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You know when there’s a thing you want to do, it’s easy, it’s right there, but you Just Can’t Initiate The Task? Yeah. I’ve been in the land of Can’t Initiate all last challenge and zero/week 1 of this one. 😅 But I’m here now! I have a trail race coming up at the beginning of June and I’m training a little harder this year than last, hoping to get my typical distance up to 12 km. Last year my phone clocked the route at 9.9 km, so if I can pull 12 on my easier trail near home I should be in pretty good shape on the day. I did 9.75 this morning so I think I’m on track. I am also going to officially put meditation on the goal list. A while ago I was trying new yoga videos and found one I like…but it’s Yin yoga and she has you hold the poses for like three minutes and it was so. hard. mentally. But, like, the same way a really good stretch is hard? Like “wow, I need to lean into that a bit.” Not sure what that’s going to look like exactly, maybe this challenge is for exploring meditation in the context of yoga, on its own, or just practicing mindfulness in nature, and see what gives me that “good stretch” feeling. Ugh, the weather is getting so nice and I have to go back to work Tuesday after spring break. Rude! Also 9 more days before my choir officially starts rehearsals for Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem. I’ve been reading through it all break, and, well, I’ll get it but it’s a lot to learn in six weeks. I’m going to try holding out a prize this challenge. Not sure how it will work…I’m pretty impulsive and like. If there’s a thing I want and I don’t have it, there’s probably a reason (lack of funds, not a real priority (I’m looking at you, daydreams about booking a makeup lesson at Sephora), realistically not enough time/space to enjoy it…). But there’s an embroidery pattern I’ve wanted for a long time, so maybe I’ll put that on the line. Here’s the weekly goals (5 stars): Run Additional Movement (yoga, walk, Just Dance, strength workout) Music practice Nature Appreciation Meditation (can be combined with yoga or Nature Appreciation) Weekly bonus points available for (up to 5 stars/week): Any of the above more than once Posting more than a weekly roundup Adventure runs Photos Goal: 35 stars Prize: embroidery pattern

To quote the great LL Cool J I been here for years now that you've got that ear worm ... onto the main event! Goal 1 - Avenue of Giants Half-Marathon Keeping up the training and running the race! A minimum of 2 midweek runs plus a long run on the weekend Goal 2 - Reduce Booze 5 drinks per week, minimize the each day drink Goal 3 - Finish and Release RPG content I've beenn working on an ICRPG module called A Port in A Space Storm, and I wanna get it released by end of the challenge Goal 4 - Keep Reading I need to keep reading and expanding my knowledge base Just finished David Edding's The Elenium trilogy and moved on to The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany. This is the list of recommendations I have currently - not sure I'll read all of them but definitely worth look into Black Easter by James Blish The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson Star of the Unborn by Franz Werfel The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle Jean le Flambeur trilogy Imperial Radach trilogy Revenger trilogy Book of the New Son Culture novels by I.M. Banks Eisenhorn Omnibus Ravenor omnibus The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester Random Acts Of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack Stand On Zanzibar by John Brunner Startide Rising (David Brin) Heart of the Comet (David Brin and Gregory Benford) Hyperion (Dan Simmons)

Scout related discussions! *Note: You can participate in guild discussions regardless of your chosen guild. Built for distance and efficiency rather than strength and power, you can outlast any animal on the planet. Your muscles are designed with endurance in mind, and you can cover great distances whenever necessary. * Fictional example: Legolas of the Woodland Realm (Lord of the Rings), Tauriel (The Hobbit) * Real-world example: Rita Jeptoo, Boston Marathon record holder; Jan Frodeno, 2008 Olympic gold medalist and 2015 Ironman champion * Typical Activities: Running, Swimming, Biking

"Oh hey you guys! Man, it's been a long time, hasn't it? I'm sorry to have been away from this wonderful place for such a long time. Life has been interesting to say the least. I hope you've all been good. Me? Oh well, it's a bit, I'll tell you that. There was that... Oh then there's the... Well, heh, let me do this in my usual way." *Ahem* "So I met a girl in the usual way. We were playing Mario Kart and, what can I say? The shells were flying! I remember it so fondly..." "But she might remember things differently..." "But her name is @Blue1323, she's a Scout, loves Mass Effect, baking and is just the coolest person. Then after having my rent increased, I decided to move in with my friend and got an apartment together." "Once that was done, it was time to resume my Certification exam! I took the exam and unfortunately, I failed the exam by 2 points!" "Sigh... 2 Points. But you know what?! I'm not going to let that deter me! I'm going to take it again! I got this! But before this one, I'm going to take the Florida exam and guess what? I passed it! Narrow margins was the name of the game, but who cares? I passed!" "OK, Now on to the next attempt and wouldn't you know it?" "I failed it. Again! This time by 1 lousy point! One!! But you know what? That's ok. Because it was onto the next big thing that was on my mind. Throughout this whole endeavor, I've had the love and support of someone who became very special to me. I saved up enough gold and made a purchase and then I asked a question so few Adventurers are so lucky to ask..." It was shortly after this heartwarming scene that Blue1323 equipped the Ring, and gained +2 Int. She then briefly changed her mind... Briefly. "So now that brings us to here and now! I have tried to stay in shape on my own and trying to keep up with my own endeavors, but it's not the same. Especially since 'the incident' " "I've officially hit 200 lbs! This is a first for me, but also a wake up call that I need to do something about it. In the past, I have been hyping you guys up to @Blue1323 and we both felt it was time to join the folds (once again for me). So here is my return challenge!" The Return: "OK So in the past I've been infamous for going MIA due to some excuse reason, but now that I have someone to keep me in check and make sure that I stay consistent with both my goals and my personal accountability. So here's my 3 fitness goals: Running 2x a week Strength Training/Lifting 2x a week "Movie Night" 1x a week And for my Life goal: Post on NF boards, consistently, 3x a week For my fitness goals, these three things don't all fall on the same days, but there will be some overlap. For my Strength days, I'll be breaking them into 2 things: Upper and Lower. With Upper, they'll be Push and Pull exercises but they'll have a run day with them. With the Lower, I'll just focus on strengthening my legs and core, but no running. For Running, I can do a 5k with some walking in, but I want to do better. I'm going to push to be able to run a 10k. I have some... motivation to achieve this goal, like agreeing to run one, ha ha ha! But I have obtained a guide to help me find out the best way to increase my running distance. "Movie Night" will be an youtube video that Blue1323 and I found that is either a Muay Thai video or some intense Yoga video. Either way, we're going to be sweating at the end of it! Happy to be back with you guys and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead!

I may or may not be as prepared for this challenge as previous ones, goals are staying the same, as most of my challenges tend to do until I find a good reason to change them. The simplified method seems to be working well with my life even if I'm not seeing results on the scale (yet) I'm focusing on how I feel and that is good enough right now. All SET ( S )leep - ( E )xercise ( T )rack - And because it wouldn’t be an RES challenge without some 5k’s Upcoming Items 12/16 - Reindeer Run 5k - Done, 54 Minutes 12/17 - Candy Cane Course 5k - skipped 01/27 - Java Jog 5k - skipped 02/11 - Couple Shuffle 5k - skipped 03/09 - Time to Paddy 5k 06/22 - Hometown Half 10k 07/07 - Firecracker 4mi 08/10 - Summer Sizzler 15k 09/28 - Donot Stop 10k 10/20 - Spooky Sprint 10k 11/10 - Turkey Trails 10k

And so it begins! As I mentioned in my intro post, my big fitness goals for this year as a whole include 1) run my first marathon in October, 2) be able to do 1 or more unassisted pullups, and 3) be able to do 10 or more unassisted pushups. I've run half marathons but never a full, and my upper body strength is a weakness of mine that I would like to work on. I did tell @Red1263 that I would do a Spartan Race with him at some point, so I've got some work to do if I want to be able to conquer those obstacles. Non-fitness goals for the year include not drinking alcohol, getting my teaching license, planning our wedding, and starting a recipe book on high-quality mocktails. I've broken down the yearly goals into nice challenge-sized chunks, so for Challenge 2 (or Challenge 1 for me), my goals are: • Get back to 10k fitness. Ideally I'd like to be able to do the 6.2mi without any walking by the end of this challenge but as long as I run one at all, that's a win. Plan is to run twice a week minimum, and to keep my pace slow for now. Consistency is the other goal; I just need to get back into it. • Pushups twice a week, minimum. Aim for 10. Do as many unassisted as possible then switch over to assisted (probably knee) pushups to finish the set. • Decrease assisted pullup weight by 15lbs over course of this challenge. Training twice a week for this as well, and normally I do 3 sets of 8 for my assisted pullups so I'll continue that. Also when I say pullups, I kind of mean chinups + pullups. I'd like to do both and usually I do both at the gym, so 3x8 of each. If this is too much because they're similar exercises, someone please let me know. • General workout plan: Mon- YT video with @Red1263 (muay thai, yoga, whatever we're feeling) Tues- Long run Wed- Upper body strength Thurs- Regular training run Fri- Full body strength Sat/Sun Rest • Non-fitness: track sobriety, take Praxis Exams for teaching certification, try to make a nonalcoholic version of one of my best cocktails. Wedding-wise, there's a lot on the checklist but main goal right now is find a photographer. I plan on posting updates every Monday but it might be more often, we'll see. Additionally, I'll post my starting points for each of these on the 12th when the challenge begins. Let's do this!! Note: The NF instagram post about Zelda-style rewards sounds appealing. I'm thinking, if I'm successful in my running challenge, I buy a new pair of running leggings. I only have a couple of pairs that I really like, so I think having another would help me stay motivated.

It’s almost January! Time to focus! It seems likely that I’ll be going down to 3 days/week at my second job. I’m a little concerned about how that’s going to play financially, as it means about $200 less a month in my pocket…but it’s only $200 less, and that leaves plenty to pay my bills. More importantly, it means more time at home! I’m going to dedicate one day to fitness and one to hobby and relaxation, and I’m hoping that change will actually help with the money thing: first, I’ll have more time to do my hobbies instead of buying for them (I have what’s known as Stash Above Life Expectancy in my yarn collection and am approaching SABLE with my minis, once my Bones 6 order comes in 😅), and second, I’m hoping to curb the amount I spend on chocolate and other sweet snacks by having more time to engage non-sugarbomb stress management. I’ve known for a while that I was spending too much on snacks, but inflation has really ramped that up in the past couple years. I’d like to get faster and run longer again, but the one that’s easy to plan for (length) has to come after the one I look at and go “???How do???” because I get super bored running for more than an hour, haha. I’m hoping the strength training will just…help a little with my speed. I’ve also been noticing that when I run to pop music I go faster than when I go for instrumental stuff, so maybe I need to tackle things at the playlist level. Specific goals for this challenge: Run every Saturday Strength training once per week (not sure yet which day it will be) One hour per week spent on a non-videogame hobby (main focuses this challenge will be painting, sewing, and singing…gardening might creep in at the end though) Don’t snack distracted: if I’m snacking, put down the phone/controller and practice mindfulness

Welcome to the 2024 challenge...on Jan 2nd it will be 10 years since I joined the forums... My main goal was then and still is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good (to me) naked. I’ve learned this doesn't get easier when you get older. I don’t want this to be a focus for the rest of my life, I want to build some habits/routines so it becomes second nature and I don’t have to think about it. I also want to be around to watch my grandkids grow up and be able to do things with them, as well as continue to do things I enjoy well into the future! In 2023 it was all about the struggle. This year, I’m going to be set, I’m simplifying things for consistency and I need less clutter in my life, also working on my mindset. I don’t have to track “all the things”. The three most important things for me regarding weight loss are sleep, exercise (though that’s debatable) and what you fuel your body with (tracking). Exercise is debatable because you can lose weight without it, but I feel better when I do it. I know not everyone needs to track what they eat, and I no longer use an app to do this because it got to the point it was too much, but I do put it on my spreadsheet to keep myself accountable, and it also helps with meal planning and creating my grocery list. All SET ( S )leep - ( E )xercise ( T )rack - And because it wouldn’t be an RES challenge without some 5k’s Upcoming Items 12/16 - Reindeer Run 5k - Done, 54 Minutes 12/17 - Candy Cane Course 5k - skipped 01/27 - Java Jog 5k 02/11 - Couple Shuffle 5k 03/09 - Time to Paddy 5k 06/22 - Hometown Half 10k 07/07 - Firecracker 4mi 08/10 - Summer Sizzler 15k 09/28 - Donot Stop 10k 10/20 - Spooky Sprint 10k 11/10 - Turkey Trails 10k

A recent re-boot of my interest in Stoicism inspired me to create a Roman Empire challenge. With the help of AI and some personal interests, I think this is going to be a lot of fun! First, my goals. These are long-term goals and may extend beyond the allotted challenge time period. I used the SMART Goals format: STRENGTH GOAL: I will increase my strength by 10% in 7 different kettlebell exercises (swings, goblet squats, kb push-ups, racked squats, deadlifts, rows, snatches, and overhead press) by training four times a week for 12 weeks with a 35 lb (16 kg) kettlebell. I will measure my strength by the number of repetitions I can perform with good form for each exercise and record my progress in a journal or an app starting January1st and follow up with weekly strength tests. I will follow a periodized kettlebell workout routine that also includes warm-up, cool-down, and recovery sessions. I will also eat a balanced diet, drink enough water, and get enough sleep to support my training. Achieving this goal will improve my overall health, performance, and physique. SPEED GOAL: I will run 5k in less than 30 minutes by following an 8 week training plan beginning January 1st that includes interval training, tempo runs, long runs, and recovery runs. I will measure my progress my timing my 5k runs and tracking my pace and distance with the Nike Run Club app. I will also do some cross-training and strength training (see above) to prevent injuries and improve my overall fitness. Achieving this goal will challenge me and boost my confidence, as well as help me prepare for longer races and improve my health and well-being. MEDITATION GOAL: I will meditate for 20 minutes every day using a guided meditation app. I will track my meditation sessions and duration on the app and on a calendar. I will start January 1st by adding 5 minutes to my current 10 minute meditation practice every week until I reach 20 minutes. I want to meditate more because it helps me reduce stress, improve focus, and feel happier. I will achieve my goal of meditating for 20 minutes daily by the end of next month. JOURNALING GOAL: I will write in my journal every day for at least 10 minutes, using prompts or free writing to express my thoughts and feelings. I will track my journaling habit on a calendar or an app and aim for a 100% completion rate each month. I will schedule a time for journaling that works for me and make it a priority in my daily routine. I will also prepare a comfortable and quiet space for journaling and have a notebook and pen ready. I will write in my journal to improve my mental health, creativity, and self-awareness. I will also use journaling as a way to reflect on my goals and progress and celebrate my achievements. I will write in my journal every day for the next six months starting January 1st and then evaluate the benefits and challenges of my journaling habit. READING/LEARNING GOAL: I want to read at least one book per month and learn one new skill or topic every week. I will track my reading time and progress using a reading app. I will also document what I learned each week in my journal. I will set aside 20 minutes every day to read a book of my choice (list to be shared later). I will also dedicate at least one our every week to learn something new, such as a language, a hobby, or a subject. Reading and learning will help me improve my vocabulary, knowledge, creativity, and curiosity. They will also enrich my personal and professional life. I will start this goal January 1st and review it every month to see if I need to adjust it. Accomplishing this goal will make me a more well-read and well-rounded person.

So I know better than to expect a lot of the main goal to happen during the holidays, I enjoy food way too much and holiday baking is a thing in my house. My two main goals for this challenge will be trying to increase the number of nights I get over 7 hours of sleep, and working out first thing when I get up instead of waiting till 7am, because that hasn’t been working out well at ALL! Too often I find a reason to not do it. I’m going to be working on a modified 10k training plan, since I scheduled one on the 16th and haven’t really done anything to prepare for it. I've noticed as much as I enjoy them, it's a lot different when you don’t have someone to do them with, or even encouraging you. I need to move past this mindset and remember I’m doing them for me. After this challenge I’m going to take a week off for the holidays, then I’m going to start with the 5k training plan I did previously, after that I’ll do the full 10k plan, then, depending on how it’s going, I’ll move into the ½ marathon training plan. Some of you may remember I did the 5 and 10k plans back in 2019 and managed to lose 30lbs. Having a more active job at the time probably played a factor as well LOL. The Struggle... ( S )teps - ( T )rack - ( R )est - ( U )pdate - ( G )o - ( G )lance 5x week - ( L )ift 2x week - ( E )xercise (treadmill) 4x week - Done - 🌈 Not Done - ⛈️ My personal life is improving. I am doing my best to keep doing the same…therapy is a big part of this, journaling is another part. I'm going to continue doing this, as well as working on getting back to me and what I need in my life. Upcoming Items 12/16 - Reindeer Run 5k 12/17 - Candy Cane Course 5k 01/27 - Java Jog 15k 02/11 - Couple Shuffle 5k 03/09 - Time to Paddy 5k 06/22 - Hometown Half 10k 07/07 - Firecracker 4mi 08/10 - Summer Sizzler 15k 09/28 - Donot Stop 10k 10/20 - Spooky Sprint 10k 11/10 - Turkey Trails 10k

I realized when putting this together this is the last full challenge of the year...anyone else not ready for that? So...the challenge, which hasn't changed a whole lot...My inconsistency is consistent My main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good (to me) naked. I'm in a struggle with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. I don’t want this to be a focus for the rest of my life, I want to build some habits/routines so it becomes second nature and I don’t have to think about it. I also want to be around to watch my grandkids grow up and be able to do things with them, as well as things I enjoy as I get older, and I enjoy a lot of things! I work from home as an accountant. I have a full time job and a few side gigs, making sure I have enough movement in my day is important because it's very easy to lose track of time and I feel better when I move more! The Struggle is real! I'm going to take the time to do what I need to do, also making sure I get enough off-time, put in the work and effort that hopefully will lead to lower numbers on the scale as well as other health markers that are important. So I needed another G word because Guitar was not, and likely will not in the foreseeable future, happen…I do enjoy reading, and journaling, and often don’t take the time to do that, so ‘glancing’ at a book or journaling will count towards that. The Struggle... ( S )teps - ( T )rack - ( R )est - ( U )pdate - ( G )o - ( G )lance 5x week - ( L )ift 2x week - ( E )xercise (treadmill) 3x week - Done - 🌈 Not Done - ⛈️ I want to get my granddaughter's item I've been crocheting since before Xmas, finished. Yes, I’m still working on it. I have zero week to get this done because I will be seeing them in Oklahoma week 1. I want to get my bicycle fixed (tires are flat, not a tough fix) and take advantage of the bike trails around this area at some point when I have time. Pool and paddleboarding will wait until next year when it warms back up. My personal life is improving. I am doing my best to keep doing the same…therapy is a big part of this, journaling is another part. I'm going to continue doing this, as well as working on getting back to me and what I need in my life. Upcoming Items 10/22 - WINE Stem 5k 10/23 - 10/26 going to see grandkids 10/27 - 10/29 birthday weekend ride 11/23 - Thanksgiving 5k 12/16 - Reindeer Run 10k

My main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good (to me) naked. I'm in a struggle with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. I don’t want this to be a focus for the rest of my life, I want to build some habits/routines so it becomes second nature and I don’t have to think about it. I also want to be around to watch my grandkids grow up and be able to do things with them, as well as things I enjoy as I get older, and I enjoy a lot of things! I work from home as an accountant. I have a full time job and a few side gigs, making sure I have enough movement in my day is important because it's very easy to lose track of time and I feel better when I move more! The Struggle is real! I'm going to take the time to do what I need to do, also making sure I get enough off-time, put in the work and effort that hopefully will lead to lower numbers on the scale as well as other health markers that are important. The Struggle... ( S )teps - ( T )rack - ( R )est - ( U )pdate - ( G )o - ( G )uitar 5x week- ( L )ift 2x week - ( E )xercise (treadmill) 3x week - Done - 🌈 Not Done - ⛈️ (this seemed more appropriate than a snowflake) I want to get my granddaughter's item I've been crocheting since before Xmas, finished. Yes, I’m still working on it. I want to get my bicycle fixed (tires are flat, not a tough fix) and take advantage of the bike trails around this area when the heat isn’t so bad. I want to take advantage of the fact I have a pool in my backyard. I want to take advantage of a lake less than half a mile from my house and the paddleboard in my garage. My personal life may be falling apart is slowly improving, I am doing my best to keep doing the same…therapy is a big part of this, journaling is another part. I'm going to continue doing this, as well as working on getting back to me and what I need in my life. I did lose three pounds the last two weeks of the last challenge, having COVID may or may not have helped that 🙄Changed my eating to low FODMAP and that seems to be helping a lot of issues I've been having. I'll be out most of zero week on a motorcycle ride to the Tail of the Dragon, I hope to take a lot of pictures to share when I get back! Oh, and I scheduled two 5k's and a 10k. Upcoming Items 9/24 - Pagan Pride 10/8 - Jax Pride 10/15 - Atlanta Pride 10/22 - WINE Stem 5k 10/24 - ? going to see grandkids 11/23 - Thanksgiving 5k 12/16 - Reindeer Run 10k

It’s running season again! Zero week is an intense one for me, with school startup and a concert with the choir I just joined - a three-night run of pretty challenging repertoire on two weeks’ rehearsal. Adding another weekly rehearsal has me feeling a little overscheduled, but I’m also loving it So Much. Choral music is great intellectual and creative stimulation for me, plus the social angle is nice. Saturday game has wrapped up so we’re doing board games once or twice a month instead of ttrpg every two weeks. Goals (only the creek is my photo) Jump rope 15 minutes per week (15 points/week) Run every week (15 points/week) Stretch at least every second day (5 points/week) I might add some life goals but I’m having trouble formulating anything. All I can think of are educational strategies and weird harmonies, haha.

Hi. I'm Stronkey Kong. Ugh... I just realized I've been on NF for 10 years, almost to the day... I have only 6.5 words to sum up the journey: I'm still fat, but still fighting. My main goal is to just improve and maintain my health, and hopefully lose some weight as I do that. I'm in the process of converting to Orthodox Christianity.... I only mention this because the feast and fast cycles (Like the upcoming Dormition fast) affect my eating and exercise activities, and it might inform some of my current motivations... and I scaled back some of my goals because this is coming up. Goal 1: Re-build My Morning Routine For almost a year I was on the afternoon-evening shift at work: 12pm -10 pm. A little over a month ago, I was moved back to the normal evening shift: 3:30pm - 2:00 am (BTW, I work 4 10's). Then last week they told me to go back to afternoons. Which is great because I wasn't enjoying the regular night shift, but one month was just enough to ruin my nice morning routine I had going before the change. Which was wake up, pray, then go for a walk. Then I 'd have free time to do whatever until work. It was nice. Now I need to get this back. So that's the goal, get back into my morning routine. Wake up: at 8 am. This includes bathroom, light the candles and incense, feed the cat, and start the coffee. I'm also going to add stepping outside to check on my plants and the weather. Pray: This includes all the morning prayers in my prayer book. Then any others that get added per my parish priest's instructions. Walk/Exercise: Then I grab my coffee thermos and go for a 1-2 mile walk. And in this challenge I'll also be adding exercise with walking. Goal 2: Fighting Gluttony. This is a multi-pronged strategy to combat my tendency to overeat. I got the first two from a podcast done by an Orthodox dietician. Bless and Give Thanks for Every meal: Pray for blessings on the food before meals. Pray to give thanks afterward. Kind of goes along with mindful eating. Mid-meal pauses: Stop halfway through each meal, assess my level of hunger, and consider (or even prefer) stopping. This too. Replace Bread with potatoes (or squash): Fewer carbs, more fiber, and more vitamins. Basically doing that as staple replacement. Bread (and pasta) is not banished, but it will no longer be the go to. And oats and rice other whole grains are fine too. Side quest: Try new potato recipes on the weekends. This last weekend I made fondant potatoes. They were fun, pretty easy, and they made the house smell amazing. Goal 3: Run Run on Tue, Thu, and Sat instead of or in addition to walking in the morning. I'm focusing on these three days because the weekly fasting days are Wed and Fri. I'll be eating less protein, and less over all on those days so less fuel/material for recovery. Do posture correcting exercises 3x per day-- I'm always slouching or hunching and this needs to stop. I'm gonna do some exercises (see video on another post below) 3 x per day. Just pick one and work on it for about 5 min. Sidequest 1: Go on 2 Fellowship walks-- These usually happen almost every Fri or Sat. Sidequest 2: Volunteer work-- I have one scheduled for Sat Aug 5 for an event with one of the food pantries. These can sub for exercise since there's quite a bit of physical activity. I will schedule another soon. Not sure if a spot will land during this challenge but we'll see. Sidequest 3: My cat is getting fat too. I need to chase her around the house more. Goal 4: Housework (to-do list) Outdoor stuff Buy a ladder Clean gutters-- pre-req no. 1 Clear gravel off concrete pads (can sub for exercise) Landscape with gravel? -- pre/co-req no. 3 (can sub for exercise) Dig a low spot for future rain garden (can sub for exercise) Plan, set-up space for outdoor gym? Connect outdoor water spigot Basement stuff Break down boxes Organize hardware and storage shelves. Setup a workshop area (smh) Clean and organize office De-junk-ify (whatever that means) Organize books-- sort by subject, set aside some for selling/donating Bathroom-- Tub repair (If I get this one done this goal is all win). Find a fix/replacement for the stupid claw foot I ruined -- might have to do bricks and boards... luckily the foot is in the back corner where it won't be seen Fit new fixtures. Re-connect plumbing Dining Room/Prayer corner/Studio corner-- I took down my power rack, and am re-claiming my dining room, which also houses my prayer corner, and I'm setting up a studio corner for painting. Basically figuring out a set layout and messing around trying to get it situated. Kitchen-- It's due for a deep clean and an organization overhaul now that the new fridge is situated. Attic crawlspace get up there and check things out lay down some boards over the rafters for gettin' around up there

For those who are new or behind, my main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good naked. I'm struggling with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. (W) I work from home, (4 jobs) as an accountant, so making sure I have enough movement in my day is important. It's very easy to lose track of how much time I've been sitting trying to solve an issue. I use a 5K training plan that I’ve used in the past, 3 days of intervals and 1 - 2 of strength/cross training days, I may graduate to the 10K and half marathon plans this year, I may not. I just want to keep moving. (R) I struggle to get enough sleep so that shall remain on the list until it's no longer a struggle. (E) I found a ‘diet’ plan, the Dr. that came up with its target audience is post-menopausal women. So far I’m down 11 lbs. This has kind of stalled no matter what I do about it so I'm going to just focus on not going overboard, stopping when full, and not blowing my calorie budget. (S) I want to hit at least 7500 steps a day, once this becomes habit I’ll raise it (T) Tracking the things that I eat so I’m aware (L) I’ve been learning Spanish on Duolingo, because this country scares me and I may want to move abroad one day. I want to learn to play guitar.. (E) Extra things that make life worth living, 5k’s or more that I may do, motorcycle rides, FL trips, and life events will go here. Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. I plan on posting daily to make sure I'm on track where I need to be So I'm going to try throwing in the towel with this challenge, not as in giving up, but to focus on the goal. I'm going to take the time to do what I need to do, also making sure I get enough off time, put in the work and effort that hopefully will lead to lower numbers on the scale as well as other health markers that are important. T - Time O - Off (recovery) time W - Work E - Effort L - Lower The Plan... Workout - 5k a day/Weight training program I want to try Rest - Sleep (7 hours a night) Eat - Stay under calories Steps - Hitting my 7500 steps a day goal Track - using Cronometer Learn - Guitar Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life Update - Daily Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ I want to get my granddaughter's item I've been crocheting since before Xmas, finished. Changing the workouts to do things that may work towards my goals a bit better, macros and eating goals are also changing, sleep, steps, tracking is staying the same, learn is now practicing guitar at least five days a week, extra is whatever. My personal life may be falling apart, I am doing my best to keep me from doing the same…therapy is a big part of this, journaling is another part. I'm going to continue doing this, as well as working on getting back to me and what I need in my life. Week 3 I will be on the motorcycle all week for the WOW ride-in, this is a planned break from the workouts

Continuation of Conquius Moves Like the Myrmidons. Introduction Last year, my partner and their father did a Spartan Stadion. For those of you who don't know, it's the 5k Sprint format, but instead of being out in the countryside, it's held in a Stadium. I got to spectate. That was all fine and well, but I thought if I did one myself, I wouldn't want to do it in a hot, concrete Stadium. Well I voiced this thought to my partner a few weeks ago, who then found a Sprint less than 2hrs away, and asked if I'd do that one with them and their father. I accepted! For a few reasons: Sounds fun, and sounds like a decent accomplishment. Training for the Spartan Race will give me an opportunity to round out some parts of my physical fitness that have been previously neglected: Upper Body, Core, and Running. Gives me a good opportunity to impress my partner with my physical prowess 😏😏😏 So that will inform most of my Challenges for this go-round. Work after Work 🏃‍♂️ First Challenge is to create a habit of working out each day after work. I now have a hybrid work schedule where I work 3 days per week In-Office (T, W, R), and 2 days WFH (M, F). It's a traditional 9-5, so my plan is to have my workout clothes close at hand at 5PM, workout, and then I can continue on with my evening. My workouts will focus on two major areas: Running and Calisthenics. Running * Short Runs: 1 mile. Once I can consistently run that distance without stopping, I'll up the distance by 0.25 - 0.5 miles. * Long Runs: 3 miles. Once I can consistently run that distance at a pace better than 10:00 / mi, I'll up the distance by 0.5 miles. Calisthenics * I'm copying Reddit's BWSF Routine pretty directly, and nixing Squats. My legs already get enough work from Running and Cycling. Schedule: * Sunday: rest * Monday: BWSF * Tuesday: Short Run * Wednesday: BWSF * Thursday: Short Run * Friday: BWSF * Saturday: Long Run I'll assess after a week if this schedule is Too Much. The BWSF is more likely to push me into "too much" territory than the running is. Hitting My Mark 🏹 Did you know that if you fail an obstacle on a Spartan Race, you have to do 30 burpees? Did you know that the most commonly failed obstacle on a Spartan Race is the Spear Throw, because so few people can practice it at home? My plan is to incorporate some obstacle-specific training as the Challenge goes on. * For the Spear Throw, you can buy a replica, and I can throw it when I visit my hometown. * For a lot of the grip-based exercises, my partner and I are planning on spending some time at a local climbing gym. * For the loaded carries, my partner and I have thought about buying Farmer's Walk handles, but for now I'm going to stick with 5-gal buckets loaded with water. Own the Morning ☀️ If you remember Conquius Rises with the Dawn, you'll remember that I've historically had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning. I'm better at it now, but now that I'm going into the office every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, I need to be on point. The goal is to keep a regular schedule of getting up at 6 AM when I have to get into the office, and 7 AM when I don't. Getting up at 6 AM lets me do a few things: * Coffee with my Partner: If my partner is going into the office, they get up at 6. This lets me enjoy the morning with them ❤️ * 7AM Metro: If I'm up at 6, I'm out the door by 7, which puts me on a much earlier metro. Earlier metros have fewer people, and are much more pleasant. * Bike Commuting: If I'm bike commuting into work, I need to be up at 6 anyway so I can get into the office on time. I have a secondary goal here of finding a more suitable breakfast. A bagel with vegan cream cheese doesn't keep my satisfied until noon. Right now I'm eyeing Vegan Chicken Salad made with TVP or Soy Curls. Wish me luck!

In 2012 NF was a huge part of my success of losing weight and getting fit. Around 2016 I started slacking. I tried more NF challenges occasionally and but just kept back sliding. With covid, I decided to start a run streak and that lasted 559 days in 2020 to 2021. I was getting back to running well but my diet sucked and was still obese. But again the slacking has crept back in. I got into pokemon go to run and walk more but it just seems like most of the time I just pokemon drive (my son is always too cold or hot to walk and that creeps into my playing even when by myself). I am the heaviest I have ever been and need to find similar motivation to what helped me in 2012. I just had to buy a 2XL shirt because half of my XL shirts don't even fit me despite wearing mediums 10 years ago. I am already on day 4 of a brand spanking new running streak. I think for me running is easy because I enjoy it, but dieting is not because it isn't enjoyable in the short term only in the long term. But I definitely need to foxus on diet more than I did a couple years ago. Dream Qualify for Boston Milestones That Are Obtainable And Realistic In A Year Or Two Run a 5k in under 25 minutes (again) Run an ultra marathon (again) Fit into my NF medium shirts (again) Milestone Baby Steps That Seem Achievable During This Challenge 11 minute mile (ran a 12:08 mile on Tuesday) 5k run (currently around 1.1 miles and definitely could run further but being cautious while getting back into running) Weigh 246 pounds or less (currently 266) Goals To Work Towards Milestone Baby Steps Run at least a mile every day Salad every day 32 oz of water every day Track every calorie

Lore: If you read Conquius Audax, you would know that I was hit by a car last week while riding my bike home from work. The above Lore is vaguely based on that. I am fine, but my bicycle is likely totaled. While I assess my next moves bike-wise, my partner and their father have been threatening to sign me up for a Spartan Race with them. I went to see them do a Stadion last year, and it looked like fun, so I agreed. I think that the preparations for this will be fun, they will make me stronger on the bike, and they'll give me something to focus on while the bike situation shakes out. I decided against waiting until the next 5-Week Challenge to start training because what better time than now? The race we’re doing is a Sprint. 5k Run, 20 Obstacles, and it’s some time in September. Since I have a few months to prepare, I’m going to try to do it right: Build a running base, build calisthenic strength, and move towards obstacle-specific movements closer to the race itself. That last part is outside of the scope of this Challenge. Here’s how I plan to train: Building a Running Base. I have a solid aerobic base from cycling, but my previous attempts at C25K had me burnt out somewhere around Week 4 or 5. I found myself often having to repeat weeks, which was demotivating, so I would stop doing it. Instead of trying something that doesn’t work for me again, I decided to take some pages out of my cycling playbook. When I was a teenager (and even now, bearing down on 30), I really enjoyed putting down miles. One of the most satisfying things was getting to see how many miles I had gone in a single ride, and pushing that number slightly higher. So for building a Running Base, I’m not going to focus on running certain intervals, or for certain amounts of time, I’m going to focus on making distance. This way, I can track my progress by racking up miles. The plan is to do two short runs during the week and one long run on the weekend. With that being said, the desire to put down miles may tempt me to go further or longer than I should starting out, so I’m going to temper this plan with Limitations - one of my favorite habit-forming hacks from James Clear. On my short runs, I can only run 1 mile. I can only run that 1 mile on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work. I can increase that mileage once I can run the full mile without stopping to walk. Once I can run the full mile without stopping to walk, I can increase that distance by 0.5mi. On my long runs, I can only run 3 miles. I can only run those 3 miles on Saturday mornings. Once I can run that full 3 miles in a given time limit (miles * 10min), I can increase that distance by 1 mile. Building a Calisthenic Strength Base. I have a solid base of strength from powerlifting. This will help in obstacles like loaded carries, but for the various pulling obstacles, I’m pretty woefully underprepared. Spartan Races also have a lot of Burpees if you miss an obstacle, so I'll work towards those further down the line. I came across Reddit’s BWSF Routine last week, and I’m a fan. I like how they use Pike Push-Ups as a Vertical Press progression towards HSPU; I like how they use Inverted Rows as an exercise in its own right instead of just a Pull-Up Progression. I like the focus on lower-back and core exercises with the Bridge, Hinge, Dead Bug, and Bird Dog. I’m going to utilize this routine, but I’m going to take out Squats since Leg Strength gets worked through cycling. It’s going to be 3x/week, Monday / Wednesday / Friday. I’m going to Habit Stack working out with finishing work by bringing a change of workout clothes with me so I can change into them and then go workout before I can get distracted by anything else. Obstacles No, not the kind from the Spartan Race, but the kind that life puts up. Here are some obstacles that I foresee myself running into: RTO. My office recently announced a Return-To-Office. We’re in-office 2 days per week right now, but we’ll be 3 days per week by the time this challenge is over. That’s Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I usually either ride my bike into the office, or take the metro. I won’t want to run or exercise after doing either commute, so I’ll bring a change of exercise clothes in my work bag on those days, and exercise before I go home. I have a 1 mile running route planned out from my office, and there’s Calisthenics Equipment in a park not too far away. Travel. I regularly travel to my hometown for my D&D campaign. I often travel down Thursday nights, and return on Sundays. That means that on Thursdays, I’ll go on my run after work, commute home, shower, then travel down to my hometown. Fridays will be interesting, because that’ll be a bodyweight day. I think I have a doorframe pull-up bar that I can use. Saturdays will be my Long Run, which will be equally as difficult to do at home as they will be to do in my hometown, I just have to remember to bring exercise clothes and my running shoes. Diet. Going to increase protein a bit by adding a protein smoothie after my bodyweight workouts. Fatigue. I’m not going to be at my best every day. On days where I’m not at my best, I’m going to keep consistent by turning down the dial. On running days, this will look like walking half or all of my run distance. 3 miles walked is more volume than 0 miles run. On calisthenics days, I’m going to strip my routine down to the most important exercises: Push-Ups, Pull-Ups, Inverted Rows.

For those who are new or behind, my main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good naked, and fit in clothes I used to. I love 5Ks and kettlebells. I'm struggling with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. (W) I work from home, (4 jobs) as an accountant, so making sure I have enough movement in my day as well as not eating "all the unhealthy things" is important. It's very easy to lose track of how much time I've been sitting trying to solve an issue. Not having "all the unhealthy things" in the house also helps. I use a 5K training plan that I’ve used in the past, 3 days of intervals and 1 - 2 of strength/cross training days, I may graduate to the 10K and half marathon plans this year, I may not. I just want to keep moving. ( R )I struggle to get enough sleep so that shall remain on the list until it's no longer a struggle. (E) I found a ‘diet’ plan, the Dr. that came up with its target audience is post-menopausal women. So far I’m down 11 lbs. This has kind of stalled no matter what I do about it so I'm going to just focus on not going overboard, stopping when full, and not blowing my calorie budget. (S) I want to hit at least 7500 steps a day, once this becomes habit I’ll raise it (T) Tracking the things that I eat (L) I’ve been learning Spanish on Duolingo, because this country scares me and I may want to move abroad one day. I also want to learn to play guitar, since I have one collecting dust in my room and it will not learn to play itself. There are plenty of free videos on how to do this on YouTube. Learning something, at least once a week (Duolingo goal is daily) will count towards this. (E) Extra things that make life worth living, 5k’s or more that I may do, motorcycle rides, FL trips, and life events will go here. Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. I plan on posting daily to make sure I'm on track where I need to be The Plan... Workout - Intervals/Kettlebells Rest - Sleep (7 hours a night) Eat - Stay under calories and don’t make excuses to eat the unhealthy things Steps - Hitting my 7500 steps a day goal Track - using Cronometer Learn - Duolingo, other stuff Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life Update - Daily Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ New Stuff: Yes I carry goals over from one challenge to the next, for those that stick around for multiple challenges (I love you, seriously, thank you!) New stuff will always be at the end of the first post Going to make a couple additions to this challenge now that I've gotten my schedule pinned down a bit better. I want to get my granddaughter's item I've been crocheting since before Xmas, done, since it's only about five weeks before I see her! I also want to do something to focus on me each day, this can be (finally) starting to learn to play the guitar, journaling, or riding my bike. I would say reading but I honestly do that every day, and if I put crochet in there it's like cheating LOL I may count crochet anyway...

Holy smokes, it's almost race time! I booked the day before off work so we can go over early, and we got tickets that evening for Distant Worlds, symphonic music of Final Fantasy, so it will be a Top Notch weekend! edit: wow, I went to look at the course map so I could explain that I'm not running on the beautiful mountain in the background there...and had some serious stress when I saw that the elevation gain was like triple what I consider challenging-but-fun...then I realized it was in feet when I'm used to metres, haha. So the total elevation gain is around 700 feet/213 metres, which is perfect. And not that snow-capped mountain. Physical Discipline All in a day's march - run every week. I will be hitting the trails every Saturday, or making time on another day if I know Saturday is too busy, plus I may make time for a few extra runs, especially in week 1 (my spring break!). Combat training - do at least two 20-minute workouts per week. At least 4/10 must be Darebee or Zombies!Workout. If I fit in a second run, that can count for a workout. Trail blazing - run or hike/run in 3 places I don't often get to. Alice Lake counts for 1, so I need to make time for 2 more. Mental Discipline Strengthen the shine - celebrate immediately every time I choose a veggie or movement snack instead of junk food. Celebrate if I succeed at rationing supplies. Ration supplies - no junk food snacks after work on Tuesdays or Thursdays. Stepping it up from last time. Sharpen vision - one hour of painting or gardening per week. Both come under Mental Discipline because they help ground me when I'm struggling with executive dysfunction. Adventure? Decipher ancient mysteries - I plied the yarn! This challenge, I will knit it and spin the next ounce. Say 'yes' to Plot Hooks - schedule two fun social or artistic activities during this challenge, in addition to Race Weekend. Bonus: post here every week!

This challenge is part of an ongoing trek to the 5Peaks BC race at Alice Lake in April. Mr. Radost and I will head over to the mainland and crash with our buddy in Vancouver who last-minute registered to join me on one of my Island trail races this past summer, then all drive up together for the race. I've been imagining the training as a grand cross-country trek and a couple challenges ago I even wrote a little story about it. I feel like I’m heading into the crunch zone so I’m stepping it up a little. Physical Discipline All in a day's march - eight runs in five six weeks, minimum one per week (zero week counts!). I will be hitting the trails every Saturday, or making time on another day if I know Saturday is too busy, plus I will make time for a few weekday evening runs. Combat training - do at least two 20-minute workouts per week. At least 4/10 must be Darebee or Zombies!Workout. Mental Discipline Strengthen the shine - celebrate immediately every time I choose a veggie or movement snack instead of junk food. Celebrate if I succeed at rationing supplies. Ration supplies - no junk food snacks after work on Tuesdays. Why Tuesday? I think it will be the easiest since there’s only about an hour between getting home from work and friends arriving for Pathfinder, so it’s a good place to start. Sharpen vision - one hour of painting or gardening per week. Both come under Mental Discipline because they help ground me when I'm struggling with executive dysfunction. Adventure? Decipher ancient mysteries - finish spinning, ply, and wash the next yarn for my modular knitting project. Bonus: knit a hexipuff if I finish the yarn in time. Say 'yes' to Plot Hooks - schedule two fun social or artistic activities during this challenge. Bonus: post here every week!

For those who are new or behind, my main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good naked, and fit in clothes I used to. I love 5Ks and kettlebells. I'm struggling with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. (W) I work from home, (3 jobs) as an accountant, so making sure I have enough movement in my day as well as not eating "all the unhealthy things" is important. It's very easy to lose track of how much time I've been sitting trying to solve an issue. Not having "all the unhealthy things" in the house also helps. I use a 5K training plan that I’ve used in the past, 3 days of intervals and 1 - 2 of strength/cross training days, I may graduate to the 10K and half marathon plans this year, I may not. I just want to keep moving. ( R )I struggle to get enough sleep so that shall remain on the list until it's no longer a struggle. (E) I found a ‘diet’ plan, the Dr. that came up with its target audience is post-menopausal women. It’s really a combination of several different things like IF, Low Carb/Keto, and Macros. The common denominator is calorie reduction, of course, unless you burn more than you take in, nothing is going to work! My biggest issue is I get tired of trying to figure it all out and do a lot better when someone just tells me how and when to do it, so I’m putting this on easy mode until I lose the weight! So far I’m down 11 lbs. (S) I want to hit at least 7500 steps a day, once this becomes habit I’ll raise it (T) Tracking the things that I eat with an app makes hitting macros and the calorie goal easier, this is in conjunction with E, even though I can eat and not track, doing both is better (L) I’ve been learning Spanish on Duolingo, because this country scares me and I may want to move abroad one day. I also want to learn to play guitar, since I have one collecting dust in my room and it will not learn to play itself. There are plenty of free videos on how to do this on YouTube. Learning something, at least once a week (Duolingo goal is daily) will count towards this. (E) Extra things that make life worth living, date nights with D, 5k’s or more that I may do, motorcycle rides, FL trips, and life events will go here. Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. I plan on posting daily to make sure I'm on track where I need to be The Plan... Workout - Intervals/Kettlebells Rest - Sleep (7 hours a night) Eat - Stick to macros and don’t make excuses to eat the unhealthy things Steps - Hitting my 7500 steps a day goal Track - using Cronometer Learn - Duolingo, other stuff Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life Update - Daily Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️

Sticking with Snowspire for my challenge soundtrack this month. Next month it will probably be something a bit more up-tempo, maybe even Solanaceae, thanks for the recommendation to @Rurik Harrgath! This challenge is part of an ongoing trek to the 5Peaks BC race at Alice Lake in April. Mr. Radost and I will head over to the mainland and crash with our buddy in Vancouver who last-minute registered to join me on one of my Island trail races this past summer, then all drive up together for the race. I've been imagining the training as a grand cross-country trek and wrote a little story about how I got off-track last challenge. This challenge I have some ground to make up, but I think my goals are solid, so...this might look a little familiar. Physical Discipline All in a day's march - run at least once per week. I will be hitting the trails every Saturday, or making time on another day if I know Saturday is too busy. Combat training - do at least two workouts per week. Could be continuing the Darebee Hero's Journey, Zombies!Run home workouts (have to finish Dragon Flight!), or 20 minutes of RingFit Adventure/Just Dance (thanks, Santa!). Mental Discipline Strengthen the shine - celebrate immediately every time I choose a veggie or movement snack instead of junk food. Check out my last challenge for an explanation of where this comes from and why. This was a tough one last challenge, I know I can do better. I need to make that good choice more often, and I need to follow through and actually do the celebration, not just think about it and then tell myself "yeah, but it's not like this is actually an awesome thing to celebrate..." Sharpen vision - one hour of painting or gardening per week. I'd really like to be doing more painting...which means I need to actually set aside time to do it, right? I do have some garden tasks that need to happen before spring planting, so that's the one activity that may bump this one. Both come under Mental Discipline because they help ground me when I'm struggling with executive dysfunction. Adventure? Decipher ancient mysteries - over the whole challenge, complete one set of hexipuffs from already-spun yarn, and spin one skein from the next puff of fibre. Long ago, I started a modular fibrecraft project: a Beekeeper's Quilt that I would knit out of handspun yarn. I realized this week that the project will be 10 years old this year! I'm not going to dream of an extreme goal like finishing it (I have probably 32/300 puffs made, haha), but I am committing to working on it regularly again this year. Say 'yes' to Plot Hooks - schedule two fun activities for this month. The past four years have been stressful. I was working 3 jobs, then 2 jobs/back at school, then one job + school during pandemic, and now back to pandemic + 2 jobs (which only add up to about 38 hours/week, but one of them is fairly high stress). I've definitely been hermiting in my home blanket fort. But this winter I decided to start seeking adventure. The important ones were going to the ballet (Nutcracker! Including one of the kids I've looked after for the past 11 years!) and sending hand-made Solstice cards to some pocket friends. Small adventures by some standards, but adventures nonetheless! I even inspired Mr. Radost to grab his own Plot Hook and register for a dance class at the local rec centre! So I'm going to find at least two novel activities I can say yes to during this challenge. Bonus: learn from the Hawk - watch two videos from the Painting Big Patreon collection during the challenge.

For those who are new or behind, my main goal is weight loss, for health reasons as well as I want to look good naked, and fit in clothes I used to. I love 5Ks and kettlebells. I'm struggling with this goal because it doesn't get easier when you get older. Changing some things up in the new year and clarifying some goals, so this is a test run for 2023 to see what may need adjusting further. (W) I work from home, (3 jobs) as an accountant, so making sure I have enough movement in my day as well as not eating "all the unhealthy things" is important. It's very easy to lose track of how much time I've been sitting trying to solve an issue. Not having "all the unhealthy things" in the house also helps. I use a 5K training plan that I’ve used in the past, 3 days of intervals and 1 - 2 of strength/cross training days, I may graduate to the 10K and half marathon plans this year, I may not. I just want to keep moving. ( R )I struggle to get enough sleep so that shall remain on the list until it's no longer a struggle. (E) I found a ‘diet’ plan, the Dr. that came up with its target audience is post-menopausal women. It’s really a combination of several different things like IF, Low Carb/Keto, and Macros. The common denominator is calorie reduction, of course, unless you burn more than you take in, nothing is going to work! My biggest issue is I get tired of trying to figure it all out and do a lot better when someone just tells me how and when to do it, so I’m putting this on easy mode until I lose the weight! So far I’m down 11 lbs. 🙂 (S) I want to hit at least 7500 steps a day, once this becomes habit I’ll raise it (T) Tracking the things that I eat with an app makes hitting macros and the calorie goal easier, this is in conjunction with E, even though I can eat and not track, doing both is better (L) I’ve been learning Spanish on Duolingo, because this country scares me and I may want to move abroad one day. I also want to learn to play guitar, since I have one collecting dust in my room and it will not learn to play itself. There are plenty of free videos on how to do this on YouTube. Learning something, at least once a week (Duolingo goal is daily) will count towards this. (E) Extra things that make life worth living, date nights with D, 5k’s or more that I may do, motorcycle rides, FL trips, and life events will go here. Checking in to hold myself accountable is key to this being successful, I don't want to have to post bad news here. I plan on posting daily to make sure I'm on track where I need to be The Plan... Workout - Intervals/Kettlebells Rest - Sleep (7 hours a night) Eat - Stick to macros and don’t make excuses to eat the unhealthy things Steps - Hitting my 7500 steps a day goal Track - using Cronometer Learn - Duolingo, other stuff Extra - Rides, 5k's, events, and life Update - Daily Done - 🌈 Not Done - ❄️ An additional note, my second grandchild is due to be born before the end of the year, so updates may not be able to be as frequent while I'm traveling

Title inspired by some wintry fantasy ambient/dungeon synth by Snowspire, check it out here! It's hibernation time, but I'm gearing up to trudge across the frozen wastes. I must make it to Alice Lake by April 15! When I arrive, I will join in the ritual ascent to the peak, so I must prepare my body and my mind through the coming months. There will be adventure, surely, but also the discipline of repetition. One foot in front of the other. Physical Discipline All in a day's march - run at least once per week. Walking is acceptable if snow/ice makes running dangerous, but otherwise I will be hitting the trails every Saturday, or making time on another day if I know Saturday is too busy. Combat training - do at least one workout per week. The past few weeks I've been meshing together the Zombies!Run Dragon Flight workout story with the Darebee Hero's journey. It's working pretty well to get me active and not bored, but I don't like that I can't set the Dragon Flight workouts to run less than 30 minutes, so there will probably be some weeks when I do my own thing instead because let's face it, December is a busy month. Mental Discipline Strengthen the shine - celebrate immediately every time I choose a veggie or movement snack instead of junk food. In Tiny Habits, B.J. Fogg makes the case that while long-term goals are important to motivation and help us discipline ourselves, humans are overall built to prioritize immediate reward. We need to know our Big Why and see how our moment-to-moment actions connect to it, but we can train ourselves to start new, healthy habits by celebrating - by creating the feeling that Fogg calls "shine" - immediately, the second we do the thing. When the reward happens right away, it connects the behaviour and the reward in the lizard brain as well as the thinking brain, whereas long-term reward systems only work for the thinking brain. My celebrations include: singing the Final Fantasy fanfare (with a li'l dance if I'm feeling super happy and not too shy), imagining the feeling of cresting a mountain peak in cool drizzle and looking out across the cloud-shadowed conifers on the surrounding hills, or just simply saying, "Hey! You just did the thing!" Adventure? There is no adventure inside the box - do something creative every week. Writing (game prep counts!), knitting, painting, decorating the house, crafting, taking photos. Say 'yes' to Plot Hooks - schedule two fun winter activities for this month. I have a few things already planned (seeing one of the kids I nanny dance in the Nutcracker! Family & friends sing-along Christmas party!) but I want to make sure I actually get out and do some things with my special people. Possible plot hooks include: Christmas light wander with Mr. Radost and Sibling B; carolling with my vocal ensemble; coffee and/or a walk with a friend; run at a park on the outskirts of town instead of the golf course right by my house.