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Salutations and good health! I am pleased to have found the Rebellion after mourning the decay of Fitocracy for many years. I have been doing some kind of fitness activity for the past 15 years, but as an overweight office worker it is easy for me to fall out of shape quickly. Recently, the romantic siren call of the Triathalon has caught my ears and I am toying with preparing for one. I've never done a Tri before, and the last time I buckled down and did a training plan (6 years ago) I ended up getting freaked out after getting kicked in the head at a lap swim and yelled at -- if I can't be brave in the pool, how would I withstand Lake Michigan!? But I am a mom now and have taught my daughter that being scared is part of being brave, and so I am ready to try this again. Only ... I don't have a swim suit. Or a bike. And I haven't run a mile all year. Last summer I ran with a friend, but we did slow-paced intervals and I want to be a 30 minute 5K gal. So I'm basically re-spawning. My challenges three are for each aspect of the Triathalon.... 1) Run a 13 minute mile (I know I need a 9:30 for my speed goal, but I can do speed work later) 2) Buy a swimsuit (anyone have a recommendation for large bellies and long torsos?) 3) Save $50/week ($250 total) toward a new bike Here's a picture of my secret possum scarf -- a very expensive silk vestment I purchased to enchant my work day. It is like a cloak of invisibility for anxiety. On the outside I look competent, but secretly I am a shrieking anxious possum. I'm ready to possum-shriek my way through a triathlon! Or at least through the first baby steps of training! My name is Aubrey, but y'all can call me Aubrazilla

New Challenge! So I skipped the last challenge due to busyness and laziness. Since the IRONMAN New Orleans 70.3 I have been eating like Kirby from Nintendo and just inhaling everything. I need to get back on track starting this week, especially since Eagleman 70.3 is Sunday. I did PR my 5k last Monday with a 7:21 mile pace which as very nice since I had not PR'd for 6 years, and I beat it by about 1:30. The training is paying off! I have finally managed some good time management with training and life and I would like to invest some time into my hobbies. So I will be posting lots of image updates of me working on my new reef aquarium, cars, magic cards, building a deck, and gardening. Hopefully I can continue and really get some time in on these instead of watching TV in the evenings.

I've decided to try out this four week challenge thing. I sort of started off in NF going straight for a battle log and marathon training and didn't stop to do something shorter. I've since gained a knee injury that requires recovery and I've always flirted with the idea of doing a triathalon. See what I did there? Eh? T-R-I swimming? You'll laugh later. I am going to try and build up to swimming 3.8 km (the distance swam in Iron Man competitions). So, I’ve come up with a steady buildup to swimming the distance (link). This shouldn’t be too bad because I’ve been working the past six months to build up to marathon running condition. The only problem I see is getting my distance swims in with any accuracy. The pool at the Y is pretty crowded on Saturdays so I don’t think I’ll be able to get 76 laps in on the last day. I think my only hope will be to find some open water to swim in (link). The legality and safety of some locations is fairly questionable, but at least I’d be able to look up the distances I’m swimming. I might try to cap it off with a swim in Walden pond and a rambling post reflecting on my challenge. I also need to GAIN some weight. I’ve dropped down to almost 150 and I think I can see my heart beating. I’m going to kick up the calorie count, but I’m also going to try ramping up my fat intake. I’ve been reading Eat Fat Get Thin (link) and the portion of the book that isn’t 30 day diet dreck is well researched nutritional analysis based on studies undertaken in nutrition wards instead of population correlations and diet journals. I see a lot of avocados and trail mix in my future. My goals: Build up to swimming 3.8km. Eat 3000 calories per day. Get back under a barbell. Strengthening routines for IT band syndrome (thanks @Dilnad).

Me the last two weeks: So After IRONMAN 70.3 New Orleans I slacked and ate like Kirby. Last week I got my butt in gear and hit all my workouts. This challenge I am going to keep hitting my workouts, eat appropriately, get my house work done, and stay on target. Each day I will pick a Video game character to be my goal. No races during this challenge other than a Memorial Day 5k, I may sign up for a GORUCK over memorial day weekend as well, but it will be a last minute thing.

I spent several days last week minutely configuring my challenge for this go-round, and yesterday during my workout I completely scrapped the whole thing. It was all about intensity and improvement and other Very Important Things, and it was just so serious. I've been a little off-kilter since I came back from my trip (I think all the planning and prep left a psychological vacuum) and I decided I just wanted to have some fun this time around. Inspired by Sloth's Buck Rogers challenge (God, I loved that show when I was a kid) and my teenage obsession with 80's detective shows, I bring you the Man... the Myth... the Moustache... The Magnum, PI challenge! Magnum PI is not exactly classic nerd fodder, but it has everything a slightly OCD nerd with both wanderlust and minor issues with authority could ask for: Magnum drove a Ferrari, which was the closest thing to a spaceship in automobile form at that time. Magnum was a Navy Seal, and ran the Ironman Triathlon in one episode. Fitness, bitches! Magnum ran his own detective agency, was his own boss, and lived on his own terms. Magnum was exciting, always doing something new; flying in a helicopter, exploring Hawaii, being abducted and chloroformed, fighting off sharks with a taser, whatever. Magnum had that mustache. Best of all, Magnum had Higgins. Higgins was the ID to Magnum’s Ego, the voice of sanity when all else was madness. Higgins was structured, offering Magnum discipline when he needed it. Higgins was organization in the midst of chaos. I bet Higgins meal prepped. So! to turn this into a challenge, I just tweaked those items and applied them to my own saga: Magnum drives a Ferrari: I desperately need a new car. I currently drive a PT Cruiser with 184,000 miles on it, and it’s falling apart. The front end is all crumpled because the two front tires have come off in two separate incidents, crushing the bumpers (causing one of my friends to note, “You’re the only person I know who literally drove their car till the wheels fell off” and another to chime in “And then put them back on the fucking car!"). It looks so bad that when I go to see clients I have to park it a few blocks away for fear they’ll see it. I keep procrastinating about buying a new car because it seems like so much hassle, but the PT stranded me again last week and it’s got to go. I won’t be getting a Ferrari - I have my eye on a second-hand Kia Soul - but by the end of this challenge I will have upgraded my wheels. Magnum was a Navy Seal, and ran the Ironman Triathlon in one episode. I am going to upgrade my workouts to make them more challenging; I’m switching from all enduro mileage on my bike to 90% hill and interval training, and I’m upping my gym workout from 2 to 3 times a week. I also built a small agility course in my backyard with cones and 2x4’s and an old tire. The Navy Seals have a series of benchmarks for their training (tread water for two minutes, ruck x amount of miles, rip the leg off a bear and eat it) so I will set some benchmarks for improving my own fitness: Weights: back squat 135 lbs for 3 sets of 20, 30 sec rest Bike: 5 loops around Stone Mountain with no rests and without crying like a little child My Ironman equivalent will probably be this hilly metric in May. Or maybe I’ll go nuts and find a (short) triathlon to do. Magnum ran his own detective agency, was his own boss, and lived on his own terms. And he lived on a palatial estate! Really, for someone who’s as obsessed with lifestyle design as I am, Magnum is gold. He had that shit on lock. He perfected the art of living like a rich person without having to be one. Since I’m going back to work, I’m going to model my work style on our favorite investigator’s; focus on running my own business, developing my career in the direction I want, and keeping as many options open as possible. If I can find a palatial tropical estate to live on for free, I’ll let y’all know and we’ll have a party. Magnum was exciting: I am not exciting. I need to get out more, preferably without breaking the bank. My goal is to do two new things a week - hike a new trail, see a new movie, eat a new foreign cuisine, something. Magnum had that mustache. Sorry, no. But I assure you that if I forget to get them groomed I have those identical eyebrows. Best of all, Magnum had Higgins. I would kill to have my own Higgins - half Mr. Miyagi, half Obi-wan Kenobi, half Severus Snape. I realize that’s three halves. The next best thing is to become my own Higgins, and try to import some of that structure and discipline into my life. Higgins both meditates and contemplates bushido, the way of the warrior; he carries both his body and his mind with precision. I bet Higgins doesn’t do things like wear workout clothes all day and forget to cut his hair for a year. (true story: I have not had a haircut since last July. I just keep cutting my own bangs and ignoring the rest.) I could really use some of that formality in my existence. Higgins is also a master of objectivity, which I am terrible at - I take things way too personally - and he manages both the Robin’s Nest and Magnum with the same unruffled dignity. If I could integrate some Higgins into my wild child “fuck you, I want this doughnut” personality, my life would probably be easier. So that's it, welcome to the Magnum Challenge! Pina Coladas are on the table to your left and we're all going out in Hawaiian shirts later to a cheesy tiki bar.

If some superhero nerd out here has triathlon, half marathon, and strength training experience and could point me on a plan or lend suggestions, I'd be super grateful! Or even just pointing me toward resources that may be useful. My fitness goals, life details, and fitness preferences any plan would have to take into consideration: Fitness Goals: 1.) On Sunday, May 4, 2014 I am running a half marathon through a slightly hilly course. This is my first half marathon I need to build up to the 13.1 miles I am not looking to finish front or even middle of the pack, just finish and enjoy the experience Right now, I can run about 6 miles at a 10 minute mile pace before the run becomes labored. 2.) I want to do an Olympic length triathlon within 2 years. (.93mi swim, 24.8mi bike, 6.2mi run) I do not have a baseline to offer for my swimming and biking 3.) I want to incorporate strength training that will give me stability, mobility, and injury prevention for these endurance race goals. 4.) I want to incorporate stretching for the same reason as strength training. 5.) My lofty goals are to someday do an Iron Man triathlon, and bike across America someday. Life Details: 1.) I have enough free time to workout on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 2.) I have access to: A weight room (dumbbells, barbells, dip bar, pull up bar, squat rack, bench press, and a bunch of machines I don't want to touch) Indoor cardio (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, Olympic swimming pool) Outdoor cardio (lots of biking/running trails, high school track, swimming pool, lake [in summer], a bike) Fitness Preferences: 1.) I get bored doing the same mode of cardio more than 2 workouts in a row. ex.) Workout 1: Run, Workout 2: Run, Workout 3: I'd really rather not run 2.) I need to build up my mileage slowly to avoid injury. (I'm prone to shin splints and knee throbbing) 3.) If I am going to strength train, I want to do it right. Efficient, compound exercises done with body-weight or barbell 4.) I am not opposed to minimalist shoe running in very very small, foot strengthening doses. But, I am not striving at all to be the barefoot guy at the race. 5.) If the ground is slippery outside (snow/mud), I prefer to work out in my gym (treadmills, swimming pool, stationary bikes.) Given I live in New England, in the winter, it is slippery at least 1/3 of the week. I don't like to feel derailed from my plan due to inclement weather, so back up plans for inside work is vital. 6.) I want to give the muscles used in a workout enough time to recover before their next usage. 7.) I will not be willing to workout longer than 2 hours (and even that is pushing it, unless it is for specific mileage building training) 8.) I understand fitness in terms of pounds, miles, and other wacky imperial units. What I'm hoping to have when I make the completed plan: A plan that takes into account my resources, my goals, and my schedule. A plan that won't over-train me or leave me susceptible to injury. A plan that will both set me forward into triathlon training, and prepare me for my upcoming half marathon. A plan with every workout scheduled and marked on an intuitive calendar for at least a year (preferably 2). A plan with back ups for cruddy or dangerous weather. A plan with strength training, (rep and set aims as well as progressions of intensity.) A plan with what stretches and movements to do in warm up and cool downs for each activity. Thanks for the help!!