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Seems like only yesterday I was saying how I need the long break between challenges...April Fools! I guess the mods changed the schedule. Anywho, anyone who has been following me this year knows I am chasing down seven races of the Grand Prix Series (GPS) in one calendar year (see signature), and that completing the first three (all mud runs) will earn me a special "Trifecta" Medal and t-shirt. I have completed the first two of the series, and race three, the "Mud, Sweat and Tears 5-Mile Mud Run" is on April 25. https://youtu.be/Hi08uGF_0Dg This race is reported to be the muddiest one yet, so it should be lots of fun. For the next three weeks, I will be training hard to knock out this race, and then...I plan to take it a little easy with less formal workouts and running maintenance. My next race is not until July, and I will be starting hardcore HM training in June, so I want to give my body a bit of a break between pushes. My workout schedule looks something like this (although I can swap days or even double up if necessary to fit my schedule/life happens): Monday: natural movement workout* Tuesday: tempo run 45 minutes Wednesday: natural movement workout* OR rest day Thursday: trail run Friday: natural movement workout* Saturday: REST DAY!!!! Sunday: longish run, alternating weeks between 5 and 7 miles *usually a MovNat MOD, but can be a playground workout, swimming, trampoline park, climbing wall, etc Update: Big Boss Battle! The Boss: Swimsuit Season When: May 31, 2015 HP: 11,200 Item Drop: A new Swimsuit Weaknesses: Healthy food choices Strategy: Slowly weaken the Boss with healthy food choices for 8 weeks (1400 pts per week) I spend a lot of time in the water during the summer, and a need a new suit (or two) for this season, but I do NOT want to buy one in my current size. I find calorie counting and restrictive diets really depressing, so I am awarding points for good choices rather than focusing on avoiding bad ones. Points: Eat a serving of vegetables (10) Eat 20g of quality protein (10) Wait for hunger to eat (20) Stop when full (20) Substitute fruit or 1 square of quality dark chocolate for dessert (20) Choose healthy food at a restaurant (30) Skip dessert for a day (50) Combo bonus!!! Combine 4 or more elements in a meal and multiply the score by 1.5!!! Chain bonus!!! Score above 230 points for 3 consecutive days, and add 200 points for the week! If I make my goal of 1400 points per week, I get a new suit. If not, I'm stuck with last year's suit. If I lose more than 10 lbs, I get two new suits!

During this challenge, I'm going to be completing three separate Spartan Races: Tatooine - Las Vegas Super on 18 April. 8-10 miles, 24-29 obstacles. Endor's Moon - Montana Beast on 9 May. 12-14 miles, 30-35 obstacles. The Death Star - Miller Park Stadium Sprint on 23 May. 5k, 15+ obstacles. Doing all three Spartan Race distances in a single calendar year is a trifecta. I will earn my first this year during this challenge. I'm a little focused. My kids are probably sick of hearing about it and all my friends will probably be happy when the actual races start so I stop talking about training. This is my Grail: I chose wisely. Challenge Goals Quest 1: Don't Feed the Sarlacc I did really well on the last challenge, dropping 15 pounds by tracking what I am eating and following the plan my trainer and I have agreed to do, but I can get lazy and when I do, it turns into my healthy standbys of my favorite Chipotle burrito bowl and the Ensanada Chicken Platter at Red Robin. Now, neither of these is a bad thing, but that tends jack up my sodium intake and also gets expensive fast. The only exception to this goal is during the Vegas weekend because it's my first planned vacation since 2008 that doesn't involve volunteering my time as a youth leader. I'm going out regularly that weekend and I'm going to eat a slice of cheesecake the size of my head. For the Montana and Milwaukee weekends, I can bring healthy stuff like pre-cooked chicken breasts and salmon fillets. Goal: Eat out no more than two meals per week. Quest 2: Forest Moon Frolic I did a good job upping my miles in the last challenge. Prior to March, I had never run an event of more than 5k. Recently I did an 8m trail "run". I might never be fast per se, but I can be faster than I am now by continuing to push my limits and distances so that I build on these successes. Eventually I may stop dreading things like the Montana Beast and instead look forward to how hard I'm going to kick that mountain's butt. Goal: Run 2x per week for at least 30 minutes, plus one trail run per weekend at Lebanon Hills or a similar trail that goes for 8 miles or more. Quest 3: Destroy the Death Star A Stadium Sprint is a bit different than the other events. There's no mud and no terrain to deal with. There are, however, literally miles of stairs, broken up by lots of Crossfit-type things like a weighted jump rope and the water jug carry and box jumps and whatever else they decide to come up with this year. Recently I have been slacking off on my out-of-class weightlifting and while it hasn't had a negative effect yet, it will soon and I'll be losing ground on the strength gains I made over the past year. Goal: Weight training 2x per week as programmed by my trainer. Life Quest: I nearly missed out on my Vegas vacation due to a major financial issue that came up in the middle of the last challenge. That was taken care of, but a continuing lack of planning leaves me in this position on a regular basis. It can't go on. In theory, I'm an adult, and should be doing things like managing my finances and living on a working budget. This needs to happen now. Goal: Make a monthly budget and stick to it. Goal Grading: Quest 1 Goal: Eat out no more than two meals per week.. A: Ate out 2 meals per week or less. B: Ate out 3 meals per week. C: Ate out 4 meals per week. D: Ate out 5 meals per week. F: Ate out more than 5 meals per week. Quest 2 Goal: Run 2x per week for at least 30 minutes, plus one long trail run per weekend. A: Met or exceeded the goal B: Ran once and also got in my trail run C: Got in my trail run but no other runs D: Got some short runs but no trail run F: Anything less is a fail. Quest 3 Goal: Weight training 2x per week as programmed by my trainer. A: Did both programmed weight training sessions C: Did one programmed weight training session F: Didn't even lift, bro Life Quest: Set a budget and stick to it A: Set the budget, stuck to it. C: Set the budget, mostly stuck to it, didn't have enough discipline. F: Didn't do it, didn't try, just... didn't. I'll assign attribute points at the end, depending on my results.

The Quest for the Spartan Trifecta The post with the goals lined out is a bit down the thread. Starting Stats The Motivation __________________________________________________________________ Alright. I think I like the changes to the challenges. I'm working on what my Main Quest should be. I'll alter the title to reflect the appropriate description when it is time. My thinking is this - my Main Quest has been to become a member of the 2013 Spartan Trifecta Tribe. By 9/8, I will be 2/3 of the way there - having completed in my second Sprint of the year, and my first ever Super. The Beast will be completed two weeks later. What is my next quest going to be? I'm not entirely sure yet. So, should I think up my next Main Quest (which I'm sure will have some sort of harmony with my current quest - in terms of what I need to do training-wise), or do I stay with my current Trifecta quest. And, publish a new Main Quest at the completion of that? I'm thinking I need to create a new one... but, what. shall. it. be?