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To say that a lot has happened since last I sullied the challenge boards would be an understatement: I've changed jobs (went from Director of Technology at a small private school to English teacher at a huge high school), MSI has released a new album ("...I'm gonna break the english language with my four letter flow..."), and I have officially registered for the Carolinas Spartan Beast, a 12+ mile / 25+ obstacle mud run on Novemeber 9th (anybody want to join me? I've started a team...). That gives me three ("...not one, not two, four's definitely out...") challenges to get ready. As I thought about all the changes that have occurred, I realized that spartan was not only the name of my upcoming run, it was also the perfect theme for this challenge. "Rigorously self-disciplined or self-restrained; Simple, frugal, or austere" With that in mind, my goals are geared towards simplifying / developing self-discipline while building over the next two challenges to get to culminate in my run Nov 9th. Diet - Track everything (WIS +2) Initially, I'm not going to worry about WHAT I'm eating as much as making myself aware of what I'm eating. I'll stil be using moderation and trying to make good choices, I'm just not going to obsess over any specific aspect of my diet. Using the data I collect this challenge, I'll tweak my diet goals next challenge to hit specific targets. Grading will be based on days tracked each week with the weekly grades averaged at the end of the challenge. A = 6-7 days B = 5 days C = 4 days D = 3 days F = 2 or fewer Workouts - 5 per week (STR +3, CON +2) While the focus of the workouts will change dynamically throughout (various combinations of raw strength and functional workouts), as a minimum I'll be shooting for five per week. With two different vacations scheduled for mid-June and early July, this could get tricky. As with the diet tracking, I'll be giving myself a weekly grade then averaging them at the end. A = 5 B = 4 C = 3 D = 2 F = 1 Cardio - 5 per week (STA +3, CHA +2) To count, must consist of 30 min of HIIT or cover a distance of 2 miles. The plan is to vary this a bit to try to get accustomed to unusual terrain / conditions, including off-road, obstacle courses, . Grading will be same as Workouts above. Finances - Begin rebuilding savings by setting aside $300 in a separate account It sounds like a small amount, but the job change was challenging financially for a number of reasons (change in payday, extended time lapse between receiving last check at old job and first check at new job), and really made me painfully aware of how important having a significant cushion can be. There are a number of ways to accomplish this (for example, ditching cable TV...we actually bought a Roku last week and will be returning our cable boxes next week--that alone will save us nearly $200 a month in our budget), but grading the end result seems both easier and more efficient. No weekly grade, just an end grade based on total amount in the account at the end of the challenge. A = $250-300 B = $200-250 C = $150-200 D = $100-150 F = <$100 General goals, but easily quantifiable, and oes designed to get me to where I need to be for the next challenge, then the next, then my run. Looking forward to spending more time in the community after being AWOL for over two months!