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Trudging through the knee-deep snow, Castle Black looms like a haunted fortress before my eyes. While doubt and fear boil beneath my skin, I remind myself that this is my calling; it has been since birth. I chose to take the black. What else was a poor bastard to do? It was squiredom or the Night’s Watch. The choice seemed clear before it became a reality. As the north winds rustle my heaviest cloak, I muse that I still have time to turn back. I could return home. I would risk being ridiculed and slandered for turning my back on the Night’s Watch, but at least I’d be warm, my belly full, and my bed soft. I could abandon this life all together - travel beyond the wall and join the Wildlings, foraging for warmth and battling hunger the remainder of my years. As these thoughts continue to torment my travel-weary mind, a voice calls out. “You there! Are you the lad Winterfell sent word of? Get in here, child. Don’t you know Winter is Coming? You’ll freeze your bloody fingers off.†I steady myself in place, heave a deep, shaky sigh, and begin my slow trek forward to the rest of my life. MAIN QUEST: Train for Half Marathon April is getting closer and closer. My main goal is to continue to train for the half marathon. I have a goal finishing time of 3:30:00, and I really, really hope to come in under that. The rolling hills of Kentucky might have it out for me, so I am looking for more hill laden runs as we get closer. I am in my final month and a half of training… and these next few weeks will be criticle for me to stay on track health, wellness, and fitness wise. GOAL ONE: Survive the Wilderness - Winter Running 3x per week It’s winter in Minnesota and for some stupid reason I decided to train for a half marathon. Baring risking frostbite (-10 or more with any kind of wind means 30 minutes til frostbite on any exposed skin), I want to get it all done outdoors. Like a champion. Or an insane person. Week One: 3/3 Week Two: 3/3 Week Three: 3/3 Week Four: 0/3 GOAL TWO: Forage the Forest - Fix the Bonking- 5x per week Bonking is apparently the term for when you gain weight during distance running training - say a half marathon. It comes from improper nutrition for the endurance sports. I am frustrated because I have been counting calories and staying within budget, marking deficit each week, and nothing is happening. I have been reading a lot, talking with Doodlies and Rangers, and I think my issue is a combo of low protein and low carbs. I am going to focus on getting my macros in as close as possible 5 days a week. (Macros: 135g Protein 180g Carbs 60g Fat - Will adjust as the body dictates, but roughly 40%, 30% and 30% and 1800 pre-workout calories). If I am within reason, I’ll get the point for the day. Leaving room for error while I adjust to this. Week One: 5/5 Week Two: 5/5 Week Three: 5/5 Week Four: 0/5 GOAL THREE: Combat Skills - Strength/Conditioning 4x per week My current half marathon plan includes one cross training day and one strength day. I’d like to add two ab/core days to my rest days. Those tend to not be big calorie burners, so I think that will still count as a rest day. My latest plan works abs/core into my usual strength days. I am modifying this to be hip flexor training. I have a series of three hip flexor strengthening moves (hip drive, front cross, and lateral raise) with resistance bands. These are going to help me get my pelvis in peak position for better running form. Week One: 3/4 Week Two: 3/4 Week Three: 3/4 Week Four: 0/4 LIFE SIDE QUEST: Standing Watch - Rewrite My Resume- 4 per challenge It’s been 8 years since I updated my resume. I’m not saying I am leaving my job, but I am saying that this isn’t smart. I want to be smart - because we never know what life may throw at us. My goal is to rewrite my resume and post it up on LinkedIn by the end of this challenge. There are a few tasks needed to complete this: gather my job descriptions (1pt), rework them into a basic resume (1pt), have a peer review (1pt), post my resume (1pt). If those tasks are done by the end of this challenge, it will be a success. Gather Materials: 1/1 Reword Base Resume: 1/1 Peer Review: 0/1 Post: 0/1 Week One Success: Acquire Direwolf Companion 9 points + (75% success) 12/13 Week Two Success: Acquire Longclaw Sword 10 points + (80% success) 11/13 Week Three Success: Acquire Plucky Best Friend 10 points + (80% success) 12/13 Week Four Success: Acquire Dragonglass Blades 11 points + (85% success) 0/13 Challenge Success: Promotion to Lord Commander of Castle Black 44 points + (85% success) 35/52 “Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to comeâ€

Here we go again. A new challenge thread. I'm thinking I may hop over to the battle logs after this one and just stay there. This challenge I'm going to stay with my programming which has been 3-4 weeks of work followed by a week. Specifically I'll be working the next couple weeks then taking Thanksgiving week as my test and back off week. Then I'll fire up for a few weeks and take Christmas week as my test and back off. Although, New Years will probably extend that break. 11/11 - 11/16 - 4-5 workouts. Long cycle 4 times. GPP 3ish times. mobility 3ish times 11/18 - 11/23 - 4-5 workouts. Long cycle 4 times. GPP 3ish times. mobility 3ish times 11/25 - 11/30 - test, back off, travel for holiday I'll be trying to recalibrate my programming a bit. It's gotten a bit overly aggressive of late and I think it's been hard to get done what I want to because of how tough the initial exercise has been. I'm going to keep my 2 on/1 off 28 kg long cycle. I think today's experiment with a 24 kg ladder was good so I'll be using that for day two. I let GPP slip a bit and hope to dial that up a little more. I'm also going to be working on a little weight loss. I've drifted up above 205. I'd like to get below 200lbs by the end of the year so I can get to 185 next year. I'm currently training in my garage, in Minnesota. It's held up better than expected but we've got some cold days coming. At some point, during this challenge, I'll be moving down to the basement. I lose space and barbell access but I get better access to my Concept II and TRX. In honor of the coming cold weather, here is your music for the week:

Main Goal: I will always be improving my repertoire of skills, but I need to get back on track for this challenge. I had to go home for my family recently and only just got back to my apartment. As you could probably tell by the fact that I am posting this today, I am a little disorganized. That is why for this challenge I will be working on building healthy habits again, to help get me back into the regular routines of exercise I once had! Goal 1) Hibernation I want to be more rested and my schedule now allows me to sleep in most days. My goal is to get 8 hours of sleep each night or wake up naturally, with no alarm. I’m also going to try to read before I go to sleep instead of playing video games or watching my television. I have my kindle loaded up with tons of fantasy novels, specifically Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms books! (Currently reading “Kendermoreâ€) If nobody plays any poke flutes near my then I will get (+2 STA +2 CON) Goal 2) Join the circus This goal is simple…I really want to get my handstand hold time up, so I am hopping in with the Circus Cats. If I practice my handstand for 10 minutes every day I will gain (+3 DEX) Goal 3) Snake skills I want to get more flexible and I want to start stretching every day again. I also want to incorporate some yoga into my routine 2-3 times a week. If I can do yoga or really stretch every day then I will earn (+3 DEX) Life Goal) Feed the Beast! My biggest failure last challenge was with my diet goals. This challenge I need to eat like an animal! As many of us know, at the end of this challenge “winter is coming†so I need to ration my food and keep my health up. No more eating out, I need to get it together and start to cook for myself! I really want to make this easier on myself so I am making it my goal to use my crock pot once a week and try a new recipe. I started a Cilantro Lime Chicken today! Since I will be eating healthy and learning new recipes I will gain (+3 CON, +2 WIS) if I stick to the diet and use my crock pot 6/6 weeks.