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It is day -2, things are really going to kick off on Monday, and if I said I was anxious to get my research started, it’d be the understatement of the year. Oh, who am I? I’m The Scientist, and a good thing, too! The world is being over run by disease, a pandemic we have never seen in our time or any other. It’s up to me to find the 4 cures and stop the spread, before it’s too late! If there are 4 Infections, or 2 Outbreaks, all is lost, and it’s really getting down to the wire. The only way to win is to stick to my scientific guns, buckle down, and do whatever is necessary to prevent the infection from spreading while my research is in progress. In 4 weeks, I will have all the pieces I need to put together the cures and end this madness once and for all. I am the only hope humanity has. God help us all. A lot has happened lately! I got married a week ago Saturday to the love of my life, and yesterday he went back home to Ireland, where I will be moving in March. We have a fun year ahead of us, including a Spartan Super, a probably a couple more BJJ tournaments, a lot of international travel (all our friends are also with foreign people and getting married throughout Europe, yay!), and lots of board games, including my current favorite, Pandemic! Role: The Scientist Special Ability: I only need 4 cards of each color to cure disease (aka: 4 weeks) Event Card: One Quiet night: Play at any time to skip an Infection or prevent and Outbreak. Objectives: Western World Hit macros 7/7 days Southern Hemisphere Lift 3/3 days, BJJ 2/2 days Mid-East Budget: make a budget, comply with it, check it every week to stay on target to save for Irish car and insurance. Name change: work each week towards changing all official documents to new name, complete process if possible by end of month. Start with SS, go from there. Minimize: 10 minutes, 5/5 days, get rid of stuff I preparation for move. Bonus points if I donate stuff. Far East Journal: 7/7 days, a line or a novel, whatever. Guitar: Practice 5/5 Days, bonus for 6/5, includes music theory practice. Roleplay: Work on roleplay post 10 minutes 5/5 days. Bonus (Complete one or more to earn extra Event Cards): 1. Sodium <2500 4/5 days 2. Steps >8K 3. Finished and sent roleplay post How To Lose: As in the game, there are a lot more ways to lose than to win! Missing one goal for the week causes an Infection cycle, missing more than one in a single week causes an Outbreak. There can 4 Infections or 2 Outbreaks before it’s game over. I have one free Event Card, “One Quiet Night” to prevent an Infection cycle or Outbreak(instead of an Outbreak it would downgrade to only an Infection cycle), and I can earn more Event Cards by completing my bonus actions above. Event cards can be used at any time. How to Win: Make it to the end of 4 weeks without losing via methods above. Each week my “research” progresses and I will fill in a line on each vial, after 4 weeks they will be full and the cures will be completed! I just need to keep the world alive long enough for that to happen.

Frank Castle aka the Punisher is probably the ultimate Determinator, and I'm going to be channeling that determination and discipline in the lead-up to the holidays. Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 52 | STA - 53.25 | CON - 85 | WIS - 56.5 | CHA - 50.5 Waist 29" Belly 32" Hips 37.75" Thigh 22" Weight 159lb Body Fat - 26.31% Goals Goal 1: Rest I'm not the greatest at taking care of myself, and it's kinda a problem. If I would do things like sleep enough and do mobility, I would be a lot better at the rest of my life. So I gotta work on that. +2 CON +2 WIS +1 DEX 11pm bedtime Daily mobility Remember to fill out my Pixel A Day tracker Journal once a week Read - to hit my Goodreads goal I need to read three books by the end of the year Goal 2: Refuel Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it. Avoid all the sweets and cookies and such at the office. +3 CON Goal 3: Resupply Get shit done: Christmas shopping - K/B, mom, dad, M, J/A (have ideas for dad + M + J/A) Do some (more) baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Do the mending Clean out my desk drawers Work on to-read magazine pile - 7 magazines read +3 WIS Goal 4: Move 5k x2/week Pullups Lift x3+/week - get my accessories in +2 STA +2 STR The Road So Far Week One 11pm 0/7 Daily mobility 4/7 Pixels - up to date Journal 1/1 Macros 6/14 Get shit done - got some of my Christmas shopping done, and have (some) ideas for the rest. Why are guys so difficult?! 5k 0/2 Pullups 7/7 Lift 4/3 Week Two 11pm 1/7 Daily mobility 5/7 Pixels - Dec 7 Journal 1/1 Read - working on book 1/3 Macros 12/14 Get shit done - Christmas shopping progress, did some knitting 5k 2/2 Pullups 6/7 Lift 3/3 Week Three 11pm 1/6 (not counting the night we went to the late show of Star Wars) Daily mobility 5/7 Pixels - Dec 17 Journal 1/1 Read - finished book 1/3 (Slaughterhouse-Five re-read) Macros 5/14 (didn't bother to track while I was at my parents', I know it was bad Get shit done - Christmas cards sent, shopping progress, knitting progress, reading progress 5k 1/2 Pullups 3/4 (3 days away with no pullup bar) Lift 2/2 (had to cancel one day because my body wasn't cooperating) Week Four 11pm 0/7 Daily mobility 3/7 Pixels - up to Dec 20 Journal 0/1 Macros 3/10 (not counting Sat/Sun) Get shit done - Christmas shopping done, made progress on the magazine pile and knitting 5k 0/2 - weather didn't cooperate and I didn't do it on the treadmill Pullups 2/6 Lift 3/3

The last challenge was a brilliant flame-out. I went in with the idea that I was going to leap directly into training for 2018, but due to work stress, illness and just lack of personal dedication, the entire challenge cycle was basically a bust. I feel like I'm turning into Luke Skywalker, retreating from the universe to basically hide on a personal sorrow planet of sulky solitude. Anyone who knows me knows that while the Master of the New Jedi Order may be the hero of that galaxy far, far away, he's not the man I want to be. I find him fragile, whiny, and sulky. A man who runs away to hide on Ahch-To after the fall of his Jedi Order to the Knights of Ren is not the kind of Jedi that I would want to be. Sadly, I've only run twice in the past month when my goal is at least three times per week, and I've gained eight pounds since Worlds due to poor fitness habits and eating like the fat man I used to be. Following that path won't allow me to reach my personal goals. Main Goal I am, in theory, training to qualify for the 2018 OCR World Championships, which will be held in England in October. I'll be going regardless - I should be able to register as a Journeyman qualifier by March - but just like 2017, I want to earn my spot through competition as an age-group competitor, and I'd love to post a better finish this coming year as well, now that I have an understanding of what it takes to qualify and what I'm up against when I get there. That said, I'm fighting a couple pretty imposing opponents: age and arthritis. This year, I became part of the "50 and over" age group. Advancing age does crappy things to recovery time, and I can't ignore this. But I can't use it as an excuse. I know several men in my OCR group over 50 who make me look absolutely sedentary. Also, in July of this year, the psoriatic arthritis that I've known was lurking around the corner decided to jump out and attack my knees with a vengeance. I'm at the point where I can tolerate the symptoms and still get in my work, but I will have to be smart, and take care of myself, in order to reach my goals. And while I want to take care of my body and train toward my goal and enjoy racing until I can't do it anymore, I need to remember that I am one 50-year-old man, and not a small army of people half my age. I am scheduled to the absolute max even on non-event weeks, and if I don't do something to take care of myself both mentally and physically, things tend to get very bad very quickly. Goal: Swifter I made a ton of progress here in 2017 and I hope it hasn't all been lost over the past three months. My gains were due to volume (mileage) and programming (speed work). My most obvious issue with remaining consistent here is due to knee pain. Pavement running is painful enough that I don't even want to think about it, and treadmill running is objectively horrible. I love running on trails - I enjoy the quiet and the chance it affords to get away from the rest of my world, and the softer ground hurts less - but now it's winter in Minnesota and I hate winter. I either need to suck it up and get on the treadmill, or I need to suck it up and get on a trail, and I need to do it four times per week, with an absolute minimum of 17 miles per week. Goal: Run four times per week per training plan. Goal: Stronger I attend three classes per week at my gym: two Boot Camp classes and one weightlifting class. This has continued to be a challenge goal as most races happen on Saturdays, and one of my boot camp classes happens on Saturday morning. It's easy to decide to drop While I would perhaps program each of the classes differently, the fact that it's out of my hands is a good thing. I wind up doing things that I wouldn't choose for myself (burpees, box step-ups, lunges, etc.) and so it remains a goal for this challenge. I will be on vacation starting the middle of Week Two, but I have a Personal Training background and can come up with a plan for the Thursday workout. Goal: Strength training three times per week. Goal: Smaller This is my battle against the Dark Side. I have struggled with my weight and my waistline for my entire adult life. Five years ago, I weighed 260 pounds at just under 5ft10in. Through exercise and proper nutrition, I lost between 60 and 70lbs, depending on where I am on a given day. I know what my macros are and I know what the good, whole foods are that make them up. I need to stay on this, every day, and to help with this, I'm going to really simplify things until I get into a groove I can handle. I've been stressing over daily micro-management of macros between run days, strength days and rest days for months, and I've been working at a calorie deficit for the majority of the past three years with very little to show for it around my waist. I'm going to take one stress item off my plate by standardizing my plate: KCal: 2,100 Protein: 125g Carbs: 175g Sodium: 2,800mG Goal: Stick to my macros. Log daily. Goal: Saner I need to keep this on the list for the foreseeable future. Meditation, prayer, alone time, whatever, but it needs to be 30 minutes per day, every day, and cannot be a workout or a run. I NEED this to keep myself centered and sane when my schedule gets overloaded and I get stressed-out and things go sideways. Goal: 30 minutes of quiet time per day. I've got two 10k road runs coming up during zero weekend that I am absolutely not looking forward to, and I've got a Spartan Beast in Florida after Week Two. The Spartan will close out my second Spartan Trifecta of 2017 and will be my 9th Trifecta in three years. For all the whinging I feel like I've done over the past month, I need to keep sight of the fact that I've changed myself from morbidly-obese, borderline hypertensive, borderline diabetic into something else entirely. Here's to a better challenge.

I'm carrying over similar goals from the last challenge. I don't have travel or anything planned that will disrupt my schedule in the way I did last challenge, so it makes it a lot simpler to plan out! So that means I have no excuses for not meeting my goals, right? Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 51 | STA - 51.75 | CON - 83.5 | WIS - 55 | CHA - 50.5 Weight - 164lb Waist - 29 3/4" Belly - 33 3/4" Hips - 38 1/2" Thigh - 22 1/2" Body Fat - 26.6% Goals Goal 1: Sleep Sleep is the foundation of everything, and it’s time that I buckle down and just do it properly. I know it effects my abilities mentally and physically, because I’m always tired, so it’s time to see what I can do when I’m sleeping enough. I wake up at 5:30am during the week (sometimes 6:30am if I’m extra tired), so that’s going to drive my bedtimes. I’m not sure how much sleep I actually do need, so I’m going to start with an 11pm bedtime (6.5 hours sleep) and see how that goes. If I need to, I’ll move it earlier in stages until I hit a good spot. CON +3 Goal 2: Cardio Yep, for some reason I decided to play a sport that’s cardio-heavy… So I have to do cardio between now and spring training, otherwise I'll die. I’m thinking 2x 5k, and 3x intervals/HITT/sprints. STA +3 Goal 3: Food Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it - quality variances only! Meal prepping is going to be a big part of this one. CON +3 Goal 4: Mobility I have 3 key lower body and 2 key upper body mobility protocols that have really been working for me. Ideally I would do all 3 lower body at a time, and/or both upper body ones, but it takes a bit of time to get through everything, so instead my goal will be to do either my upper or lower body protocols every day. DEX +3 Goal 5: The List WIS +3 Do some baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Do the mending Clean off the top of my desk and my desk drawers Work on to-read magazine pile Unofficial Goals Grease the Groove - use the damn pull-up bar! On Sunday I was able to do A Pull-up, I want to do more! More NF! Regular updates here and more keeping up with other people's challenges Remember to fill out my Pixel A Day tracker Be on time to Toastmasters Journal once a week The Road So Far Week 1: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 2/3 Macros 7/14 Mobility 4/7 The List - no progress Unofficial Pullups 1/7 NF 2/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Oct 26 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1/1 Mini - done Week 2: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 1/3 Macros 5/14 Mobility 3/7 The List - cleaned off my desk - now to keep it that way! Unofficial Pullups 1/7 NF 6/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 5 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1+/1 Mini - done Week 3: Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/1 Intervals 1/2 Macros 9/14 Mobility 1/7 The List - nope Unofficial Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 12 On time to TM 1/1 Journal 1/1 Mini - done Week 4 Official Bedtime 11pm 0/7 5k 1/2 Intervals 0/3 Macros 8/14 Mobility 3/7 The List - lots of knitting! Unofficial Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7 Pixel A Day - caught up to Nov 15 (currently caught up fully) On time to TM - N/A Journal 1/1 Mini - done

Main Goal On October 14, 2017, I participated as an Age Group competitor at the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships. It was an amazing experience, an emotional high, and the hardest thing I have ever done to date. The mountain climbs were excruciating, the descent in the rain treacherous, and the obstacles appropriately difficult for a world-championship event. While I'm generally pleased with how my run went, I'm not satisfied. I finished the course and attempted every obstacle. I failed several on the back third of the course due to both poor weather conditions and poor physical conditioning. I can do better. And I'm not waiting until 2018 to start. Next Year starts now. For the first time this year, I have no scheduled events during a challenge cycle. That means it's time to set specific, concrete training goals that will help me to perform better in 2018 than I did in 2017. I'm fighting against a couple pretty big and imposing opponents: age, and arthritis. This year, I advanced to the "50 and over" age group, and in July psoriatic arthritis decided to rear its ugly head by attacking my knees with a vengeance. I'm at the point where I can tolerate the symptoms and still get in my work, but I will have to be smart, and take care of myself, in order to implement my goals. Finally, I need to remember that I am one 50-year-old man, and not a small army of people half my age. I am scheduled to the absolute max even on non-event weeks, and if I don't do something to take care of myself both mentally and physically, things will get bad very quickly. Goal: Speed At 40 I had the cardio health scores of a dead man; now at 50, I have decent cardio health, but am still working on speed and endurance. Arthritis makes this hard, but it's still something I can do. Road running just flat-out hurts afterward - I am NOT looking forward to my two Thanksgiving weekend 10K runs - but trail running is much softer on the joints and I absolutely love the quiet and serenity. I have a training plan, given to me by my teammate and coach, Josh. We talked about it this last weekend riding the gondola to the top of the mountain at OCRWC. It works. It's made me faster than I ever have been. It's time to get back to focusing on the plan. Goal: Run three times per week per my training plan. Goal: Strength OCRWC showed me that while I am generally strong enough for most events, I still need work on grip strength, strength endurance, and upper-body strength. Fortunately, I love my strength classes at my gym, and getting back into the habit of maintaining a more consistent schedule will help me with the results I want to see. Goal: Strength training classes (weightlifting, boot camp) three times per week - Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Goal: Small I made progress here this year, but I've got a ways to go to get the body I want. Running consistently will help, but if there's a singular truth that applies to fitness and weight loss, it's this: I can't outrun my fork. I know my macros, and while macros are pretty accurate at getting me to where I want to be, I've been playing fast and loose with the composition of those macros, and it has shown. Cheap proteins and simple carbs make me bloat and get stored as fat by my body really easily. Aside from sticking to my macros, I need to make solid food choices as well: lean proteins, complex carbs, and plenty of steamed vegetables. Loosely-based on IIFYM calculator Goal: Log all food intake, and report daily Goal: Sanity I'm over-scheduled, Period, Full Stop. I use my gym routines and the running routine I want to establish to take back a bit of that sanity, but as a training regimen starts to form, it will just be one more thing on my plate. This means that every day, I will need to carve out 15 to 30 minutes of time for just me. Away from the work pager, away from my computer, social media, away from my phone, away from my gym shoes and my running shoes and my kids and my GF and the stupid cats and just everything else. That may be a short walk in the evening or a small meditation or something similar. Goal: 15-30 minutes of solitude daily I actually thought long and hard about just maintaining a Battle Log going forward since the last year was mostly what you see here as far as goals and the next year will be just a continuation of the same, but running a challenge at least keeps me moderately accountable to my amazing Rebels and if it's not broke, I'm not fixing it. Thanks for helping me stay the course.

I'm carrying over similar goals from the last challenge, and adding a couple, and rearranging things a bit Previous Challenge Stats STR - 31.75 | DEX - 49 | STA - 49.75 | CON - 82 | WIS - 55 | CHA - 50.5 Weight - 162lb Waist - 29.25" Belly - 33" Hips - 38.75" Thigh - 22.25" Body Fat - 26.45% Goals Goal 1: Sleep Sleep is the foundation of everything, and it’s time that I buckle down and just do it properly. I know it effects my abilities mentally and physically, because I’m always tired, so it’s time to see what I can do when I’m sleeping enough. I wake up at 5:30am during the week (sometimes 6:30am if I’m extra tired), so that’s going to drive my bedtimes. I’m not sure how much sleep I actually do need, so I’m going to start with an 11pm bedtime (6.5 hours sleep) and see how that goes. If I need to, I’ll move it earlier in stages until I hit a good spot. CON +3 Goal 2: Cardio Yep, for some reason I decided to play a sport that’s cardio-heavy… and then voluntarily decided to go play an even more cardio-intensive version of that sport on Thanksgiving/Oktoberfest weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving = beginning of October). So I have to do cardio between now and then, because in the last month and a half I’ve done basically none, especially compared to the amount I was doing from May-July between playing rugby, practicing rugby, and riding my bike to rugby. I’m thinking 2x 5k, 3x intervals/HITT/sprints, and 1x something else - maybe swimming. The weekend of week 3 and all of week 4 will be a bit different due to Thanksgiving/visiting Stratford/Ottawa adventures. STA +3 Week 1 Monday - weights/intervals Tuesday - weights Wednesday - Thursday - weights/intervals Friday - 5k Saturday - intervals Sunday - 5k/swim Week 2 Monday - weights Tuesday - weights/intervals Wednesday - 5k Thursday - weights/intervals Friday - 5k Saturday - intervals Sunday - swim Week 3 Monday - weights/intervals Tuesday - weights Wednesday - 5k Thursday - weights/intervals Friday - 5k Saturday - Oktoberfest rugby 10s Sunday - Oktoberfest/Thanksgiving Week 4 Monday - Thanksgiving [weights/intervals?] Tuesday - weights Wednesday - 5k Thursday - weights Friday - Ottawa Saturday - Ottawa Sunday - Ottawa Goal 3: Food Track my food, hit my macros. 2-3 variances a week, depending how big the variance is. Log it, track it, and make sure it’s worth it - quality variances only! Meal prepping is going to be a big part of this one. CON +3 Goal 4: Mobility I have 3 key lower body and 2 key upper body mobility protocols that have really been working for me. Ideally I would do all 3 lower body at a time, and/or both upper body ones, but it takes a bit of time to get through everything, so instead my goal will be to do either my upper or lower body protocols every day. DEX +3 Goal 5: The List WIS +3 Finish going through clothes/inventorying Left side of closet - upper and lower PJs Bras Shoes Outerwear Purses Do some baby knitting - socks, mitts, etc. Go through makeup Clean out espresso maker Go through kitchen cabinets - especially the cupboard where all my plastic bags are and the cupboard where my beer/wine empties are Update workout log from notes on phone Unofficial Goals Grease the Groove - use the damn pull-up bar! More NF! Regular updates here and more keeping up with other people's challenges The Road So Far Week 1: 11pm bedtime 0/7 Intervals 3/3 5k 0/2 Swim 0/1 Macros 4.5/7 Mobility 6/7 Pullups - tried to remember to do them, semi-successful NF - posted here or in other people's threads 5/7 days Week 2: 11pm bedtime 0/7 Intervals 2/3 5k 0/1 Swim 0/1 Macros 4/7 Mobility 6/7 Pullups 2/7 NF 4/7 Week 3: 11pm bedtime 2/7 Intervals 1/2 5k 2/2 Macros 4.5/7 Mobility 4/7 Pullups 0/7 NF 1/7 I think? Forgot about tracking this Week 4: 11pm bedtime 1/7 5k 1/1 (replaced with group training) Macros 2/7 Mobility 3/7 Pullups 0/7 NF 3/7

Main Goal I'm still training toward my 2017 goal. I'm going to Blue Mountain, Ontario, 12 October to 15 October for the 2017 OCR World Championships. I qualified as an Age Group competitor during the Spartan Sprint in Illinois in June, and will be competing in the 50-and-over Age Group. I've been waiting since the beginning of November 2016 to say I'm one of them. I will have eight weeks between the start of this challenge cycle and my date with Blue Mountain. That's about the right amount of time for me to be able to concentrate on a goal, and follow through. As part of my training, on August 12, I am running my first-ever Half Marathon. I would like to not finish last. I am still slow as a road runner and suck at distances. These are weaknesses that I can train in tangible ways. This is more or less the training that has got me here, so in order to continue 2017's successes, I'm pretty much keeping the same goals as always: Run Lift Heavy Things Don't Eat Stupid Adding in a fourth that makes sense: Self Care That's going to cover not only things like "Don't abuse those knees and take a break if you need it when I'm working out" to "Take a day to myself and avoid literally everyone if I feel like I'm crashing." I'll add in important stuff like my weekly workout schedule and my specific macros later. Still moving forward toward the goal. Can't wait for the reveal on this year's bling.

Hey everybody, I only have a vague idea about what my goals will be and I'm too exhausted to write them down now.

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. I'll quit being a slacker, and actually *do* a challenge. This hype train ain't gonna build and run itself, now, is it? This is step 1 in a multi-part challenge where I: brace for impact but hurry up and wait, (temporarily) lose my DH, jettison 99% of the shit I own, pack my dog and myself up and move halfway across the globe, reunite with DH, and adjust to a whooooooooooole other level of "new normal". I thought this last year was a kick in the butt? Well, I haven't seen anything yet. This first part of the challenge *should* see me through about half of this journey - the DH is scheduled to bounce at the end of this month, and I'll be following shortly after on a grand tour of sorts to see a few people I need to see before relocating my start map. That is, providing this shit actually happens this time and we're not forced to reconsider all of life reeeeaaaaaal quick. Again. It should also see the return of some of my favorite Nerds to the boards, and an inevitable revving up of the hype train. So maybe I'll actually get off my ass and *do* something. Like, I dunno: Work Out, behave my belly, aim in a direction, post more than once a day while half asleep. Goals Since I'm still in a holding pattern as of this morning (I'm actually in an airport on my way back from a fantastic Nerd wedding weekend where I got to see some of my favorite Internet peeps + recharge my social batteries a bit), waiting to see if the last of the DH's paperwork clears and his timeline stays the same, I'm aiming to start small. Goal The First Macros, yo. If I'm not Bucket listing it or at an event with Chef friends, I need to eat what I need to be eating to not feel like utter shit. That includes a mostly-paleo diet following the following macros: 70g protein 70g or under carbs 100g or under fats Now, given my current life circumstances (namely, the best damn brunch game in town run by a friend in my freaking building), a little leeway for fresh English muffins on the benny and chilaquiles is permitted on weekends. Goal The Second Print, codify, collate, and color-coordinate as much moving-plan-wise as possible. Book as much travel as I'm able. Adult things like the dog shots & my vaccinations. Also, film a weekly update for YouTube. And, plan when and how to get rid of my shit - plan the "house cooling" party. Get bins for and pack the shit we're storing with friends. Spend as much time as possible with local friends. Pull the trigger on the Amazon shopping list for travel essentials & clothing basics. Detail aaaaaaaalll this minutia for y'all. Goal The Third I've noticed over the past month or two that the arch on my left foot (my garbage fire side) has started collapsing. At the Walking Store, the foot scan they did showed a false high arch because I tend to stand with weight on the outsides of my foot - which is something I've noticed and tried to remain cognizant of since childhood - and is super totally why that side of my body is jacked up and that ankle rolls if you look at it funny. Duh. I need to work on this. I've found a couple rehab routines that take zero space and almost no time - I need to do them. Daily. Or as close to daily as I can remember to do. My side-eye peeps, go ahead and rev those peepers up. I'd throw in a lofty yoga goal here too, but that's probably not realistically going to happen while my tiny-ass apartment is in chaos and I'm running around like a damn chicken with its head cut off. Goal The Fourth Stay Calm And Support My Nerds Some of the more bananas Rangers *@Raxie* *cough* *@Wolfie* *cough* and I were missing the hype of the Ranger Board Of Old and feel it's time for a resurgence of the hype train. #allthethings is missed, y'all, as is hitting the gas for the sake of hitting the gas. Even though my little corner of the universe is upending itself (again), Imma do my part and throw myself at that shit wherever possible. I'm returning to the minis, answering call-outs, and generally planning on supporting my Herd wherever possible - be that through numbers in a game, exposition, or simply more engaged commenting -- I'll be here with a big bottle of Hype. And some gifs. Even if finding said gifs sux0rs on Tapatalk.

I'm back with a shiny new program! No barbells this time (well, they will make an appearance later in my program), but I am still focusing on strength. For those of you that followed my previous thread, you'll remember my disillusionment when I realized that a lot of the authorities on strength training are d00d-focused. And the self proclaimed father of them all is a sexist turd. (Not all male fitness gurus are sexist by any means, but there is a lack of representation of women in the sport, which had me feeling excluded at times.) With the help of some friends, I found some female lead and focused programs that I feel good about supporting and don't make me feel like an inferior piece of garbage. So... I have chosen the Girls Gone Strong 12 week strength training program! Since I just had a three week summer break, I am going to get right to it. Here are my goals for this challenge: Document workouts in my bujo and create a blog post for each block of training (4 blocks 4 weeks each = 4 total blog posts for this program) Meal plan with Mr. Z every weekend before grocery shopping Meal prep every week w/ Mr. Z (including snacks!) Reflect for 5 minutes in my journal every night before bed Now get to werk!

Main Goal I'm going to Blue Mountain, Ontario, 12 October to 15 October for the 2017 OCR World Championships. During the last challenge, I qualified as an Age Group competitor through competition, and will be competing in the 50-and-over Age Group. I've been waiting since the beginning of November 2016 to say I'm one of them. Now that it's happened, I need a new training goal. "Do well at OCRWC" isn't a specific enough training goal for me; I have no frame of reference for this competition. Also, I know I cannot podium in my age group (I know damn well who is in my group and I cannot make that leap in the next four months). I need a realistic training goal to keep me moving forward. Fortunately, I've got a couple in mind. First and foremost, I aim to repeat my OCRWC Qualifier Finish from the Chicago Spartan Sprint in consecutive weekends at the end of this challenge. Just because I don't NEED to qualify for OCRWC at Savage Race in Chicago on July 29, or Conquer the Gauntlet in Iowa on August 5, doesn't mean I shouldn't show up and push some other old guy to do his best at those same races. Right? I've been posting these two images since last November, it would be weird to stop now... Second, on August 12, I am running my first-ever Half Marathon. I would like to not finish last. I am still slow as a road runner and suck at distances. These are weaknesses that I can train in tangible ways. (Almost like I had planned this when setting up my 2017 calendar or something). All that means that, like the Jedi Knights of old, I need to re-focus on my training. The Jedi Trials According to Jedi tradition, every initiate needed to pass five Trials to become a Jedi Knight: Skill, Courage, Spirit, Flesh and Insight. I'll be using these five areas to continue to build on what I started so far in 2017 and fulfill my main goal during competition at OCRWC. Trial of Skill I'm fairly obstacle-proficient in a Spartan Race, but whether that will transfer to this level is pretty hard to quantify as I'm going to see lots of obstacles in Toronto that I've never seen before on a course. I'm going to need to consistently work on obstacles to keep that skill level up. Goal: At least one hour of obstacle skills training at Obstacle Academy every week Trial of Courage No lie, I'm a bit freaked out by the competition, now that I've qualified. The last thing I want to do is be the last man on the hill. Time to up my game. To do this, I have to build on the improvements I've made as a runner this year, and that can only happen if I stick to my training plan. My running coach, Josh, has given me a plan that works and that has produced tangible results. I need to stick to it, and I can't skip my weekly long runs. Goal: Stick to my weekly running schedule and do not skip my weekend long runs. Trial of the Spirit I've been racing fairly flat this year and while the Montana mountains didn't kill me and my home Minnesota Sprint did not steal my soul per usual, hills are still a weak spot. OCRWC is 15K at a ski resort and my intel says I should kiss my legs goodbye, unless I start getting serious about my hill training. Goal: 2x hill workouts per week. Trial of the Flesh Just because Spartan Race ignores OCRWC doesn't mean OCRWC ignores Spartan Race staples, like heavy carries. They don't skimp on the heavy stuff, and I can't, either. However, this is a modified goal from what I've been working on for most of the year: I am not eschewing strength training, I just want to keep what I've got, while continuing to become leaner. It's a delicate balancing act, but I've got the general know-how to program myself for this. I'm going to supplement Tuesday's Weightlifting class and Thursday's Boot Camp class by continuing the Grease the Groove Pull-up work I've been doing, while also doing accumulation work. Goal: Strength Training group classes 2x per week. Goal: Accumulate 12 pull-ups or more per day. Goal: Accumulate 100 push-ups or more per day on non-group training days. Trial of Insight None of this all will mean a damned thing if I don't continue to take care of myself, and taking care of myself starts with nutrition and ends with rest. I'm going to give myself a small break from strict nutrition between 6 July and 9 July, as I will be in TX for a certain Chaplain's wedding, and also where I will eat In-n-Out and Whataburger because those are things I can't do here in the Midwest. I also may or may not eat all of the tacos. Otherwise, I know my macros, and it's time to try to stick to them on a daily micro-managed basis. Goal: Stick to my macros. Goal: 6 or more hours of sleep per night. Training Summary Modified schedule for the week ending 7/8 accounts for the Chaplain's nuptials. I'm going to be hungry after 10 miles, folks, plan a good breakfast. Training goals will help keep my eyes on the next prize... It's still the black one.

The last few challenges I've been getting back into the NF academy by going through the mindset challenges. I still have a couple left to do, but I'm ready now to move on to the nutrition and workouts again. I figure it's about time I finally get with the program and see what happens. I've been finding fairly good success with keeping things simple, but still haven't seen the results I would hope for. My schedule has also been difficult recently, with lots of call, but now that's over for a while which is good timing. So it's time to dedicate myself a bit more to the process. Diet - NF level 4, No added sugar I've been doing IIFYM the last few months, and have been alright at sticking to my goals, but could do a bit better. I've found the times I overeat it's usually due to eating too much sugar earlier in the day or being hungry later, or else getting into binge in the evening. In looking through the nutrition module, I'd say I'm at a bout NF diet level 4, so I'm going to try to keep there and improve at having more vegetables and less bread/pasta. I'm also going to stay away from added sugar this challenge. I've done it before, but then I slipped back into old habits. As part of the "Face Your Demons" mindset challenge, I determined that sugar is definitely one of them, so this is my "stay away from it" phase where I can study my enemy and make a plan for when I face it again. Exercise - Bodyweight Workout 3 I'm at the Bodyweight Level 3 workouts, which I'll be doing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I haven't focused on exercise recently, mostly because my back has been hurting and I've been feeling stiff. However, stretching on it's own hasn't been helping, and I think I need to build strength if I'm finally going to get over my pain/stiffness. Other I'll keep going through the mindset challenges. I'm not going to weigh myself again until the end of the challenge as part of a mindset challenge. I think it'll also be beneficial as I'm getting back into workouts and a more solid diet to judge how I'm feeling, and see how it all works at the end. I'll also continue tracking my APD score and trying to beat the previous month's average. I'm going to try to update here daily. Here we go!

I'm so excited for a 6 week challenge! And I have so many ideas for my narrative that I'm pretty excited to write, so I'm actually coming into this challenge super energised and ready to get going. Technically, I'm starting my weeks on Sunday, so I have to back-log from Sunday 25th, but still! And since this time around Rhovaniel is going to be searching for her (and my) role models and inspiration, I have no remorse in posting this: Anyway, goals for the six weeks: Lifting: 3 workouts a week I will probably continue a little longer with my sort-of Stronglifts workouts, until I reach a point with OHP where I can do Juggernauts properly and not need to use dumbbells. Hopefully, the transition will occur at some point during the challenge. Running: 3 runs a week in the format of 2 sprints and one longer one. In addition, I want to try and push the longer one just that little further each week. Just slightly, so my ‘I don’t wanna brain’ doesn’t throw a tantrum. Maybe a half kilometre each week further. Starting at 5km. Macros: Track macros (TDEE -10%) 5 days a week I’m not good at pre-planning. The night before tends to be the norm right now, but so long as it gets done I’m not pushing this point too much. The goal is simply to eat to my macros – and post them on here daily for accountability – 5 days out of the 7. I say only 5 because this is still a pretty new habit for me and I want to go slow. I’ll do my best to make at least one of the non macro days still track-able, but eating to my TDEE, or maintenance macros, rather than -10%. I have no real idea if -10% will help me lose weight, but it’s what my body accepts (I get too hungry and eat ALL the things when I try to restrict calories too much) so I’m going with that. Mental Strength: Meditate or work on some form of mental resilience once per day. 7 days a week. This is the new habit I want to build, because I think taking the time out of my day to mentally decompress will help me maintain my mental strength when I need it to. I feel pretty good right now. But sooner or later, things are going to happen that’s going to test me. I want to be ready for that day, and be better able to weather it. Rewards are not going to be tied to narrative this time around. I liked the format, and for the most part it worked so I will probably go back to it at some point. But it also took a lot of time, thinking of different outcomes and how they might relate to each week, etc. And it doesn’t really work so well when I’m keeping the goals so simple. So, narrative will hopefully just be a minimum of once a week, and instead I’m implementing some loot goals (not arbitrary, I’ve been wanting some for a while): LOOT Perfect Week: New ¾ length (or ½ length) workout bottoms or top. I currently have two bottoms and maybe three tops that are in constant rotation through wearing them and laundry so it would be nice to have a few extras! Perfect Challenge: New trainers I really do need a new pair of trainers since I discovered that the ones I use for the gym are way more comfortable than the converses I used to live and die in. So, that’s the motivation for getting it all right this time around. But I also accept that I have not previously completed a perfect challenge, and, whether I like it or not, I do get de-motivated if I realise early on I can’t achieve anything and that becomes a slippery slop, so: Non-perfect week but with 3 or less missed goals: Half-point towards the loot. It means I can’t get the workout clothes of choice that week, but I’m halfway there, so if I have another non-perfect (but still 3 or less missed goals) then I do earn it, as if it were one perfect week. Non-perfect Challenge but with 15 or less missed goals: Not sure on this one, since I don’t intend on having loot goals next time around. I’ll think on it.

Hola! Starting Friday 3/24, this will be the place to log my workouts and my food. If I eat or drink something especially yummy, I will include the recipe. FRIDAY 3/24/17 FOOD Lots of sweets today. Breakfast Oatmeal with berries and a spoon of almond butter Coffee with milk Lunch Leftover Spaghetti Squash pasta on top of romaine hearts and green lentils Sweet tea drink from Argo Tea Snack Post lifting protein shake (whey, 20g) Greek yogurt with blueberries and sliced almonds Spoon of honey-roasted peanut butter and nutella with 1/4c milk Dinner Quinoa with peppers, onions, garlic, and bean medley (more leftovers) WORKOUT LIFTING WORKOUT B Kettlebell Swing - 5 X 10 @ 12kg Pull down - 3 X 8-12 50 lbs and drop to 40 lbs on last set Military press -3 X 8-12 12 lbs (dumbbells) Ab routine AB ROUTINE 8-12 leg raises- hand under sacrum to support 15-20 sec butterflies - hand under sacrum to support 15-20 sec boat pose 15-30 sec situp hold boat pose 30 sec plank bicycling legs 30-60 sec static plank (I collapse at about 45 seconds right now) Tomorrow is a rest day for the gym. The weather should be good, so will probably walk the dog for a bit. We are also going to do our meal planning/grocery shopping tomorrow. I will share any good paleo(ish) recipes I come across in my research.

nightlight is just here for the (G)a(I)nz(Fs) I've had many ups and downs lately. Not gonna try and dwell on it, or rehash too much of it, because living in the past is something old nightlight did. Though, relevant bits here: I competed in a Weightlifting meet in early June and went 6/6. No lifts were PRs, but they felt solid, and I even got smiles and claps out of my coach. I've been SLOOOOOOOWLY losing weight, but I think I'm hitting a little plateau I haven't worked out in 2 weeks (ish) because my back has been bothering me. Because my back has been bothering me, my anxiety has been at an all time high. Almost to a level where I've never seen it before. This challenge is going to be a challenge where I'm being kind to myself, and trying to make small progress towards bigger goals. Goal 1: Take care of my back by doing more movement throughout the day. My plan is on weekdays to do some movement breaks every few hours. I have alarms set to go off at 8a/10a/12p/2p to move. Doesn't have to be long or involved. Even less than 5 min. I just have to DO SOMETHING GOOD for my back. I will log this here. Weekends are up in the air, but I will have at least 3 movement breaks per day. Goal 2: Track food, hit calorie goals. This one is simple. Track my food intake. Try to stay at or under my calorie goals for the WEEK. I can go a little over on workout days, or a little under on non workout days. I'll track here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/profile/needanightlight Goal 3: Get a hold of my anxiety Do a sleep meditation 5 nights per week before bed. I've been doing these the past few nights and they've helped knock me out. Do "real" meditation for 5 minutes 4x per week. Any more is bonus.

So last challenge was quite successful in keeping me focused on my goals, while allowing me the flexibility to enjoy myself and not get burnt out. So I decided to continue it for one more challenge! Here's what happened last game: And just as a refresher, here's Da Rulez again: We'll see if I can beat my final score from last challenge!

Continuing on the trend of trying to rebuild my damn good habits this go round. Maaaaaaaaybe something will stick this time, eh? Goals aren't really changing much - maybe adding novel accessory work is just the kick in the pants i need. Buckle up for a brain dump. Goal The First: Work Out I am still sucking at making this a consistent thing in the face of having an inconsistent schedule. This is something that is always going to be difficult for me given my love of routine. This is also something I need to actively fight to work on - coasting isn't going to get it, waiting for a stable schedule damn sure isn't getting it - actively working against my need for order is pretty much the only thing that's going to work here. I need to tell my brain that the world is not going to stop spinning on its axis if I don't work out at 5:00 4x a week. I don't *have* a 5:00 4x a week. Now, that's not to say I'm going to be radically changing things (to am workouts ... eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww) or dropping responsibilities that are either actively making me the benjamins or will lead to future cheddar. I'm more going for a 'stop in the face of schedule panic, look at the panic, identify the panic, and tell it to go F itself' kind of thing here. Baby steps. My brain is not going to melt if I work out at 3:30. I'm (sorta) unemployed, for jibbers' sakes. What I'm thinking: Start trying out yoga studios either near home or school or both. Get all up in this 14-day yoga challenge Come up with some sort of accessories thing - like 50 squats a day for a week - something I can do while cooking, watching tv, or taking a pee break during class Goal The Second: Quit Eating Like A Damn Ninny -- AGAIN Seriously. I can't be trusted with 2 variances a week, because apparently that means in my little raccoon brain that I can visit the uber fancy-ass coffee/"healthy" food place and eat damn dessert (because it's not a sandwich and it's cheap). When did dessert - even healthy dessert with mostly paleo ingredients - become ok in my brain? I don't even really like dessert. Why do I keep getting it, then? Ohhhhhh yeah. Keto. Keto increased my intake of sweet stuff from zero to 'every damn thing has Stevia in it let's eat a zillion Quest bars because that's all I can have' mode. Thanks, me. Gooooooood thinking. I really don't want to have to Whole30 it to break this mental cycle - especially not with class starting back up in a couple weeks - but I will if I must. Until then, I'm going for a more balanced approach to thinking about what I am shoving into my face. Fats: Good - but not allthefats because I'm not operating under the cloak of fat burning Carbs: Okayish. Don't eat allthecarbs but don't eat keto-few carbs. I missed kale and pineapple Fruits: Moderation, yo Veggies: Eat more of these and more variety - broccoli and kale are the jam, but other veggies exist Meat: Let's not go back to 'all meat all the time' snacking, shall we? Nuts: I'm finally almost tired of nuts - except hella expensive macadamia nuts and cashews Other Snacks: I need to calm down on the packaged snacks. Quest bars are great, but I don't need more than 1 a week - and that one, only in an emergency Sugar: What the Serious F is going on here? Dates: still sugar. Cacao: Always has sugar. Stevia: Yep. It's sugar. Sthaaaaaaaap Dairy: Also stop. Cow milk hates me. Other animal milk is ok, but not when it makes cow cheese a thing in my head. I've been pretty good here recently, but this always needs work unless I'm strict paleo-ing it So, what does that leave me? Back to paleo land. Which is a land I'm comfortable in. I lived in harmony there for a couple years. I need to go back. No crazy other hard stuff until I get back to that land and sit there for awhile. Also. Contemplate going back to tracking macros. I know what works for me: 70g or under on carbs, 100g or under in fats, 70g or so of protein. It works when I'm consistent. My calories are sometimes too low, buuuut I can fix that with more fat since I'm still in fat = yummy mindset. Goal The Third: Get A Job - Or More Of A Job I've got my hated copywriting gig, a part-part time teaching gig, a part time teaching gig coming up, and that company I've poured hours into in hopes of eventually garnering a paycheck. I need to continue on working to get some gainful employment situation happening. I'll be pretty wiped at night, so networking events most likely won't be happening once class #2 starts up. I need to continue: Submitting 10 applications a week Working on my portfolio Learning CSS Grids while I'm at it Practicing something related to HTML/CSS or Javascript daily Other things I need to do: Build out my "formal" UI/UX portfolio a bit Work on more graphic designy things I actually want to show people - like SVGs (consequently, there's another 50-day challenge for SVGs I could do) Work on networking through my social groups (I'm a part of a few online tech and womens' groups) Goal The Fourth: Rando Keep the house clean Go take pictures Go for a ruck Explore the neighborhood Work on the deadline-driven craft project I've barely started Do what I can where I can to make living in Suburban hell a little better for myself Find peace on mass transit while I'm stuck there for 1:30 often Get back to doing the things I enjoy doing, despite now having 4 hours of my day being taken up by transporting myself a couple times a week - like recipe creation and blogging. And a zillion other things. Not worry about how much more difficult that shit is going to get if I get an office job Fit QT in with the DH since he's now busy at night too with BJJ

Main Goal I'm going to Blue Mountain, Ontario, in October for the 2017 OCR World Championships. I could register right now as a Journeyman as I have completed the requisite three or more qualifying events since the last Championships. I don't want to just show up, though. I want to qualify as an Age Group competitor by earning my spot through competition. The black Finisher medals are things of beauty. I want one. I'm going to earn one. How realistic is this goal? On July 30, 2016, I finished 24 minutes behind the OCRWC qualifier time for the 50-54 age group, and before this challenge is over, I will have moved into that age bracket. I am combining a Half Marathon training plan with personal run coaching to increase my speed over distance. This past February 25, I ran the Spartan Sprint in Arizona while sick as hell and finished 15 minutes off the OCRWC Qualifier time for the 50-54 age group. I'm using my 10k time as my guideline for improvement, since it's the same distance or longer than my two A races for this year. Over the past year, I've knocked 7 minutes off my PR for 10k and am working to shave off another 12 minutes by the end of July, when my two most likely qualifying events are held: Savage Race Chicago, July 30 Conquer the Gauntlet Des Moines, August 5 Both have obstacles that are unique compared to other obstacle race series and while I've been training for them, they will be fun no matter what happens. I'd love to qualify before then, but these are the most likely based on skill and expected competition. What will it take for me to get there? I'm going to need to be transformed. Transmogrified. But there's no magic machine that will get me there, no magic pill. It's going to take me, getting out of my head, casting off my own perceived limitations, and pushing beyond my comfort zone. Because what I want is on the other side of comfortable. Fortunately for me, there's a big "Not Comfortable" looming on my horizon - I am participating in the Montana Spartan Beast on May 6. That gives me just under three weeks (including Week Zero of this challenge) to get my climbing legs under me. I'm not starting from zero, but I am not where I need to be to finish this race and walk afterward. Goal: Faster Much like my Spartan Beast finisher times. If I want to be faster, I've got to run, consistently. During the last challenge, I put on more consistent miles and started getting the hoped-for results. I also did a 2-mile speed test and found out I am capable of much faster than I thought - about an eight-minute pace for one mile and significantly faster than that over a half-mile. Now it's time to learn to go even faster and to sustain pace for as long as I can. I'm going to stick with the following schedule until my coach, Josh, tells me he wants me to switch it up: Week Zero: Incline Trainer Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, Incline Trainer Friday, 5 miles Weekend Week One: Incline Trainer Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, Incline Trainer Friday, 6 miles Saturday, Incline Trainer Sunday Week Two: Incline Trainer Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 2 miles Thursday, Rest Day Friday, Montana Spartan Beast Saturday Week Three: Incline Trainer Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, Incline Trainer Friday, 8 miles Weekend Week Four: Incline Trainer Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, Incline Trainer Friday, 5k Saturday (Autism 5k), 11 miles Sunday Yes, that's six days per week where there is a "move forward with purpose" goal. This is what it's going to take for me to meet my goal. I'm either going to commit, or not. It's acceptable for me to do hill training instead of incline training as long as I do it with the same heart-rate based goal of 125-150bpm. Goal: Stronger My plan here has been working. I'm physically more capable of doing the functional things I need to do to complete a course. I don't have to be the size of the Chrysler building to flip a 400-pound tire or beast the Spartan Herc Hoist or whatever; mostly, I just need to be able to move my own body weight, and then some for good measure. Part 1: Week Zero: Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, Obstacle Academy Friday, OCR WOW Weekend Week One: OCR WOW Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, Obstacle Academy Friday, OCR WOW Weekend Week Two: OCR WOW Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, Montana Spartan Beast Saturday Week Three: Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, Obstacle Academy Friday, OCR WOW Weekend Week Four: OCR WOW Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, Obstacle Academy Friday, OCR WOW Weekend Part 2: Continuing the Grease the Groove training method I stole gratuitously from @Big_Show. I'll be recording the total number of pull-ups completed every day, not just full dead-hang strict pull-ups. During the last challenge I averaged 11 pull-ups per day, and I was able to see a noticeable difference when doing body-weight work at Obstacle Academy. Now it's time to push that to the next level. I want to average at least 20 per day over this challenge. Part 3: Yes, Part 3. Because I'm backing away from Boot Camp at my gym, it's time for me to make sure I am getting regular strength endurance work in my everyday life. In the spirit of the Grease the Groove pull-up accumulation, I am aiming to accumulate 200 push-ups per day. Challenge Plan Summary Goal: Smaller Smaller me is easier to hoist over a wall me and easier to move forward me. I'm seeing the expected positive results with my food logging and nutritional planning, and I'm going to continue my plan from last challenge with the tweaks Traci would like me to make. The end of this challenge will put me about ten weeks out from my July 29 Savage Race target; more than enough time for a transmogrification.

If this past year has taught me nothing, it's that the more things change the more they stay the same. As we start this next Cycle, I find myself *still* struggling to get back on track fitness-wise and *still* learning to adapt to having a wildly variable schedule. You'd think by now I'd have figured this shit out On the workout front, I think my issue stems from a: not having a set schedule, and b: not having a "real" (i.e. specific date or cash related) goal in mind. When I was in training for 90-gillion races and mud runs and had a set time to work out that was immovable, I did great. When I have zero idea what I'll be doing at 5pm and way less expendable income, focusing becomes an issue. Plus: motivation. If I'm honest with myself, I really suck at keeping motivated when I either don't see any progress or can't keep focused long enough to reap any rewards. Incremental change that amounts to banging my head against a wall is also a surefire ticket to abandoning my fitness goals town. What has worked best in the past is having a video-related program to follow that involved half an hour or under a day (I'm thinking the HasFit HIIT-style programs), in-person yoga classes, mini-challenges and accountability. Methinks I need to get back to some or all of that. I just need to figure out what path to set down. And there's that shiny new gym with shiny new fitness equipment ... Goal 1, unsurprisingly, is yet again to work out. I'm still nebulous on frequency, or what to do - we'll start this challenge with a 'just do some shit per week' plan and settle on a concrete battle plan by the end. Goal 2 - shocker - macros. I'm sticking with mostly keto because that's working for me, but I'll allow 1 variance per week as a carb up meal. Goal 3 - still - to get a damn job. I'm beyond unthrilled that this is still a goal. But, since it's still something that needs to happen - I still need to work at it every damn day, so it's staying as a goal. Goal 4 - figure out my 'new normal' and try to freak out less about it. My fridge is tiny, my freezer is even smaller, my stove is doll-sized and won't get but so hot, and my pantry has shrunk by half. Also, it now takes me an hour and a damn half to get anywhere, my grocery stores are a pain in the ass to get to, and the car is trying its damnedest to present itself as an easy solution. I need to put my big girl undies on, quit crying about it on the train, and deal. I'll be fine and this is not the end of the world. It's not like I don't even still live in NYC - I do; just not in my borough and not with the type of lifestyle I wanted being as convenient. I need to be more resilient here. It'll build character. Ok, done whining. Commencing with the thing.

Well, the last challenge was mostly a flop. I got sick and stayed sick for the better part of three weeks. No bueno. Now I have a 10-mile road run the day before this challenge officially starts. I could whine, I could throw in the towel, I could complain about how quickly I lose my entire base of fitness and feel like I am starting over from Square One (which is not true, by the way; I have BEEN at Square One, and I'm never going back). OR: I could dig in my heels, remember what my real goal for this year is (hint: It's not to finish a 10-mile run), and re-focus. I know what the Rebellion would have me do, and my response is: As You Wish. Main Goal I'm going to Blue Mountain, Ontario, in October for the 2017 OCR World Championships. Anyone who finishes three or more qualifying races in a single year can register to race as a Journeyman. I could register right now. I want to qualify as an Age Group competitor instead, meaning I have to earn my spot through competition. The black Finisher medals are things of beauty. I want one. I'm getting one. How realistic is this goal? On July 30, 2016, I finished 24 minutes out of an OCRWC qualifier time for the 50-54 age group, where I will be competing most of this year. This past February 25, I ran the Spartan Sprint in Arizona and finished 15 minutes off the OCRWC Qualifier time for the 50-54 age group. I am using a Half Marathon training plan to increase my speed over distance, and over the past year, I've knocked 7 minutes off my PR for 10k and am working to shave off another 12 minutes by the end of July, when my two most likely qualifying events are held: Savage Race Chicago, July 30 Conquer the Gauntlet Des Moines, August 5 Both have obstacles that are unique compared to other obstacle race series and will be fun no matter what happens. I'd love to qualify before then, but these are the most likely based on skill and expected competition. What will it take for me to get there? It's time to call what I'm doing Dedication To My Craft. I have a running plan, an obstacle coach and a fantastic facility in which to train, and a great gym where I do my conventional training (lifting, boot camp). Josh, the coach at Obstacle Academy, elite competitor with my North Star Spartans team and Pro qualifier with 100% obstacle completion at last year's OCRWC, , is willing to help me get there. He's working with me on Conquer The Gauntlet's Stairway to Heaven and Pegatron obstacles and has offered to review my run training plan and modify as necessary. And I'm going to listen to every damn word he has to say. Goal: Road Training Whatever, Inigo, in the Star Wars universe, the right hand is the first thing to go. I have a metric boatload of road races during this challenge. At least that should keep me training. The plan for this challenge: Week Zero: 7 miles Monday, 3 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 10 miles Saturday (Hot Dash 10-miler). Week 1: 3 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 5 miles Saturday (O'Gara's Irish Run 8k). Week 2: 3 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 6 miles Saturday or Sunday. Week 3: 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 10 miles weekend (Goldy's Run). Week 4: 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 3 miles Saturday (Parkrun), 8 miles Sunday. This is the schedule. Stick to it, or stop searching for the Six Fingered Man. Goal: Strength Training It may not be sportsmanlike, but I suggest you let the Wookie win. Because of all the road races, I won't be able to make it consistently to Boot Camp on Saturday mornings. However, I'm creating a weekly Workout of the Week (WOW) for the Obstacle Course Racers Accountabilibuddies group. I'll incorporate those workouts into my training plan. This will replace Boot Camp on Mondays and potentially weekends if I ever have one where I am not running myself into the ground. The plan for this challenge: Part 1: Week Zero: Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday Week 1: OCR WOW Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, Obstacle Academy Friday Week 2: OCR WOW Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, HIIT Friday, Boot Camp Saturday, Spartan Workout Tour Sunday Week 3: Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, HIIT Friday, Obstacle Academy Friday Week 4: OCR WOW Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, OCR WOW Wednesday, Star Wars Celebration Thursday and Friday Part 2: Continuing the Grease the Groove training method I stole gratuitously from @Big_Show. I'll be recording the total number of pull-ups completed every day, not just full dead-hang strict pull-ups. This should be a double-digit number daily or I'm not trying. Goal: Plate Training Macros, refined by Traci, my trainer at C4: This is a plan that will allow me to achieve my goals, provided that I listen to my coach and trainer and put in the work. Pictured: goals.

The Scarlet Pimpernel has been recruited by Jack Bauer to work at the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles and help him take down the latest terrorist threat. In order to succeed the team faces several challenges: Track Down the Terrorists (Food Tracking) record all food eaten each day using my fitness pal We'll also enlist the help of the public in this effort ... for some added accountability, please become a My Fitness Pal friend! add nturner235 or comment with your MFP username and I'll add you! Get Clean (Continue With No Sweets) No sweets as a general rule. Consider some seldom exceptions if planned ahead and a reasonable serving fitting calorie goals (trying to balance keeping my success avoiding sugar from last challenge with a sustainable life-long habit) Execute Tactical Strikes (Complete NF Flexibility Benchmark Challenge) Pretty straightforward. I thought about jumping into regular workouts again, but I think I've still got a fair amount of effort I need to put in with diet, and I'm worried I'd get hurt because I think my flexibility has gotten even worse than it already was these past few months, so this will be preparatory to getting back into regular workouts. Also I may hold off until week 2 to start, as we are away for April and I'd like a consistent measure. Monitor the Chatter (Track Actions Per Day - APD) This has been working pretty well for me as far as encouraging me to make healthier choices. Goal is to beat last month's average by getting at least 6/day Play the Political Game (Complete 1 or More Mindset Quests Per Week) Good orders need to come from the top, so I'll continue going through the mindset modules and completing the quests Find the Mole (Bonus Quests) Try something new - I'll be spending most of this challenge in a new town, so I'd like to try some new activity while I'm there Parkour exercises/animal walks - bonus points for any parkour prep I do Meet macro targets - bonus points for each day I get within 10% of my macro targets (I'm focusing more on calories right now, but want to start thinking about macros too) Participate in the mini challenge - They're awesome and right now supply most of my exercise. 'Nuff said And finally, the most important question to ask..... WHERE'S THE BOMB!?!?

Thanks to Tank, this challenge has a loose theme built around moving and changing. And Madagascar, though I've never *gasp* actually seen the whole movie. I have, however, seen the song referenced I'm sure there will be more of these. Ok. So ... since I'm moving in 20 days, this challenge is going to be all about change. Again. I feel like change is all I ever freaking do lately (or at least for the past year - first blowing up my life to take a coding bootcamp, then the fallout of that, and now I'm moving boroughs - life has not been status-quo for quite awhile now). And with this change, knowing myself, I need to focus on a few things: 1. Be nice to myself. Change freaks me out. 2. Be nice, but not *too* nice lest we subsist off of pizza & hoagies for weeks in the new place. 3. Allow myself to not freak out about shit during this move. It's okay. It's all for fun. Life is long and all that. Goals this cycle are a rollover from last - shoving new things into the mix now when life is getting ready to be flipped upside down yet again is a recipe for disaster. As a refresher: Goal 1: Work Out However this happens, it happens. I'm still aiming for an hour-long yoga class 2x a week - 1 hot; 1 not. As it's been, Wednesday is not-hot yoga - Friday is hot yoga. My not-hot yoga instructor is leaving any day to have a human, so this may or may not throw an additional monkey wrench into my plans. Also: move week I'm not forcing myself to find a class if I can't handle life. Goal 2: Macros I've been mostly keto for the past few months, and am sticking to that. It's working well for me. I need to remember during move week that I feel like absolute shit if I go off the rails (especially if I then eat way too much). This is going to be tricky to remember in the face of new delivery options. Goal 3: Job Stuff The ultimate goal is to find a full-time one. In the meantime ... Continue teaching 2x a week (and figure out if I'll have the opportunity to continue in future classes - plus when those will be). Continue my 5x a week CSS coding exercises until that challenge ends. Pick my Daily JavaScript challenge thing back up when CSS ends. Dedicate 5 - 10 hours a week (aim for 10) to writing copy for my old boss. Continue to do a nominal amount of work for the free company until we launch and/or start making money. Ideally, start on the Version 2 revamp. Continue to submit 10 applications a week and go on any interviews that garners. Attempt to add some weeknight networking meetups in place of Wednesday night yoga (and move Wednesday night yoga to another time) after teacher has bounced. Goal 4: Minimize Move day is the 27th. Until then, pack and minimize. Minimize and pack. When in doubt, throw it out.

I've been on a roll since the holidays with my training and diet, so I'm hoping to use this challenge to reenergize myself to keep heading in the right direction toward my goal of 10% body fat/185 pound body weight. I currently stick strictly to my diet during the week but don't pay too much attention during the weekends. I'm not horrible, but there is damage being done that I'd like to clean up. I have several projects happening in my house that will need attention this year, so I'm including a couple of tasks that need to be done by March 10, which is our carpet installation date. I have decided to give (mild) minimalism a try, so I'm starting small and trying to reduce my wardrobe a bit. I don't know that I need 20 workout tees, hilarious as some of them were when I bought them. Finally, I have taken a couple of years off from performing a feature length comedy and magic show, but have decided to get back up on stage and do my thing in 2017. I have my new show written, I just need a venue and a date so I can motivate myself to start rehearsing. Specific goals are: 1) Track calories and macros on weekends. 2) Paint the wall that I forgot to paint and vacuum/mop the entire floor on March 9th to be ready for carpet installation on March 10th. 3) Create an "Essential Wardrobe List" and sort wardrobe into On The List/Donate/Discard piles. 3a) Donate/Discard anything not on the List. 4) Contact 5 venues for pricing and availability in October, and schedule site visits ASAP.

Welcome back to a Galaxy Far, Far Away. While this is a new challenge cycle, the goals are pretty much the same, because consistency builds habits, which leads to progress, which leads to success. Consistency will take focus, and this man told this annoying kid something really important about that: And, unlike much of what was scripted for his little green Master, he's not patently wrong. Main Goal I'm going to Blue Mountain, Ontario, in October for the 2017 OCR World Championships. Anyone who finishes three or more qualifying races in a single year can register to race as a Journeyman. I could register right now. I want to qualify as an Age Group competitor instead, meaning I have to earn my spot through competition. Sweet Baby Jesus, look at those things. I hope they are just as awesome again this year. I have my sights set on two possible qualifying races this year: Savage Race Chicago, July 30 Conquer the Gauntlet Des Moines, August 5 Every road race I am signed up for leading up to these events is a training run and I will be disappointed if I don't set a PR every time out. I don't have any timed road races during this cycle. I do have my first two Spartan Races of the year: I did this venue last year and it was awesome. It was also just as hot and cactus-y as it looks in this picture and yes, cactus spines are a pain in the wherever. Last year, when I earned a 5x Spartan Trifecta, I had my sights set on three mountain races that kicked my butt, and I considered all the other races training runs for those three. Not this year. In 2017, every Obstacle Course Race I am signed up for leading up to Savage and Conquer are going to be run at red-line. That means I am running back-to-back days in potential 85 degree heat as hard as I can and taking as few breathers as possible. We'll see how that works out. In my favor is the fact that the course is hilly but not mountainous, but that also works in the favor of actual runners, so there's that. Whether I wind up qualifying or not, this will be a good early indication of whether anything I've been doing - accumulating miles, weight training, obstacle training at Obstacle Academy - have helped at all, and it will help identify existing weaknesses. I'm more than just fairly obstacle-proficient; at any given race, I expect to complete nearly every obstacle. But right now, at my best, I am a middle-of-the-pack runner. This year I am focusing on Becoming Faster while Staying Strong and Improving My Endurance. And I am doing this by continuing What I Know Works. Goal: Road Training The plan for this challenge: Week 1: 3 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 8 miles weekend. Week 2: 3 miles Tuesday, 4 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday. Weekend run will be replaced by Spartan Race. Week 3: 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 9 miles weekend. Week 4: 3 miles Tuesday, 5 miles Wednesday, 3 miles Thursday, 10 miles weekend. This is the schedule. Period. If I think I will have issues sticking to the schedule, I should probably find a way to get ahead of the schedule on any given week. Goal: Strength Training Part 1: Week 1: Boot camp Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, HIIT Friday, Obstacle Academy Saturday Week 2: Boot Camp Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Light Body Weight Workout Friday, Spartan Race Saturday/Sunday Week 3: Boot Camp Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, HIIT Friday, Boot Camp Saturday Week 4: Boot Camp Monday, Lift Day Tuesday, Lift Day Thursday, HIIT Friday, Boot Camp Saturday Part 2: I will be working on my pull-up proficiency to get back what I had two years ago (and surpass it). I have a pull-up bar at home. Every time I pass through the door, I need to do a couple. Not to failure, I'm stealing the Grease the Groove training method from @Big_Show. I'll be recording the total number of pull-ups completed every day, not just full dead-hang strict pull-ups. This should be a double-digit number daily or I'm not trying. Goal: Plate Training More of What I Know Works, but I'm refining this, because I work with smart people. This will take more discipline but account for variation in my activity levels. This means I'm going to have to do full, weekly meal planning and pre-preparation. This is a ramp-up of what I've been doing. I know it works. And I know that given the proper amount of focus, I can achieve my goals. Pictured: goals.

Holla, 2017 2016 was a weird year. (in part because of the support I gained from all you lovely Rebels), I hit the eject button have had a complete life change in the last 365 days. in 2016 I Quit my comfortable but unfulfilling job in marketing/design/copywriting Took a 3-month immersive bootcamp to learn the skills necessary to transition into a career in web development Have since undergone the most grueling job hunt I have ever had - including the rough post-college hunt Have gone from on top of my macros game to completely letting that fall by the wayside due to school stress to having dug my way out of the hole I created Have monkeyed with said metrics to transition from paleo to keto (and am still playing around with them for optimization) Have gone from a 5x a week workout schedule to nothing at all during school and a whole host of body crapiness that ensued, to kiiiiinda digging my way back out of that hole Started (assistant) teaching front-end web development at my alma mater Have shattered my comfort zone through: leaving the house (I used to work from home and am a natural hermit), going to a school every damn day with humans in it, forcing myself to attend networking events upon networking events, forcing myself on job interview after job interview, and now putting myself out there as someone who knows enough of what they are doing to be able to teach other humans Have worked really damn hard on not being quite so hyper critical of myself and my abilities in an effort to stay sane during this job hunt Have worked really hard on reaching out to my Nerds for support when I've fallen down on that last one Went to CAAAAAMP and met some of my Internet Friends IRL - with Hugs! And got to tell the NF team in person just how damn much this community means to me - through that, I practiced a whoooooole lot of gratitude in a short amount of time And that's it? Up for 2017 Get a damn job that involves trading services for actual money Minimalize the shit out of my stuff in prep for a move in late February/early March Continue on with yoga - I've got 9 classes of hot yoga that need booking before the move! Aim to add deadlifts & rings into my schedule with the new gym (providing that *is* the new gym - it has barbells and a spot to hang rings) Explore the new neighborhood - wherever it is Work on slooooooowly re-incorporating rucking into my rotation (of course there will be videos) - slowly so I don't roach my shoulder yet again Continually work on my self-criticalness -- especially during the remaining (and hopefully waning) parts of this job hunt Find ways to actively work on cultivating and improving my IRL relationships (Internet ones, too, but that's much easier) Continue to build a presence in the NYC tech community Find more ways to mentor and/or teach since that is a great way to rip the last of my comfort zone out from under myself Travel asap Keep learning in some fashion Keep practicing This Challenge Cycle My goals will look familiar. I'm operating yet again under 'no damn free time in the evenings' protocols, so I'm rolling with the punches comfort v schedule-wise. Goal 1: Work Out Yoga classes 2x a week Something else 1x a week - this can be either a quick Darebee bodyweight workout in the kitchen while doing job stuff, a supplemental video yoga class, or - lord forbid - an HIIT video in the gym. Maybe throw in a ruck if it's not too freezing and my shoulder isn't cranky. Goal 2: Macros Track macros. Stick with keto. Play with fat ratios. All tracking will be done on my Spreadsheet of Keto Awesomeness and involves doughnut charts. Goal 3: Get A Job Continue to apply for 10 - 15 jobs a week Attend networking events as time allows Find and work on side projects - on the list: continuing a 30-day vanilla JavaScript course, picking up PHP, working on SVG animations, building some pure layout sites using various shiny new technologies (either ways of approaching responsiveness, load time or accessibility), working on some pure layout designs that have really tricky elements because they are beautiful, and working on some great full-workup UI sites for business just because. I will also look into picking up some sort of side hustle to generate some supplemental income. Goal 4: Other Life Shit Here is where I will work on all those other goals - starting with minimalism. Dog pics forthcoming.