. He didn't end up winning, but I don't think it was due to the ad. He also didn't end up suing us, though that part wasn't really surprising. 

Sometimes I miss that line of work...

I have a feeling that you will find your rhythm again. After pushing and sweating for so long, it's easy to take your foot off the gas and enjoy life for a while, which makes it easy to slip back into the way things were. However, it is just as easy to get back into building and following the good habits that got you there in the first place. It sounds like you're already making some steps back into where you were recently: taking Booklet for walks, moving up in the Academy, and getting back into your regular workouts. You'll find your fire again. 

That's odd about your leg, but it could be nothing. I'm glad that the cool down stretches helped. It might be a good idea to stick to the neighborhood to see if it acts up again before committing to the hike. 

I went for a run this morning before getting into a day full of yardwork. The sky was overcast, and the wind was coming out of the south, which is usually how I prefer it. It was a really good run, and I went for 6 miles, though I felt like I could've done more. I could only do that much because of time constraints. However, it feels like I'm really starting to get my stride back, so I'm definitely looking forward to airing things out this fall. 

Well, I guess I didn't track that I did the third day of the third week for the 4WMNP yesterday. 

• Deep Squat x 16
• Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 6 (Hold the tall stance for 10 seconds)
• Deep Squat to Deep Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 16
• Deep Squat to Medium Kneeling x 16
• Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling (Alternate side) x 16
• Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 16

I went for a run this morning around 6:00. I went for about 7 miles, and I felt really good throughout. I am at a library leadership retreat, and the city where it's located has some nice elevation changes. Nothing extreme, but enough that I felt the runs back uphill. A really nice run overall. 

This evening, I did the second day for this third week of the 4WMNP. Same scenario in that I used my suitcase again. I really like these loaded movements. 

Loaded

• Stepping Over x 12
• Stepping Under x 12
• Lateral Figure Four Seating to Tall Split Kneeling (Alternate sides) x 12
• Deep Knee Bend x 12
• Deep Knee Bend Stances x 12 (Hold for 10 seconds)
• Deep Squat x 12
• Deep Squat to Medium Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 12
• Deep Squat to Tall Kneeling x 12

Started the third week of the 4WMNP tonight in my hotel room (which I will be in until Friday). I'm a little ticked that I didn't read ahead, because all of the moves are loaded. It would have been a perfect opportunity for me to use my 15# backpack. I did end up using my suitcase with my satchel tossed in (along with whatever contents were in there). I'd guess that it weighs about 10-12#. Not a whole hell of a lot, but enough to feel the strain by the end of the set. It's nice too that I don't have to go back and check each video to see how to do each move, which speeds things up somewhat.

Loaded

• Stepping Over x 8
• Stepping Under x 8
• Lateral Figure Four Seated to Tall Split Kneeling (Alternate sides) x 8
• Deep Knee Bend x 8
• Deep Knee Bend Stances x 8 (Hold as long as you can.)
• Split Squat (Alternate sides) x 8
• Medium Kneeling to Tall Kneeling x 8
• Deep Knee Bend to Tall Half-kneeling (Alternate sides) x 8

Glad to hear about the positive changes in your location. Hopefully, things will continue to improve. Here's to your job going well now that you're finally starting.

There is nothing wrong with placing your focus in other areas of your life, especially ones as critical as keeping safe. Glad to hear you made it through.

Week 2 Recap:

I guess it's time to finally update this. I am (at the moment) current on the 4-Week MovNat Primer. I did the last day's movements of the second week yesterday, and I plan to do the third week each weekday of this week to get caught back up. Some of the movements that are just holding in various crouches are good, but they sure do burn up the muscles where my toes and feet meet and where my thighs meet my knees. It's a good burn though. I got in 12.5 miles of running last week, which is still behind where I need to be for the challenge, but at least I didn't lose any ground. Plus, I got in 13 miles on my bike last Saturday, so there's a little bonus action in there. I definitely ate better last week than the week before for the most part. Through the week, we mostly ate prepped meals for lunch and cooked at home during the evenings. My birthday was on Sunday, and the ally and I had a few meals that fell closer to the 20 portion of the 80/20 rule, but I felt pretty good about it considering that we did pretty well leading up to it. And, screw it. It was my birthday.

I've been pretty inactive lately here on the boards, but I will try to get caught up with you all this week. I hope you are all crushing it this week and plow through the rest of the challenge with a vengeance.

This morning I finished up the second week of the 4WMNP (a day late, but who's checking?).

Definitely looking forward to the third week.

• Stepping Over Hurdle x 10 : Perform slowly, avoid counterbalancing with your arms. Switch sides.
• Stepping Under Hurdle x 10: Perform slowly, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
• Lateral Figure Four Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling x 16: Switch sides.
• Deep Squat to Deep Kneeling x 20
• Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling x 20: Switch sides.
• Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling to Split Kneeling x 10: Switch sides.
• Split Deep Knee Bend Reverse x 12: Perform while balancing on a narrow surface.

Still moving forward with the 4WMNP. Little behind since this was only the third day for the second week, but I am looking to get caught up this week. I am still enjoying the moves, and some of these higher reps are putting a burn on my foot and shin muscles. 

• Stepping Over Hurdle x 10: Perform slowly, avoid counterbalancing with your arms. Switch sides.
• Stepping Under Hurdle x 10: Perform slowly, avoid rounding the back. Switch sides.
• Lateral Figure 4 Sitting to Tall Split Kneeling x 14: Switch sides.
• Deep Squat to Medium Kneeling x 20
• Deep Kneeling to Lateral Half-kneeling x 20: Switch sides.
• Deep Knee Bend to Tall Deep Knee Bend x 10: Perform while balancing. Avoid counterbalancing. Hold the tall stance 10 seconds each time.

11 hours ago, SaltyDragon said:

That is a hell of a shot. Very cool location. Keep them coming for those of us landlocked here in the Midwest.

I went into the fitness center this morning before work. It's been a while since I've been in, and it was pretty dead. I wanted to do some dip work for this week's portion of the Assassin mini challenge. I did some running on the treadmill today too, just to keep my mileage up.

AMSAP top dip hold: 45sec

AMRAP half-ROM dips (top half): 13

AMSAP half-dip hold: 20sec

Bottom dip hold for a cumulative total of 60sec: Complete

2.5 mile run

BW - 196

Still crushing that pace.