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It’s time for another round of “I’m not prepared for the Insane Inflatable 5k!” Woohoo! To remedy this, I need to get out. I’m not super concerned about being able to run it, because I’m with a great group of people and we’re all cool with walking/running/jogging/whatever so long as we all have fun. What I do not want to do is *die* while climbing up the inflatables. Last year, because I’m a doofus, I did this 3 months post-partum and skipped the last few obstacles. It was just too much, so rather than, ya know, pass out, I walked around them. (it was also really hot last year...) This year, we opted for an earlier wave, I am almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight (though not my pre-pregnancy fitness), and my goal is to be able to climb up and bounce down all of the obstacles - even if that means walking between them. A few things I can think of to prepare include: Going out for walks with bebe, making sure they are more vigorous than “strolling with the stroller” walks a couple times a week Going out for a short jog once or twice a week While out for a walk or jog, stop at the middle school (great since school will be out next week) for a mini circuit with inverted rows, incline push ups, and wobbly balance beam trickery. Running up my staircase when I have to go upstairs - I will not run down them, even in grippy shoes because I had a pretty bad fall once upon a time a while a go, but if I run up them, that can help condition my legs for some of the climbs up the inflatables and also help with some endurance (because, maaaan…. I am soooo out of breath walking up our stupid stairs. I just need to warn my husband I’m doing this so he doesn’t think I’m dying every time I go upstairs…) And so…

I just want an excuse to dump random GIFs of my favorite drag queen, Katya. But anyway, I'm Raptron. I do gymnastics, lift heavy shit, and sometimes sign myself up for weird endurance events even though I don't like training for them even a little bit. DOING them is always fun, but it's proooobably less fun if you aren't physically prepared, right? 1. Be the person that you don’t think that you have the time to try to figure out how to be even though you can’t, but you want to. *Run 2x per week *One must be 5+ miles! 2. Why try new things when I can try... nothing? *Conditioning circuit 1x per week (CLIMBING WILL COUNT IF I EVER CLIMB AGAIN) 3. I don’t know anything about science other than it’s really good for you *Eat for ligament and tendon health with the following... *Cruciferous veg 5x week *Walnuts or pumpkin seeds 3x per week *Fatty fish (sardines or salmon) 2x per week 4. Home is where the dumpster is *Run the dishwasher every Wednesday *Deep clean all cabinets/drawers in the kitchen because DOWN WITH PANTRY MOTHS! But yeah, the next 4 weeks are going to be focused on getting ready (and #stayingready) for the Bone Frog Tier-1 race I'm doing on May 20 in western MA. Of all the obstacle course races I've done, this one is by far my favorite, but I only did the 9 mile distance last year and this year I am doing the 11 mile one. Which isn't ALL that much more distance, but last year it did involve going up the steepest face of the ski mountain twice rather than once... soooo it's a lot of the hard stuff packed into one tight little area. Let's go!

It's been almost 1 year since I began my NF journey. From the very beginning I knew that my ultimate goal was to embody the ways of the Assassins. Every building can be climbed, every gap can be jumped, every obstacle can be conquered. I never really thought I could do these things, but after a year of accomplishments and healthy habits I am ready to jump in and Join the Assassin (obstacle course race) Syndicate. Age will not be an excuse, nor fear. MAIN QUEST Get my body and mind ready to complete my first Obstacle Course race. GOAL 1: Combat Upgrade To get my body ready to be worthy of being a member of the Syndicate I will need to push myself physically. I will be following the Spartan Trial workout on Darebee.com. By the end of this challenge I will have completed 24 workouts (or 6 per week). I can substitute one of the Spartan workouts for an obstacle course class. +4 status points (or 1 per week) likely 2 STR, 1 STA and 1 DEX. GOAL 2: Evie's Notebook Proper fuel is needed to make the most out of my workouts, aid in recovery, and lean out. i have learned that my body functions well on a high fat, moderate protein plan. Keep carbs low is needed to lose fluff and kill sugar cravings. So, I will track my macros every day and enter every recipe I try into MyFitnessPal. 28 days of tracking a STA status point (mental stamina) while 28 days of low carbs (below 60g) will earn CON status points. GOAL 3: Jacob's Bottle Collection Ah, water. I always struggle to with hydration but know the benefits are plenty. I will be starting small by challenging myself to drink 3 cups of water every day (1 cup of herbal tea may be subbed for 1 of the waters). Jacob's bottle collection earned him a snazzy belt so my collection will do the same. 84 cups of water will earn me a steampunk belt for my next cosplay along with CON status points. LIFE GOALS: Rook Recruits & the Train Hideout I love the Syndicate and want to help Jacob recruit more Rooks to our cause. So I will be an Assassin Ambassador to help new rebels in their leveling journey. I will follow at least 5 rebels and contact them at least twice a week. WIS status point will be earned. It's time to donate, sell or pitch some items in the Train Hideout (basement) to make the space for a new exercise room. I will read the Konmari book during this challenge, put away all the Christmas decorations, and clear off an entire shelf unit in the Train Hideout. WIS status point will be earned.

Hey everyone! Just throwing this out there in case someone is in the area. Sign ups are open for Erie's 5k Glow Run, which is on May 29th, and for the 10k obstacle course, Barber Beast on the Bay, held on September 10th. I signed up for both. Never did an obstacle course before, but I'm really excited about it! Here's links to both if you want to sign up! https://runsignup.com/Race/Events/PA/Erie/GlowErieFunRun http://www.barberbeast.org Edit: 1-27-16 My bad, it's not a 10k race, it's a 10 mile race

I'm back! ..... well to the rebellion. It's actually my first time posting with the scouts. I figured that since the majority of the activities I was doing were endurance based (running, biking, swimming) shouldn't I be with the scouts? So here I am! At the end of august is my first spartan race of the year - but that's not the end of my fitness journey. After my spartan races this year, I'm switching gears towards more personal challenges. So that's what I'm going to focus this challenge on. My goal next year - attempt to break the fkt for the presidential traverse. Goal #1 - hit the trails once per week If you've never heard of the presidential traverse, it's a traverse of the presidential mountains, or most of them, in new Hampshire. That's some serious mountains. Most my running for the last 6 months have been on the road and my body needs to adjust. 6 weeks = +4 STA 4-5 weeks = +3 STA 3 weeks = +1 STA Goal #2 - CLIMB THOSE STAIRS The advice I give to anyone wanting to hike more mountains? It's the elevation, not the miles that will kill you. I looked at the GPS track from the current record holder, and the first 3.83 miles are all uphill, with almost half of the elevation change for the whole course! There's 1 mountain near me, so either hit that mountain, or hit the stair mill at the gym for 45 minutes (secretly, this would be my ideal time for that initial elevation gain) 6 weeks of hills = +4 STR 4-5 weeks = +3 STR 3 weeks = +1 STR Goal #3 - condition like a convict I ran into the book "convict conditioning" and really like the exercises. So two days a week, I'm going to pick 3 of the exercise progressions and do whatever is at my level. One of these must be the pull up progression. 3x for 6 weeks = +3 CHA 5 weeks = +2 CHA 4 weeks = _1 CHA Life goal - clean up my diet It's time to get back on track. I dropped out of the last challenge because I got complacent and I apparently felt like proving it's possible to be an unhealthy vegetarian. Each week I will make a healthy meal that is new to me, and EAT IT. 6 new meals = +4 CON 4-5 new meals = +3 CON 3 meals = +1 CON

I don't have everything properly planned out yet, but should finalise this weekend. I had an "image make-over" or otherwise known as "I got tired of my look so I cut my hair and treated myself to some colour", now my youngest calls me "Jen the Super Wasp" after his favourite girl superhero in Avengers. Well, 2nd favourite after The Black Widow. I can't stand those shoes full yet.

Hello All ! I've been a looonnggg time lurker , first time post(poster?) now. I'm hoping I don't break any protocol rules here.. but I figured it might be better to post than not to ! And away we go.. I'm 22 years of age. 5'4" . Got *GROSSLY* obese over a period of around 4 years post 14~15 years of age after I qualified for a premier engineering institute ( have always been a little pudgy , gained all that extra weight due to a lot of sitting on my arse and studying and being an egotistical little chump and not going out to even hang out with people , forget getting in my weekly exercise .) I call this the POMPOUS PEAK point in my life Found NF exactly a year ago today. Not that just finding the website was enough motivation for my triflin' ass appetite and laziness. I graduated with a weapons engineer degree ( Bachelors degree is considered graduation in my country , India btw. ) in the top 5 of my class but got rejected in a ..shall we say humiliating .. yep , extremely humiliating manner at the physical test when I applied to my dream job. We were supposed to run 7 km , I was wheezing like the oxygen had been drained out of the air by 1 km itself. Cried my broken heart ( more like broken ego) out for a week a.k.a the CRYBABY REVOLUTION. Then slapped myself figuratively and literally and got to getting my fat arse in shape. I have been doing a lot of running around. Apart from designated ' exercise time' , have been leaving my car at home and walking to places within 2 km of my place. Cycling to places within 10 km. Taking the car to places further off from that. Threw away all the junk food the night of the CRYBABY REVOLUTION in my life . Haven't eaten any for the last year except 3 slices of cake .. one for my birthday , one for my parent's anniversary , one for my grandmother's birthday. I went completely paleo for 8 months , post which I have been incorporating cottage cheese and a drugstore-variety probiotic drink . I did a 'Nature Trail' 4 months ago. 5 km. Walked , didn't run . Came in last. Took 95 mintues extra after the runner before me. But I wasn't wheezing ! At all. Did a Lake Trail run last monday. 11 km. Walked ( Power walked.. or fast-walked would be a better term) the first 5 km . Ran the next 6. Came in 27th ( Total of 50 runners.) I've gifted myself a gym membership today. Worked out a plan that has lifting , cardio and yoga in it , haven't hired a personal trainer or anything like that yet , want to give it a shot on my own . Will still stick to running nature trails plus this. Just won't be running more than 4km everyday. For starters . I'm not sure if we are supposed to post about our emotional development as well...but I'm going to write it down . I'll edit it out immediately if it's not supposed to be posted . Just let me know . Anywho .. have apologised to my friends who I dumped so unceremoniously at the pompous peak . I must've done something really good in my previous lives because they were gracious enough to not only take me back but to be an active part of my daily workout routine ! Almost all of them are running alongside me ( though majority of them are waaayyyyy faster than I am. ) We all take turns organising hiking trips every weekend. Found my dapper , supportive and most importantly super-nerdy boyfriend amongst all the reconnection. My relationship with my parents has improved tremendously as well. Especially since I have taken the ardous task of cooking for all of us off my lovely mother's hands. Adopted Tarrant , who is the cutest , most supportive and hyperactive dog to have ever existed , hands down . Bonus point .. have somehow managed to develop a sense of humor . Went from being Snobby McSnob to Scobby Doo. I quite like being Scobby Doo Posting here was a sort of catharsis for me . And I would love to know your opinion on what else I could add to my routine/ or change in it. P.S. I will be moving to Finland in September 2015 . I have noticed there aren't that many Indian NFers , but if any are in Finland ( or anywhere a train ride away) .. I look forward to connecting with you ! TL;DR : Lost around 100 lbs by changing my diet and running , running and more running.Went from being a pompous crybaby to a decent human being.Getting closer to my dream job.Would love to hear whatever advice you want to give.Still trying to find the courage to post my timeline of weightloss , will do that soon ! P.S.S : Just re-read the post , and I realise I forgot to mention..I'm female

I wasn't entirely sure where to post this. I may cross post into my own battle log just to keep track of the ideas in case it ends up happening in a non-affiliated way, but... Side note - I have a feeling something like this is happening at Camp NF, which I'm not attending. That being the case, I'd like to keep this separate from that as well. In light of one rebel's recent experience at a poorly run Spartan Race, I've decided to put some ideas I've been having for a new obstacle race on paper. The concept is basically having a race designed around different specializations, rather than a single standard race that only fits a specific type of athlete (which seems to either be Assassin or Scout these days). Also, this is a fairly complex idea, so I apologize in advance for the length. I'm going to save a few posts beneath this first one for updates. The Concept: The idea behind an obstacle/adventure race is to challenge the participant and force him/her to test his/her boundaries. It seems to me that outside side of the more extreme races (IE - The Death Race, which was created by the person who went on to create the Spartan Race and is a bigger testament to his original concept), this idea has been lost in most, if not all of them at this point. The Spartan Race has lost it in the Sprints, but regains it in the longer races. The problem there is that it still only fits a single type of athlete - the Ranger/Assassin who also enjoys semi-long distance running (IE - not me, lol). So how do we change that? Adaptive races. This concept could follow the class system that the Rebellion already uses. Several different courses that range in length that focus on the skills that each class has, or is seeking to acquire. The Scout race would be longer and require mostly endurance style obstacles. The Assassin race would incorporate Parkour. The Ranger race could be designed more like a traditional Spartan Race. The Warrior one would focus more on strength-based challenges (and less on running, think more powerlifting meet). The Druid and Monk ones are TBD, and the Adventurer's one would incorporate ideas from all of them. The Details: Here's a break down of my general ideas for each race. Warrior "Race" - The race for warriors would probably more closely resemble a lifting meet than a race. Powerlifting challenges, maybe a Farmer's Carry, some movement between challenges. End with a stretching challenge haha. Distance not important. Assassin Race - A Parkour challenge course. This would be pretty basic. An obstacle course specifically designed with Parkour in mind. You could have it set up for specific vaults, or simply include the obstacles and allow the participants to choose now they navigate it. Also including climbing and some body weight challenge. Probably about 3K? Ranger Race - This would probably more closely resemble the traditional Spartan Race, with a series of strength- and endurance-based obstacles that would need to be met over the distance of about 5K. Incorporate some lifting, some body weight, some movement-based challenge. Scout Race - I'm thinking either an 8K or 12K footrace or a triathlon. This isn't really my area of expertise. Monk Race - Uhhhh... 3K with sparring/martial arts-focused challenges? No idea. Druid Race - Also not sure... a 3K with yoga-based challenge? Adventurer's Race - This one would incorporate challenges from all of the above. I'd think... about the length of a 5K with at least 5 challenges from each of the other races... some lifting, some endurance, some body weight/parkour, etc. The Problems: Okay, so there are a lot of problems with this idea. A traditional obstacle/adventure race is a single course, which is relatively easy to set up. This wouldn't be, plain and simple. Other issues are funding, location, and timing. The larger Spartans have multiple heats that take place over two days. If this were just a trial were do you have it where people can participate and spectate/stay overnight? How much would entry cost? How much does renting the space and setting up an obstacle/adventure race cost? Things I just don't know. The Rest: What are your ideas? Is this something NF should look into? Is it something we as a community should look into? What do we do for the Monk and Druid races? Are there ways to improve these? What about specific challenges/obstacles?

Hey Nerds, I'm running Tough Mudder in Lake Tahoe on 8/16/14. I'm wondering if any other nerds are running it as well. I'm running with group of friends (Team Name: Tutu Pirates), but it seems like none of them are taking it seriously, i.e., they haven't really been training and they're not really cognizant of what they're getting themselves into (distance, elevation, intensity of obstacles, etc). I'm pretty certain it's going to be slow going with them, but I've come to terms with it. I'm just going to go out and have fun with it. I'd love to meet up with other nerds if any are going. Tough Mudder Tahoe -roninspirit

I was going to be doing a Tough Mudder on the 19th but after doing a Warrior Dash on the 12th, I realized I was not even close to being ready for the Tough Mudder. So with that, I transferred my registration to an event in 2015 and need help getting ready. So far this is my workout that I am thinking of doing, but I know I need to do more. Any ideas? It has to be a home-based workout that doesn't involve anything other than body weight stuff. I will eventually - hopefully in the next month, get some sand and concrete to make additional milk jug weights, but that will be all that I have. I can NOT have a pull up bar in my apartment - no doors it would work going over nor a door frame for it to work on. Cardio - running(Zombies, Run and/or C25K) Abs - planks, straight leg leg raises, flutter kicks Arms - push-ups Legs - walking lunges I am not sure on the number of reps or sets or any of that as of right now either, so input on my idea's would be awesome: The running is a predetermined program so not worried about that. Planking I am thinking of 2 sets of 30 seconds each, Straight leg leg raises I am thinking of starting out with 2 sets of 20, Flutter kicks I am thinking of starting out with 2 sets of 20 each leg, Push-ups I am thinking of doing 1 set of 10 normal and 1 set of 15 kneeling, Walking lunges I am thinking of doing 2 sets of 10 each leg.

Hi all, I noticed several people are training for Spartan Races or other obstacle course races, so I thought I'd try putting a team together in the accountabilibuddies section. If you'd like to sign up, here's the link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnL943o3CTUvdEJDT3Vvdkc5Rzk4VUdRbXFWcHNvQXc#gid=1

Hi all, Looking to set up a team for folks training for a Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, or other obstacle course race during the 6 week challenge. Also posted it in the Google Docs. Mileage + weights, what could be better? Here's the link to the team sign up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AnL943o3CTUvdEJDT3Vvdkc5Rzk4VUdRbXFWcHNvQXc#gid=1

I signed up for Mudhero, a 6K, 18 obstacle course. I have never done anything like this before and its going to be a blast! But, even though it'll be a messy bit of fun, I want to train hard to make each obstacle. Has anyone ever participated in something like and might have a few pointers as to what I could do in the meantime to prepare? It would be much appreciated