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Greetings In this challenge I will be keeping it pretty simple Running/exercising: follow the training program I worked out in April up to the date of my 10k race, then come up with a new one. Eating: sensible eating at the start of May. Its my birthday soonish and I'll just eat whatever then and afterwards I'll go full paleo, no exception, no excuses, just lose some weight, fatso. Meditation: not really. I have a couple of weeks left on my subscription to the app. I'll be listening to the remaining courses but not planning to make meditation a big part of my life, just probably trying to explore the implications a bit more in my day-to-day. Or something. Dancing: starting out fairly easy: I'll practice some dance for 5 minutes a day - probably the running man just to get used to the leg coordination (I think that's what is going on in this picture 👆 right.... Right?) After the race I will go much harder, aiming to get passably OK at one thing (I am thinking the piu-piu dance) Not kelladactyl level good or anything but not actually shamefully shit. I'll settle for that. I feel good about this goal. I don't know how it'll end up but it'll be fun to try and I am going to throw myself into it. Ad Victoriam!

Hello world! I'm excited to log my fitness journey. I want to be accountable and I want to share. Life has gotten off the rails lately and I want to get in charge of my now. Thank you for stopping by! April 19th Start of my journey. Here we go. Let's keep this up. Attached is me today! Today, I'm running about 2 miles to and fro the playground with my daughter, Rowan. I'm going to try to do tonight some at home booty body weight exercises. I lifted yesterday. It's a deload week and I had a lovely time at the gym. Still getting the courage up to take my daughter to the daycare there- I'm freaked out about the cesspool of germs no doubt layering every surface there. We shall see! Trying to decide whether I want to track my macros. In the past, it has contributed to some disordered eating to be frank. I'm in this to help get my mind healthy as much as my body. I've been struggling w/ depression and w/ the introduction of some pharmacological intervention as well as conscious choices and mindfulness I've been feeling a lot better. I eat pretty healthy, snack a bit because of the mom lifestyle. I meal prep for my husband's lunches, toddler food for my little 13 month old bundle of joy. I'd like to start meal prepping more for myself, too. xxoo QUEST Hobbit frame of mind daily walks/runs outside w/ the pooch, baby Rowbug, and possibly husband (if I can convince him) weekly hike weekly dinner w/ in laws, my parents, and friends finishing permitting for the TINY HOME!! Fitness life GYM 3x/week (continue Strong by Bret program Hip thrust 3x10: 155p in one month squat 3x3: 145p in one month Run x2 week w/ family Elven Studies lecture/reading x2 per week

My Goals... My Goals Never um... Changes I'm a Mighty Mighty Man, I'm Young (ahem) and I'm in my Prime (cough, cough) Keeping it simple this time, sticking to what I need to do and what I've been doing, but doing it better. Not expecting miracles but aiming to get back to the level of fitness I had about 5 years ago, which seems achievable with some effort and consistency. Basically, be able to run fast for a sustained length of time, have some upper body strength, be able to do a bridge, and not feel like my belly is always getting in the fucking way. I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire Week zero is prep: fix my bike, review my morning routine, get the allotment organised, clean up my eating (which took a real nosedive towards the end of the last challenge) And then 1. They Call Me The Wanderer Move ever day, including at least one long run and two other runs per week 2. Hack, Whack, Choppin' That Meat Eat properly: porridge for breakfast and paleo for the rest of the day, no booze 3. Civilization? I'll Stay Right Here Carry on Meditating* This is becoming a habit now - I've only missed 3 days since the start of the year, I think. I'm still undecided about it though. I only really feel like about one session in five is effective. The others are just me sitting there thinking about stuff and not really engaging. I think I need to do more prep beforehand to get things out of my head - you know, make notes, turn the oven on for breakfast, drink something, that kind of stuff. So that I don't have so many distractions. I think I need to make this challenge period a make or break for this one. Either i find a way of making this more reliably useful or I give up on it and use that ten minute slot for things that are going to benefit me more. I still feel like there's something to be got out of it but that maybe it's not something I'm suited to and maybe I'm better off cutting my losses. Hm... *=now there's a Sid James/Kenneth Williams film I'd love to see

I always struggle to start these things, so let's just pretend I had some kind of cool opening line, okay? Last challenge went surprisingly well for me, despite the fact I was pretty far into my deep dark hole of despair when I started it. While nothing has actually changed (yet) - I still haven't found a better job, graduated, gotten pregnant, or met any of my other goals - I am pleasantly surprised to report that I'm actually feeling...cheerful? Optimistic? Is that even possible? It has honestly been years since I felt like there was any real hope (legit think I've been on the downhill part of the roller coaster of life since about fall 2018) and suddenly there's a pinprick of faraway light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope it's not a train. This also means I feel pretty good about, as in the title, picking up the pace a bit. I'm going to try not to mess with last challenge's "category quest" set up too much since it worked so well, but also keep pushing myself forward - I was definitely getting a little bit lazy by the end of last challenge because it was so much "anything goes" and I could have done more than I did. Quest 1: Move! I got decent at moving around more frequently last challenge, but it's been 99% all short YouTube yoga and family walks (usually 2-3 miles, not terrible, and we live in a very hilly place so it does get the heart going sometimes - but I also know I'm not getting a ton of benefit for the hour or so it takes to do it at toddler pace). 1. Two workouts a week - again, counting anything that gets my "intensity minutes" tracker thing on my cheapo Garmin watch going (helpful to tell if my yoga/walk is actually doing enough to get my heart rate going, also sometimes records activities I hadn't thought about like playing "Mommy Monster" where I roar and try to chase my kid by running and dinosaur stomping at the same time) And one of those workouts should be... 2. Go running at least once a week, even if it's only a mile (or less)! RE says I shouldn't go more than 14 miles a week (running and walking combined) but at my level that shouldn't be difficult to stay under. Note for this quest: This might have to change after I talk to a surgeon (waiting to hear consultation date, but hopefully in the next few weeks) about repairing issues with my c-section scar - it never healed quite right and may be a factor in our fertility issues, among other things. If the surgeon says I should stop doing something, obviously I will stop doing that thing. Quest 2: Eating (slightly) Better So I'm slightly up on my weight (not bad, but a few pounds - still under 150 at my last weigh-in, but barely) and I'm really starting to feel the pull towards fitted summer dresses. If nothing else in my life is going well, at least I can look damn cute while navigating it, right? Plus, you know, having energy and all those other things I'm supposed to say I care about more than fashion (but if I'm being honest, it's like 50-50). I'd really like to get back to the 145 or less range. Also, maybe it'll help convince my kid to eat more than just cheese and raisins? 1. eat 3 meals a day, which for me mostly means "eat breakfast". Doctor says my natural 2-meals-a-day habit isn't good for pregnancy, so I'd better get used to it now. I've been doing okay with my overnight oats, but even just grabbing a banana will count. 2. Avoid drinking all my calories! No more than 6 sodas a week. This has been creeping back up (even though I'm only drinking the mini 8 ounce cans these days) and I want to make sure I don't backslide. That's only one day a week without, surely I can manage that without great stress, and I have an eye on dropping it to 5 before the end of the challenge. Also I'll also cap myself at 2 beers a week even though I'm pretty sure I'm rarely over that anyway. 3. Eat more plants (particularly fruits and veggies, I'm good at eating grains hahaha). This should get easier as we enter spring/summer. Hard part here is that I'm not honestly sure what my baseline is - I feel like it's not a lot at all, but it's also not zero - so I'm going to keep a food journal for the rest of week 0 and set an improvement goal from there. Having this on my mind does mean I'm more likely to eat these foods during my baseline week, but I'm going to try to be as honest as possible with myself about if I normally would have eaten that or not. Quest 3: Language Still the primary driving factor behind grad school and the career issues. The idea here is that more time in the target language = smoother interviews and an easier admissions to/time in my next grad program (yes, I'm the special kind of person who has a second MA all picked out already, it'd be stupid helpful for my career to have both and there is an excellent local program that will allow me to earn my degree in "Romance Languages" rather than just Spanish or just French). 1. 5 minutes of listening or practice speaking in either Spanish or French OR 3 pages of reading in either. Daily and could be mixed (for example, a 3 minute French video and 3 minute Spanish conversation with my husband would count as 6 minutes total for that day and thus a checkmark.) 2. Weekly journal entries in either Spanish or French, minimum 3 pages in the little notebook I just grabbed for this purpose (it's a pretty small notebook, I promise haha). All 3 pages don't have to be written at once, as long as they're written in the same week, but that could also be just one longer session.

So I have been struggling on my challenges for a few years(understatement), but I thought deeply and realized what made me really happy when I was most active on NF around 2015. It was a rucking PVP. Taking this knowledge and what I need to do to improve myself I enrolled in the weight loss PVP for the next 10 weeks. I am right above 170lbs and would like to get below 160lbs by Memorial Day weekend, specifically Saturday May 29th. I leave for a week long vacation in the Florida Keys and am staying on the water and will be bringing my boat. I think that whole week will be spent fishing, snorkeling, spearing, swimming, boozing, and eating fish. So obviously my one goal is to lose some weight. I also need to exercise daily. Yes daily, no rest days. Every day will include a 30-45 minute ruck(more if I am up for it). After the ruck I will lift Mon/Wed/Fri and then run Tues/Thurs/Sat. Sunday is going to be a hard 2 miler since one of my goals this year is to get that sub 6:30 pace. Each workout is followed by my stretching routine. I need to seriously restart my eating habits. I have been pretty good the past couple weeks but now need to crack down. I meal prep for work and do great during the week, but the weekend is the put it all back time. So I am going to attempt to eat only whole foods with a lot of veggies. I already am there 5 days a week. Also as far as alcohol goes, no more IPA's and thick bois. I need to stick with mixed drinks, wine, and white claws/ultras. I also need to limit myself to Friday and Saturday only, as well as 2-3 on each of those days. Maybe I will try something where I can have 3 or 4 drinks per weekend. I'll play with it. Goals: Weigh under 160lbs Ruck 100 miles Run 50 miles Continue to hit my 2021 goals

I spun out last challenge in the last week to week and a half. Work stress, relationship stress, blah balh blah. I had just gotten cocky with about 90 days of staying on course so thats about time for me to screw up. So 3x workouts per week minimum. By week 3 take a run. Dont go more than 3 days without posting or commenting. I get in a bit of a cycle with that. So I dont have my sheet in front of me but I did squats today. I was getting dressed to lift when a half dollar sized wolf spider ran out of my knee sleeve on the ground and I made a decidedly un-warrior like sound before grabbing a shoe and smashing it. I have woken up 6 straight days with a pounding headache. i have put water on my bed and IBU in hopes that if I notice it in the middle of the night again I can get ahead of it.

Hi Well it's been awhile. It's been a bad year lol but there are some bright sides I suppose. Unbelievably I have managed the single best training block of my life. Although it's been disrupted a little this week while I deal with emotional stuff and I have a lot of people who care about me and feel like I am of some importance, and that is good. This Challenge is about Letting Go and moving on. I'm using the death of my DND character as an analogy because I don't want to go into the details about what I'm really talking about here. I was hurt, a lot, by people I trusted. When they hurt me they stole my voice to speak out about it. I made mistakes but I do not know what I did to deserve it. The worst thing I ever did was stand up for myself and if it was ever anything else I do not know because I was never told. It's not me who is avoiding facing it. let's move onto Tilean. Meet Tilean: She's dead. Her story was a tragic one and did not end well. I've been involved in a DnD game with @Jarric, @DarK_RaideR, @iatetheyeti, @Mr_Willes and a few others. Tilean was my character, a level 6 wizard with a fondness for setting everything she saw on fire. She was great. Outwardly fun, rambunctious, assertive and (over)confident, but she hid a tragic tale. Inside she was angry. Ao so angry. She would lash out at the whole world over what she saw as an injustice done to her and her sister. She was angry at the gods and with the devils and anything that sought to assert authority over anyone. She was largely misunderstood. Her ruthlessness was mistaken for evil intent where in her mind she'd never hurt anyone that didn't really deserve. She was just stopping them from hurting anybody else she always did what she thought was right but might have enjoyed doing it a little too much. Last session we were fighting a bunch of Frost Giants. They were attacking an Inn that belonged to the family of Pheelie, one of our party members (played by a non member :)) .This was one of the party members that Tilean was particularly fond of and the only member of the party that Tilean thought was genuinely just a good person (she didn't consider herself to be a good person). During the fight one of the giants peeled off of the pack and came after the two casters: Tilean and Pheelie. Tilean disabled the giant with a spell and was ready to get out of harms way but Pheelie shot off a lightning bolt that ended up snapping the giant out of it. Two turns later and Pheelie was in a really bad position in arms reach of a Frost Giant and our front line was far too busy with their own problems to help. Tilean could have saved herself quite easily but she ran in to grab Pheelie and teleported the two of them into a position with better cover and out of easy reach of the giant. Then the giant broke a piece of masonry off of the Inn and threw it at Tilean. She went from full health to instantly dead in one round and it was a shock to everyone. I might be reaching for connections but this event seems to have set off a chain of events that lead me here. Which I may elaborate on later somewhat, but I'm somewhat interested in this idea. Was Tilean just an outlet for my own anger? A place where it was safe for me to be angry and rage at the world? Did she need to die? Did I need to lose that crutch in order to let go and move on? Anyway. Challenge itself 1. Come here write how I am feeling today. Try and catch up with all the people I've lost touch with and make new friends 2. Go out to run 6 days per week. I'm running a lot right now and will probably babble about that but I don't not run. I love my running, it's the one thing I do just for myself. Right now though I really don't want to trap myself into a running program. Fitness programs are fundamentally flawed. They miss out the single most important component in the whole thing. You. Where you are today should determine how you train today. There should be an overarching plan but the goal should be long term consistency (years of consistency, not days and weeks or months) and whether or not on this specific day I ran 4 miles because I'd not slept well instead of the 6 that I'd planned is insignificant. You, your body and how you are progressing should dictate your progression, not a line on a piece of paper. So my plan right now is 6 miles a day for 6 days a week but it's a mid term goal and something I'm trying to build to comfortably and currently I'm not quite there and I'll get there when I'm good and ready. I could force it but there isn't a good reason to do so, but many good reasons not to. It's hard to genuinely overtrain (overtraining syndrome it's a very serious condition, most people never get close) but it's really easy to progress faster than your body can keep up with. Especially when you start getting older. My goal right now is not to bend my body to my training but my training to my body but it's a different approach (might call it intuitive programming) and doesn't lend itself well to solid goals. I know what needs to happen to get better at running and it's not a rigid adherence to a plan. Run a lot, sometimes fast. I've programmed my own training for a long time now and I've come to the conclusion that a very long term plan that progresses with you and not despite you is always better than any short term gains you might be able to achieve by overreaching. Right now my running is better than it's ever been. I'm sold on this approach

Hey y'all! I'm Sparkle, a 24-year-old lady in the final months of her master's degree eager to join the Nerd Fitness party. Long time lurker, first time poster, as some people would say. My class/leveling system is a trifecta of broad categories. First, there's the badass fitness stuff (Assassin class). Then there's learning creative talents and indulging my need to Make Cool Stuff (Magelet class, aka Fledgling Magic Maker). Last but not least is gaining independence and the skills needed to jump into new situations gracefully, skills like learning new languages and traveling solo (Princess class). Because I'm a fantasy-obsessed nerd of the first water, I couldn't resist creating a "best version of myself" character and writing a fantastical story to mirror my real-life challenge adventures -- read the results in the spoiler below! As a first-time challenger, my goals are going to be pretty simple this time around. Assassin Quest: The Adventure Begins Go for a run at least 1X per week The weather is finally nice in the midwest, so that means I can get back into running! Huzzah! I've missed it over the winters. Nothing far or fast, just a mile and a smidge, but one day I'd like to get a mile time of 8:20 or below, so this is a good start. Magelet Quest: Come Away, Come Away Take (at least) 10 minutes each day to do something actively creative - turn creative wishes into action and bring them to life I have lots of projects I'd like to do in future, so rather than waiting for the ideal long, uninterrupted chunk of time to start them, I can work on them incrementally now. For this challenge, that means tracing out the line work for a series of Arendelle-inspired skirts and a Cinderella-inspired dress and skirt, so the visuals are ready to be printed and cut into stencils when the time comes. In the depths of business school, at a time when I'm deeply missing the work I used to do day in and day out as a design major, these "daily design snacks" will help keep me from going bonkers over Econ and Finance. Princess Quest: Into the Unknown Apply to three design positions per week The job hunt begins in earnest! Looking for design positions in my home city of Seattle means I have to balance school and job-searching, which is a little weird -- it's been tough to make time for job stuff when I feel like school stuff always has to come first. Making job stuff part of this challenge means I have a solid goal and accountability. If you've made it to the end of the Great Wall of Text, well done you! Get yourself a cookie or something, you've earned it.

I'm still here, still putting in the work. Just time to redouble the efforts and keep moving forward. Not going to lie I'm not thrilled with my own lack of interactions of late so I'll be focusing on that with the new challenge. Running remains my main activity cause I've love it. quest 1 - going the distance Didn't get to double digits in the last two challenges but will keep pushing. Running is a high point of my day 90% of the time, so getting to run more is a good thing. quest 2 - limit the booze Still keeping this going - I've been doing a bit too much boozing thanks to the year long lock down. quest 3 - can't run then walk Morning walks are the other main activity in my life, I'll try to be more present with my wife during our strolls through the city and be mindful of what she's saying as well as having ideas to add of my own. quest 4 - get more social Feeling the distance between myself and friends growing all the time - will try to do one ping a week to friends to just try and catch up.

I'm in a little bit of a slump training-wise. I need to either commit to marathon training or not. And I have a small nagging injury (my toe joint...literally a small area) that I'm starting to become more concerned about. My "old lady back" is being a little cranky, and I'm sick of it. I'm taking zero week to figure out a plan. Zero week goals/strategies 1. Try more-or-less following my running plan, but scale back if feeling pain...cut any workout short, and/or take a day off. 2. Ice daily...this helps a lot 3. Try to figure out which shoes might be better/worse. Take the trail shoes out of the rotation and mostly wear the new road shoes. 4. Minimal pull-up work...does it hurt my back?? 5. Repeat the good yoga for back pain video. 6. Try another yoga video 7. Aim for at least 10 min "body work" every day (yoga, focused stretching and/or foam rolling) 8. Get out of bed by 6:45 every week day. 9. Come up with a plan for the rest of the challenge. Challenge Goals 1**. Placeholder running goal: Walk outside every day for at least 10 minutes. 2. Get up by 6:45 every week day (shifting earlier through the challenge) 3. At least 10 minutes of yoga or body work every day 4. Quick strength 2x per week (modifying as needed). 5. Read up to page 150 of "El amor en los tiempos del colera" (I found this on the giveaway pile at work a couple years back and was never willing to put the work into slogging through it. I've read a bunch of novels that were translated into Spanish, but it's a lot harder to read something written by a native speaker. Figured I could manage ~5 pages a day). ** I'll replace #1 with some kind of actual running goal if that seems like a good idea. The snowdrops? I have a bunch around my house, and last fall planted a bunch of new bulbs. Yesterday, as the snow was falling I realized that a chunk of winter is over and the snowdrops will be coming up soon-ish...probably some time during this challenge. I'm not much of a gardener, but decided it would be fun to put a little garden log in my BuJo. The snowdrops should be the first real entry...

Back for more of the same Fast Travel Get faster, get stronger, do something every day, no exceptions Craft Squirrel Stew Eat Paleoish, no booze Protect the Commmmmmonwealth Continue with the daily meditations following on from last time (summary here) and see where it takes me You Feel Well Rested Morning Routine starting at 5 (get to bed early) good posture, language work (Duolingo +one other thing) and cross one item off the to do list per day.

The last challenge has helped me to be consistent and accountable. I want to continue to build on these gains and improve other things that are not going well. The goals for this challenge: 1. Neck Stretches/Shoulder Mobility - In the last challenge, I have the exercises in my daily plan but I fail to do it. I tried doing it after I wake up or before going to bed but could never consistently do it. I need to improve on this. So, the plan is to do these exercises during the Daily Stand-up call at 10am. 2. Minimalism - Simplify. Try something every week along the concept of Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without. 3. Run/Walk - I've managed to make this consistent to the point that it feels effortless. Continue with the Monday to Thursday run/walk and Friday/Saturday/Sunday grocery run/walk. Listen to the Holy Bible audiobook on these run/walk. 4. Meal Plan/Tracking/Symptom Tracking In My Journal - Using a digital OneNote journal has become almost like a habit from the last challenge. I will continue to use this tool not just to plan my meals/food intake but also track the time/description of symptoms, then I can start to figure out some of cause of my allergies, inflammation and pain.

nothing fancy - lets do the work quest 1 - double digits distance didn't make it last time around - going to keep pushing. quest 2 - body weight work eh - no luck on this last time, so let's keep it simple - 5 pushups, 5 sit ups, and 5 squats per trip to the bathroom - excluding morning shower quest 3 - limit booze nightly drinking has gotten out of hand - need to scale it back a max of 1 drink per week night. quest 4 - weekly (virtual) social interaction 1 chat a week - this could be my D&D or ICRPG game

I started some challenges in early 2020 and that just got derailed when the pandemic happened. And life just passed by literally. Hoping to be more mindful and actually get something done, I am doing this challenge following Zipf's Law - Principle of Least Effort. According to Wikipedia: "The principle of least effort postulates that animals, people, and even well-designed machines will naturally choose the path of least resistance or effort". Keep things easy so you set yourself up for success. 1. Run/Walk - 3x a week. Last year, my total mileage was 557.4 miles, mostly walking. 2. Journal - Write daily, either using the 5-minute Journal or morning pages method to plan the day. Write gratitude list. 3. Meditate - 3x a week in one form or another. This is probably the hardest of all the goals. I've been trying different ones but just not getting traction. 4. Neck Mobility/Shoulder Mobility Exercises - Been having neck and shoulder pain. I have the exercises listed. 'Just need to do them. 5. Read - Daily in audiobook or in print.

OK, this is going to be a hard one because my project will be coming to an end in February so I'll be busy AF, but here's the plan: Oh hang on, let's do a Fallout 4 Theme because it's our game of choice at the moment at home. My Challenge... My Challenge Never Changes Since I'm over 200 years old*, I need to take care of myself. What will make me even more S.P.E.C.I.A.L** than I already am? Well, sticking to what works, of course. Oh and adding some new things to make it interesting too. 1. Strength/Endurance - move every day, including one long run per week, at least two short runs and _something_ on every day of every week. This has been working well for me, so I'm keeping it up. Got to outrun those mirelurks 2. Charisma/Agility - eat sensibly. I tend to be a bit slack around Christmas and New year so week 0 will probably be a bit rubbish but after that, paleoish, with added oaty breakfast. No cannibal perk (we scouts have our standards, unlike some I could mention) no booze and no eating unopened packs of Cram I find in a dustbin behind a raider encampment. 3. Perception/Luck - I'm going to try and take care of myself more, building on last challenge's don't-ruin-your-spine theme, I'm going to keep doing that, stand up straighter and - I can hardly believe I'm writing this - try some meditation. It's hard to explain how not-in-character this is for me, but you know, just like occasionally trying foods you don't like, or poetry, sometimes you have to try things you're written off, just to see if something about you has changed in a way that makes it make sense now. Er... If you see what I mean. I've heard a few people (notably Sam Harris) talk about it in ways that didn't make me cringe recently, and the final impetus came from @sarakingdom's revelation that I could do meditation in the time it takes the kettle to boil***. OK, that's the kind of commitment level I'm capable of. Sign me up! 4. Intelligence - follow my daily schedule of Duolingo dilettantism, more serious Portuguese study, etc., and staying on top of my to-do list. *=In reality, I'm not quite as old as the Sole Survivor, but pretty close **=if you're not familiar with the game these are the basic in-game abilities you start with: Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck, ***=disclaimer, this isn't a very accurate description - you can read what she actually said (here) if you want to know more.

Wow, new challenge already...sorry haven't had any time to breathe. I will have a challenge, and it will have some goals. I know what two of them are so far: 1. Pull-up challenge! [Jan 1 - Feb 14]. This is on the heels of a push-up challenge I did with family and friends from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The idea is you do as much as you can at the start, train hard and then test again at the end. I'm nowhere near to being able to do pull-ups, am not strong enough for negatives, and haven't even figured out a good band set-up for doing assisted pull-ups yet. So I'm using the bent arm hang as my test (which I did early because my friend was able to time me). I started at "almost 12 seconds". Hoping by Valentine's Day I can do 30 seconds and am also able to do some sets of band-assisted pull-ups (not necessarily all on the same day). The plan is to practice every other day, unless I'm still too sore from the previous workout. 2. Winter Warrior! Run outside at least 3 miles every day in January. (Walking or snowshoe-ing count, miles don't have to be continuous). I'm doing a BIG job for work right now, not difficult but tedious and very time-consuming. I'll probably be in-and-out a bit this challenge and not able to be present as much as usual. I'll do my best.

Rhovaniel stood at the window, arms folded across her chest, staring outside but seeing nothing. Thick fog had gradually enveloped the small town, and not even the cobbled roadway, nor the sturdy row of shops and houses opposite, could be seen. In the room behind her, the fire crackled and hissed as someone stirred the embers, coaxing more life and cheer from it, and the hubbub of voices and the clinking of glasses and earthenware mugs was a heady sirens call. She could wait another hour, another night. Eat another meal with these fine folks, these brave souls on their own adventures, hear tales from all corners of the world. How different it all was – how different she was – from the last calendar turn. Would she recognise herself from a twelve-month ago? So much, and so little, had happened. She sighed, turning away from the gloomy prospects outside and reaching for her cloak and large pack, both ready for her on the coat stand. No, it would not do to delay any further. No more last minute scrambles, no more risking her body and sanity as she struggled to overcome poor training. It was time to feel strong again. Shouldering her pack, she was about to reach for the door when a deep voice called her back. She turned to see the barkeep hurrying towards her, a small parcel wrapped in brown paper and hairy string in his hands. “For the journey. Not provisions, mind. Well, there might be a little something in there. More of a ‘pick me up’, you see. Least, that’s what he tells me.” “He?” “Him who gave it ter me to give ter you. Not saying who, mind. He was quite particular about that. Now, I’ve got a big brunch order just come in, so you’ll excuse me. Fair travels” He was gone again, always surprising her with how fast he could move when he chose. Rhovaniel looked down at the parcel in her hand. There was no note, just her name written neatly in black ink at the corner. The hand was unfamiliar to her, and for a moment, she had the urge to sit back down and appease her curiosity. But something told her that this was not the right time, and besides, she had a lot of ground to cover. Sliding the parcel into the top of her pack, she adjusted her cloak, settled the pack once more on her shoulders and drew the hood over her head, half concealing her face, though the purpose was to ward off the persistent cold. Finally, she took hold of the doorknob, twisted it and stepped outside before she could convince herself otherwise. The contrast in temperature was relentless, but as she slowly left the town behind and began to cross into the wilderness, she began to relax, and as her breath rose in frozen clouds in front of her, a smile tugged at her lips. Adventure lay ahead. So, it is once again a new year – or it will be soon. I’ve had my goals thought about and pinned down for a while now, but I suppose as they are goals for the year ahead, they count as New Year Goals. This is not an exhaustive list of goals, some are private and some I’m having second thoughts on, but I’ll add these to my signature line to remind me always of where I’m going, even when the fog is thick and it’s too cold to think straight: Goals for the Next Twelve Months (so long as that jerk coronavirus behaves itself and lets me play) 1. Run 3 full laps of Oblivion (Nuclear Races). I ran 2 laps last year - well, a couple months ago because it was moved to October – and I think that with a little more training, and having a wonderful ranger pit crewing for me, I can get three laps this time. I want to be as trained for this as possible, and I don’t want to keep having to walk long stretches, or worse fail/skip obstacles because of my lack of strength. Each lap is 12km, so I need to be able to run 36km by May. 2. Run and Complete Man vs Lakes. This is a hilly trail race in the Lake District, of up to 30 miles and no less than a marathon distance (it varies because we have to cross Morecambe Bay and the exact route depends on the tide and weather). I feel like I have such a history with this race, even though I have yet to actually run it. And this year is my last shot because I think there’s rumours of it being the last year. The year I signed up to do it, I had to postpone due to injury/lack of preparation and marshalled it instead. Then, I was meant to run it last year but COVID postponed it, so I’ve been waiting a fair while to do this! 3. Achieve a full, unassisted pull-up and achieve 10 or more unbroken push-ups. I’m putting these two together because of their similarities, and the fact that both are bodyweight ‘benchmarks’ I want to reach. 4. Write at least 90,000 words of a novel. Yikes, there’s the big one. There’s the one I almost didn’t put down on this list and relegated to private. But honestly, it’s not and I need the accountability. I have wanted to put pen to paper and create stories that captivate, transport and enchant people for years and years and I just haven’t. I feel – I fear – that I’ve lost the ability to write, if I ever had it. I loved writing, and now I don’t know where to begin. But I will attempt to find my way, find my voice, and fulfill a dream. Which leads nicely onto number 5… 5. Read at least 20 different books (re-reads are encouraged but don’t count twice). If I want to write, I must read. I must become the avid reader I once was, though without losing sleep and gaining a sore butt from sitting on the bathroom floor at night because that was where it was least suspicious for there to be a light on… Fun fact, my first read through of Lord of the Rings was on that floor. I wasn’t supposed to be reading it because it was ‘too old for me’. See, the thing is that I am actually not that strong, and not that fit, at all. Not nearly as much I want to be, not nearly enough to do the events I want to do, have the lifestyle I want to have, and while in many ways I feel like I’m back at square one, in reality, I have so much more experience and understanding of my own pitfalls and areas of weakness – in a much more objective way – than me simply saying ‘oh, I’m unfit’. I know what I can and can’t do, and I know it’s a lot less than what I want it to be. This year, I aim to change this. So, that’s the 2021 Goals. Now for the 5 Week Challenge. I’m using each one as a handy ‘training block’, where I can evaluate – hopefully with a bit of external insight – what is working, and what is not. My first race should fall within the 4th challenge, so there is time to train and tweak. Vol I: Origin - Get to a ‘writing’ stage of a novel. This gives me 5 weeks to research, plan, tweak, despair and grit my teeth enough to have some semblance of a plot to work with. It doesn’t have to be good, it just has to be something I can use to teach myself this craft once more. - 3- 4 x runs per week. Honestly, this one will be more than I usually do, and I need to take it slow. No mileage goals, I just need to listen to my body, and get it used to this new normal. I will aim for an easy run of at least 5km per week though. I usually work and think in miles. I like miles. Miles make sense to me in a way kilometres tend not to… but Oblivion is tracked in kilometres, and I’m not sure about MvL, so I’m trialing switching to kilometres. We’ll see. I may go out of my mind. - Daily yoga and use massage gun after runs. This is my main injury prevention method for now. I am cautious of my hip, and when I ran more, I had a tendency to develop excruciatingly tight calves. I am hoping the increased mobility work as well as the massage gun (think foam roller but slightly less torturous) will ward off any mishaps there. - 3 x Strength/CF sessions per week. This is mostly subject to Tier restrictions, but I have a set of dumbbells and a pull up bar I can make use of, if the sessions planned on zoom don’t align with my schedule. - Read at least 2 books. Simples.

Woohoo! Welcome to 2021 everyone! Usually I love New Years...so much open possibility and excited energy for all those awesome new plans. But I'm having a hard time getting into that mindset this year. Not sure if it's due to exhaustion with 2020 making me feel worse than usual, witnessing the recent death of my maternal grandmother (December 28th), or something else entirely, but it's definitely a thing. I've been hitting that "I slept for 8 hours and still want a nap and have no energy to do even things I normally enjoy doing if it means getting off the couch" level pretty hard lately. So I'm keeping it simple - or, rather, simple for me, which for those of you who have seen my threads before, is still arguably not very simple. One quick disclaimer: we meet with our first fertility specialist on January 19th, so everything I say now may change based on any recommendations he has, though this is just a "meet the doctor" consultation before we decide on which clinic to work with so I'm not expecting much outside the general "be healthy" type stuff. Quest 1: Workouts So I have two main workouts/goals here - running and strength (kinda). My biggest goal is to increase my draw weight for archery, but I do know it's not smart to only work out one set muscle group, so I'm trying to balance it out wisely at least a little bit. I'm also way worse at getting the strength workouts done because they're honestly not really my thing - it's more of a "thing I need to do in order to do the other things I want to do" - so I'm setting up my goals here separately: Running: Currently at a 12 minute, 1.2 mile run. I've been feeling better about my runs lately (except my most recent one, but I think that was because winter finally hit and I'm not adjusted to the cold yet). Sticking to the "at least two runs at each time/distance before moving on plan" to make sure I don't go too far too fast and get hurt, but otherwise... Goal A: get to a 2 mile OR 20 minute run Goal B: get to a 1.75 mile OR 18 minute run Goal C : get to a 1.5 mile OR 15 minute run Strength: I don't have a great way to measure progress right now, but I'm doing a terrible job of even doing these workouts at all so that's where I'm going to start. Goal A: do a strength workout 7+ times (1-2x a week) Goal B: do a strength workout 4-6 times Goal C : do a strength workout 1-3 times Quest 2: Nutrition I tend to do better with this on days that I workout, because I often don't want to "ruin" my work with junk food. I also realized I've been drinking a LOT of calories lately. So I'm focusing there to start: Hydration: my goal is 2 liters of water a day. I'm allowed to count my coffee, according to my OB (yay!) which is usually vaguely around 400-500mL and the rest should be primarily water. Goal A: 2L on 30+ days Goal B: 2L on 20+ days Goal C : 2L on 10+ days Beer/Eggnog: my primary high calorie drinks, though eggnog is clearly not far from being seasonally ruled out. Here's how I'm setting it up: I can earn a beer by doing a workout (doesn't have to be day of, but the numbers should match). I can have one glass of eggnog only on days that I don't have a beer and only until the eggnog in the fridge is gone (which is, admittedly, still a lot). Goal A: no "extras" of either Goal B: 1-3 "extras" Goal C : 4-7 "extras" (I'm also trying to eat at least one "produce" thing a day, but am not tracking it currently to try to make sure I don't stress myself with too many goals at once) Quest 3: Mental Self-Care Yeah, this has been an issue, and I'm hoping that by doing small bits of things that I enjoy and can make noticeable progress on, it'll help me feel less like a lump on the couch and more like a competent human being who can do cool things. Sewing: I've been oh so very slowly working on a pattern to make some more long-sleeve shirts for my son. Also thinking about embroidering some of my old skirts. Goal A: 5+ hours total with one shirt done Goal B: 4+ hours total Goal C : 3+ hours total Mani/pedicures: Yes, this old standby. I'm slowly whittling down my GIANT pile of untried polishes and it does make me feel slightly pulled together even on days when I don't do my makeup or even change clothes (which is a majority of my at-home working days). I've also started saving empty bottles to use for mixing my own colors out of polishes I don't love otherwise! Haven't actually tried it yet but I've seen people do it on YouTube so it seemed worth a shot. Might be fun? Goal A: 10 "new" polishes used Goal B: 7 "new" polishes used Goal C : 5 "new" polishes used

I feel like 2020 was rather disorienting for everyone - like it just went and ... Yeah black eyes ... that's how 2020 felt. Wait ... not black eyes!!! uh ... oh ... Yes this will be a Supernatural themed challenge ... cause I'm rewatching the whole series ! Quest 1 - It's not the years, it's the mileage As always the main focus for me is running (comes with being a scout) Currently we are cruising at 5 and 6 miles during the church of the long run I'm looking to hit double digits on long run by the end of this challenge! Quest 2 - I'm trying to survive. Now let's be honest I'm NOT going to look like Sammie at the end of this but gotta start somewhere Now is the time to stop making excuses and getting back into body weight workouts! GOAL - 3 body weight workouts per week! Quest 3 - Bring me (no) Pie! With the shelter in place going on, the food stuffs have gotten a bit crazy - time to clean things up and stop eating so much pie Looking to limit myself to 1 sweet treat a day and up my fruit / veg intact with 3-4 snacks of them per day. Quest 4 - Learn the Lore Always keep reading! I've not found a new book yet but I'm on the hunt ... as it were. Let's see where the road leads us

You thought that title was metaphorical, didn't you? No, in fact I'll actually be escaping a labyrinth in this challenge. Allow me to explain.... I generated a maze in Excel and my challenge will start in its centre. It's totally filled in, and as I move around it, it will reveal more of the labyrinth. For each kilometre that I run, I get to move 1 square: x o It's based on a 21x21 grid so theoretically I should be able to solve it in under 441 moves, but I'm hoping to do better than that! I'm aiming for 3 runs per week...just want to get back into a regular routine after the holidays. I'm not to stressed about the distances or times for now, but should ideally be doing 2 x 5km and 1x10km per week. As for tracking, I will be using my XP tracking sheet form my previous challenge. More on this as I progress. I hope there's nothing too scary in these dark hallways.... l'aventure commence!

What a weird year! I'm feeling kind of ambivalent about Christmas this year, but I'm excited about New Year's. I don't have some kind of Pollyanna thing about everything being better after 2020 is over. I just really love the hope and promise of the New Year holiday. It's probably my favorite night/day of the year. I've got a couple goals for this mini challenge but will probably add some more...or maybe not. 1. PUSH-UP challenge! A couple friends and I made our own push-up challenge that runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. The idea is you do as many as you can in one set on Thanksgiving (scaled however necessary), train like a beast, and then re-test on Christmas day. I did 14 negatives for my test. I'm doing a training plan I saw in an old issue of Trail Runner magazine. Basically 40 negative push-ups each workout (every 2-3 days) in sets of 7-10 with decreasing rest intervals each workout (starting with 1 min). 2. BuJo/Art Journal Set-up. I've gotten into sketching/doodling in a BuJo-like format. This is the first time I'll be setting up a journal for a new year. I'm not sure of all the pages I want, but I know I want a 2021 cover page, year calendar, monthly future log, and then NF challenge overview section. I'll try to at least get those done during this mini. 3. Clear out the old. I just went through a big flooring and painting project. While doing that, I piled up a lot of stuff in the spare bedroom. Now I'm wondering if I even need all that stuff. I'm gonna treat this as a "sushi list" project. I'll make a list of 10 or so things to deal with, and then I'll take care of them when I can. It might not all get done during this mini challenge, and that's fine. 4. Kindness. I want to think about being kind rather than nice (although in most cases you can certainly be both). I don't think I'll write much about it here, but it's something I want to think about. 5. Mobility. I'm going to try sitting on the floor for at least 30 minutes every day. I did this for quite a while and somehow got away from it. It's super easy to do (e.g., while eating or watching tv), and I think it's good for me. I basically need to spend less time slouched on my couch or sitting at my computer station. Some other things I'll be doing (not making them specific challenge goals) Decorating for Christmas. I'll definitely be home a lot to enjoy it, so I should do it. The sooner the better. Quick Strength program...I just finished going through the 8-week program. Gonna re-start it. Have pages set aside for it in the new BuJo so I can track how I improve on specific workouts over time. Running...lots of running. "Last mile." A couple of us are going to do a hard mile some time between Christmas and New Years. The specific day will depend on weather and our schedules, so it might be this challenge or might not. I got this idea from a friend who does it. He was talking about how it lets you put everything out there on the track and kind of symbolizes leaving behind the old year. It appealed to me.

It's been I don't even know how long since I participated in a challenge - maybe a year? I hesitated to post this, then spent a moment reflecting on the darkness of 2020, and found myself crying. So here I am. I've missed this wonderful virtual place, but this year has really knocked me on my rear - as it has for most people. Hiroro's 2020 in a (large) nutshell Parenting: my baby girl was born 12/26/19 - so she is approaching 1 year old! She started reliably sleeping through the night about a month or two ago (HALLELUJAH), which means this year has entailed several months of sleep deprivation. I am finally, sort of, feeling functional-ish again. Fitness: I started working out again a few months after the birth, and within weeks strained my hip/groin. Over the next few months the pain increased and my physical capability decreased until I couldn't walk more than a few blocks without pain. Months of physical therapy later, I've finally "graduated" from PT a few weeks ago. I can now run a few miles without pain - sometimes. I'm still doing my PT exercises and stretches on my own, though I'm not perfect about getting them in every day anymore. Nutrition: I definitely let this get haywire, I've been eating lactation supplementing treats all year as I struggled to keep my milk supply up while pumping at work (went back to work at the end of April). After putting a lot of pressure in the early months to try to get back to pre-baby weight, I decided to put it on hold while trying to get my hip fixed and my head on straight. So right now I'm probably sitting at about my highest pre-pregnancy weight, and it doesn't feel great. But I feel like I finally have the energy again to focus more on cooking and eating healthy - it helps that I'm planning to wean soon. A side factor is that my husband started a very extreme diet early in the year and after hitting his goal weight (and improving his BP and cholesterol) has fallen off the wagon. I'd love for us to be able to find a moderate middle ground. I've been working on buying and cooking more veggies, and preparing an actual dinner so we sit down and eat instead of the grazing we were doing before. Mindset: Speaking of my head, I fell pretty hard into a deep, dark, hole of postpartum depression. After trying to manage on my own for way too long, I found a new therapist who was a much better fit than the woman I'd seen before. Unfortunately she left the practice about a month ago, so I'm flailing a bit as I try to find someone new. Etc: My parents have been amazing support during this year, and I have no idea what we would have done without them. My husband was laid off halfway through the year, and I'm thankful that our financial position is solid enough that he was able to be selective about finding a new job - he has a tentative offer and expects to start in January. Since he's been stay at home parenting, this is going to be a big adjustment - wonderfully, my parents will provide childcare likely until some point next year when we feel safe sending the baby to daycare. Though he has enjoyed getting to spend extra time with the baby, being the SAHD has left him worn out all the time, and made it hard for me to take time for myself (and even when I do, with COVID going anywhere is anxiety-inducing). At work we've gone through two rounds of layoffs and are expecting a third early next year. While I think my job is fairly secure, we are understaffed and overloaded, and people I work with and like could be laid off - cue stress and anxiety. This challenge is well timed (even though I'm late to the party, as usual) as I feel like I'm finally seeing a small light at the end of the tunnel - to being able to be physically active, and take better care of myself, and find a new routine with both myself and my husband working. Thanks to a lot of physical and psychological therapy, I'm finally in a place where I am excited about the idea of setting new goals. At the same time, my pattern is to get overambitious and then peter out. So the plan is to start small, adding kindling to the tiny bit of fire I've found still burning within myself. Challenge Goals Sit down for dinner every day with my family Usually daily goals are not the best for me - but this seems very achievable. Even if it's a frozen pizza and a salad. Move my body 6 times Basically anything. I just bought a set of dumbells off a coworker friend who was moving away so those are a handy option when I can't get myself out the door to run. Go to bed by 10pm Since the baby has started sleeping better, I find myself staying up too late because I'm so desperate to extend the few hours of free time at the end of the day. But it makes me feel pants the next day, and I know better. Side Goals - just for fun Finish reading In Defense of Food Complete scrap yarn crochet basket I'm excited to be crafting again. I think a 2021 goal is going to be whittling down my yarn stash (it's taking up way too much of our limited storage space) so this is a head start. Do something fun on my own at least 1x/week (socially-distanced friend meetups count) When I'm not intentional about this, I find I stay home all the time trying to give my husband some relief, but really it just means we both end up worn out. When we each take time for ourselves it's better. Even though it's more difficult now, I can visit the library (people are pretty good about masking and it is sparse enough that I feel safe/comfortable) or meet a friend over a firepit. Looking forward to connecting and reconnecting with fellow Rebels!

Welcome to the Scouts Camp! Ever on the move, our camp has relocated from the mountains into the wilds of the jungle farther down the river of NerdFitnessLandia What we will find as we explore this year? What mysteries lie out in the world beyond our camp? Welcome to 2018 ... here's to the future!

Sunset is creeping earlier and earlier. Restrictions are tightening again due to the pandemic. Our federal election is two weeks away and likely will have violence as a result, no matter which candidates get elected. I'm delving deeper into a half-marathon training plan... Yes, this does seem to be the darkest timeline. GOALS DARK Handbalance practice 2x per week -- This is basically for core and overhead work DARKER Yoga 3x per week -- Move my hips more good! EVEN DARKER SHADE OF BLACK Write a short story -- National Novel Writing Month is coming and I definitely don't have the bandwidth for that, but I can write SOMETHING! VANTABLACK Follow the half marathon program (3-4 runs per week) -- Did you get the memo? I run now. 🙈

Alternate title: Fix it with Shovelglove. Just a heads-up: I make no promises. I might not run. I might not shovelglove. I might not even post much. I'm getting over a mystery illness that has left me weak and out of breath. I assume I'm post-Covid, but I don't actually know. Today a friend replaced a gas fitting in our house and I helped him rearrange his storage unit. Last year when I helped him move I was much stronger than him, today he is much stronger than me. It was more than a bit disheartening. As I'm building back from less than zero I'm going back to bare basics. I originally built my previously tremendous cardio with running and my very slightly above average strength with shovelglove. I'll see if I can add those into the daily mix. Thanks in advance for the support Nerd Friends.