Search the Community

This cycle's challenges are based off of the feats from the mini challenge exercise for this cycle. More info here. Feats Endurance: Complete: Spartan Sprint + Oakley 10k + Savage Race + Rugged Maniac - DONE WEEK 1 Strength: Improve throughout this season's OCRs + Perform A Single Damn Pull Up Speed: Work on furthering my yoga pose skill set (I'm starting with holding crow for longer + headstands) Combat: Complete the Spartan bodyweight program + continue to work yoga in where I can - Edited to include working with the pull-up bar every week day this week on top of my yoga workouts Healing: Foam rolling + Duo Lingo to learn more French + Metrics + knitting/creative pursuits

I'll try and be brief, but I'll do my best to get everything down so you don't have to ask too many questions... I recently embarked on a 16-week training plan in order to race a 10K in July. I've been running in some Asics that haven't seen much in the way of milage, but are easily 5 years old. Quite early on into the training my feet would ache, but I put this down to using new muscles. The aches are above the ankle on the inside and outside of both feet - and run a few inches up the leg. At the beginning I got sore arches too, but thankfully that's not a thing now. I've got flexible flat feet, but my shoes always wear down on the outside, not the inside (go figure). The aching hasn't eased off, and after I hit week 8, which was to be an 'easy week' (i.e. no fast running), I was pleased to find it coincided with a week's hiking holiday. On average I walked 6-7 miles on stony terrain, and nothing too drastic gradient-wise. My feet ached even more, especially along the outside bone of the sole (sorry) along my foot. Last week I had a full week off to give them a chance to recover. Tonight I've walked just under 3 miles and the aches are back along with the arches. I had tendonitis in my arches about 10 years ago, so I know this discomfort is nothing like the debilitating agony of that. I would like some advice on what to do next. My instinct is telling me to forget about the 10K race and to rest up. But I don't know how long for. My partner (who runs long distances all the time) thinks getting gait analysis and a recommended pair of trainers will undo the damage, but I feel it's too late. I don't want to get to the point where I can't walk anymore (already done that once in my life) in order to say 'I told you so'. So, thoughts?

Hello! Goals have changed somewhat. Due to the beginnings of an injury (now rectified) I've fallen way behind on my 10K training, and I'm now thinking that instead of going through all the fuss of registering and raising money to get a disappointing time in a race, I should do a time trial on that date instead. It falls at the end of week 5 of this challenge, so it will take up the majority of this challenge. Main Quest: 1. Bulk up. Going to try this 2. Keep on running. Do a personal 10K time trial on July 12th. Quests: 1. Eat at surplus, avoid dirty bulk. Still using MFP and Runkeeper for that. 2. Lean things out with yoga. Gentle yoga. Motivation: I enjoy lifting heavy things and getting stronger! I enjoy food even more, so the bulking part shouldn't be too taxing. My very scouty partner loves his running and continues to inspire me. I have seen those abs before! I want to see them again! Will update stats tomorrow morning. I'm full of food. Questions or suggestions always welcome! Stats: Height: 5' 4" Body Fat percentage: 25.1% (using a digital scale, so I know it's only an estimate) Waist: 28" Hips: 37" Bust: 35" Overbust: 33" Underbust: 29" Thigh: 21.5" Calf: 14" Bicep: 10.5"

Salivanth Does 10k Training! Who Am I? Hi guys! I'm Salivanth. To get the stats out of the way, I'm male, 23, 5'4'', 59 kg (130 lb), Australian, and getting ready to study Computer Science via distance education starting in July. As of April 13, I'll have been working out for exactly one year. I've mostly been doing bodyweight strength training with the Assassins, but a few months ago I started running. Last challenge I improved my 5k time from 29:56 to 28:16, and this challenge I'm increasing the distance to 10k. 57:26 is my goal time (I'll explain why a bit later in the post), but I'd be happy with any time that's under an hour. I consider myself an Assassin/Scout, so I'll be working towards goals from both classes. However, each challenge I'm planning to pick a goal that I want to achieve by the end of the challenge, and that goal determines what class I choose. Since I want to complete a 10k this challenge, that means I'll be boarding with the Scouts. Goals So, let's get into it! What am I trying to achieve this challenge? Goal One: Run 60 miles over the course of the challenge. (+3 STA) The big one, and the reason I've chosen the Scouts for my challenge! I've never run further than 5k in one run before, but a few months ago I couldn't run a mile, so I'm confident I can build my way up to the distance. I'll be using Hal Higdon's 10k program, modified slightly to reach my goals. Naturally, I'll need to run 10 miles a week on average to complete this goal. This is achievable by following the program I'm on, with a couple of extra short runs sprinkled in there. I'll be running Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, with an optional extra run on Tuesday. I may also choose to run Monday, Tuesday, Saturday; I'm fairly flexible depending on the weather and how I feel that day. As long as I get 3 runs in each week, and one of them is a long run, I should be alright to achieve this goal. Grading: -1 stat point for every 6 miles not done. (42 miles or less: failure) Goal Two: Complete 3 strength workouts per week. (+3 STR) I'll be using the Parallettes One program created by Gold Medal Bodies for my strength work. It's a 3-month beginner program that puts a heavy focus on perfect form, and the later portions of the program focus heavily on flow, i.e, stringing moves together. This is important to me because I'd like to be able to perform a basic gymnastics routine eventually. One of my medium-term goals is to be able to complete this routine: Yes, that's a 7-year-old completing this routine. Gymnasts start very young, but if I want to progress along that path, even at my age, I need to swallow my pride and start from the beginning. I may never be a competitive gymnast, but I'll at least be the best I can. Grading: -1 stat point for every 2 workouts skipped. (12 workouts or less; failure) Goal Three: Complete daily yoga practice. (+3 DEX) For flexibility, I've recently taken up yoga. I'm currently halfway through DoYouYoga's 30-day yoga challenge, and once I'm finished with that, I'll start from the beginning again. I may take up dedicated hamstring stretching at some point throughout the challenge as well, to improve the pike flexibility I'll need for gymnastics. I'd like to get the yoga habit cemented too. Likely I won't add hamstring stretching until next challenge, and only if I do well on this one. Adding small habits over time is what got me here, after all. Grading: -1 stat point for every 5 yoga workouts skipped. (27 yoga days or less; failure) Diet Goal: Eat within 50 calories of my target each day. (+2 CON) As I'm trying to bulk up this challenge, I'll be eating at 2,150 calories per day, plus 100 calories per mile on days that I run. I'm aiming to gain 2-3 kg this challenge; any less and I need to up the calories, any more and I should reduce them a bit. I'm giving myself permission to alter my calorie amount as required for this challenge. Grading: -1 stat point for every 5 days not reached. (32 days or less; failure) Quests Nerd Fitness wisdom suggests that goals should be process-oriented, not results-oriented, and I agree with this. However, I also like having specific goals to aim for in a challenge, so I call those quests and assign a few stat points to their completion. Here are my quests for this challenge. Quest One: Complete a set of 3 pull-ups. (+1 STR) My Main Quest as detailed in my signature is to be able to do 3 sets of 8 pull-ups and 3 sets of 8 dips. I'd be remiss if I didn't include that in my goals somewhere. I can currently do 2 pull-ups, so this isn't a particularly huge ask, but it should help me stay on track with my pull-up work. Quest Two: Complete a 10k in less than an hour. (+1 STA) Quest Three: Complete a 10k in less than 57:26. (+1 STA) These quests are pretty self-explanatory, except for the 57:26 time. It's oddly specific, so I'll explain why I've chosen that as my goal. In a book called Daniels' Running Formula, whom I bet a lot of the experienced Scouts have heard of, there's a measurement called VDOT. VDOT represents oxygen consumption, and is based on race speed. It can be based on distances from 800m to marathon, and ranges from 20 (Basically a brisk walk) to 85. (Pro athlete/world record/beyond WR depending on the exact race.) My current VDOT is 33, and was 31 about 2 months ago. This challenge, I want to increase it to 34. Someone with a VDOT of 34 should be expected to run a 57:26 10k, so that's why I chose it as the time I'm aspiring to. Quest Four: Reach 61-63 kg (136-139 lb) in weight. (+1 CON) Lastly, I'd like to reach the 61-63 kg weight range by the end of the challenge, seven weeks from now. Being outside of this range indicates something wrong with my diet. I'll be weighing myself halfway through the challenge to see how it's going, and adjust calories accordingly. If I'm within this range, it means I'm bulking correctly; not bulking so slowly I don't gain much muscle, nor so quickly that I'm gaining mostly fat. Conclusion So that's my challenge this time around. I'll use this week to make sure everything's in order, and then get right into it next week. I'm really looking forward to doing a challenge with you guys. Best of luck to everyone in their training / races! Thanks for reading!

Hello! Well this is good timing! I'm on the long, slow grind of losing those last few pounds. Have been using MFP for ages to track calories - it's taken me the best part of a year to realise my maintenance calories have a HUGE range. Had to ditch my $10 per month subscription to Daily Burn - partly out of poverty, partly because their server is an old sack of poop and I'm tired of their excuses saying the trouble's on my end when I have absolutely no trouble streaming Netflix, Hulu etc, without constant buffering... I wrote down the kettlebell routines and there are plenty of yoga vids to watch for free online. My main challenge will be self-motivation - I like working out alone, but with instruction - even if it's just a computer shouting in my ear. This time it's going to have to come from me. Main Quest: 1. Achieve 20% body fat - should equate to getting down from 129lbs to 115lbs, but will adjust as necessary. 2. Work towards running a 10K race (mid-July) in under an hour, using a training programme. Quests: Carry on counting calories on MFP and Runkeeper - eat at deficit, eat half of exercise calories back. Strength and cardio from running and kettlebells for fitness and to maintain lean muscle mass. Yoga on rest days - vinyasa, ashtanga, or something restorative if I need a break. I use Grokker and Do Yoga With Me. Adapt this routine while on a week-long walking holiday in the Lake District - use Runkeeper on walks, suspend KBs and running, carry on with Yoga. Life Quest: Learn basic computer programming skills. To cut a long story short, I'm a performer. I don't have a back-up job, and most work-from-home stuff is either marketing or telesales, which I loathe to do. I love playing games and before I was a performer had a decent tech-based job, so I'm confident this can be done! Motivation: 1. Tried lots of different workouts over the last year, from Insanity, to weight training, to dancing, kettlebells, you name it.... and built up my strength and fitness over that time. I seem to carry all my body fat on my belly and now I want to see my hard-won abs! 2. My partner recently ran a half-marathon in a ridiculous time - while I've still got my faculties I want to do something cool, and raise awareness/money for my chosen charity too. The atmosphere at his race was out of this world as well. The race I've yet to sign up to takes you around Central London, and I don't believe there's any other event like that, aside from the London Marathon. ​3. I'm going on a walking holiday to the Lake District during this challenge. I will use Runkeeper to track those long walks. If memory serves I'll be walking all day and it will be too much, not to mention annoying to The Fellowship, should I decide to do Kettlebells or Running of an evening... Ashtanga Yoga should cover it.... Stats: Height: 5' 4" Current Weight: 129.2lbs Current Body Fat: 24.3% Goal Weight: 115lbs Goal Body Fat: 20% Is that enough info? Let me know if I've missed something out!

So I've always been more of a sprinter. Lots of power and speed in the legs and absolutely no stamina. At school I was excused from cross country - in the cold winter air my lungs would feel like they were on fire and my low blood pressure would make me feel dizzy. Because of this and the family history of asthma, I was too was diagnosed with the condition and never ran any sort of distance other than the 'run-to-the-train-station' sprint. After some months of kettlebells I realised I could do this even faster. After a month of 10K training I could do it without breaking a sweat. I'm training for my first race, which will be a 10K on 12th July. I've tried pace monitoring before with Adidas' Micoach, but felt the zones were far too lenient. In fact, looking at my records from 4 years back, my 29 year-old self was a whole load slower than I am today. I'm using a classic 16-week programme (just finished Week 4) which consists on alternating days of steady, fast and slow runs. To get to the point, today I ran a comfortable 4.38 miles in 50 mins, giving me an average pace of 11'26". Last week I did 45 mins at an average of 12'07" THAT'S A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE! I know it's pretty slow (although it's supposed to be) - my faster pace puts me at just under 10 mins. I wasn't pace-watching, just listening to my body. Was really dreading the run today, as I felt a bit underfuelled, and there was a cold wind so there was a good chance I'd get really painful earache. I also seem to have have this deep-rooted fear that I'm going to have some sort of hypoglycaemic episode far from home, even though that's never happened to me while running. Must be from lifelong memories of burning lungs and wobbly legs... Anyway, I stuck my in-ear headphones in firmly with a Buff over the top and ventured forth in my long-sleeve top and running gloves. I won't lie and say it was easy, but to be honest the horrible bits were only really in the 'uncomfortable' region of pain. I even made it into the I-can-do-this-forever! zone. In just under a month I'll be off to the Lake District, where I'll be doing a week's worth of hill-walking with my satyr-legged boyfriend. Thankfully this coincides with a recovery week, so I shouldn't have to be thinking about balancing up the walking with running about. Last time I went about 18 months ago I did have a hypoglycaemic moment (so, yeah it's actually happened once) when I was alone on a steep climb and I had to have a sit down by the side of the road with some dark chocolate till the sugar did its thing. Hopefully the training has gone some way to stop something like that happening again. I've never run for 50 mins, and according to Runkeeper it's my fastest pace for a 3-5 mile run. It's not record-breaking, but it is my personal best, so I'm chuffed. I've also got kettlebells in a bit, so think of me. I'm going to be thinking about the fact I'll shortly be Eating All The Things.

Level 6: Let's Race! To run a 10K race Possible challenge reward: +4 STA & +2 CON I would very much like to be able to run 10K this year. I started running during the summer, and eventually ran a 5K race in Germany. Since January, I've been working on my 5K (PR: 27.00 minutes) and beginning to practice for longer distances. And then, I got a little excited yesterday and registered in a 10K race that is in one months time in Paris (Soli'run in Bois de Boulogne). Today, I'm still pretty excited about it, but I'm beginning to get butterflies in my stomach about the amount of work I need to do to prepare. So I've transferred out of the assassins to give scouting a proper go. If I ran 2.5 times per week then I'll get in 10 runs before the race. I can start at around 5km and increment by at least 0.5km for each run. Sounds terrifying and good. So I'm aiming for 2-3 runs per week. To improve my Spanish Possible challenge reward: +4 WIS & +2 CHA I'm been studying Spanish on and off for a while now since my boyfriend's family don't speak any English. In my last challenge, I took a new approach by focusing entirely on speaking and listening, and I have really improved and have really enjoyed doing it. My overarching goal for this year is to be able to chat with my boyfriend's lovely mother next time I see her (Summer/Christmas), but I'm so happy about my recent progress that I might be able to achieve a B2 level (CEFR system) of fluency in Spanish if I keep up the good work. I'm currently at A2+ level. I've been practicing and learning in various ways: reading Benny Lewis's book on language learning (FI3M), speaking for an hour at least once a week with my fantastic fellow NF rebel - SymphonicDan, listening to my Harry Potter audiobook, watching nostalgic cartoons (Jackie Chan Adventures & Pokémon) and using the Anki flashcard app to learn vocab. In this challenge, I want to supplement these things with: actually studying how to use some basic past and future tenses and hopefully working through some of the Edx course "Trasplante de organos - desafios éticos y juridicos", plus any other cool resources or ideas I have along the way. I will be using a points system, where I need to get at least 8 points per week. 1 point each for: 30 minutes of speaking 2 x Anki flashcard sessions 30 minutes of listening to an audiobook 1 hour of TV 1 hour of study 30 minutes of the Edx course? To do all the things Possible challenge reward: +3 in a mix of STR, DEX, STA, CON, WIS or CHA depending on weekend activities I wanted to have another goal to work towards, but in truth I just want to focus most of my efforts in running and Spanishing. So my third goal will be simple. I have a few ongoing projects and fun things such as bouldering, progressing towards a pull-up, learning to draw and doing Edx courses. For this goal, all I have to do is to make a list of fun things to do and things I have to do each weekend and to work through it as best I can. The idea is to be productive and not to waste time on things that don't matter to me. Here my mindset will count more than just ticking things of the list. Woop woop! Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys around the forum!

Howdy all, I am a newbie, and have no idea if I am posting this in the right place. I have a 10k race on May 3rd that I am prepping for. I ran my first marathon on the March 15th, but have to retrain myself for shorter hill runs. The race is up a fire road to the top of a small hill, and back with an average incline of 10%. Here is the race I am running: http://www.runtheverdugos.com/ My training schedule is attached. When I trained for the marathon, I mostly did flat running on the treadmill, or would do long runs on the beach which was easy breezy flat. All of the training runs are going to be at some kind of incline, but I am gonna do 5 miles as soon as I finish this post to see how it feels. Wish me luck, and if anybody has advice on hill training let me know! M

Welcome to 2015, everyone! This year is going to be a big year for me as I face the Grand Prix, a series of seven races designed by Marines for Marines, and sometimes attempted by the rest of us. I have officially registered for the first race: the Xtreme Endurance Challenge, a 6-mile obstacle course race taking place on February 7. That means I have 5 weeks left to prepare. I have never attempted an obstacle race before, so I'm a bit nervous, but I think it will be okay. Some theme music before I elaborate on my goals: http://youtu.be/LBr7kECsjcQ Goal 1: I, I, I, I work out! Same goals as last challenge: 3 runs and 3 upper body workouts per week. Workouts are actually the easier part of the challenge for me, at least willpower-wise, so I'm combining this into one goal. 34-36 workouts - A 30-33 workouts - B < 30 workouts - F Goal 2: I don't eat what my food eats. I am going back to what worked best for me in the past. I am going wheat free, but allowing other grains (which I don't eat all that often, anyway). I am allowing that life happens (progress not perfection), but I don't want to make weekly allowances since I tend to be the type of person that "if you give me an inch, I'll take a mile". I downloaded a habit tracker to make it extremely simple to see how I am doing (It has shiny graphs and everything). I like seeing streaks and high numbers, so I'm hopeful this will keep me on track. 90-100% wheat free - A 80-89% wheat free - B <80% wheat free - F Goal 3: I Stay on Target I recognize that a big part of the diet battle is mental, so I need to take action to stay focused and not implode. This will be a two-part goal: a) Spend at least 5 minutes a day meditating on what I want from myself, or reading/listening/watching to motivational material During certain times, I need more carbs to keep my sanity. I will alternate each two weeks either easing off carbs or buffing my carbs (with an extra 1-2 servings of fruit or starchy vegetables) according to the, um, moon. I will eat at least 26g of protein in the morning within one hour of getting out of bed. This will help me balance my blood sugar and serotonin levels for the day. Oorah!

Huge WOOT for myself. Never thought I would ever run a 10k...ever. I used to just run a 5k at most (usually for special events or with a group of friends for a cause) and never ran more than 1.5 miles on my own. This 10k was completed at 57:12 and this was even after a week of rest; I have just proven to myself that I can pick up a 10k and run it, further motivating me to train for a half-marathon in the future.

Introduction: I am new to the Ranger's Guild, but not new to NF. This is my...12th...challenge, I think? Anywho, I just completed my long-term goal of running a Half-Marathon and am moving on to the next item on my dream goal list. Current Goal: I have set my sights on completing the Grand Prix in 2015. It's a series of 7 races over 12 months designed by Marines to test your skills on a variety of levels. The first three (comprising the "Trifecta") are mud runs, 5-6 miles each, one beach run, and three road runs from 5K-Half Marathon. I am accustomed to running, but need A LOT of work on the upperbody strength and skill it will take to survive a mud run with the G.I. Josephs. I have until February 7 to train for the first of these races, the Xtreme Challenge 10K. 1. Assorted running (3/week) I will choose a "run" from the following: Trail run/hikeSpeed run (intervals, sprints, Tabata, etc)Long run (for the purpose of this challenge, 3.5-5 miles)2. Assorted bodyweight lifting (3/week) I will choose a bodyweight workout from the following: MovNat Movement of the Day (MOD)Playground workoutGMB Parallettes for Beginners3. Unassorted losing of weight without losing my Muchness (or my mind) I will eat Primal for two meals a day and track eating in "Lose It" app. The running stuff is mostly for maintenance. I really need to focus on the bodyweight training and bodyweight reducing. Getting over obstacles is much easier when there is less of you to get over. Oops! Almost forgot. Side quest: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) - write a 50,000 word novel between Nov 1-30.

Hey dudes. Coming in last minute because I struggled to think up a goal since I'm kind of over the last one. Then I remembered that I publicly declared the following goal at Boston Social Athletes last week (I approved that photo, and it looked way better when it was tiny on the camera display). Complete the 2015 BAA Distance Medley The BAA (Boston Athletic Association) Distance Medley is the 5K, 10K, and half marathon that they do throughout the year, only you get an extra medal and commit to it all at once. The 5K is in April, the 10K is in June, and the half is in October. How I'm getting there: Distance run 2-3 times per week. My company soccer league is starting up, which might mess things up, but I'd still be active, so I'm lowering the requirement. Also dreadmill season sucks.Continue going to Wednesday November Project. The only allowable reason I'll stop doing this is if it gets unsafe to ride my bike there in icy darkness. Or I injure myself/get sick, which applies to any physically active goal.Go to bed before midnight every day. It's tangentially related, but good sleep is important and I couldn't think of a 3rd thing. I'm allowing exceptions for when I spend time with others because I need to get out more. The purpose is more that I don't stay up late for no reason. By go to bed, I mean attempting to sleep, not in bed playing with my phone.Life Quest: Up my flossing game. I suck at flossing so the plan is to floss 3-4 times a week (~every other day). I'm letting this happen gradually, so the first week needs to be at least once, the second twice, and then the next 4 weeks can be 3-4+ times. I'm not doing a 3rd side quest because I feel like I'd be doing it because I have to and not because I want to. Maybe that will change later in the challenge.

Summer B - Not my idea of a Caribbean Cruise! (BF 33%)Story: Following the clues up the river to the Burned City and dealing with an undisclosed BOSS at the endDiet - stick to <= 1550 net calories (adjust for exercise) and protein >= 66 grams 76 grams Do a chin up or pullup with <= 30 pounds of assistanceDeadlift 80 pounds Walk/run 10K Decipher the clues (i.e. plan the move)Or ..... this could be named the ........ Summer Challenge. My epic quest is to rediscover myself as the Mal Ravenne. It involves a LOT of attributes that are not measurable and really come down to those golden moments when you stop and realize that you're living an authentic life and are achieving your goals. Not all of my goals are fitness goals, thank the gods. Many are listed in the second post of this thread. My main quest (this year) is to get down to a normal BF% of < 32%. That's only 1.5% from where I am today. I can make this by the end of the year if I commit to my workouts and COOKING healthy food. That's about 12 pounds of weight loss, assuming I can maintain lean body mass where it is now. Subgoals (challenge starting June 28th) My goals this time are a mix of process goals and objective end-point goals. Process goals are not as strongly motivating for me as end goals 1 - keep calories down and make sure protein stays above 66 g per day. I'm using SparkPeople to track because I like their interface and recipe database (+5 CON) 2 - pullup or chinup using less than 30 pounds of assistance. I'm currently at 50 pounds of assistance; so this should be feasible .... and maybe I can surpass it by dropping the assistance 5 pounds each week. (+3 STR) 3 - deadlift 1/2 my bodyweight, which I hope will be 160 by the end of the challenge ..... hence, 80 pounds. I'm currently at 35 pounds, and it feels easy. (+2 STR) 4 - walk/run 10K. For no particular reason. I like cardio, and I love running along the Lakewalk in Duluth. I can easily do 3.5 miles now with a mix of running and walking. (+5 STA) 5 - Life quest: get moved ..... or at least get further along the process. Grading: 1 - Count the success days vs. goal days and grading will be by a percentage 2 - A = 30 pounds B = 35 pounds C = 40 pounds D = 45 pounds F >= 50 pounds 3 - A = 80 pounds B = 75 pounds C = 70 pounds D = 65 pounds F <= 60 pounds 4 - A = 6 miles on my long run of the week B = 5.5 miles C = 5 miles D = 4.5 miles F <= 3 miles 5 - LIfe goal is pass/fail and does not carry points. It is very unlikely that I'll actually move during this challenge, but I'd like to have the purchase offer in on a house that passes inspection this time!!! I am hoping to spend August packing and continuing to clean out stuff we don't need. Given the types of goals, I'm hanging with the Rangers this time and hope to complete the mini-challenges. My tracking spreadsheet is ready and waiting the starting gun!! And YES, I am doing more strength training than is represented in my goals - both free-weights (or dumb bells or kettlebells) and bodyweight training. I'll continue to work on refining a new class chooser program and maybe do one for races as well. If anyone has a fun PvP or accountability group that has room, let me know!!

Hey Folks I've been doing the couch to 5k program, halfheartedly. I keep blaming cold, or work, or the phase of the moon. Anything to put off going out and actually running. So, there's a thing every week near me called Parkrun, I've done that twice now, it's a fully timed 5k race. Last week i got just shy of 39 minutes, and this week, a little over 39 minutes, but it was VERY icy, so i was walking parts I know i ran last week. (not making excuses, just giving reasons, as walking was better than breaking something) I was talking to someone about why I'm running, to get more in shape, and give myself some "me time" away from technology, and the constant hubbub of life, and he suggested jokingly that I should sign up for a 10k a few miles from home, that's all on the flat. The 5k I've been doing it pretty hilly. That was niggling at me, and I appear to have signed myself up now. HELP! should i abandon couch to 5k, or try to skip ahead a week or two, try to condense the program, instead of doing 3 of each week, do 2, and move on from there? I NEED to complete the course in less than 80 minutes or I'll be disqualified, so I MUST improve before April 6th. that's my deadline. (i work well with deadlines, give me a vague "get fit" and i'll fail. give me "complete a 10k by April 6th" and I'll do my best.) any and all advice (except possibly "you're nuts, have a donut") greatly appreciated!

Anyone else participating in the WDW Marathon Weekend? I'm doing the 10k and my husband is doing the half marathon. I've never done a Disney race before, but my father-in-law ran the marathon for many years before injuring his hip. He's since had a hip replacement, and is going to run the marathon again this year! On a fake hip!

This is my first post here, you can check out my first 6-week challenge in the Level 1 thread here - http://rebellion.nerdfitness.com/index.php?/topic/44308-my-first-challenge/ Main Quest I would like to lose 25 pounds and feel awesome and confident about my body. I want to do this through calorie counting and fitness. To achieve this, I have three specific goals: Fitness! I am making things a little more difficult for myself. Last challenge I started a running routine and a weight lifting routine (3x a week each), this time I am going to add in one day of mandatory swimming and one day of mandatory bike riding (though I am always free to do more!) I will loosely be following this novice 10k training plan by Hal Higdon, but adjusting for my work schedule - http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51122/10-K-Training-Guide-Novice-Program A – Completed all workouts B – Skipped 1-5 workouts C – Skipped 5-10 workouts D – Skipped 10-15 workouts F – Skipped more than 15 workouts Tracking my food daily and staying within my calorie range at least 6 days a week. A – Tracked every day and stayed within my goals! B – Missed tracking or ate over goal 1-3 days C – Missed tracking or ate over goal 3-6 days D – Missed tracking or ate over goal 6-9 days F – Missed tracking or ate over goal more than 9 days Drinking two liters of water a day! I realized that I feel way better when I am hydrated and am much more likely to eat poorly/not exercise if I have not had enough water. So I am going to try to finish my 1L water bottle at least twice a day. I wont grade this one because I am not meticulous enough to keep track, but I am going for 6 days a week. Motivation: I miss feeling great about my body and what it can do. I was overweight my entire life and at a healthy/attractive weight maybe 2 years of it and I vastly preferred being at the healthy weight. Trying to get back there. Oh.. Also. I have a 5k on the 27th of this month, I want to sign up for a 10k sometime this summer, and I am doing a sprint Tri in August! Don't know how I forgot to add all of that in. That's why I added in swimming/biking to my goals, and why I am following a 10k plan. And Life Side Quest: Study for the GRE at least a few hours a week! Seriously!

Well, most of it. Took a couple of walk breaks, but I'd say I ran close to 90% of it. I think my time was just over 1:20:00, but since the results site is so slow I don't have my official time yet. Really super proud of myself because I never used to run. If you told me last year that I'd be running a 10k, I probably would have laughed and called you crazy. Now, to keep up my training for the next one in June. Woohoo!

Hey everyone! We always throw this out way too late, but does anyone here plan on doing the Bolder Boulder this year? I'm not using a qualifying time this year, so if anyone is open to wogging it and having a good ole NF meet up time, post here so we can all get together!!! Mr Ham and I are doing it! (I do it for the sweet lunch bag, and the super awesome fun time)

Any doing Rock n Roll Portland on May 18th 2014? I'm going to be doing the 10k really excited for this one! Will be my first race medal!

I'm back! Back for the 2nd 2014 NF 6-week Challenge and my 6th 6-week challenge overall. The lowdown: Epic Quest: I have signed up for a 10k on April 6th, 2014, the RockNRoll half-marathon on May 19, 2014 and the Portland half-marathon on October 5th, 2014. I would like to finish the half-marathons in 2h30 or less and would really, really like to finish the 10k at about 60min. Currently my average mile is between 11:15-11:30, which means I have 6 weeks to cut close to 90s from my mile in order to accomplish the 10k in 60min. Doable? Let's hope so! This challenge I want to focus on flexibility and staying positive. For the first time ever, I will also be rewarding myself for activities done. I think that was a missing component in challenges past. Side Quest 1: Be Conscious This quest's focus will be about food. My quest is to write and be accountable for everything that I consume. The purpose is to meet my daily food needs and keep in touch with how I feel when I eat certain foods. I am aiming at 85-90% paleo as well as drinking 96 oz of water daily. For every day that I write down all that I consume will be a $1 towards whatever I want to spend it on at the end of the challenge. Side Quest 2: Be Brisk This quest's main purpose is to get me to finish the 10k at the end of this challenge around 60 minutes. I will be training for the 10k and the half-marathon concurrently. I plan on getting in 3-4 runs a week as well as doing body weight work outs. I plan on rewarding myself $1 per mile run and $1 per body weight work out. The money will be used to spend as I wish at the end of the challenge. Most likely I will buy clothes Life quest: Be Friendly To be honest, I wasn't sure I would be coming back for another challenge. A couple of people I have been challenging with since last year have dropped out and it really bummed me out. I do credit the Nerd Fitness community for the success I have had in my weight-loss and ass kicking journey and know that if I stop now, not only will I not be done with what I want to accomplish, but I will miss ya'll. My life quest is focusing on getting to know more of the community and the ass kicking rebels. I pledge to cheer people on at least 5 times a week or more. I know that my participation has a direct effect on my performance. It is time for me to continue the trend and get involved more. GAME ON!

Hi Scouts! I'm baaaack! Challenge #3 for me, and I learn a little bit more about myself each time around. So I continue to grow as a person and athlete, and modify my goals accordingly. Yay! MAIN QUEST: Break 42mins in a 10k run, at the end of an Olympic distance triathlon in 2014.You want specific? How's that for specific! I learned from the last challenge that I get overly ambitious and unrealistic about the time I have available to train, and the timelines I give myself to reach my goals. So a half ironman triathlon isn't feasible (especially not in the 10 weeks I gave myself last challenge), whereas I could train enough to kick ass at the Olympic distance (0.9mi swim, 25mi bike, 10k run). This requires getting more speed in, as I was focused more on ironman distance in years past, so I can go long and slow, but now I want to go short and fast! I'm extremely motivated by time goals, and right now can't even run 42mins in an open 10km (I did a 45:15 a couple weekends ago), but I have sub-42 as my goal for the next 12+ months, that'll give me time to work up to that level of fitness. I signed up for a modified Olympic distance tri in 3 weeks (challenge mid-point) and then there's the Army 10-miler 5 weeks into the challenge. I have a whole long-term plan to reach this main quest, which will keep me from being impatient and try to rush into things. Goals: 1. MORE SLEEP! 7 hours minimum per day, even if that means taking naps.Since the first challenge, I've hardly ever gotten enough sleep, what with trying to be a supportive girlfriend to Mr. Mulan's stupid evening shift schedule. So even if he doesn't come home until 11:15pm-ish, I'm going to try to get a collective 7hrs of sleep, so I'll try taking some naps if I know I won't be getting enough sleep overnight. 2. Swim 2x, bike 3x, run 3x per week for the first 3 weeks. Run 5x/ week the second 3 weeks.The first half of the challenge will focus on triathlon training for my upcoming tri. I've got a schedule drawn out, but it basically is 2 swims, 3 bikes, 3 runs per week, so I'll do my best to hit all those sessions. In the second half, I've got the Army 10-miler, so I'll swap out one of the swims and one of the bikes for 2 more run workouts. In the triathlon "off season" I plan to focus more on running 5k's and 10k's so this is basically the transition point in the year from triathlon focus to running focus. 3. Continuing eating gluten-free/dairy-free (mostly paleo) with 5 "hall passes" per week.I'm not perfect and when I try to be, I end up getting stressed out and binging on stupid stuff. The Whole30 was too strict for me, so I came up with a more reasonable eating template, which is primarily gluten-free/dairy-free (mostly paleo). But I know I'll still want to have a beer/cocktail or some ice cream every now and then, so I'm allowing myself up to 5 "hall passes" per week. LIFE SIDE QUEST: Blog once/week on my new personal finance blog.I paid off my credit cards 2 weeks ago, HOORAY! So my next huge gigantic goal is to pay off my $95k in student loans. YOWCH. I started a new personal finance blog a couple weeks ago and plan to blog at least once a week to keep me accountable and motivated. Here it is for your viewing pleasure: The Great Bacon Payoff. Good luck everybody and thanks for reading!

Hi, So I started training in May for a 10k run which happens today, in 2hours and 45 minutes. In June I sprained my back which led to a flare up of ankylosing spondylitis. I couldn't walk let alone train. Common sense says I should walk the race today because even slooooooooooow jogging makes my back twinge. Reality says that I'll probably get sucked in to the atmosphere (also not wanting to be last) and want to jog at least a little bit of the race e.g. a k or so at the start and 1 at the end but I'm worried about causing more injury. (And then that starts me worrying about if I'm worried I'll be tense and that's more likely to cause injury and.......) Does anyone have any tips for not getting hyped up in the early part of races and sticking to your race plan whether that is running, jogging or walking?

So, I am running my second 5k tonight (with a heat index expected of 93 degrees...) and planning two more this year. After thinking about it this morning, I decided to make a plan for myself. Next year, I want to run a few 10k races. The year after that, I want to be in a couple half-marathons. The 3rd year, I want to run a full marathon. Is this a pretty reasonable goal, or am I setting myself up for failure with the time-line? I ran in high school (15 years ago...) and most of my races were 3 miles. I am regularly running (4 days a week) 2-3 miles. I am still overweight, but it's coming down (16 lbs. lost over the past two months). Any thoughts and recommendations would be welcome and appreciated. Thanks in advance. Climb Climb Climb to the top of the world. And as you stand tall, you will see... That when you fall... You will fall from a height most men will never reach. ~The Fall by The Protomen

Eth's Challenge #7 Eth Stands the Heat and Stays in the Kitchen Hello again, fellow Rangers! I'm back for my seventh (wow, really, seventh?) six-week challenge. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Eth, a 26-year-old male software developer based in (or very near) Atlanta. With the beginning of summer (here in the Northern Hemisphere, anyway) taking place during this challenge, the theme of these goals will have a little something to do with that. Goal #1: These Plates are Hot (+3 STR) This is all about continuing to hit my targets on the 5/3/1 plan. I think it'll go a bit better this challenge than it did last time (especially if, y'know, I don't get hurt again) because I'm not trying to cram two four-week cycles into five weeks. Like last time, I'll be grading each of the big 4 lifts separately and taking the average to get the overall goal grade. A: Hit all cycle 5 targets during weeks 1 and 2 of the challenge. Hit all cycle 6 targets during weeks 4, 5, and 6, and go beyond the minimum number of reps for the final work set at least once during the cycle. B: Hit all cycle 5 targets during weeks 1 and 2 of the challenge. Hit all cycle 6 targets during weeks 4, 5, and 6. C: Hit all cycle 5 targets during weeks 1 and 2 of the challenge, but miss at least one cycle 6 target. D: Fail to hit all cycle 5 targets. Repeat cycle 5 during weeks 4, 5, and 6, and successfully hit targets then. F: Fail to hit all cycle 5 targets after repeating the cycle. The targets are: CYCLE 5 SQUAT BENCH DEAD OHPWeek 1 185x3 110x3 205x3 90x3Week 2 195x1 115x1 215x1 95x1CYCLE 6Week 4 185x5 110x5 200x5 85x5Week 5 195x3 115x3 215x3 90x3Week 6 205x1 120x1 225x1 95x1(All weights in pounds. Because of the way the math works, the OHP targets are the same for both cycles. Week 3 is a deload week.) Goal #2: Burning Up the Pavement (+4 STA) I have two races scheduled during this challenge. The first, a 4-mile race on June 15, will not be measured by this goal. It's really more of a warmup for the main event: the Atlanta tradition that is the Peachtree Road Race, a 10k that takes place on the morning of the 4th of July featuring me and 60,000 of my closest friends. I ran this race for the first time last year and finished in 1:13:20. This time, I want to break an hour. A: Finish in under 1:00 B: Finish in under 1:04 C: Finish in under 1:08 D: Finish in under 1:12 F: Finish with a time of 1:12 or greater I know I'm faster than I was last year, so I should have no excuse for not managing at least a C here, barring another injury. Goal #3: Heating Up the Kitchen (+4 CON) I'm stuck in a rut with my cooking. I keep making the same two or three things over and over, and I think I'm growing weary of it. Lately this has led to me eating out more (not necessarily always bad) and eating more fast food (definitely bad). Time to rein this in. This will be a two-pronged goal: - Cook 5 new recipes this challenge. - Limit myself to no more than 5 fast-food meals for the entire six-week challenge. For each one that I fall short by, I lose a letter grade, and I take the lower of the two grades. Thus, if I limit myself to only three fast-food meals, but I only cook three new recipes, I get a C. If I cook six new recipes, but I get fast food eight times, that's a D. Goal #4: I Gotta Cool Off (+1 STA, +1 DEX, +1 WIS, +1 CHA) The time has come to do something I've needed to do my entire life: learn to swim. I'm not talking competitively or anything here, just "be able to go out into the lake without drowning" swim. This one is pretty much a pass-or-fail goal: can I successfully stay afloat in a body of water more than five feet deep?

Hey all, This is my first NF challenge, so apologies if I'm not doing this correctly. Anyways, here are my goals: Run 10k Race without stopping (STA +5) Anyone else here use the Zombies, Run! app? Makes long runs so much more fun! I've been building up my running steadily over the last two years, but am finally making steps to longer races. 10k here I come! I'm grading this one on a pass/fail basis as I either successfully run the 10k I registered for on 7/4 or I don't. Strength train 2 x week (STR +3) I've got the cardio down, but would love to build up my strength as well. My goal is to get two good bodyweight workouts in each week in addition to my 10k training. A: 12-10 workouts B: 8-9 workouts C: 6-7 workouts D: less than six workouts.No eating after 9pm (CON +2 CHA +1) I do well with my diet overall, but fall off the wagon at night. There's no reason I need to eat that late, and it cuts out a lot of my junk carbs when I just say, "No, the kitchen is closed." A: 1- 3 cheat days B: 3-5 cheat days F: 5+ cheat daysWork out a budget for the summer time (WIS +4) Summer is the slow season in my work, and I've been a little too free with my finances lately. Time to get the big girl panties on and work that stuff out. This one is also pass/fail. I either do it or I don't. To keep myself accountable I'm keeping workout logs on evernote and with my little running widgets. I've got my support system in place and I'm ready to get things done!