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This is my first 4 week Challenge and I'm excited to see how it goes. I have recently started referring to nearly everything I do in terms of Harry Potter. One because I'm listening to the books on my drive to work (1+ hour each way) and two I find that saying Scourgify! to clean the sink doesn't work, but it makes it more fun to get it empty and clean (I have no dishwasher)! That being said I have been tracking a lot of little tasks in my life that I would like to improve. I would like to focus on 4 for the purpose of this challenge. 1. Triwizard Training - running 10 miles a week. Any distance at one time counts toward weekly mileage. Running within another gym class that is not measured, unfortunately doesn't count! 4/4-4/10 -- 7 miles 4/11-4/17 -- 8 miles 4/18-4/24 -- 9 miles 4/25-5/1 -- 10 miles 2. Household Charms - perform the Scourgify charm at least five times a week, promote S.P.E.W. by doing a load of laundry six days a week and perform house hold charms list once a week. Goal: 12+ points a week. (extra points can only be earned if all 3 minimums are met) 3. Walk to Mordor - continue walking to Rivendell. Average 2.5 miles/day in April. 4/4-4/10 -- 2.4 miles, min. 5 days a week 4/11-4/17 -- 2.5 miles, min. 5 days a week 4/18-4/24 -- 2.6 miles, min. 5 days a week 4/25-5/1 -- 2.7 miles, min. 5 days a week 4. Caffeine Intake (Butter Beer) - reduce caffeine intake from ~558mg/day to ~511mg/day or less 4/4-4/10 -- 546mg or less average per day 4/11-4/17 -- 534mg or less average per day 4/18-4/24 -- 522mg or less average per day 4/25-5/1 -- 510mg or less average per day I have a LOOT reward system worked into the spreadsheet I track everything on, but I will earn the following loot related to these goals: - real running sunglasses once I increase to 10 miles a day - barefoot walking shoes that I can wear at work once I reach Rivendell (3/29 I'm at 83.2 miles) - ~300mg/day of caffeine I get more sustainable (read better for the world but way more expensive) coffee - I have no good reward yet for my Charms goals, I'm thinking cute kitchen gear, but my kitchen is tiny and I don't really need more stuff in there - ideas? Since this is my first challenge we will see how often I can give updates - goal: once a week minimum (hopefully more often!) Thanks for reading!!

**********quick note: the links are to songs that popped into my head as I was writing this. I'm going to think of them as the soundtrack to my challenge********** The Motivation: Doomsday I'm a graduate student; I'm getting a PhD. Now, this may sound impressive but let me quickly disabuse you of the notion: in reality, this means I'm an indentured servant. That's right folks, I've sold my soul to my PI (<-stands for principal investigator, aka the professor I'm working with to get my PhD) and so for the next four to five years (I'm two years in) the term 'work-life balance' is a far off mythical dream-- just kidding! This is NerdFitness! There are no such things as far off mythical dreams, only goals you work towards...right? For two years, I've been watching my fellow graduate students pack on the pounds, get bags under their eyes, break out, freak out, and complain constantly... then (July 15th) I realized that I was the pot calling the kettle black. Accordingly, the epic quest, the dream, the giant monster that must ultimately be vanquished to this sound track: establish some vestige of work-life balance. Because my graduate school friends are mostly miserable, they aren't the most supportive crayons in the box (assuming crayons can be supportive). They tend to look at me, say that I need to not make them look bad (by trying to work out more, trying to sleep more, etc), and then move on. Terrible! So, I'm turning to the rebel army for support. The Goals Goal the first: Warrior's Call With very little time (can anyone say 60+ hour weeks?) and even less energy, getting my butt to the gym is a struggle. Since I’m currently training for the level 1 test in Krav Maga, I need to slay this monster. Goal: Go to the gym 4x a week, at least two of these sessions have to be Krav Maga (24+ gym sessions total, 12+ of which are krav) Grading: I'll give myself a point for each gym visit and track them weekly A: 24+ pts (12+ pts krav) B: 18-23pts (9-11 pts krav) C: 12-17pts (6-8 pts krav) D: 6-11pts (3-5 pts krav) F: <6pts Loot: Awesome workout clothes! RYU women's fight shorts Since I’ll be increasing my weekly workout schedule from 2-3 times a week to 4+, not only will this improve my strength and dexterity, but it should also increase my overall stamina. Goal the second: Summit I need to get on a schedule! Or at least some semblance of one... Goal: make 2 slight changes to my life 4 days a week (not necessarily on the same day) for a total of 8 changes. Slight change one: get to work by 8:30am 4+ days a week Slight change two: get 7+ hours of sleep 4+ nights a week Grading: each change will be 1pt (2pts max per day) A: 48+ pts B: 36-47 pts C: 24-35pts D: 12-23pts F: <12pts Loot: TBD Goal the third: Jump Around I’m in pretty good shape, but I haven’t been able to get under 140lbs for the past 3 years (graduate school isn’t kind to fitness goals). That ends now. Using some of the principles from this site, I want to exceed my goal and get down to 138lbs. I'm also working out ALOT as a part of this challenge: if I can't get down to 138lbs because I'm adding muscle while loosing fat, I don't want to fail if I'm actually meeting my aesthetic goals. Accordingly, I can also beat this goal by getting down to 20% body fat. Goal: Get weight down to 138lbs or 20% BF Grading: A: 138lbs or less OR 20-21% BF B: 138.1-140lbs OR 21-22% BF C:140.1-142lbs OR 22-24% BF D:142.1-144lbs OR 24-25%BF F: 144.1+lbs OR 25% BF Loot: TBD Starting Stats: Goal related: Gym: 2-3x a week (working on increasing to 4+) Sleep: 3-5 hours a night (working on increasing to 7+) Work: Arrive between 7:30am-10:30am (working on getting there by 8:30am) Weight: 145lbs Other: Female Height: 5'4'' BF%: ~25% (photo method) Squat: 50lbs Deadlift: 40lbs Pullups: 2 (unassisted) Running mile: 12:34 Swimming mile: 38:47 Progress Tracker If you have any suggestions (music, fitness, or otherwise), I'd love to hear them!