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Mission: Enter and finish a Warrior Dash next June. Goal #1: Do the C25K program 3x a week. (STA) I've sort of been following this. I've been sticking to week 1 for far longer that I probably should because I'm too afraid of failing week 2. I'm going to follow the program, but allow myself a max of 2 weeks for each week before moving on to the next one (ability allowing). Goal #2: Do the beginner's bodyweight workout 2 or 3x a week. (STR) My overall strength is pretty bad. With a few early modifications (using a ball for squats and a bar to grip for push-ups), I'll be following the bodyweight workout plan. Depending on how quickly I see progress, I may need to incorporate more strength-building exercises. Goal #3: Work on eating healthier. Track everything. Try not to feel too guilty if I have a "bad" day. (CON) I have a bad habit of being very good about eating healthy and tracking everything for several days. Then I slip up and feel guilty and don't track anything. I want to work on fixing this cycle. Life Quest: Work on my scrapbooking every week. (WIS) I have a Cricut paper cutter and a bunch of stuff for putting together a scrapbook. Before moving to my current place, I didn't have the space to spread out and make a organized mess. Now I do, so I want to see myself working on pages every week. Motivation: I was intrigued by last year's warrior dash, but I knew that I was nowhere close to being physically ready for it. I think that being able to complete it without feeling like I'm dying will be a great way for me to prove to myself how much progress I'll have made in around 10 months. I was originally thinking about including a time goal for the Warrior Dash, but since there's usually a lot of people and obstacles, I've decided not to do that since things beyond my control (like a buildup at an obstacle) will affect my overall time.

In the vast, cold emptiness of space, drifts a ship. It has a strange shape to it, like a dinosaur holding a purse. Full of scratches and chips of something that may have been paint, a friendly spectator might call the ship vintage; an honest one would just call it crappy. It's a small space vessel, capable of transporting a few people at best, not nearly enough for a full crew. Inside, a lone figure lies in a pod that closely resembles a casket. There are so few lights, but the rays shed from the few remaining ones shine on the white, paper-like skin of the figure. Long, thin fingers twitch as the computer beeps and the casket opens, mist creeping out over its edges. The feet connecting to the floor carefully, tentatively are as cool as the steel underneath. Eyes bat, slowly, trying to find focus in the dimness. Even slower is the process in which the tiniest spark flickers inside the brain, catching on to the long-forgotten nerves, lighting up the supposedly eternal darkness inside the mind. When the realization hits her, she doesn't like it. She touches the ends of dry hair, presses on the squishy mass of stomach where no muscle can be found. Squeezes the eyes painfully hard as the hand rises at chest level, rests under the collarbones, confirming what she already knew. The eyes do not water up; there is not enough liquid in the body to spare. With frightening indifference, she makes her weakened legs walk her to the computer panel. Flips on the scanner, inquires the ship's present location and course. The screen displays a thousand suns, big and small; a field of stardust and asteroids; planets consisting entirely of rock and ice and boiling lava. But nowhere there is water, plants, fauna. No life. Not outside the ship... or inside of it. A frown pulls down the eyebrows. "Computer, what happened here?" Another bleep echoes in the ship. "Information unknown. Please specify." A huff emerges from the lips. "What is the mission of this ship and its crew?" "The mission is aborted due to the death of all its participants. The ship has been declared lost." "Then what was the mission?" "The mission was to save the world." She stands there for the longest time, gazing out into the passing stars. Brushes the fingers against the underside of the wrists where she cannot feel a pulse. There is so much the mind cannot remember. Perhaps it's a natural consequence, the order of decomposition - the most recently used brain cells are the first to go. "No." The head shakes, drawing unpleasant crackling noises from the unused neck joints. "Computer, the mission will be restarted." "Error: The mission cannot be completed without living participants." "There is one." She drops on hands and knees on the floor and lowers herself down even as the elbows tremble with effort. "Correction: there will be." Inside the chest, the heart expands and contracts, just once. But it's a start. ____________________________________________________________________ ...What? I saw people having these fancy narratives in their challenge threads and I wanted one too. I decided to start a battle log so I can keep track of my progress and stay accountable. It's a lot less tempting to skip a workout or eat crap when I know I have to announce my failings to the rest of the world. My challenge thread resides here. My goals for the current challenge, summarized, are as follows: Strength training 3x week Interval running 2-3x week Sleep 6+ hours every night Finish 3 essays from spring Measurements: Height: 163 cm / 5'4" Bust: 98 cm / 38.5" (Just curious to see whether this goes anywhere... probably not.) Waist: 78 cm / 30.5" Hips: 100 cm / 39" (The instruction is to measure the widest part, so should this actually read 'butt'?) Thigh: 61 cm / 24" Arm: 26 cm / 10.25" As you can see, I have trunks for thighs and stick for arms. There is not going to be weight listed - due to our very traumatic past, the scale and I aren't talking. I don't know much I weight, and I've made the decision not to care; visual inspection and measurements should be good enough to indicate whether I'm going to the right direction or not. I might post pics later, if I manage to convince myself that taking very unflattering half-nekkid photos of myself and posting them in the interwebs is a good idea in any shape or form. _______________________________________________________ 01/08/2013: Sleep: 8.5-9 hours + 0.5 hour nap (day off from work, I got to sleep in <3) Food: Lunch: 4 McDonald's Cheese Burgers (I know, I know... I spent the day running around the city center, I was so hungry and they're cheap.) Post-workout snack: protein shake Exercise: Interval running ~25 mins + ~45 incline push-ups + a few very sad attempts at pull-ups (= hanging on the bar for dear life without managing to move an inch) I did actual sprints for the first time today. Okay, I'm not fast, but I really ran and didn't just jog. The first couple of times went really well and I felt like Superwoman, but then it started getting to me and the sprint parts turned to jogging. My feet and legs felt fine, but my chest was all like "oh my god it burns, what are you doing, STAHP!" My thighs hurt now, though, so it seems it was a decent workout.

I'm excited about this challenge, and getting stronger and faster. I want to be like the Bionic Man--stronger, faster, better. My fitness goals are Complete a body weight workout 2-3 times every week (STR+4) Complete an interval training workout 2-3 times every week ( STA+4)Grading A (100%) 13-15 workouts B (75%) 10-12 workouts C (50%) 7-9 workouts D (25%) 4-6 workouts F (0%) 0-3 workouts My level up my life goals are Go to bed by 10 pm each night, half credit for being in bed by 11 pm (CON +3) Meditate for 10 minutes each day, half credit for ANY time meditating (WIS +3)Grading A (100%) 35-42 days B (75%) 25-34 days C (50%) 15-24 days D (25%) 5-14 days F (0%) 0-4 days

I'm totally new to Nerd Fitness, so be gentle with me. A friend posted a link to the NF blog yesterday, and I'm really impressed with the site, so I'm signing up. I'm starting with small manageable goals, and my husband is working out with me. Hopefully this will be different from all the previous "I'm going to lose weight & get fit" kicks in our lives. My fitness goals are Complete a body weight workout 2-3 times every week (STR+5) Complete an interval training workout 2-3 times every week ( STA+5)I know that doesn't sound very big, but it's HUGE for me. This will be the first time in my adult life (all 30 years since I turned 18) that I've exercised consistently for 6 weeks. My level up my life goal is two fun family outings in the next six weeks (CHA+5)I want to spend more time with my husband and kids, and these outings need to be something we do together, involve at least mild exercise (like walking around a museum, hiking at a park, etc.) and may NOT involve any kind of media (movie at a theater, movie at home, video games together, etc.) I've actually never played a video game and paid any attention to points, so I'm confused by that stuff, but willing to learn... I've added total possible points for each goal. Here's my grading plan: For Workout Goals A 13-15 workouts B 10-12 workouts C 7-9 workouts D 4-6 workouts F 0-3 workouts For Family Outing Goal A 2 outings B 1 outing F 0 outings

After a less than stellar last challenge where I learned a lot about myself, here's my next go at this. A couple important things before I get to the goals. March 15th will be my last day at my day job. Those of you who've followed my challenges in the past know that I work far more hours than any human being should. I'm finally figuring out how to deal with this and am taking steps to make my workload more manageable. About 2/3 of the way through the challenge, I'll be going on a week-long road trip. I'll try to keep my goals going (and am structuring them specifically for this reason), but it'll be a bit of a free week. It's a chance to drive across 3 or 4 states and visit friends every step of the way, so if I slack on the healthy eating or don't get all of my workouts in, I'm not going to sweat it. On May 11, I'll be leaving for my summer job. This job involves literally running up and down a mountain, among other things. What is this crazy job, you ask? I'm an actor/costumer for Tecumseh! Outdoor Drama. (tecumsehdrama.com if you want more info) So, as this will be my last full challenge before I leave, my focus is very much on preparing for the physical shape I'll need to be in for the summer. On to the goals! 1) This is a repeat from last time. I want to be able to run a mile without stopping. There was a time years ago when this was possible and it hasn't been for awhile. I happen to know that the first two days of rehearsals start with a run that's about 3/4 of a mile with some steep hills and I don't want to finish last! 2) I want to get stronger so that I can do the heavy lifting required of me this summer and ensure that my leg muscles are up for the intense dance rehearsals that will be happening. So, I'm committing to three beginner bodyweight workouts a week. I'm not putting any specifics on this. Obviously every other day is best, but I need some flexibility or they'll never happen. 3) I'm going to track my water intake. I'm pretty good at drinking water, except for if I'm drinking a lot of coffee or something because I have a long day. However, I need to be more aware of exactly how much so that I can survive a summer of no air conditioning without getting sick. 4) As part of my contract, I'm understudying the three biggest female parts, which means I have a lot of lines to memorize. By the end of the challenge, I want to have all of Rebekah Galloway's lines memorized. She not only has the most, but there'll also ones that I don't know as well from last summer because I was never in her scenes. I also have a tour script to memorize at some point, so if I can get her lines out of the way, it'll be a good chunk. So there we go. I'll assign attribute points later, my brain's too tired from work to figure those out right now. Let me know if you have any advice or encouragement for any of these! After really only have success on my life goal last time around, any advice on how to get back on the fitness wagon again would be super helpful.