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The real mystery this time is going to be dealing with uncertainties of life. I don't know what my means and opportunities will be for most of the coming weeks, so I am going to plan my goals carefully and conservatively. Run 60 miles. Here's why this one is tricky – I'd like to start planning some races for the fall, because I should have time this year. As those plans come together, I'll be evaluating my fitness and my training needs so I can craft a training plan. I'm sure whatever I settle on will include at least 60 miles, so I'm setting the goal conservatively there, understanding that the final plan may be quite different. Bonus points all around once I actually make that plan. Push-ups 400 total. I really want to keep doing these, but I haven't been doing so well the last few challenges so I'm reducing the goal. I can always hope for more. Feel free to hurl (good-natured) insults and degrading remarks my way if you see me slacking. Stretch 18 points total, awarded 2 points each for a solid yoga, back or extra stretching routine. 1 point if it's half-ass. Bonus points all around if I can get back into my former post-run stretching – I've really got out of this habit. Oh, the shame! Strength 16 points total, 2 points each for a solid workout. I won't have my favorite adjustable dumbbells around this time (aack!), so bodyweight or whatever I can come up with counts. Apologies for the late start. There's a good excuse, I'm sure. See you out there!!

Background Three weeks to the Mighty Mosquito 99 trail race! So my main priority for week zero is to finish my last week of full training, week one and week two for a progressive taper, week three for recovery and who knows after that. So for this challenge it makes more sense to just have a weekly goal and will include a graded week zero, so 2 stat points for each of the seven weeks and 1 stat point for the race. I think I might have a biking goal later on in the challenge, maybe a walking for recovery goal, I don't know yet. Weekly goals can be refined as long as the week hasn't started yet. Week Zero 100 mile week +2 STA (grading based on 50 to 100 miles) Week One Workout easy and short everyday +2 DEX (grading based on 3 to 7 days) Week Two Primal eating +2 CON (grading based on Monday through Friday) Mighty Mosquito 99 Do the race +1 STA (grading based on 33 to 99 miles) Week Three Easy recovery +2 WIS (grading based on who knows, how does someone grade recovery) Week Four Continue recovery with 15 dog walks (boy oh boy will my dog love this!). +2 CHA Week Five Five bike rides? +2 DEX Week Six To be determined. +2 ? Stats LVL: 23, FAILS: 2, STR: 37, DEX: 32.5, STA: 53.5, CON: 25.75, WIS: 19.5, CHA: 14.75

Main Quest Prepare for a 99 miler on August 8-9. News Year's Resolutions Keep Calm & Play Background Definitely time to get ready for the ultra. So long runs and daily running really help that. I also want to keep an eye on what I eat and really like how primal eating works for me. I want to keep up the lifting and bodyweight. And of all the bodyweight, the handstand I really want so a specific goal for that. Goals Attack Food Soldiers 1) Made smart primal choices every day +5 CON Running 2) Run every day (40 days) +3 STA 3) Run long once a week +3 STA Lifting 4) Lift heavy once a week +2 STR Handstand 5) Do 200 minutes of handstand during the challenge +1 CHA Bodyweight Momentum 6) Do 20 bodyweight reps every day (5 seconds of non-handstand static hold counts as 1 rep) +1 WIS

Main Quest Prepare for a 99 miler on August 8-9. News Year's Resolutions Keep Calm & Play Challenge Introduction So there is only 2.15 challenges until my 99 miler (granted there are 2 two week breaks in that time too). So I want to focus on long runs. Also after this challenge is a 5k I am running, so I want to do some 5k specific work too to see if I can get a PR again. I plan to keep doing barbells workouts (but aiming for 2 times a week instead of 3). And I want to add in daily bodyweight exercise. Last challenge I did great going 95% primal and want to continue that. Near the end of the challenge I added several days of skipping breakfast (aka intermittent fasting) and this works fairly well for me. Growing up I used to skip lunch nearly every day and through intermittent fasting it makes more sense to skip breakfast to have a longer fast window and to optimize fat burning (which I want for the 99 miler). I thought about having a goal for this but I kind of like just doing it based on feel instead and see the being primal as the real goal. Goals (1) 95% primal +4 CON (2a) At least 40 workouts +2 DEX (2b) At least 6 workouts over 2 hours +2 STA (2c) At least 2 practice 5k < 25:00 +2 STR (3) Bodyweight 36 times (20 push ups, 10 pull ups, 10 pistol squats each leg, 60 second handstand) +2 STR (4) Spend time purposely outside 36 times +1 WIS +1 CHA Stats LVL: 21, FAILS: 2, STR: 32, DEX: 30.5, STA: 46.25, CON: 21, WIS: 18.25, CHA: 13.75

I have chosen the two pillars of my next challenge – serenity and flexibility – because these are two aspects of my life which have recently given me a feeling of great balance. These were actually unexpected benefits from the challenge we just finished, so I wanted to focus more energy on them in the coming six weeks. I accomplished things in my last challenge – my first – that I didn’t know were possible for me. I have lost almost 15 inches and 16 pounds, and I have sustained a daily gratitude practice that has transformed my life. But I want to go further. I am looking for the peace that comes with knowing myself and my heart, and the practices I have planned in my second quest will hopefully help me deepen that knowledge. To get to know myself even better, I guess I'm going to have to spend some time with Me. I’m going to do this through spending Me time in the woods, on the yoga mat, and through continuing the meditation practice I started in my last challenge. Running My budding running practice has given me a sense of balance and peace I have not known before. When it’s good, it’s almost like a moving meditation for me. As I run more, I find that I do not enjoy road-running AT ALL. I am most at peace in nature, walking and running on sun-dappled trails with the smell of leaves and earth and moss all around me. In the next six weeks, I would like to 1) increase my distance to the point that I am running 5k easily and regularly, and 2) wean myself from the “dreadmill†by getting out to the trails near my home multiple times a week. For the first three weeks of this challenge, I will be completing the Couch-to-5k training program I started in the middle of my last challenge. When I complete the program, I will be running in a 5k for charity. After that, I will focus exclusively on running trails until the weather leaves the trails un-navigable. The ultimate goal will be to conquer the Hickory Grove Trail, a 3-mile dirt/gravel trail in a conservation area near my house. I would like to be able to run the entire three miles of the trail with ease by the end of this challenge. The next six weeks looks like this in my mind: Week 1 – complete C25k Week 6 program – 3 runs Week 2 – complete C25k Week 7 program – 3 runs Week 3 – complete C25k Week 8 program and run Pink Laundry 5k on 10/6 Week 4 – Run 2x5k on treadmill plus 1 Hickory Grove trail run Week 5 – Run 1x5k on treadmill plus 2 Hickory Grove trail runs Week 6 – Run 3 Hickory Grove trail runs For ease of grading, I will add one distance walk per week. Thus, the grading scale will be as follows: 3 runs + weekly distance walk completed: A 2 runs + weekly distance walk completed: B 1 run + weekly distance walk completed: C 1 run or 1 distance walk completed: D No run or walk completed: F Yoga Practice I have also found serenity in practicing yoga. I am still an uber-novice, but I would like to increase the frequency of my practice in order to increase mental and physical awareness and gain even more flexibility. I will be increasing my yoga practice to 5x per week over the course of this 6-week challenge. I’d really like to be able to complete an entire Shiva Rea vinyasa yoga dvd without having to leave out any poses by the end of the 6 weeks, I’m just not sure how to make this part a measurable mission lol. For ease of grading, I’ll keep the frequency as the measurable part. Here’s what the grading scale will look like for the yoga mission: 5x yoga practice/week: A 4x yoga practice/week: B 3x yoga practice/week: C 2x yoga practice/week: D 1 or fewer yoga practice/week: F Meditation I was extremely successful introducing basic meditation into my daily practice in the last challenge. It made a great improvement in my mental state and overall sense of balance, and I would like to continue and deepen that practice with the current challenge. I will change my approach to be less mantra-centered and more focused on emptying my mind. Ideally, this would be a daily practice, but I learned in the last challenge that flexibility is the foundation of sanity in my house. J Here is the grading scale: Meditating 5x or more/week: A Meditating 4x/week: B Meditating 3x/week: C Meditating 2x/week: D Meditating 1x/week: F Life Goal: People IRL I have virtually no social life. I see pictures on Facebook of women and their “tribes†of supporters at various outings and functions, and it makes me somewhat wistful. I’ve never really had a tribe of people in person – I have been content to keep track of my closest friends, who live far away, via email. I am going to set out to change that and build a foundation for creating my own tribe here IN REAL LIFE. I am going to commit to having at least one IRL meeting with a friend each week. This could be getting coffee or going out for a drink, or getting together for a project. This is over and above my daily workouts, which I do with a workout buddy. I need to increase face-time with folks I like, not just chatting on Facebook or communicating solely via text message. This is an all-or-nothing goal – either I pass or I fail.

Hey guys! I'm back! I finally got a job and started getting paid! Yay! I've done a great job of proving my worth in the lab and getting experiments done, and I did a pretty good job of getting my finances organized and in order, but this summer I failed on the fitness front. This summer I ran the Pineland Trails 10K in May, the Bands on the Run 5K, and the Bradbury Mountain Scuffle (6 mi) and each one kicked my @$$! I hardly ever went to the gym even after I got my access back. I really messed up my knee (I fell down some hills) in the Scuffle, but I fell in love with trail running! Something about the fact that I still have marks on my legs from July 14 isn't really discouraging me. That said, I can't just start running again because I lack the ability to pace myself. I also have trouble motivating myself to find time during my work day to get out and run. My mission is to "scout the forest" so to speak and prepare for my next trail run: the Bayside Trail 5K on November 3rd. I would like to be able to train at a slow enough pace to remain injury free, but be able to run the full 5K. This will involve a slow, steady running plan and proper nourishment: Scout the forest: Run 3 times per week. Find the watering hole: Drink 64 oz of water per day Update your quest log: Log food and exercise every dayLike I said, I've done a great job at working, but I really want to go back to school, so I really should spend more time studying. To help me level up and obtain my PhD, I would like to study at least 1 hour per day, but study 15 hours per week. This could mean online classes, studying from textbooks or reading papers. I’ll provide starting measurements tomorrow! Good luck everyone!

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie at the six week challenge. Trying to figure this all out and keep my head above water. My goals: Run a 5K without stopping Perform 20 full pushups Cut out all forms of pizza (my weak food) Eat breakfast at home everyday (save serious cash) If anyone has any pointers, I'd like to hear them.