x Valkyrie x

Week 1, Tuesday 

Seeker: I think I need to revise my goal to a solid 8 hour sleep window, because, honestly, some nights I get home at 9 and need to be up by 5:30 or 6 to hit the gym or bjj, and I’d also like to converse with my family and maybe eat something. So, 8 hour sleep window: check! 

Warrior: yasss, I went after work. W2D4 in the books! I will celebrate the day I can get 25 bent over lateral raises with the 3kg weights...2 kg is still a struggle lol.

Scavenger: heh heh...bought my ticket home for a week and a half in March! And recorded it, too. 

On 1/7/2019 at 11:05 AM, jonfirestar said:

 I've been struggling with depression this last year. It's a rat bastard. Having people to support you and who you can talk to really helps. I'm really glad to read that you are feeling better. 

It’s a tricky rat bastard, sometimes it shows up for no reason at all, like a bad smell in the fridge! Luckily, it goes with a little Arm and Hammer baking soda, and love from my family <3 

Week 1, Monday

Seeker: pretty sure that was a nope. I’m kind of confusing myself with how I’m filling in my squares;  I’m doing it for every day I get it, so at the end, I’ll have empty squares at the bottom, rather than interspersed...but I get confused because sometimes I forget if I marked it already for the day or not....probably need more sleep to ease the confusion. :p

Warrior: nope. I think I need to accept that 8-8’s are no gym days. Simply not enough time on those days, the gym isn’t open early enough or late enough. (6-9, bleh.)

Scavenger: staying on track. 

I loved reading your race reflection. I’m excited to see how you tackle your training for various events.

I feel like I just had a revelation from you- you can’t be good at all the things, all the time! You have to pick what’s important to you at the time and, naturally, other things have to fall by the wayside for a while...but instead of being all down because you’ve lost some element of fitness (for the sake of gaining other elements), you identify what needs work and the order of priority. That kind of mindset makes it a continually interesting balancing act in the pursuit of passion and goals, instead of a stressful thing where you try to do everything all the time and exhaust your time, physical and mental resources. It also then makes sense to keep a baseline of fitness all the time, so that when you do restart some element of training, whether it’s hill running or, like me, bjj, you’re not starting at 0, and the fitness rebuilds more quickly. 

Sorry, that’s my Tuesday morning ramble done now :p

9 hours ago, Nymeria said:

 

Not at all.  My family just needed to obtain birth, marriage, and death certificates for the last 4 generations back.  Thankfully, my family is Catholic, and the Catholic church keeps excellent records, so we could locate everything.  

 

 

We are considering moving to Europe for a few years (or longer) anyway.  We could have done so with work visas, but it will be much easier if the kids and I are citizens.

 

Re: the scar tissue.   The tl;dr 2018 medical bullshit was that I failed a mammogram back in March, got diagnosed with cancer, had a bilateral mastectomy with some lymph nodes removed from my armpit, and then had radiation to the whole area.  Everything got a lot tighter after the radiation, and my armpit really doesn't like full hangs anymore.  One of the reasons I've been focusing so much on the silks is that I can't take any hanging impact, so I can't really do laches or other fun parkour stuff.  

 

 

One of my tasks today is to search for a few IP recipes to try in the next week.    

I am an American living in Ireland- I’m on a spouse visa, as my husband is Irish. There are a lot of perks of living abroad, and a lot of adjustments! Best of luck in your endeavors! 

Ive heard of that kind of tightness following mastectomies. Have you pursued any physio regarding it? I worked with a PT while I was in PTA school who specialized in treating women post-mastectomy to improve range of motion. 

How did the race go? How did the bouldering go afterward? I’m way jealous of you guys’ local-ness! I’m on the wrong side of the pond, but only just :p 

Cool challenge! I just started watching Peaky Blinders with my husband and we are hooked. I especially like your family meetings, it’s so important to stay in touch, and so easy to let communication slide in the day to day grind. 

Week 0, Sunday (I do a Monday to a Sunday week, since that’s how my work schedule is set up) 

Today was much better, I woke up back to myself and made it to the gym and went for a run afterwards with my husband, and got some chicken cooked and shredded in the IP.  

We finally talked to my MIL about adopting a puppy and she was actually totally fine about it! We already have one picked out at the shelter, and  we’ll probably pick up our little guy next week, I’m quite excited! But I need to see if I can get some days at work covered...I’d like to have a few days at home with the little guy to help him get settled in, but if not, we’ll figure it out. 

Warrior: W2D3 A (full body lift day) and B (abs and 2x10 minute run, HR <140 bpm)

Seeker: Got my 8.5 hour sleep window, and about 7.5 hours of sleep. 

Scavenger:  no spend day. 

8 hours ago, Rurik Harrgath said:

Let me just say for starters, I love that you used Tomb Raider skill trees as your challenge goal titles.

 

My Tomb Raider themed challenges will always hold a special spot in my heart!

 

 

I've been there.  The depression downs are as vicious as they are all-consuming.  It's a void from which one cannot easily escape, but it sounds like you mitigated the damage.  I'm glad you have a support network in your mom and husband who are willing to go the extra mile to help, even if it seems minor or only makes such a small different - every little thing matters.  You slept.  You socialized.  You ate Halo top ice cream instead of 10,000 calories of Ben & Jerry's.  These are all small wins!  So don't beat yourself up; even if you're (briefly) living in a colorless world, know that you aren't alone, and that things are always darkest before the light.

 

So sayeth the Chaplain of the Rebellion, Sir @Tanktimus the Encourager

Thanks Rurik, it doesn’t happen very often, and thankfully it doesn’t usually last long. This past year I’ve struggled with it a lot more as I adjusted to living in a foreign country, but I’m getting better at recognizing it and it gets easier to manage as time goes on.  My husband and my mom are priceless to me, and such helps <3

5 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Depression's a rat bastard. I'm glad you have people in your life helping you.

Me too! They’re both really good at just being there, not trying to fix things, just existing alongside until things get better. It’s a blessing for sure. 

Hello! I am recently returned to NF, myself, and your challenge is intriguing! Your activities are ones that I’d love to get into but haven’t yet...silks and parkour are both fascinating to me! I shall be following your badass progress this challenge  also, I want all the IP recipes too, because I just got one for Christmas :p so far, my favorite thing has been a chicken and rice recipe, and shredded chicken for burritos...mostly, the fact that you can turn it on and forget about it is the best thing ever. 

Week 0, Saturday 

Today was a strange day. I was in extremely low mood, got barely 1,000 steps because I literally laid in bed all day. If it weren’t for my mom FaceTiming me and cajoling me, I probably wouldn’t have fed myself....I got all worked up last night, super upset over everything and nothing because I was tired, and I slept for 10 hours and when I woke up, instead of a reset, it was like all the color had gone out of the world, and I didn’t have the energy to do anything I liked(not even video games), except read, so that’s what I did.

Mom hung out with me for several hours on FaceTime, crocheting while I read. And my husband brought me a peanut butter halo top even though I was an asshole last night. And little by little, the color is coming back to life, and tomorrow will be a better day full of the usual program of kicking ass and optimism. 

Warrior: nope.

Seeker: yes! 10.5 hours, actually...

Scavenger: got my groceries from Tesco online, saved probably 20 euro by avoiding impulse buys and shopping the deals from the comfort of my pajamas and bed. 

3 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Welcome back. So cool that your boyfriend is now your husband and you are living in Ireland!

Thanks EG! It’s been a year of change and growth, for sure. We celebrated our first anniversary last week on December 30th! 

Week 0, Friday

Warrior: rest day. I’m working an 8-8 today, and I’ve tabled the gym, since I went to the Zoo Lights with my husband last night after work instead of going to sleep at 9 pm so I could go to the gym before work. It was a good trade. 

Seeker: 7.75 hour sleep window.  Not my 8.5 I’m aiming for, but I did get 7.5 hours sleep, and that’s the average I’m chasing for my 1st Quarter Goal.

Scavenger: went to the zoo lights yesterday and immediately tracked our hot chocolate purchases. Today will be a no spend day. 

Looks like you’ve got a lot going on, Jon! Congrats on getting furniture back! Sleep hygiene is so important! It’s something I’m working on, as well. 

89 carbs....*shock and horror* fair play, man, I couldn’t do it, I’d cut someone. 

On 1/2/2019 at 9:41 PM, Librarian of Doom said:

Hi! I love your quests and your bullet journal: it looks so functional! I'm trying to get in the habit of using some sort of planner thing to keep track of what I'm doing, but building the habit of using the planner has been the most difficult part so far.

I’ve not always been great about my consistency with the journal, but it’s something I’m determined to get better at. I like the flexibility of the bullet journal system but sometimes it’s a pain, so this year,  I did the weekly layouts for the whole first quarter of the year to see if it will help me to actually use it on a weekly basis. 

You might like the Best Self Journal. I got it for my husband and it has a great goal-oriented layout and is very user friendly, he likes his a lot! 

5 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

Oh wow that is an intense program. I don't say that lightly  Recovery is often my concern these days (largely because I don't eat enough so it's compromised) so how do you feel in regards to recovery? 

It’s actually great, and I’m still on the lower end of my intake (I’m at about 2000 calories a day, but likely will be increasing over the coming weeks). I also tend to get quite crabby and fatigued if I don’t recover enough and I haven’t noticed any of that. I do have mandatory rest days once or twice a week due to my work schedule (8-8 on a weekend doesn’t give much opportunity when the gym is only open 9-6 on Saturdays -.-), so I’m scheduling myself 10 weeks to complete the 8 week program. Im also doing BJJ twice a week, and find I can do BJJ in the morning and lift in the evening and it’s grand. I reckon my calories will be going up substantially as the weeks progress, though. 

2 hours ago, WhiteGhost said:

Hey, welcome back!  Are you back home now or still over in ye olde country?

Hey! I’m living permanently in Ireland now  it’s been an interesting year! 

2 hours ago, Marauder said:

Hiya Miss Cutie.  Hope you are well!  xoxo

Hiya Marauder! Great to see you!! <3 <3

17 minutes ago, jonfirestar said:

Hey, it's really great to see you back!

 

That is intriguing. I would like to know more  

Thanks Jon! It’s good to be back!

https://eattoperform.clickfunnels.com/squeeze-page16316190

This is the program, it’s super fun! I think it will become challenging from a time commitment standpoint, because in the 2nd phase there are several 2-a-days (lifting and cardio/abs separately), but sure, it’ll be grand :p

Hello! 

I have been long absent from NF, but still plugging away at my goals. I’m excited to return to the quest format! I am playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and, as always, I’m hugely inspired by Lara Croft. 

I have big big goals this year! In pursuit of becoming the Real Life Lara Croft, I want to finally achieve a strict pull up this year, I will attend 104 BJJ classes, and I will complete 104 runs (of any length or duration, this is baby steps!).  My goals for this challenge will, hopefully, support these grander, overarching goals! 

The newest Tomb Raider has 3 skill trees, the Warrior, the Seeker and the Scavenger. I correspondingly have 3 goals!

Warrior: Complete Everything Hurts, the 8 week intensive lifting program I’m currently on week 2 of. It’s 7 days a week, but designed to allow the CNS to recover and avoid overtraining. 

Side Quest: I’m also going to be doing a side quest for BJJ 2x a week, but EH is the priority. 

Seeker: 8.5 hour sleep window, because recovery is important!

Scavenger: Financial freedom through budgeting, recording spending, and revising/reviewing each week to stay on top of things. We want to get out of debt, and save for a house, so we gotta knuckle down, so I will record every purchase, and review the budget with my husband every week to make sure we’re on track. 

I’ll be using my bullet journal, as per usual, to help keep me on track, and as I reach 33%, 66%, and finally 100% compliance with sleep and budgeting, and finish phase 1&2 of EH, I’ll get to connect the arrows as a symbol of my “level up”.

Me, too! I’m American, but live in Ireland now

Well done on your GtG work, that’s amazing!! Sorry to hear about your nagging injury, hopefully it heals soon x

On 1/26/2018 at 9:23 PM, Kestrel Grey said:

It sounds like you are kicking ass, even if you are not saving the world this month.   Being unemployed for the month of your big move is probably for the best.

Can you still post your January tracker at the end of the challenge?  You made it so pretty it would be really nice to see how it went visually even if you "lost" the game.

I definitely will! the fate of the world is a bit bleak...but I’d say I cured, like, some small, remote islands, and they’ll be able to rebuild civilization from there. All was not lost! Lol

On 1/26/2018 at 10:15 PM, Elastigirl said:

Good that you are happy with what you are achieving. Sounds like you have accomplished a bunch. (even if you had the fate of the world in your hands, and now the plague is going to kill everyone, I'm sure it's all good) 

Meh, people are so critical when it comes to enormous swaths of population loss.

Things are going pretty well! 

Id say, I probably lost the game lol, but I’m happy with what I AM achieving. I’m hitting my steps goal, becoming more consistent with macros, and I’m hitting all my gym and bjj days.

Next week, I’m unemployed again...but it’s ok, it gives me a month to work on getting ready for the move! 

I have a job mostly lined up for when I get to Ireland, so that’s awesome, and I’m getting excited for this next chapter. 

Im doing Stronglifts 5x5, other programs are too complicated for me right now. I’m enjoying the simplicity and the quickness of this program. 

BJJ continues to be a light in my life, though I don’t enjoy my current professor’s methods of teaching as much, and I’m excited to get back to my teacher in Ireland. But I have made some good friends at this club, and I’m glad to be there! 

I got into a car crash today on the freeway. There was a big snow storm that hit northern Utah, and I was going slower than the speed limit but apparently not slow enough. I tried to change lanes, to get out of a pushy car’s way, and instead I spun 360 degrees across 4 lanes of traffic, hit the guard rail (thank God that section had a guard rail or I would have flown off the free way), and ended up on the right shoulder, facing the correct way. Somehow, all oncoming traffic missed me, and I just have a dent and a flat tire to show for it. I’m blessed. 

I literally  could have died today, and it makes all my worries and anxieties seem so insignificant. My poor mother, I was on the phone with her and she had to hear the whole thing. “I’m having an accident- I’m ok, I’m not hurt, oh my god I’m spinning, I hit a guard rail, I’m ok.” I figured I couldn’t have an accident and not tell her what was happening, she would totally freak out. 

A highway patrolman showed up shortly shortly thereafter and changed my flat for me and made sure my car was safe to drive. He’s a hero and I’m so glad he was there and willing to get wet and cold to help me. 

Im staying in the slow lane for the rest of my life lol.

Back home and back on my macros after a major macro pass! 

Omg, my nephew is the very best there ever was. 

My weight is up 15 lbs from where I was at the beginning of the summer, but it’s ok. I don’t look like I did the last time I weighed this much- I have a lot more muscle now. BUT I am determined to lean out again because I like how I looked and felt in my clothes (and without them haha...tmi?), and I’m ready to get back there! So I went for a walk and I’m gonna get my 8k steps for the day! Tomorrow, I’m getting my lift session in, and Sodium was under 2k for the day. 

Ive decided I did way too much, so I’m pairing it down to Macros, Lifting/BJJ, budget 1x a week and minimizing 3x a week, and journaling 5x a week, with writing and guitar as things I’m going to do when I don’t have to sacrifice sleep to do it. Sleep> everything else.