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A long time ago, in a Nerdiverse far, far away..... ..four FIVE mysterious travelers, brought together by forces both magical and mundane, surpassed their masters, attained phat loots, and dominated their demons. The Fighters of the Night Man. The Champions of the Sun. Imbued with the Magic of Friendship. They oozed metaphysical glitter from every pore. @Haikoo the determined ranger @Devyn the spiritual assassin @Hammlin the scouty ranger @Wicked Pixie the journeying ranger And @klaybae the deadliest druid Then Shit Happened, and the Winds of Fate knocked them to the corners of the globe. Undeterred, their bond endured. AND NOW THEY BACK Y'ALL. Welcome to The Ultimate Battle Ress: Vol. 1 Week 1 Focus: Don't fall off a cliff. At least check in here a couple times this week, even if you can't be arsed to update your challenge thread. Even if you just post "x". If you have the energy and time, be proactive in reaching out to members who haven't posted in a couple days. Week 2 Focus: TBD TBD... Week 3 Focus: TBD ??? Week 4 Focus: TBD Profit

*Disclaimer: No elephants will be eaten or hurt in any way during this challenge. So how DOES one eat an elephant? LogiKoo knows it's one bite at a time. However, IllogiKoo has really been struggling lately with the whole "one thing at a time" mentality. I have good intentions, but I look at everything on my plate and I become paralyzed. Consequently, nothing is "eaten" and more things are added each day. This challenge will be focused on teaching myself to just get started on that one thing (while continuing the good habits I stumbled toward in the last challenge). Goals: 1. The Elephant in the Room- The elephant in the room is actually THE room, or really the house. It's still a wreck. I need to do something about it because it's clear no one else is going to. My methods last challenge were not a success--mostly because I just didn't do it. This time I will pick something from my list, set a timer for 15 minutes, work on that thing for 15 minutes. I must do this a minimum of 4 times per day. I will get a pass from this if we go out of town during Spring Break (plans are not final yet) or on my son's soccer tournament weekend when I know we will not be home much on that Saturday and Sunday. 2. Learning Russian - Last challenge I really started my effort toward learning Russian. This time I will: Continue doing my Duolingo practice every day. Kick it up a notch by seeking Russian Lessons twice per week that will help me understand some part of the language that Duolingo isn't necessarily teaching me. I plan to use the interwebs for this. A short search has shown me many options for said lessons. 3. Seeking the Stronks Elephants are strong and so am I, but I've got lots of work to do. This time I will: Continue Strong Lifts 3x per week - building consistency and hoping to smash past my previous working weights by the end of challenge. Require a 4th day of exercise each week. Anything counts, really, as long as it's at least 20 minutes. 4. One Meal at a Time I have been falling into the meal skipping habit again. This does me no good when it comes to fueling my lifting. I will be aiming to get back to my 3 healthy meals per day pattern for this challenge. Okay, time to take the first bite.

The Wheel of Time turns, and ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called 2016 by some, an Age yet to come, an age long past, a Koo rose in the Southern Region of Wisconsin. The Koo was not at the beginning. There are neither beginnings or endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But she was at a beginning. Hello, 2016! 2015 was not my most stellar Age. Between Life stuff and shoulder surgery, I let myself fall too far. I basically feel like I felt before I ever started NF many, many moons ago. This is not a good place for me to be. It's time to begin again. My main quest for this year is to complete a 15k run-specifically, the Hot Chocolate Run in Chicago, October 30th. This is a strange goal, as I am NOT a runner. I've never done more than a 5k. Any run training I have ever done has me howling with shin splints. I blame Maigrey for this new attempt. Also, I really want that awesome medal. Plus, it's something new to work for! In order to achieve such a lofty goal, I need to get myself back together. I need to feel good physically and mentally. Thus, my goals: 1) Escaping the Ways - To get out of the darkness (and prepare for what is to come) there will be much walking. For the first 3 weeks, that will mean walking 4 times per week. Should I do an alternate type of cardio (i.e. boot camp class, or some other cardio class at the gym), I can count that as 1 walking session once per week. When week 4 arrives and Machin Shin is close at my heels, I will need to pick up the pace. Couch to 5K training will beginon this week. 2) Avoid the Spoilage (*amended from original)- Being surrounded by "spoiled" food can make it difficult to find proper sustenance. I need to make a much greater effort at avoiding this tainted food stuff and eat real food. Eating clean for me means eating meat, veggies,and fruit, along with limited rice and dairy. I occasionally have oatmeal, also. Bread, sugar, or alcohol should be sometimes, not often. Lately I have been having way too much bread and sugar treats. It's time to start weening myself off. Week 1 goal: Two clean food days Week 2 goal: Three clean food days Week 3 goal: Four clean food days Week 4 goal: Five clean food days. 3) Accept Healing - My injuries from previous battles still linger. I must overcome my aversion of the Yellow Ajah and accept healing. This means I will do my shoulder PT 6 out of 7 days per week. BONUS: Throw in some PT to help with shin splints such as toe lifts. Head them off before they start!!! Going to do some research on that. I'd appreciate any tips! I'm *REALLY* Prone to them. Usually get them by week 3 of C25K. 4) Push Back the Blight - With the Darkness pushing into my world, the Blight is encroaching on my living space. I must stop its progress and push it back. In order to do this, I will spend at least 15 minutes decluttering and organizing in my home 6 of 7 days per week. The Last Battle is approaching. I must prevail!!

Oh, Hai! First time Assassin, long time reader. For those of you that don't know me, quick intro. I have been around NF for over 2 years. I spend more time in chat than on forums, so most of you probably have no clue who I am. I have participated in multiple challenges, but I seem to have trouble completing them. Time to change that! Why now? Well, I am signed up to do a Go Ruck Challenge September 12 in Chicago with some other nerds. I would like to not die during this excursion. Part of me is all "Yea! You can do this!" and the other part of me is all "What have I done?" So, yea. Ruck my life. Goals: 1. Kick my own Ass My fitness is not where it needs to be to do this challenge. It's not terrible, but still not where I want to be. I feel like I might be slower and weaker than many other people once I get out there, but I'm going to do what I can in the coming weeks! My guideline will be the 6 week training plan on Go Ruck's website. I have been working on it a bit already, so I will not be starting on day 1. Also, I am really prone to shin splints (am already getting them after 2 weeks of training), so I will probably cut down the running or replace some of it with more joint/shin friendly stuff (elliptical, bike, etc.). The important goal here is to train at least 5 days per week. 2. Battle WtHS Due to this sudden increase in training and more ninja action, my muscles have been and will be suffering from What the Hell Syndrome. To combat this, I will need to make sure I am including mobility stuff often. This can mean rolling, massaging, lax balling, yoga, stretching--anything to make my muscles happier. I need to do a minimum of 10 minutes of battle each day, in some form. 3. No Seriously, Stop Eating Like ThatAs I can't do all the awesome things without proper fuel, I need to get my food straight. For me, that means eating in the way that makes me feel the best. There will have to be two parts to this: a. Get back to eating Koo-leo! I've gotten lax and have a lot more treats than I should these days. I will be allowed to eat non-paleo things no more than twice per week, plus the occasional rice and dairy is okay (essentially a little cheese or yogurt once in a while). b. 3 meals per day! In the past, when I've eaten my 3 solid meals per day, I feel great and see more composition changes. Lately my schedule has been all messed up and I'm averaging two meals every day. This probably means I'm under eating (even though I'm gaining weight????). Time to focus on eating breakfast at a reasonable time so my other meals don't get skewed. This will be tricky with our current schedule. It may mean not eating with the family at dinner. Alright, bring it!

The short story: A year or so ago I was doing great, eating well, exercising regularly and feeling awesometastic. Now, I am not. ----------------------------- I have struggled through 3 or 4 challenges now and accomplished very little. Rather than do the same thing over and over again with no results, I am changing things. Long term fitness goal: Get back to the place where I was going to the gym/exercising 3-4 times a week out of habit How? Because kid and family activities get in the way, I need to look at my calendar before the week starts and decide which days I will be doing my exercise (and what I will be doing). Long term food goal: Get back to the place where I was just eating paleo/primal the vast majority of the time. How? NO grains (except occasional rice) until Thanksgiving. *** Editing to say the no grains will have to start on Monday. Visiting family this weekend and it is not realistic to pack an entire weekend of food. We are at their mercy for food. I will limit it as much as I can. NO more Halloween candy. Some dark chocolate will be acceptable here and there, especially Shark Week.Dairy is not an every day item. Remember:-Drink water-Go to bed at a reasonable time-Cut out the negative self talk -Text a nerd instead of giving in to the food? Personal affirmation: I can and will get back to feeling awesome again.

My Mission is simple: LIVE AND ENJOY a HAPPY LIFE How the hell do I do that?!?!?! 1. Eat clean -when I eat right, my body is happy. My tummy isn't bloaty and if I lose a few inches: woohoo The budget has been tighter than I like and we've resorted to some less than amazing choices in order to stretch pennies. Preparation is key. It's far too easy to make bad choices when you've failed to plan. I need to make sure that I have healthy clean foods to bring with me to work and I also need to re-learn to stop eating when I'm not hungry rather than cleaning my plate and feeling stuffed. 2. Follow Training plan-keep running and getting stronger. Running releases endorphins that make me a pleasant pixie. DOMs make me happy! Use the limited weights that I have to increase strength. Spartan Beast requires full body strength- incorporate hanging skills for grip- For this mission to be successful I will have 2 life quests 3. Prepare myself and home for temporary single parent life (this means decluttering, simplifying and organizing my home) Have a "trunk sale" since I don't have a garage to have a sale in and what doesn't sell gets donated. If it isn't used, needed or loved it needs to GTFO of my apartment. Waiting on results from several disputes on my credit. (carryover from last challenge- home ownership prep) 4. Do the necessary things to maintain a peaceful spirit. Keep up with Housework Get caught up on work things Aim to write one blog post per week. Take time to be thankful for my blessings No attribute points will be assigned. No tracking document will be created-I will make notes in my daily notebook and share - these things have a tendency to stress me out & that defeats the purpose of this mission The Most Important part of this challenge is to remember to BE HAPPY Happy Pixie = Happy J and Happy Family!

Muhahaha. xoxoxo