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Hi y'all! As you've probably guessed, my main goal in this challenge is to train for the Army 10-miler that I'll be running in October, if I get the chance (registration is full)! Either way, I'm going to train for it as if I'm running it.... And now I've told enough people that I'm doing it so I can't back out! My goals this challenge are generally the same: Get healthier and stronger without letting life "get in the way." So, without further ado, the QUESTS: 1. Train for the 10-miler - I have about a month and a half to get as good at this as possible. Just as a reference, I used to run roughly a mile every day about 8 years ago and since then it's been on a steady decline (I never liked to run, I did it because I had to). I still lead a moderately active lifestyle, but the last time I ran was in March when I did 5 miles with minimum training (read: signed up last minute, panicked, ran it anyway). I don't want to do that again (and, frankly, don't think I CAN), so I'm taking this run more seriously. I don't think I'll be setting any records (I run about a 10-11 minute mile lol), but I'd like to be able to run 10 miles without passing out or feeling super nervous about it. SPECIFIC goals for this one are that I'll likely be using the Nike+ training app or finding some other training program that I can follow, instead of just saying "go for a run today," which I already know won't be enough to make me do it. I'm also looking for a good way to keep me accountable, whether that's through some kind of consequence or by unlocking loot (or both. Both is good). 2. Study for the GRE - I'm planning on taking the GRE in the few weeks after the 10-mile run, which gives me about 52 days. My goal is to do a problem set/exercise every day here to there (7/wk, about a half-hour time commitment each day) which I think is do-able. 3. Don't snack mindlessly - My last challenge included reducing my carb intake for one meal a day. But I always found I was snacking a bunch (I'm talking chips, candy, etc.). For this challenge I'm going to try to keep a log of what I snack on and focus on NOT doing that. I'm still allowing myself to snack mindfully - for example, having a piece of dark chocolate to satisfy a sweets craving or eat seaweed snacks for my salty fix. These are purposeful choices to eat healthier alternatives to junk food. 4. Work on research paper 30 min every weekday - In my last challenge, I tried to read 2 academic papers a week in order to help me prepare/get in the mindset of writing my research paper. Actually WRITING the dang thing was oddly, getting in the way of me completing that challenge successfully, so this time 'round, I'm tweaking this so that the writing of the paper is the priority. I want to make this a consistent effort instead of writing in chunks for 2 or 3 hours at a time every few days. (I'm also hoping 30 min will turn into longer as I get into the swing of things, so I'll get more work done!) 5. Read 1 page a day - I want to get back into reading for fun so I'm starting with doing at least one page a day. My plan is to read before I go to sleep, which will hopefully make me sleep better (no passing out to the glow of some electronic), so I'll kill 2 birds with one stone there. I'm setting up the habit, which is why my metric for reaching this goal is SO small. But that's how we do here at NF. What FIVE GOALS this time?!?!? Of course, like it usually does, these are likely going to change as I learn what works and doesn't throughout the month. ANYWHO - got any suggestions on ways to keep myself accountable (esp with the running)? Or good training programs for running 10 miles? Or any running music suggestions? Cool books to read? I'm all ears!