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Holding to see if something witty comes to me this weekend... Edit: When in doubt, Internet cats. Overarching Goal Hasn't changed - still trying to get my body comp where I want it through tight-ish metrics + building strength to be able to do all the OCR-related things I want to do. I realize I *could* accomplish this goal faster by adhering to stricter weekend metrics and incorporating more intense workouts, but I'm lazy at heart - let's just stick to doing what I can do and to upping the baseline intensity level, rather than attacking a heavy-duty something all at once and fizzling out because no one's watching/my program has ended/I lose interest. Goal 1: Fitness Like always. Since I'm trying to claw my way out of a little motivation slump at the beginning of this challenge, I think I'll focus on building the toolkit of cool shit I want to be able to do. And I have a 5-miler to train-ish for on Thanksgiving. Cool Shit Toolkit Pistol Squats Real (not wall) handstands (knowing me, I'll be working on back walkovers right after) Yoga headstand Better/longer/more consistent crow + variations (like flying pigeon)Pull-up (unassisted)Chin-up (unassisted)Bow pose (better - knees up farther)Finally sitting on my damn toesFlat-heeled down dogMaybe someday finally getting into a full splitBetter, longer planksHigher quantity of push-upsMore realized dancer pose for more than a few seconds without falling Goal 2: Metrics Metrics make me happy and they work for me, so I'm sticking with them. As a refresher, my metrics are: 100 grams or under of carbs, 70 grams or over of protein, under 100 grams of fat and around 1500 calories. Water is the recommended by FitBit 64 ounces, and on the weekends I like my step count to be over FitBit’s recommended 10,000. I track food with My Fitness Pal and exercise, sleep and water with the FitBit Flex. Weight and BF are tracked with my FitBit Aria scale. FitBit. I also use a combo of FitBit + Runkeeper + Zombies, Run! To track my workouts, though I'm thinking of dropping Runkeeper and who knows what will happen when iOS8 and the new Apple Health comes out. I'm sure I'll be jumping at least some of these ships in favor of that, if it's as awesome as advertised. Goal 3: Other Shit This 'other shit' goal worked well for me last challenge. While I didn't get anything actually crossed off my list, I *did* make progress toward most of these goals. I need to continue on that track. Whittle more things out of the house - I'd like to clear enough off of a bookcase to get rid of it. Continue the leaving my house on weekdays (maybe even sometimes without my hubby) and being at least somewhat social. Work on the damn scarf I've been knitting for 2 years now. Finish before Spring? Continue streamlining my wardrobe/getting rid of shit I don't need/getting things that are too big for me altered so they're not wasting space/get the shoes I need cobbled cobbled.Drag the clothes I'm donating out of the closets they came out of out the door and to the donation place.

Ok, this challenge is going to be simple and straightforward. I probably will not do anything with the run-on story. And I will be online less than I have been for the previous 9 months. We moved. I am really enjoying being back in my home town in Minnesota. I love the new house. Life is good, but it is also really busy with unpacking and decorating, new jobs, and tons of fun things to do. I don't think I really fully grasped how limited my life (especially social) had become. I have already auditioned for (and made it into) the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra's Chorale!! It's a complete change in my life!!! And I hope that this will curtail emotional eating and drinking and make it easier to get out to exercise and just MOVE more. Moving to the city where I wanted to live marks also a new direction/philosophy in my life. I'm not waiting to be rescued anymore. Last challenge, I got a wake up call and realized that I'd become very passive. I was always waiting to be noticed and asked to take on roles and activities that I wanted. That shit is DONE. Auditioning for the chorale was another step in saving myself. Boom! I'm on a roll. So, here's heading for 33% body fat by the end of the challenge as my main, overarching goal. How?? 1) Strength Training. I have a set of free-weight and body weight workouts for 3+ days per week. That's process stuff. The GOAL for the end of the challenge is to do a pull up/chin up with only 25 pounds of assistance. Having shifted gyms (along with cities), I am looking at options and may have to ask one of the trainers for help. There is an assisted chin up machine at the location I visited yesterday, but it's different than the one I was using. (+3 STR) 2) Running 5Ks. I like running and am working through the C25K, ZR5K, and ZR apps to keep building up stamina and speed. I'm planning on the Harvest Run for October 11th but won't sign up until after I find out how my mom's surgery (back) goes on October 6th. (+2 STA, +1 DEX) 3) Cleaning up diet using the Anti-Aging Diet (Elizabeth Somer) guidelines. Eating fruits and veggies and whole grains and low-fat calcium sources and protein. Not counting calories this time - just working on eating cleaner and avoiding sweets and alcohol. I do have a way to track 6 objectives per day and will report on those daily. (+2 CON, +1 WIS) 4) Sign up for and go to TKD classes. I have a studio in mind and have to go see Master Chris about joining. I never have a weight problem when I'm doing martial arts a couple times per week. (+1 WIS, +2 DEX) 5) Do a chapter (plus exercises) in the Staging Your Comeback book (Christopher Hopkins). I would like to look very stylish for my daughter's wedding ... tentatively slated for next fall (?). But I think I also need to start looking like an adult now that I'm out of grad school and am teaching. (+3 CHA) Short and sweet!

Ok, so no theme this time. I thought about a Friday The 13th thing, but finding appropriate/fitnessy memes sounded exhausting. So: dragons. Dragons are always good. Plus, this way I get to search for dragons every morning before jumping into work. Booonus! Deviant Art, here I come! Overarching Goal Hasn't changed - still trying to get my body comp where I want it through tight-ish metrics + building strength to be able to do all the OCR-related things I want to do. I realize I *could* accomplish this goal faster by adhering to stricter weekend metrics and incorporating more intense workouts, but I'm lazy at heart - let's just stick to doing what I can do and to upping the baseline intensity level, rather than attacking a heavy-duty something all at once and fizzling out because no one's watching/my program has ended/I lose interest. Goal 1: Fitness I actually didn't do bad on my 'choose your own adventure' workout schedule last challenge, much to my shock. So … I'm going to go down that track a little further. I still want to work on doing an unassisted pull-up, I think the Spartan 30 challenges are kind of fun, the Spartan daily WODs are good for me (but intimidating), I love me some nerdy bodyweight routines, HasFit is fantastic, and I want to continue on with the mix of cardio/bodyweight/light weights/specific movements/yoga I'm already doing and see where that gets me. I'll be pulling from: Spartan WODs, HasFit, Neila Rey, and other places as I see them - my yoga class, for sure. Upcoming Races: Merrill Down N' Dirty OCR - October 5 Color Run 5k - October 18 Goal 2: Metrics Metrics make me happy and they work for me, so I'm sticking with them. As a refresher, my metrics are: 100 grams or under of carbs, 70 grams or over of protein, under 100 grams of fat and around 1500 calories. Water is the recommended by FitBit 64 ounces, and on the weekends I like my step count to be over FitBit’s recommended 10,000. I track food with My Fitness Pal and exercise, sleep and water with the FitBit Flex. Weight and BF are tracked with my FitBit Aria scale. FitBit. I also use a combo of FitBit + Runkeeper + Zombies, Run! To track my workouts, though I'm thinking of dropping Runkeeper and who knows what will happen when iOS8 and the new Apple Health comes out. I'm sure I'll be jumping at least some of these ships in favor of that, if it's as awesome as advertised. Goal 3: Get Your Shit Together I need to. I'm a grown-ass adult with responsibilities, short people that might notice if I no longer exist, and family members that totally don't want to deal with the headache of slogging through my shit should I croak unexpectedly. I should have a will made out. And know where all my important documents are located. To this end, the goal is to fill out the Get Your Shit Together stuff + enter all my other important crap into Evernote so I can actually find it (like my marriage license and the deed to my house - which may or may not be in a box at the bottom of one of my closets. Maybe I'll finally get that fireproof box my hubby has been wanting for years. UPDATE: GYST LIST Week 1: Will Week 2: Living Will Week 3: Life Insurance Week 4: Money Week 5: Details Week 6: Personal Items Other Goals Whittle more things out of the house - I'd like to clear enough off of a bookcase to get rid of it. This is going to take action, rather than planning. Continue the leaving my house on weekdays to at least think about being social trend.Work on the damn scarf I've been knitting for 2 years now. Finish before Spring? Continue streamlining my wardrobe/getting rid of shit I don't need/getting things that are too big for me altered so they're not wasting space/get the shoes I need cobbled cobbled.Drag the clothes I'm donating out of the closets they came out of out the door and to the donation place. Even if that means I have to backpack clothes out in batches every week on the way to the grocery store. Quit being lazy. This is a nebulous goal - more of a goalposts goal. I'll be reporting on progress, but won't be including this in my overall grading scheme. You know what? Screw that. This is a real goal. Worth up to 5 points. Internal dialogue edit: This is not a hard goal to accomplish in the grand scheme of life. Quit being lazy, dammit. Risk Internet failure less than a perfect grade. Now drop and give me burpees.

I'm traveling. And, don't have a ton of time to write up a challenge. But, here's my current thread. Spam away.

Back in 1998, a group of us started real life roleplaying as Jedi students. It was a great idea until some people took it too seriously .... or treated the idea as a total joke. I got into the best shape of my life and had a great time for 5 years - then I went to grad school and the Jedi groups spun out into forms that no longer work for me. But the whole idea of real life roleplay and fitness goals as done here has inspired me to reclaim the old dream. For the coming year, I have these broad goals: Run an adventure 5K (Zombie Run, Mudder, obstacle 5K, etc. – there is a zombie run in Minneapolis in July) · Running 1. Run 3 days per week and walk or easy elliptical/ stationary bike 3 other days with one rest day per week 2. Weekly: Run Bridge to 10K Week 1 Day 1 (10 min run, 1 minute walk) 3. Weekly time runs: Speed up running intervals from 15.5 min per mile (3.9 mph) to 8.1 min per mile 7.4 mph) (1 min per mile reduction per challenge) 4. 5K with start and stopping for obstacles or calisthenics (such as Angry Birds) 5. One trail run or walk each week – look for messy options, playgrounds, and nature preserve trails in wet conditions 6. Run in poor conditions · Strength training 1. Angry Birds three times per week 2. Meet with personal trainer candidates and pick one, sharing adventure run goal and getting a plan 3. Work the trainer’s plan 4. Practice crawling (military and/or bear crawl) weekly 5. Rock climbing weekly Clean up diet 1. Paleo/primal breakfast & buy a good blender for smoothies 2. Paleo/primal snacks 3. Paleo/primal lunches 6 of 7 days 4. Paleo/primal dinners 6 of 7 days 5. Cook home cooked meals 75% 6. Co-op membership 7. CSA membership and earn to cook locally available foods 8. Gardening Prepare for disaster 1. CSA membership 2. Self defense classes 3. First Aid/CPR/EMT training 4. Hunting/Fishing/Farming/Foraging 5. Lockpicking 6. Bug out bag and plan for rendezvous location (CSA farm?) 7. Stock for in place sheltering for 3 days 8. ??

"Sir, reporting as requested." "At ease, QuirkyDM. You're being activated. We have sensed an impending Kaiju breach. You're going to take care of it." Yes, sir. I'll deploy immed-" "Easy, son. This ain't no cakewalk. You gotta prepare first. Train hard, get ready. Then you go in." "OK, sir. But shouldn't I be out there now for when the Kaiju surfaces? Why are we waiting until it hits the cities?" "You'll be there right when it pops. It's not coming out until July 26th." "Wow, you can predict the date? And so far in advance!? That's great. Now we're in a 24 hour window." "Kaiju breach will be at 10am EST." "Fantastic, so we'll be on the lookout for where the breach occurs an-" "Here's the exact location you'll need to be at." "Alright, well, I'll be prepared for anything. Whether it's category 1 or 5-" "It's a category 3, the Beast." "OK, well fire breathing or flying, I'll be rea-." "Intelligence says it's going to resemble this Category 3, encountered a year ago. Here's videos of it and the likely challenges you'll face." "... With all this information, these Kaiju don't seem as scary as they used to.." "Son, we're not in the business of failing around here. We expect the same out of you. Don't take this lightly" "Yes, sir. Looks like all the hard work is already done." "Think again, soldier. Your hard work is just beginning." Kaiju isn't just a big monster- it's a BEAST! And that's what I'm getting ready for. Specifically: I'm signed up for two Spartan Beasts this year. And I want to kill them. Plus I signed up for the Elite heat in the Bad Ass Dash and I want to make a good enough showing so I feel like I belong with the Elites. I'm just starting my OCR season. I finished MudHero last week. The upcoming race schedule is: - June 29, Spartan Sprint - July 19, Bad Ass Dash - July 27, Spartan Beast - September 20, Spartan Beast in Vermont Strangely enough, my training is getting more specific, yet it feels more relaxed. I still plan to hit the gym 2x per week on top of all this, but it's more like normal exercise and not necessity for the race, so I'm not including it in the goals. Main Quest- Prepare for the BEAST In fact, with 2 beasts, I need to be double prepared! Goal 1: Run for the hills! - At least 3 runs per week. - At least one hill training run per week. - One long run per week. (exception is July long weekend when I'll be camping) My current long run distance of 25K is long enough distance wise. I'm going to lengthen it in time by making it more difficult. (add hills, carry heavy objects part way, do crawls, stop for a set of exercises or whatever else I feel like) (+3 STA, +1 STR) A: All runs done B: Missed 1 long run and/or 3 runs C: Missed 2 long runs and/or 6 runs D: Missed 3 long runs and/or 9 runs Goal 2: PLP I've started PLP. I'll need that upper body strength. I'm on 11 right now. (started at 1) My only time allowed to miss is 1-2 days before any race to ensure I'm rested up. I should be up to 50 by the end of the challenge. (+1 STA, +3 STR) A: 50 PLP B: 45 PLP C: 40 PLP D: 35 PLP Goal 3: Mad Skillz Time to do specific Spartan training. I am going to practice each of the following skills at least once each week. - rope climb - spear throw - weighted carries - atlas carry - crawl - traverse wall - wall climb - balance beam - log hop - monkey bars (+1 STR, +3 DEX, +1 STA) A: All skills practiced B: Missed 5 skill practices C: Missed 10 skill practices D: Missed 15 skill practices Life Quest: Take care of the outdoors. Specifically, taking care of the yard. We just had some new lawn put in last year and planted new seed this year to try and fill in the rest. Weather permitting, I'll be out 3x per week, even if for only 10 minutes. Weeding, (I hate weeds) killing ants, (I hate ants) watering, (I hate wat... wait) mowing, whipper snippering, fertilizing, setting up yard decorations, taking care of the camper, setting up our new hose reels, etc. And if there's nothing to do, I can spend time enjoying the yard, which is the ultimate goal. (+2 WIS, +1 CON) A: Amazing yard! B: Missed 3 days C: Missed 6 days D: Missed 9 days Sidequest: The Buck Furpees! Paradox I have no intention of doing any burpees during my races. Buck Furpees! The best way to make sure that happens is to be in good shape. The best way to get in good shape is ... lots of burpees! Crap. - set of 30 burpees per day - two sets on Saturday and Sunday - Like PLP, I'm allowed to skip this 1-2 days pre-race to make sure I'm fully rested. (+2 STR, +2 STA) A: Buck Furpees 100%! B: Missed 4 days C: Missed 8 days D: Missed 12 days Come on, Kaiju, let's see what you've got. Aroooo!!!

I was seriously considering not doing a challenge this go-round. My focus is longer-term than the 6 week periods. But, there always has to be short-term goals while building towards the long-term ones. My training plan is clear to me. I don't feel like I need to be accountable for the number of times I run or lift, at this point in the game. Therefor, I am going to pick out three performance-based goals for this challenge. So, let's do this. Goal 1 - Going the Distance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AatOnwFcbZo I've been running fairly consistently 3-4 times per week. It's time to up the frequency and distance. I am going to slowly increase my weekly mileage up to 35-40 miles per week by the end of this challenge, running 5-6 days per week. Goal 2 - Sub 21 Min 5k. I'm going conservative here. I haven't done nearly as much speed work as I need to. My long term goal is quite a bit faster than this. But, running sub 21 will be over 2 minutes faster than my last 5k race. I believe that is very manageable in the next few weeks. I am currently scheduled for two 5k races. There is a third that I am eyeing depending on schedule. Let's do it. Goal 3 - Squat 215 lbs 5x5. Yup, I'm still weak. I eased up on the lifting portion of my training towards the end of the last challenge. Part of that was related to me traveling and other scheduling. But, it was also because I felt like I needed a bit of a mental break with it. I had hit a bit of a wall with several of the lifts. I'm not sure how much of it was mental vs physical. At the time, I was struggling around the 180-190 range on the squats. I'm going to deload a bit and work back up to it. the 215 number is because it will be 50+ lbs heavier than I am at the start of this challenge. It's simply a number I can check off on my way towards a 2x BW squat. So, that's it. Simple goals that should help me get to my longer-term goals. And, I'm dropping the role-playing aspect to the challenge. Let's go!

Hi all, the second Spartan Race event in Germany has been announced, it will be in Cologne, right in my neck of the woods. http://de-de.spartanrace.com/spartan-sprint-koln-20140628 So i´ll run ,probably volunteer as well. I think having a team NF starting there would be cool. Anybody willing to join? Kilian

It's 2 minutes 18 seconds in. http://youtu.be/ep-xgd_eETE?t=2m18s I wish I could figure out why those links embedded properly 50% of the time.

First post is copy and pasted from last challenge thread to define the main quest that I am. Goals for this challenge can be found a bit down the page. Quest for Spartan Strength I have always identified with being a runner. I grew up a runner. I got away from running and allowed life to consume me. I became soft. I put on weight. I got reeeal slow. For the majority of 2013, I have been focused on reclaiming my body and my athleticism. I set the goal to become a member of the 2013 Spartan Trifecta Tribe. And, I completed that goal last challenge period. As we close out 2013, I'm starting to prepare my performance goals for 2014. And, as I put them together, one thing becomes clear. I want and need to be stronger. When people think about runners, they don't think "strong." They think of the skinny/lean marathon type. Well, I want to be a strong runner. I want to lift more than I am currently able to. I want to hit obstacles at Spartans and complete them faster because I am stronger. When my legs tire on a run, I want to be able to focus on my arms and know that they have the strength to continue to propel me forward. This doesn't mean that I am looking to change my body type. I am not focused on any vain reasons for getting stronger. I need to get stronger to perform better. Since, I am a Spartan Ranger, I believe a great measuring tool of my strength-level can be the Spartan 300 Workout. 25 Pull-ups 50 Deadlift at 135 lbs. 50 Push-ups 50 24" Box Jumps 50 Floor Wipers at 135 lbs. 50 Kettlebell Clean and press with 36 lbs KB (25 each arm) 25 Pull-ups Main Quest Goal: Complete the Spartan 300 Workout in under 30 mins

Given I'm doing a year of obstacle runs (knees, finances, marriage and injuries permitting) and I've spent the last two days email assorted people from work, ex-work, university, gym, church, gun running cartel (just kidding, those last two are actually the same person) etc. with pointers for running obstacle races (seriously, who died and made me an expert? I've done like 8 in my entire life...) it would be useful to have a thread where like minded individuals (or those who want to do an obstacle race one challenge) can drop in for tips, advice or to be talked off the window ledge when it inevitably hits them what they've actually signed up for (as AgentSka had to do for me a week before the Spartan Beast). A tolerance for bad puns is probably a good thing. Any articles, tips etc. I pick up (or anyone else for that matter) can be posted here. So long as it relates to running obstacle races. Or Bacon. Or is just flat out hilarious. So come one, come all, sign up for shenanigans and bacon.