The Battle for Hoth

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

For 2013, I am really digging in with the intention of establishing good habits in my new, new home base.  Since it is in the northern Midwest, I'm calling it Hoth.  However, having lived in Northern Minnesota for most of my life, SE Wisconsin is a vacation paradise by comparison!!!

 

Full details of this year's plan are unfolding in my battle log.  I keep adding to the year's goals, especially the ungraded ones.  The big goal this year is to run an adventure race - I'm thinking the Minneapolis Zombie Run in July will be perfect, actually.  Thanks to Cline, I have an overall plan - listed in the battle log - that incorporates trash runs, speed runs, interval runs, trail runs, and long runs.  I'll gradually add those over time.  Plus, I will work on general, functional fitness.  

 

Then, I want to work on diet ... as they say, you can't outrun your fork.  I do much better with eating cleanly when I am working out regularly.  A friend has recently been touting the values of a vegetarian diet, just as I had decided to commit to Paleo/primal wouldn't ya know.  At least she and I can agree on the value of fresh fruits and vegetables, the evils of sugar, and the probability that grass-fed free-range meats are probably not the cause of so many cancers while fractionated corn is probably the work of the devil as well as Monsanto.  I'll keep eating meat while buying a handy, dandy good juicer/smoothie blender - but I'll also work at buying more foods from the co-op and local CSAs while cutting down on cured meats (bacon will retain a place in my heart and kitchen, however).

 

Finally, I liked the idea of preparing for disasters that Steve floated in the blog recently.  My first aid certs have lapsed.  Our family just ALL MOVED to different parts of the country ... we need to agree on where we'd meet if all hell broke loose.  But I also need to be sure that we can survive for a few days without power (since we live in an area where the lines come down frequently).  And build in the local capacity to feed people without trucking in food from Venezuela (that's were the CSA and co-op and learning to cook kale come in to play). 

 

And I have lots of ungraded goals.  I'm working on being a working adult again, having to face some fears (I hate to be alone at night after childish pranks played by neighborhood kids decades ago), and getting settled in a new state and town.  

 

For this challenge:

Scouting the perimeter

Working on details of running.  I've proven that I can run a 5K again.  Now, I need to be ready for a particular race challenge in unknown but probably uneven terrain.  I'll work up to being ready to run a Zombie race.  For now:

• One B210K W1run each week (run 10 min, walk 1, and repeat)
• One 30 min run where I am working on increasing running speed - may include walking breaks
• Fill in with 30 min of easy cardio 3 to 4 days each week

Scaling the cliffs

Working on strength training, particularly upper body.  

• Angry Birds workouts 3 x per week until I can meet with a personal trainer
• Meet with the trainer at my gym, share my goal, and see if he laughs in my face.  If he takes me seriously, I'll work whatever plan he comes up with

"And I thought they smelled bad on the outside"

• Paleo or primal breakfasts each day.  Until I can get moved into new, new house, I'm eating Greek yogurt with fruit.  No way to heat anything, and I can't eat jerky with my braces.  I'll also work at gearing up for paleo/primal the rest of the meals too, but focusing on doing one meal really well and establishing good habits seems the way to go.  It will be an adventure.  Too many "healthy" foods have more sugar than I realize until I start reading labels.  Bacon and even tomatoes are modified foods, and I question how they stack up against foods we engineered 10,000 years ago.  No easy answers - just a 6-week journey of questioning and experimenting.

Preparing for the #fail

We lost power here during the last big snow storm.  Fortunately, in town, we still had water service (at my home in Bemidji we'd have lost that as well), but no heat.  It was a good reminder that in new, new home, I'll be responsible again for being a good Girl Scout - for me and my dog and my cat.  

• Prepare to shelter in place for 3 days.  Including building a fire pit outside!!  I may end up missing my old, old house in even more ways.  We once sheltered there for 3 days during an ice storm.  Put up blankets over doorways and lit the old-fashioned wood-burning fireplace.  That plus candles and piles of sleeping blankets did us all just fine.  

I'll come up with a grading plan for those goals.  I had thought we might have a change in rules with the migration so I didn't think of those much ... but I think grading is pretty straightforward on these.

 

 

[cline]

Hurrah!  I'm soooo excited you are doing an obstacle course later this year.  I have oodles of advice I can give when ready.  You'll have a blast.  It's a great long term goal!!

 

As for prepping for storms = HURRAH!  I used to spend time in a basement during tornado season so I hear ya!  Cold, obviously, is much worse.  The firepit is brilliant (mmmm....bbq). 

 

I'm excited about you moving into your new house.  Is anything final yet?

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

I started a spreadsheet for the routine items for this challenge that people are welcome to copy.  I need to finish the weeks out with the formatting, but this is a start.

 

Yesterday, I managed to eat paleo trail mix for breakfast on the train.  I'm absolutely drawing the line at coffee --- don't care if it is paleo or not, it's part of my diet and doesn't count against me.  Or tea.  

 

Need to work on reducing the wine intake.  I had a few glasses last night while trying to relax in this very empty house.  Landlord and other renters are gone for the term break still.  Did I mention that I hate being alone at night?  Wine and a white noise loop on my computer got me to sleep.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Hurrah!  I'm soooo excited you are doing an obstacle course later this year.  I have oodles of advice I can give when ready.  You'll have a blast.  It's a great long term goal!!

 

As for prepping for storms = HURRAH!  I used to spend time in a basement during tornado season so I hear ya!  Cold, obviously, is much worse.  The firepit is brilliant (mmmm....bbq). 

 

I'm excited about you moving into your new house.  Is anything final yet?

 

We put in the purchase agreement, subject to getting financing straightened out.  Over the break, hubby and I pulled together lots of documents for the bankers.  I can't blame them - we're doing a deal with no down payment through this employee benefit offer .... and we're the first purchasers through the new program.  But, I think we're getting close to having a contract.

[nightlight]

love your goals. really practical... i should do some of that. 

can't wait to see how this progresses for you.

[jimmie65]

Very solid, practical goals.

Good luck on the house!

[Librarian of Doom]

Great goals! I especially need to do something like your prepping for failure goal. We're in town, but down here in Tornado Alley, power outages are a thing that happens at least once a year, if not more (and if we get a big ice storm? Prepare for a week or so). 

 

And I hear you on the being alone thing; being the only human in a building is super creepy. Glad you were able to get to sleep. I'll have to try the white noise trick sometime 

[mahchoo]

Welcome to Wisconsin Madison-area here.

 

This Zombie Run you speak of - in the Minneapolis - it sounds interesting. I shall research.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Welcome to Wisconsin Madison-area here.

 

This Zombie Run you speak of - in the Minneapolis - it sounds interesting. I shall research.

 

Check out the website for regional races.  One can even volunteer to BE a zombie!! How cool is THAT???

 

I think I'll theme my ungraded goals as returning to a happy adulthood.  Part of my stress is that my living arrangement is too much like being a student again - which was great 30 years ago .... I need to control my head space in a big way.

 

Some portions of the project for the next 6 weeks:

1. Drive to work.  Silly because I live 3 blocks from my office.  At the new house, I'll be surprised if I'm a mile from my office.  But I associate driving to work with being an executive.  Walking to campus belongs to a student.  
2. Eat lunch off campus.  This is definitely not student behavior.  When the dog and cat are here, it will be helpful to let the dog out mid-day, but it is also a good way to eat more healthfully.
3. A wizard (or a manager) is never late and is never early but arrives precisely when she means to.  I will allow myself to arrive "late" or leave early or take longer for lunch and not apologize to my staff members.  I also tend to work longer hours and weekends just to get stuff done, but I never seem to remember that this is the burden of being the director - that balances the privilege of not being chained to my desk.
4. Wear contacts and (some) make up.  Part of the image but also I move better when I am wearing contacts.  Something about having depth perception .....
5. IDK yet
6. Ditto

[Samunwal]

Good goals, and I especially applaud the "return to happy adulthood." Good to see a manager thinking through how to run her office, too. Hope your minions realize that they're lucky minions. And braces, huh? I had braces as a 30 year old company commander - last time I got seriously carded at a bar.

[Haikoo]

Welcome to Wisconsin! I am here, also. I love your sheltering goal. Especially after the blizzard we just had! Good stuff.

[EmCee]

Great great goals! Can't wait to watch  

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Hey there!!  I've been warming up (har har) this week and seeing where the pitfalls lie.  Spezzy's post inviting us to consider why we have failed (and also how we've succeeded) in the past was an interesting invitation to think about the past challenges.

 

Since I joined during last summer, I've been through just a huge number of monumental changes - graduations, moves, and new jobs.  If I were as totally awesome as Steve,  I would have smoked my goals despite the changes.  

 

But, since I am merely mortal, I have managed to hold on and make some changes but not others.  Still, I've lost 2 pounds and did not fall apart entirely during major stress periods.  That's a big win.  To put it in perspective, since I started grad school 10 years ago, I have gained more than 40 pounds.  One doctor over this time period just suggested I should aim to stop gaining weight and not worry about losing it - that would be a win.  So, to reverse the trend and start DOWN was a success.  I'm going to keep working that and accelerate the new trend healthily!!

 

Here's the scoring for the current challenge since we are now invited to pick three goals:

 

 

Scouting the perimeter

Long run each week: 1 STA

One speed run each week: 1 STA, 1 DEX

Other cardio 4 times per week: 2 STA

 

Scaling the cliffs

Angry Birds 3 x week: 1 STA, 3 STR

Personal Trainer: 1 WIS

 

Paleo/primal breakfasts each day: 2 WIS, 3 CON

 

Good news .... we have a closing date set for the new house:  1/15.  The representative from the Foundation that built it and owns it gave me the keys so I could start moving in early.  I have a new bed and couch being delivered 1/10 so that I can start sleeping there.  But I am SO IN LOVE with having a kitchen again.  Seriously.  I microwaved coffee and Healthy Choice lunches and dinners yesterday and felt like life had begun again for me.  

[Seabright]

Yahooooooo! 

 

Am so loving the goals, so so loving the feet-on-the-groundedness of 'em. Plus, a Jan 15 close and you get to start moving in early? Win and win.

 

Go get 'em, girlio!

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

Food porn alert - a cupcake with BACON!  My favorite coffee shop came up with these this week - buttermilk cupcake, maple frosting, and sugared bacon on top.  I did not have this for breakfast - it was tonight's dessert.  

 

 

Last practice day results:

 

Long run each week - not yet

One speed run each week - yes!

Other cardio 4 times per week - pretty lazy week except for the "hauling bags to the new house" farmers walk. 

Angry Birds 3 x week - ah, also nada

Personal Trainer - emailed the trainer at Anytime Fitness

 

Paleo/primal breakfasts each day - Egg Strata at above-mentioned coffee shop.  

[cline]

Your goals are good and will get you through every obstacle course you run!!!!

And I want that cupcake. Now!!!!

[EmCee]

I want that cupcake too. Please. 

[KTRanger]

Good goals. I identify with the contacts and depth perception...I always want to wear my glasses, then I run into 2 walls and a chair, and look in the mirror and realize I wear coke bottles not super cute fashion glasses. Oh well.

 

CUPCAKE! With bacon. yum.

 

Keep up the good work!

[jimmie65]

Food porn alert - a cupcake with BACON!  My favorite coffee shop came up with these this week - buttermilk cupcake, maple frosting, and sugared bacon on top.  I did not have this for breakfast - it was tonight's dessert.  

 

I think I just had a food-gasm.

[nightlight]

oh my. that cupcake.

[Haikoo]

Sure...first day of whole30 and you post baconcake food porn. Evil.

[Calimor]

I really like your goals! They are very specific and forward thinking. I especially like your life goal. It is certainly applicable and wise to have as a goal!

[Kuiken]

That cupcake made me want to lick the screen!  Please tell me it tasted infinity times as delicious as it looks!

 

Love the adult mini-goals!  I'm also struggling with that.  I try to dress nicely and seperate myself from being just a student, but then I wake up one morning feeling lazy and it's back to t-shirts and flip flops.

 

Congrats on closing the house!

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

That cupcake tasted as good as it looked - like buttermilk pancakes with syrup and bacon.  But for dessert.  The shop is the best - they remember the names of their regulars even.  But that food in the front case is evil, evil I tell you!!

 

Monday January 7th

 

Long run each week - not yet

One speed run each week - nada

Other cardio 4 times per week - still focusing on moving into the new house and being surprised by the clock with my new job.  I need to stop working long enough to work out!

Angry Birds 3 x week - ah, also nada

Personal Trainer - need to email the trainer again.  I suspect he's a student and is on break with everyone else.

 

Paleo/primal breakfasts each day - the sorta primal greek yogurt with fruit.  

[blindasutsutsu]

oh my. that cupcake.

 

hahahahaha this sooo much this. On another note how can one convince  you to make me a delicious cupcake topped with  the greatest food of all time??