Wild Wolf Joins Orion Team

[Wild Wolf]

Orion Team- A highly secretive organization supported by the CIA but outside the Agency.

 

 

Steering away from Absolver this challenge and getting back to my Sheepdog routes, I want to forge things this challenge. And by things, I mean: resiliency, strength, fortitude and creativity. How will I do that, though? How do I measure these things? By pushing myself. By burning my boat, pressing forward and never, ever quitting. I am here to rebuild the status quo and I think I have just the plan.

 

Once, long ago, I was given a name. A name in which I earned: The Werespartan. Then, something happened. I broke. At the end of January 2016, I took a nasty fall playing RL Quidditch and separated my left shoulder. They diagnosed it as a Type 2 separation and this type of injury is one that never really "heals". The AC joint remains separated but I basically have full range and control over my shoulder. The next 6 months was spent rehabbing and getting back to a normal routine. It was tough, but I endured and remained positive. Now, I'm not limited to much. Just the past weekend, I went the Ninja Warrior gym near me with my two brothers and spent almost 2 hours there! (BTW, the 14 ft Warp Wall aint got nothing on the Wild Wolf . My brother is editing a video together and once it's complete, I'll post it on here for everyone.)

 

I want to get back to being the Werespartan. Maybe even run another Spartan Race?? Firs things first.....my cardio base sucks ass right now. I haven't ran in a while and I'm out of practice, so, running is the first step to getting back to Werespartan status. If I could have it my way with running, it would be trail running, and I'm looking to hit up the trail this weekend and every weekend this challenge. I also need to diversify my workouts again. There's nothing wrong with what I've been doing but I feel like I'm becoming one dimensional and I don't like it one bit. I'm pulling out my Obstacle Dominator 12-week minimalist plan to help aid me over the next couple weeks. It will need to be scaled down which is fine, but it offers various degree of strength training, power, and running. An example workout:

 

• 400m repeat until you have a 4 second fall of from your first repetition- once you are finished rest 5 minutes and then complete a 400m lunge for time

 

Yeah. Lol. Just cuz it said minimalist doesn't mean it meant "easy" lol. Since my gym doesn't have a rower, I going to subsitute with the stationary bike and jump rope, I'll just double the distance required for the row and perform that on the bike. It really sucks we don't have a rower cuz I love that thing!

 

Now that you guys know my game plan, what does this have to do with Orion Team? Coming out this Friday is a movie called American Assassin. It's based off a book by Vince Flynn of the same name and is about a young 23-year old named Mitch Rapp and how he becomes one of the most deadly operatives to ever live.

 

 

American Assassin is the....7th book in the Mitch Rapp series? but this book starts out when Mitch is young and how he becomes the worldly badass he's known to be in the early works of fiction. (I decided to start my reading here and not in chronological order due to the movie and wanting to start things from the very beginning.) Orion Team is the secret organization that Mitch is apart of that works outside of the Agency to fight terrorism and I liked the idea of myself being apart of this group. Running, push-ups and pull-ups will be apart of my regular routine and I will embrace the PT lifestyle + the Werespartan lifestyle to create something new and something fresh.

 

What does it take to be apart of Orion Team?

 

 

Resiliency

 

Recovery is always overlooked in training and that is something I do not wish to do. I can train hard but I must rest hard as well. Bedtime has become a small issue for me and lack of sleep is just hurting me in the long run. During the week, especially on training days, get 8+ hours of sleep. Recovery also consists of eating clean and getting in adequate amounts of protein. Back off the fasting on training days and fast on non training days. 

 

Strength

 

PT training + Obstacle Dominator. 3x a week minimum. Post workouts for accountability.

 

 

Fortitude

 

This goal is all about running and accumulating miles throughout the challenge. Let's say 40 miles total this challenge. Bonus: If I reach 50 miles on the challenge, I can reward myself. (Reward TBD) I also need to start using my training mask I bought like a year ago. I've hardly used it and it makes me sad it's collecting dust!

 

 

Creativity 

 

Keep reading my Bible Chapters-Keep listening to audible-Keep sharpening my mind with creative writing. Dedicate 1 hour a week to creative writing. Also, apply for 3 jobs each week and finish polishing off my profile on Linked In.

 

Thank you all for supporting me and journeying with me this challenge! I'm excited to get back on my running game and hit up the trails this challenge!

 

 

Wolf

[Wild Wolf]

Reserved for Miles

 

Week 1:

 

Week 2:

 

Week 3:

 

Week 4:

 

Martial Arts

 

• I'm still looking at trying out that Wing Chun class plus a Krav Maga class and even explore BJJ/MMA gyms around me. 

 

Ninja Warrior Gym

 

• I will prolly go here at least one more time because the open gym day pass is only $15. Plus, I got a KILLER all around workout that day.

 

Challenge Rewards

 

• TBD

 

Wolf

[jonfirestar]

You know I love this challenge, brother! I'm here to see you totally kill it!

[Laghail]

Excellent, the werespartan returns!

[Charlie_Quinn]

1 hour ago, Wild Wolf said:

Maybe even run another Spartan Race??

 

*cough* OCR Accountability Group

 

Of course I'm following this challenge! How could I not!

[Wild Wolf]

1 hour ago, jonfirestar said:

You know I love this challenge, brother! I'm here to see you totally kill it!

 

Hell yeah! You've inspired me enough to get me running again  

 

1 hour ago, Laghail said:

Excellent, the werespartan returns!

 

Lags!!

 

 

57 minutes ago, Charlie_Quinn said:

 

*cough* OCR Accountability Group

 

Of course I'm following this challenge! How could I not!

 

I need to get back on that accountability group! Not sure I'll make any Spartans this year since the next one near me is sold out, but there's always next year and by the time Race Season starts, I'll be more than ready! Good to have ya as always, CQ!

 

I forgot to mention something in my write-up. I saw IT this past weekend and LOVED IT!! OMG, it was soooooooo good. Bill Skarsgard does such a good job as Pennywise that I had flash backs of Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. Damn good movie! I wanna see it again lol. And this goes to show you how the voice of the actor plays such a heavy role. Pennywise's look was creepy AF, but damn his voice is even creepier! 

 

 

GO SEE IT!

 

I also downloaded the audible version this weekend. I'm going to dive into that once I finish the Stand...which still has like 39 hours left! HAHA! But The Stand has been really good. I can't ignore the fact that Nick and I share the same birthday! I literally yelled out in glee when I heard that! And if you're wondering which part, it's when Nick goes to write his life story down for the Sheriff and states that he was born November 14th, 1968, 19 years before I was born! I love it when I have a birthday buddy!

 

Wolf

[RhiaWolfe]

There you are Wolf Friend! Following! 

 

59 minutes ago, Wild Wolf said:

 

 

 

GO SEE IT!

 

I also downloaded the audible version this weekend.

 

OMG, it was so good!!!!!! I LOVED IT! That's even after I read the book, I loved it. I like the changes they made. I loved the scares. I loved Pennywise. I loved the kids. It was amazing! 

[jonfirestar]

1 hour ago, Wild Wolf said:

Hell yeah! You've inspired me enough to get me running again  

Hell yeah! I utterly amazed myself last challenge  

[Terra]

WHAT?!?!?!  They are making a movie of the Vince Flynn books??? Those books are amazeballs!  Love this theme 

 

As for all the rest... no comment

 

 

[Wild Wolf]

2 hours ago, RhiaWolfe said:

There you are Wolf Friend! Following! 

 

 

OMG, it was so good!!!!!! I LOVED IT! That's even after I read the book, I loved it. I like the changes they made. I loved the scares. I loved Pennywise. I loved the kids. It was amazing! 

 

Yay!! I'm glad you enjoyed it too! The kids were great! You woulda thought they were all real life friends with their chemistry. Man....I wanna go see it again! My buddy Chad made a good point that Pennywise is the new Freddy Krueger, and I would gave to agree. However, Pennywise might have a "one-up" on Freddy because his victims don't need to be sleeping to kill them. #ScaryAF #MorePennywisePlease

 

I'll update things as I'm listening to the book too-it'll be my first listen/read through so I'm geared up and ready to rock!

 

1 hour ago, jonfirestar said:

Hell yeah! I utterly amazed myself last challenge  

 

What you did last challenge....some people would deem that legendary! It's the start of something special, Jon, and I'm glad we are all along for the ride  

 

20 minutes ago, Terra said:

WHAT?!?!?!  They are making a movie of the Vince Flynn books??? Those books are amazeballs!  Love this theme 

 

As for all the rest... no comment

 

 

 

Yes ma'am!! American Assassin comes out this weekend  I'm glad to know another fan of Mitch Rapp! I'm really enjoying American Assassin and can't wait to read the other books!

 

Awwwwwww, Pennywise has already had his fill for now so you are safe for at least the next 27 years  I'm saying it right now. Let me see IT one more time and I'll have his voice down patent! Then I'll have to record a video to scare showoff for everyone.

 

Wolf

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

WOLFIE! Gotta follow my groomsman. I like seeing that job application goal, you need to get away from cube farms.

[Mr_Willes]

15 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

It really sucks we don't have a rower cuz I love that thing!

 

 

15 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

I will embrace the PT lifestyle + the Werespartan lifestyle

 

 

15 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

PT training + Obstacle Dominator. 3x a week minimum. Post workouts for accountability.

 

I'm so looking forward to this, could you do me a favor and not only scribble down the workouts you been doing, but also how they felt at the time, that's always good stuff to read and it helps you a lot when using it as a journal when looking back.

15 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

Fortitude

 

This goal is all about running and accumulating miles throughout the challenge. Let's say 40 miles total this challenge. Bonus: If I reach 50 miles on the challenge, I can reward myself. (Reward TBD) I also need to start using my training mask I bought like a year ago. I've hardly used it and it makes me sad it's collecting dust!

 

 

 

You know what dude, i'm gonna join ya on this goal, i thought about dropping the running now that the upcoming OCR will be over (next sunday). I'm gonna tune it a little down but i will  keep things easy, you do M's i do K's. 40 K's in four weeks. 50 i'm getting a reward!

 

We are gonna run brother, or else i'm gonna haunt ya like Pennywise!

 

 

 

 

So...

 

 

 

 

 

[Marauder]

 

Have you considered suggesting that the gym acquire a rower?  It's worth a shot and often they are looking for ideas to better serve their clientele.  Suggestion could lead to profit.  

[Terra]

17 hours ago, Wild Wolf said:

Yes ma'am!! American Assassin comes out this weekend  I'm glad to know another fan of Mitch Rapp! I'm really enjoying American Assassin and can't wait to read the other books!

 

I was surprised that my hubby wasn't excited about the movie.  He is struggling with the actor selected to play Mitch.  The guy just wasn't the Mitch Rapp that the hubby always pictured in his mind while reading the books.   I think that we will have to try and sneak in a movie sometime soon!  

[Wild Wolf]

20 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

WOLFIE! Gotta follow my groomsman. I like seeing that job application goal, you need to get away from cube farms.

 

TANK!! Glad you're here brother! Yessir, these cube farms need to be in my rear view mirror like yesterday!! Hopefully I'll be nice and busy with interviews these next couple weeks  

 

11 hours ago, mr_willes said:

 

 

Duh! I'm so freakin weird  

 

 

Quote

 

 

 

 

I'm so looking forward to this, could you do me a favor and not only scribble down the workouts you been doing, but also how they felt at the time, that's always good stuff to read and it helps you a lot when using it as a journal when looking back.

 

Absolutely dude! The Feels are just apart of the workout as the actual work put in. I got your back here my friend   I'll start with today's workout!

 

Quote

 

 

You know what dude, i'm gonna join ya on this goal, i thought about dropping the running now that the upcoming OCR will be over (next sunday). I'm gonna tune it a little down but i will  keep things easy, you do M's i do K's. 40 K's in four weeks. 50 i'm getting a reward!

 

We are gonna run brother, or else i'm gonna haunt ya like Pennywise!

 

 

 

 

So...

 

 

 

 

 

 

YUSSSSSS!!! Let us run ALL the M and K's lol! This will help because you've always been good at pushing the buttons that make me work harder, so let's do dis you sumbitch!  

 

 

5 hours ago, Marauder said:

 

Have you considered suggesting that the gym acquire a rower?  It's worth a shot and often they are looking for ideas to better serve their clientele.  Suggestion could lead to profit.  

 

That's a great suggestion, Marauder!! I guess the saying, "just ask" goes beyond the whole "teenage rebel with angst" part of our lives. I tell my kids that all the time, "How do you know I'll say no if you never ask me?" Chances are, I'll say yes lol. I wish I had read this before my gym sesh this morning! Oh well, I'll make the suggestion tomorrow when I go back  

 

4 hours ago, Terra said:

I was surprised that my hubby wasn't excited about the movie.  He is struggling with the actor selected to play Mitch.  The guy just wasn't the Mitch Rapp that the hubby always pictured in his mind while reading the books.   I think that we will have to try and sneak in a movie sometime soon!  

 

Having not read the books, I didn't have a pre-destined picture of what Mitch would look like, but I'm willing to give Dylan a chance. He doesn't strike me as "badass" at first, but then again, neither did Matt Damon when he took on the role of Jason Bourne. Hopefully he surprises all of us and plays the role of Mike Kruse like a boss! I do like Michael Keaton as Hurley, though, I also saw Stephen Lang as Hurley.

 

 

PT training 09/13/17:

 

Warm-up:

• 7 min on the treadmill at 4 speed and 4 incline
• 1x10x45# hip thrusters and 2x10x50# after that

Main Set: 3 round circuit

• Decline Sit-ups: 15,12,12
• Pull-ups: 10, 5, 5 (last set was chin-ups)
• Push-ups: 10,10,10

Cool down: 

• 2x5 shoulder dislocations with resistance band
• 2-3 min foam rolling 
• 5 min on the treadmill at 4 incline and 4 speed

Writing it down, it doesn't seem like I did all that much, but running that circuit 3x almost back to back had me feeling pretty gassed. Slightly lightheaded, too, but that's from upping the tempo in my workouts without food in meh belly. I choose not to eat before I workout and I've been doing this for the past....3+ years with no issues. I just need to adjust to the tempo  

 

Here's my assessment: My muscle endurance SUCKS ASS right meow. 

 

Other than that, my shoulder felt good through all movements. I've even been able to upgrade from diamond push-ups to regular push-ups. Though, mentally, I think I prefer the diamond ones because of the "grinding" sound I sometimes hear from regular push-ups. It's not painful by any means, but because of the separated shoulder, I sometimes hear that noise. I've already confirmed that this is pretty normal for this type of injury and to monitor any type of pain I might feel. So far so good! And to make matters better, I think I'll be able to do dips still, so long as its on a straight bar and I'm not using full ROM. I was messing around at the ninja gym and did a few sets of bar dips with no issues. This, made me very excited as dips were one of my favorite exercises to perform pre-shoulder injury.

 

I know the muscle endurance will come with repetition and time so I'm not sweating that at all. A little GtG manifest on some pull-ups should help a lot. And.....more sit-ups. I have a sexy looking core but not sure it matches in strength as it does in look. 

 

PT Assessment: B

 

I have lots of work to do to get myself to an "A". And what would constitute an "A" Not struggling through 30 push-ups and 20 total pull-ups. I used to be able to do 30 push-ups AT A TIME. I know the injury has some weight to my performance but that is what it will take for me to comfortable give myself an "A" on the assessment.

 

Tomorrow will be a run day with some light calisthenics. Another PT assessment to commence tomorrow  

 

Wolf

 

[T2sarahconnor]

Headed to library to find Flynn books.  @Terra are they best read in order?  I am looking for a substitute for my Robert Ludlum fix.  Read all his books way before the movies.

[Terra]

30 minutes ago, T2sarahconnor said:

Headed to library to find Flynn books.  @Terra are they best read in order?  I am looking for a substitute for my Robert Ludlum fix.  Read all his books way before the movies.

Depends...  do you want a chronological order of Mitch's life or do you want to experience his life in the order that they author wrote them?  I've read then in the written order.  Just know that what you see is what you get.  There will be no more books by Flynn, he passed away of cancer WAY too young  in 2013.  

 

I always saw Mitch as a little more bulky special forces type of build...  

[Wild Wolf]

21 minutes ago, T2sarahconnor said:

Headed to library to find Flynn books.  @Terra are they best read in order?  I am looking for a substitute for my Robert Ludlum fix.  Read all his books way before the movies.

 

This was my delimma. I wanted to start with American Assassin because of the movie, so that's where I started. I used THIS site as a reference. There's also the written order as well HERE.

 

1 minute ago, Terra said:

Depends...  do you want a chronological order of Mitch's life or do you want to experience his life in the order that they author wrote them?  I've read then in the written order.  Just know that what you see if what you get.  There will be no more books by Flynn, he passed away of cancer WAY too young  in 2013.  

 

I always saw Mitch as a little more bulky special forces type of build...  

 

It's really unfortunate about Mr. Flynn. Kyle Mills took over in 2014 and has produced what looks like 3 more Mitch Rapp books, so there's that. Maybe they do the series and the character justice??

 

I read something about Mr. Flynn's wife/widower said that Vince would have been proud of the movie, American Assassin. So at least she approves. I guess since they kind of describe what Mitch looks like in American Assassin, I never saw him that bulky. They said 6'1, around 185-190. That's basically my build, just slightly more muscular. He was a world class Lacrosse player too and I would say the majority of those guys are built like elite level soccer players for the most part. Damn....I so wish my high school woulda had lacrosse. Screw basketball, I woulda gone lacrosse all the way! 

 

Wolf

[Elastigirl]

Awesome challenge. The American Assasin books and movie sound great. I hope to see it. As for IT, I'll just have to take your word for it, because that one I'm going to pass on. I wouldn't sleep for a month 

Can't wait to see you and your bors at the gym. Did you have the video of the slip and slide and I missed it?

[T2sarahconnor]

2 hours ago, Terra said:

Depends...  do you want a chronological order of Mitch's life or do you want to experience his life in the order that they author wrote them?  I've read then in the written order.  Just know that what you see is what you get.  There will be no more books by Flynn, he passed away of cancer WAY too young  in 2013.  

 

I always saw Mitch as a little more bulky special forces type of build...  

 

1 hour ago, Wild Wolf said:

 

This was my delimma. I wanted to start with American Assassin because of the movie, so that's where I started. I used THIS site as a reference. There's also the written order as well HERE.

 

 

It's really unfortunate about Mr. Flynn. Kyle Mills took over in 2014 and has produced what looks like 3 more Mitch Rapp books, so there's that. Maybe they do the series and the character justice??

 

I read something about Mr. Flynn's wife/widower said that Vince would have been proud of the movie, American Assassin. So at least she approves. I guess since they kind of describe what Mitch looks like in American Assassin, I never saw him that bulky. They said 6'1, around 185-190. That's basically my build, just slightly more muscular. He was a world class Lacrosse player too and I would say the majority of those guys are built like elite level soccer players for the most part. Damn....I so wish my high school woulda had lacrosse. Screw basketball, I woulda gone lacrosse all the way! 

 

Wolf

Thanks guys.  Didn't make it to library today but I will.  Too bad about the author.  It just never works out when another writer tries to take over or finish a manuscript.

[deftona]

*slides in late*

 

Goooooooooooooooooooooooo WOLF! 

 

[Mr_Willes]

22 minutes ago, deftona said:

slides in

 

 

Yes i'm childish

 

 

 

[Wild Wolf]

17 hours ago, Elastigirl said:

Awesome challenge. The American Assasin books and movie sound great. I hope to see it. As for IT, I'll just have to take your word for it, because that one I'm going to pass on. I wouldn't sleep for a month 

Can't wait to see you and your bors at the gym. Did you have the video of the slip and slide and I missed it?

 

I'm excited about the movie as well! I haven't uploaded the slip and slide pic yet and that reminds me to REMIND my brother to send me the video. I'll do that this morning   And I'll check on the progress of the ninja warrior gym video that he's splicing together. I wish I was better at editing videos and such but that's definitely Chase's specialty.

 

16 hours ago, T2sarahconnor said:

 

Thanks guys.  Didn't make it to library today but I will.  Too bad about the author.  It just never works out when another writer tries to take over or finish a manuscript.

 

Yeah, I agree that it never works out when a new author takes over...but I'll still give those 3 books a chance once I come up on them in the series. Another good series is the Sam Capra series, starting with book one, Adrenaline. Written by Jeff Abbott. It's another spy thriller but Mr. Capra does parkour and is a badass bartender. Jason Bourne meets James Bond  

 

6 hours ago, deftona said:

*slides in late*

 

Goooooooooooooooooooooooo WOLF! 

 

 

Yay! Deftona is here!

 

 

6 hours ago, mr_willes said:

 

 

Yes i'm childish

 

 

 

 

But....but....it's your childish nature I find the most awesome!! Haha, 

 

SO! First things first: I did not run this morning. In part with my Resiliency goal and getting more sleep, that's exactly what I opted to do instead of go for a run. Worry not, fair citizen! I have a contingency plan   

 

The Plan: Trail run Saturday morning.

 

I don't have a distance set or planned out as this would be my first run in a while but the goal is somewhere around the 5k mark, maybe more depending on how I'm feeling. I need to look into getting another hydration bladder because the one in my OCR ruck broke and I know having a small pack with water in it helps tremendously on my runs. It saves me trips out of the trails/woods to go get water at my car. I'll just pack some water bottles in the OCR ruck for this run on Saturday and continue to do that till I can purchase another bladder. Amazon has a 3L Camelback for like $45 or something, so maybe I can budget that in next paycheck??

 

OH! And I figured out my challenge reward for completing 50 miles!! New running shoes. The ones I have will have to do for now and then make use of my trail shoes as much as possible. My trail shoes are just fine but I need "road" shoes like some asics or new balance...hell, even the Inov-8 brand like my trail shoes has a good running shoe selection. Any suggestions for ye long time runners is always welcome  

 

Book Updates:

• American Assassin: Currently 4h 54m left. I feel like I've flown through this book! And it's just now getting pretty juicy
• The Stand: Currently 35h 21m left. Whoa.....this book is crazy!! *WARNING* Spoiler talk below

Spoiler

Ok....so, some weird shit is happening. Stu just escaped the hospital he was held up in and some thing had grabbed his foot and was smiling manically and laughing?? WTF? And then all the survivors are dreaming of the Dark Man?? And here I thought the virus was just a super deadly version of the flu and not much more. Randall Flagg? That part was trippy as shit...And poor Nick...Fuckin Booth just came back to try and kill him and pretty much gouged one of his eyes out....WTF! He's already deaf and a mute...now he only has one friggin eye! Like I said, this book is fuckin wild. Thank you for being adamant about this book, @jonfirestar  

 

Wolf

[Wild Wolf]

Also...

 

 

This needs to be a goal. I'm starting this today. We'll see if I can manage 100 before bedtime  

 

And the website- Deezify.com, is amazing! I love all the workouts and artwork.

 

 

That's just to give you guys a sample size  

 

Wolf

[Mrs Van]

On 9/12/2017 at 5:20 PM, Wild Wolf said:

Now that you guys know my game plan, what does this have to do with Orion Team? Coming out this Friday is a movie called American Assassin.

Oh! Looks like my kind of movie!

Here for all the:

Quote

resiliency, strength, fortitude and creativity.

 

On 9/12/2017 at 7:40 PM, Wild Wolf said:

I saw IT this past weekend and LOVED IT!!

Ahhh... good grief no! I saw it as a 16yr old girl on a girls' sleep over (my one and only time) at a friend's home and had nightmares for years thereafter! Eish, I am going to skip over these clown related comments. Maybe I should also hide away Rocco's coloured clown wig... and that red nose he plays with every now and again... *big eyes*

 

 

It's ok, I'll live. Glad you enjoyed the movie, but seriously.... *shivers* I'll keep away.