[Jarric]

The £100 challenge

 

Last challenge I did a very simple thing, which was just to try and check in every day. I managed just over half (about 59.5%), which is better than disappearing for 6 weeks.

 

This time I want to still have a simple challenge, but one with some goals. So here's the plan: I'm going to wager £100 on myself this challenge, and I'm going to have 100 things to do. For every thing I do, I get a quid to spend what I want. For every thing I miss, a bob goes to paying off my mortgage. Simple as that.

 

Goal 1 - workout 10 times per week

I'm pretty good at hitting about 7 workouts per week, but I want to focus on getting all of the little bits that I've not been so good at. An ideal week might look something like this:

M: Crossfit

T: Running drills, hangboarding

W: Crossfit

T: 5k run, handboarding/handstands/vanity workout

F: Crossfit

S: Long run - 10 miles or 2 hours

S: Bouldering, 5k run

 

I don't have to follow that plan though - any 10 workouts in the week will do. It might mean I end up doing yoga or general stretching/recovery stuff in the evenings to make up some workouts, or I might end up doing some skill focussed work, it's all good stuff.

 

10 workouts per week, 5 week challenge, £50 up for grabs.

 

Goal 2 - brush my teeth twice per day

I don't know why I don't do this when it isn't a challenge goal, but I don't, so here it is. It's a habit I can hold for a while, but it never seems to last without some accountability.

 

£1 per day, 7 days per week, 5 week challenge, £35 up for grabs.

 

Goal 3 - draw 3 times per week

Week 1 of this challenge is the last week of Inktober, so that should put me on to a reasonable start. I like drawing, it's a good way to occupy me, and I think it's good for my mental health. I'm not fantastically good at it, but that's really neither here nor there. I'm getting better, and very much enjoying the process.

 

3 drawing sessions per week, 5 week challenge, £15 up for grabs.

[Terra]

Love the simplicity.  10 workouts a week is a lofty goal!!!  

[Jarric]

Rambling thoughts

I thought I'd put these in a separate post to the challenge goals, to save that post getting crowded with this stream of consciousness nonsense.

 

I've put money against my challenges a few times, but I find that often falls through when I either drop out before the end of the challenge and forget to sort out the money, or I get to the end of the challenge and find that I don't actually have any money. This challenge starts on payday, conveniently, so I'm going to put my £100 straight into my saving account, and then anything that needs to be paid to my mortgage will be taken out of that reserved money.

 

Exercise-wise I'm cutting down on my running mileage for now. I did have a goal to hit 1,202 miles by the end of the year, but that ship has most definitely sailed. So I've been thinking about my priorities, and I think that over the winter I want to focus primarily on strength gains, and then work on running technique/speed rather than running distance. It's all very well being able to run for hours at a time, but I'd quite like to be better at keeping up with people in the first place. At the same time, my strength in OCR is in completing the obstacles rather than catching people on runs, so I want to capitalise on that by being strong on the obstacles. Obstacle strength tends to be a mixture of being able to swing from my arms and climb shit, and being able to carry heavy things for long periods of time, which means bouldering and Crossfit focus should do well for me.

 

There's also a bit of vanity when it comes to the workouts. I'm enjoying hitting some new PRs on my lifts, and I'm liking seeing the size of my muscles compared to a few years ago. I'm nearly the heaviest I've ever been, which is a bit of a conundrum, but I'm very much a different shape to what I was back then. I do need to lose a bit of body fat, but for now I want to focus on using that fat to fuel some strength gains rather than working on weight loss.

 

I recognise that at some point I will need to focus on nutrition a bit more, but I don't have the mental energy to track food right now. I eat fairly well in terms of my main meals, and I know what I would need to work on is regulating snacks and alcohol a bit more, but honestly I can't be arsed right now. One thing at a time!

 

If I manage to get my £100 out of this challenge, I'm not really sure what to spend the money on. I'm seriously considering the intuitive eating book, because that's something I'm pretty shit at. I should probably buy a yoga mat at some point too, and a set of gymnastic rings, and then give back the stuff I stole from my gym during lockdown. I'm sure I'll think of more stuff than I can afford over the next few weeks anyway.

 

Challenge start on Monday (can't understand these Sunday starters  ), but I may be back to chat some nonsense between now and then!

[Jarric]

6 minutes ago, Terra said:

Love the simplicity.  10 workouts a week is a lofty goal!!!  

 

Thanks! I know it sounds a lot, but some of them are really short! More to the point, I'm quite accustomed to 7 workouts per week, so adding in the extra bits should be doable. My main challenge will be getting out of bed in time to do it!

[deftona]

2 minutes ago, Jarric said:

I recognise that at some point I will need to focus on nutrition a bit more, but I don't have the mental energy to track food right now. I eat fairly well in terms of my main meals, and I know what I would need to work on is regulating snacks and alcohol a bit more, but honestly I can't be arsed right now. One thing at a time!

 

I definitely advise working with yourself here - there is no point pissing in the wind at a goal you're not invested in and it sounds like there are a few goals in this challenge you're passionate about, so focus on the muscle gains and leave the mental energy intensive stuff for times when you're more in the mood for a challenge. 

 

4 minutes ago, Jarric said:

Challenge start on Monday (can't understand these Sunday starters  )

 

Bloody Americans amirite

 

Good luck with your £100!

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Howdy!

Bloody American checking in.

[h3r0]

Following! 

[Jarric]

16 hours ago, deftona said:

 

I definitely advise working with yourself here - there is no point pissing in the wind at a goal you're not invested in and it sounds like there are a few goals in this challenge you're passionate about, so focus on the muscle gains and leave the mental energy intensive stuff for times when you're more in the mood for a challenge. 

 

 

Bloody Americans amirite

 

Good luck with your £100!

 

Yeah, that makes sense to me, thanks. One thing at a time!

 

Is starting the week on a Sunday an American thing? It's definitely a weird thing...

 

On a complete tangent, I owe you a thank you. I've been getting aubergines in my Oddbox and not having a clue what to do with them. I saw on your thread you were making moussaka, so I made that for the first time last night. I somehow managed to split the béchamel  in the oven (think the over was too hot), but it tasted lush.

 

14 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Howdy!

Bloody American checking in.

 

 

Good to have you man.

 

2 hours ago, h3r0 said:

Following! 

 

Welcome, nice to see you!

[Rhovaniel]

Hey Jarric! Following of course. Here's hoping the £100 goes on the fun stuff!

 

 

[starpuck]

On 10/20/2021 at 4:26 PM, Jarric said:

One thing at a time!

Yes.  YES AND YES.  I hear you on this.

 

On 10/20/2021 at 4:26 PM, Jarric said:

Challenge start on Monday (can't understand these Sunday starters  ),

Right?  Crazy fools.    Sunday's still a weekend!  You dont start on a weekend.

 

On 10/20/2021 at 4:32 PM, deftona said:

Bloody Americans amirite

Hey, American Monday-er here!  Old school!  OG NF!  HOLLA!!

 

Nice collection of goals and solid approach.   But you've always been a font of wisdom, sanity and inspiration for me, so, you know...

[Loveable_Bouncer]

On 10/20/2021 at 4:26 PM, Jarric said:

my saving account, and then anything that needs to be paid to my mortgage will be taken out of that reserved money.

Same feels! My end of the challenge reward is also 100 buckaroos (more if I pass other side goals). Never thought of just counting certain goals but getting back in the swing of things! (Just trying to get the goals 50% of the time to get the reward). 

On 10/21/2021 at 9:28 AM, Jarric said:

Is starting the week on a Sunday an American thing? It's definitely a weird thing...

Wait... the world doesn't view Sunday as the weird beginning of the week day? 

I kind of knew this but never processed this.... huh. 

[sarakingdom]

On 10/21/2021 at 9:28 AM, Jarric said:

Is starting the week on a Sunday an American thing? It's definitely a weird thing...

 

A lot of business and science America starts on Monday, but by custom and calendar convention, the week starts on Sunday. My suspicion is that someone back in 1879 or 1922 decided that Sunday could not possibly come last, because God came first, and laws were passed to make one of the weekend days (the clue is in the name) come first. That's the sort of performative religious laws they passed back then.

 

But once you experience a Monday-starting week, you can't go back.

 

On 10/21/2021 at 9:28 AM, Jarric said:

 

I very nearly did an Allo Allo challenge this year. Maybe in the new year...

[sarakingdom]

13 hours ago, Starpuck said:

Hey, American Monday-er here!  Old school!  OG NF!  HOLLA!!

 

Yes, yours is the region of the country I most associate with the Monday week start. I can't swear it's the whole region, but it's super common.

[WhiteGhost]

On 10/21/2021 at 4:53 AM, Jarric said:

5 week challenge

So is zero week not part of this or can you get extra credit for doing some of these things while the challenge is still unofficial? 

[Ranger Hal]

19 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

A lot of business and science America starts on Monday, but by custom and calendar convention, the week starts on Sunday. My suspicion is that someone back in 1879 or 1922 decided that Sunday could not possibly come last, because God came first, and laws were passed to make one of the weekend days (the clue is in the name) come first. That's the sort of performative religious laws they passed back then.

Actually, I think that Sunday being the first day of the week is much older in the Jewish and Christian tradition. The story of creation in Genesis has the world being created in six days and God resting on the seventh. That seventh day became the Sabbath (Saturday) which was a day to rest and not do work. After the time of Jesus, early Christians transferred the day of rest to Sunday in commemoration of the resurrection which was recorded in the Gospels as happening the day after the Sabbath on "the first day of the week."

[Jarric]

On 10/22/2021 at 11:56 AM, Rhovaniel said:

Hey Jarric! Following of course. Here's hoping the £100 goes on the fun stuff!

 

 

 

Fingers crossed! It's just occured to me that I could use some new running headphones, so they might be my challenge reward if I manage to keep enough cash for them.

 

On 10/22/2021 at 3:31 PM, Starpuck said:

Right?  Crazy fools.    Sunday's still a weekend!  You dont start on a weekend.

 

On 10/20/2021 at 10:32 PM, deftona said:

Bloody Americans amirite

Hey, American Monday-er here!  Old school!  OG NF!  HOLLA!!

 

Damn straight!

 

On 10/22/2021 at 3:31 PM, Starpuck said:

Nice collection of goals and solid approach.   But you've always been a font of wisdom, sanity and inspiration for me, so, you know...

 

❤️ thank you Puck (though I'm not always so sure on the sanity 😛 )

 

On 10/23/2021 at 2:37 AM, Fairly_Bouncer said:

Same feels! My end of the challenge reward is also 100 buckaroos (more if I pass other side goals). Never thought of just counting certain goals but getting back in the swing of things! (Just trying to get the goals 50% of the time to get the reward). 

 

Ah cool, here's hoping we both get our rewards then!

 

On 10/23/2021 at 5:18 AM, sarakingdom said:

 

I very nearly did an Allo Allo challenge this year. Maybe in the new year...

 

Ah that'd be fun! I haven't watched it since I was a kid.

 

On 10/23/2021 at 5:18 AM, sarakingdom said:

 

A lot of business and science America starts on Monday, but by custom and calendar convention, the week starts on Sunday. My suspicion is that someone back in 1879 or 1922 decided that Sunday could not possibly come last, because God came first, and laws were passed to make one of the weekend days (the clue is in the name) come first. That's the sort of performative religious laws they passed back then.

 

But once you experience a Monday-starting week, you can't go back.

 

11 hours ago, Ranger Hal said:

Actually, I think that Sunday being the first day of the week is much older in the Jewish and Christian tradition. The story of creation in Genesis has the world being created in six days and God resting on the seventh. That seventh day became the Sabbath (Saturday) which was a day to rest and not do work. After the time of Jesus, early Christians transferred the day of rest to Sunday in commemoration of the resurrection which was recorded in the Gospels as happening the day after the Sabbath on "the first day of the week."

 

Oo, those are some interesting thoughts. I suppose it makes sense that if you rest on the Sabbath, Sunday would then be the first day of the week.

 

On 10/23/2021 at 5:37 AM, WhiteGhost said:

So is zero week not part of this or can you get extra credit for doing some of these things while the challenge is still unofficial? 

 

No, I'm resting for zero week, and starting the challenge proper on week 1. Nearly week 1 now though!

[Jarric]

It's been a good weekend. Yesterday morning I was planning to go to Parkrun, but I ended up faffing around at home and missing the start by two minutes! So instead I decided to drive up into the hills and go for a 4 mile run up there.

 

After that I went home and got myself ready, and headed out to meet my Pathfinder group for a pub crawl. I had a lovely time - they're such a great group of people and I really enjoyed spending the day with them. After about 10 hours of drinking, smoking, and talking nonsense I was very ready to go home - I got back at midnight and rolled straight into bed.

 

Had a bit of a disrupted night for various reasons, some of which weren't even my fault . I made up for it by lying in bed until about half 11 this morning, which was blissful. We've spent the day catching up on TV - starting with episode 1 of the new series of Critical Role, then Taskmaster, The Last Leg, Late Night Mash - it's been a good day.

 

Possibly not the best few days for my health and fitness goals - copious amounts of alcohol yesterday and today I'm sat on the sofa eating pastries and biscuits. Still, it's been an enjoyable weekend, so I'll take that!

[deftona]

Your weekend sounds pretty amazing, Jarric! How is Mash now it's on Dave?

[Jarric]

1 hour ago, deftona said:

Your weekend sounds pretty amazing, Jarric! How is Mash now it's on Dave?

 

It's been fun! I never watched Mash when it was on the BBC so I can't compare, but I'm enjoying this series. It's silly comedy, with just enough real politics that it also feels usefully informative.

[sarakingdom]

11 hours ago, Jarric said:

Ah that'd be fun! I haven't watched it since I was a kid.

 

It's on Amazon Prime. Just, you know, if one feels the urge.

 

December is always Hogswatch, my January and February may be a bit odd... we'll see. Maybe February or March.

[DarK_RaideR]

12 hours ago, Jarric said:

After that I went home and got myself ready, and headed out to meet my Pathfinder group for a pub crawl. I had a lovely time - they're such a great group of people and I really enjoyed spending the day with them. After about 10 hours of drinking, smoking, and talking nonsense I was very ready to go home - I got back at midnight and rolled straight into bed.

What, no recap of what happened in the session? 😮

[Mr_Willes]

On 10/23/2021 at 6:37 AM, WhiteGhost said:

So is zero week not part of this or can you get extra credit for doing some of these things while the challenge is still unofficial? 

 

6 week challenges FTW

 

I feel  

about the shorter week challenges!

 

 

[Jarric]

15 hours ago, sarakingdom said:

 

It's on Amazon Prime. Just, you know, if one feels the urge.

 

December is always Hogswatch, my January and February may be a bit odd... we'll see. Maybe February or March.

 

Good to know! Thank you

 

8 hours ago, DarK_RaideR said:

What, no recap of what happened in the session? 😮

 

No session, just a pub crawl. I hate to imagine the decisions our characters would have made by the end of that night

 

12 minutes ago, Mr_Willes said:

 

6 week challenges FTW

 

I feel  

about the shorter week challenges!

 

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 hour ago, Mr_Willes said:

 

6 week challenges FTW

 

I feel  

about the shorter week challenges!

 

 

They used to be four weeks.

[Terra]

52 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

They used to be four weeks.

Four week challenges were way too short.  Even the five week ones don't feel long enough...  

 

 

That sounds like a lovely weekend!  Now back on track???!?!??