Train, Maintain, Stay Sane with 18ck

[18ck]

Name: 18ck
Class and Race and All That: Ferret Demon and Free-Range Scout

Level: 4
Stuff I like: Readin' Runnin' and Rowin'

Lard Content: 12 st 7 ib (drifted up slightly...) 
Starting Stats: STR 8 | DEX 7 | STA 13 | CON 9 | WIS 9 | CHA 4 Total: 50

 
This challenge is going to be a bit more subdued than the last one, with no sound effects or anything. March is going to be a busy, busy month - the last month before a big project deadline - and this usually means sitting down a lot, with my head in the computer, not sleeping much, not seeing the light of day, hunching over, snacking and generally not doing well. Last time around I gained a lot of weight. But this time, I have a plan. It's a plan that keeps me busy and keeps me moving forward on my core goals without being too demanding of time. I also want to keep some variety and keep it interesting without making unrealistic expectations of the amount of time I'll have. I'm also going to do a proper points scoring system this time rather than "we-e-ell, this feels like a sort of B+" which is a bit wishy-washy really.
 
Fitness 1: Run Faster 
At least 1 short, fast run and 1 long run per week, aiming to improve technique and run faster without necessarily expending a lot more effort - building on some of the drills we looked at in the mini-challenge and aiming not to waste a lot of momentum in messy landings.
Scoring: Just do the runs=C; Improve and do a full circuit of Richmond Park in 1 hr = B; 58 min = A; 55 min = A+ [Current PB for this distance: 1 hour dead, but that was a couple of years ago, and I just about did myself in, so 55 minutes is ambitious, to say the least!]
Points on offer: 1 STA, 1 STR, 3 DEX
 
Fitness 2: Get Lighter
Eschew the ways of the caramel-filled wafer (7AM-start-food), shun the home-baked goodness, lose the "it's probably paleo" excuse when faced with a fry-up and stick to proper healthy food, aiming to lose weight, not gain it, and shooting for 12 st (that's a loss of 7lb).
Scoring: Gain Weight: Fail, Maintain: D, Lose 1lb = C; 3lb=B; 4lb=B+; 5lb=A-; 6lb = A; 7lb or dare I say more =A+
Points on Offer: 2 CON, 2 CHA
 
Fitness 3: Keep Moving and Keep It Interesting
Don't just sit there - Take a break once an hour and walk about for a bit
Do at least one bout of proper get-you-out-of-breath exercise of some kind once a day - strength or stretch, 
Try at least one new and different exercisey thing per week(end). Possible items to include A handstand, Rock Climbing, Revolving Plank of Doom, Some new yoga pose...? (Any suggestions most welcome)
Scoring: Start with 100 points and lose one for each day with inadequate breaks and one for each day with no exercise, add five for each week I do a new interesting thing (so max possible =130) If I get 130 that's an A+; 120 or more is A, 110 or more is a B 100 or more a C, and so on
Points on Offer: 3 points to be determined by whatever exercises I find to do and what sort of good they seem to be doing me
 
Level Up: Portuguese (De Certeza!)
Work through 2 more chapters of Lathrop and Dias with exercises over the course of the challenge; Watch the RTP news at breakfast at least 3 days a week and do at least one "thing" per day - so if not one of the above then at least listen to a podcast or read a bit of portuguese text.
Scoring: Unbroken Streak for 42 days, plus both chapters read and 3 days a week of news = A. If I go beyond that substantially with some feat of linguistic heroism then it's an A+. Any breakage in the streak goes down to a B, then C (if I don't finish the chapters and watch the news) and D (If I don't manage to do either). I'll only call it an outright fail if I capitulate completely and don't touch the Portuguese books for a week or more due to work. 
Points on Offer: 3 WIS
 
Bonus Rounds: Gold Dubloons - let's grab 'em and go!
Here are some things I am going to try to shoehorn in somewhere along the way:
Take the final, practical stage of the Thames Tideway Steering Certificate ("Steercert"), which will give me a lot more freedom of movement to scull independently
Some Librivox Volunteering - preferably recording but given the time sitch, more likely proof-listening
Give Blood
Get my teeth cleaned by the hygienist
Have a week without coffee. I AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS but it just seemed like a good idea to see what I was like as a baseline without nature's life-giving nectar. A week should be enough to feel like I have stared into the Abyss and it has stared back into me...

[shortstuff]

Have a week without coffee.

 

Please don't kill me.

Nice goals by the goals.

[Shukar]

Coffee is over rated. You got this one man! Now to decipher your lardiness, silly metric system.

[18ck]

Coffee is over rated. You got this one man! Now to decipher your lardiness, silly metric system.

Thanks. It's not the metric system though - we're a bit mixed up with weights and measures in this country, being half way between the imperial standard system and the metric one used by Europe and also by science. Cars drive in mph but we tend to run in kilometres (yes, metres, not meters, I know...), we sell food in kilos but just to be bloody awkward we tend to weigh ourselves in pounds (like you) and stones which nobody else uses. 1 stone = 14 pounds, so my weight,12 st 7 ib is - what - 175lb which is apparently 79.4 kilos, but I had to google that as it means nowt to me.

I think my daughter is just learning metric at school, which makes sense since that's what physics is done in, but it's good to know you chaps out in the British empire* are still patriotically clinging to our imperial units, even if we're not!

Here endeth the lesson.

Off to the park in a bit. Yippee!

*=let us put the minor dispute of 1775-1783 behind us. Water under the bridge, old chap!

[18ck]

Please don't kill me.

I know, I know!

[shortstuff]

I fear for our safety , hope you go well with the coffee goal

[18ck]

Off to the park in a bit. Yippee!

 

Well, I've had better runs...

That was my first proper long run since the half M, and I had a bit of an off day. I only ended up running 4 miles in the end and walking the rest. I also didn't feel great about my running style; it didn't feel natural and used a lot of unfamiliar muscles which quickly got tired. I'll have to think about this - maybe work on technique in the short run and integrate it into the big run in intervals or something. Hm...

 

Also 100 pushups (in 3 sets) and 70 BW rows (in 4). Had my usual date with the pullup tree and I'm starting to feel about it the way Charlie Brown feels about the kite-eating tree.

[aimless]

WoW to the coffee goal! O.o I've only ever been able to give it up when pregnant... and even then it was a struggle!

 

Tea fan?

[18ck]

No. And I'm not pregnant either. Well, not as far as I know.

[alienjenn]

I did thirty days with no coffee in jan.... The first week was the hardest...

Good luck

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[Shukar]

Ah, see over here we abbreviate pound as lb or lbs (for pounds), the ib confused me I guess. Did not know that it was pounds and stones mixed though, I guess I'd always just assumed it was gonna be listed as like 12.5 stones or something. Learning is fun!

[18ck]

D'oh! I didn't spot the typo - no wonder you were confused!

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

[Shukar]

I'd have still probably been confused, I'd have just been confused differently.

[18ck]

--> amended title from "Train, Regain, Stay Sane" on remembering that Regaine (or Rogaine in the US) is the name of a popular baldness treatment and I wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea about my goals...

[18ck]

OK, I am fully caffeinated for the day and we might as well get this over with so I'm starting my week of misery tomorrow. Be nice to me.

[bgvanbur]

Is it bad it I like Regain more now after the explanation?

[18ck]

Is it bad it I like Regain more now after the explanation?

 

If it helps, Maintaine is the name of a popular anti-impotence preparation*

 

 

 

 

 

*=not really**

 

 

 

 

 

 

**=as far as I know

[18ck]

*sigh*

Breakfast without coffee is like a sentence without a

[german]

Breakfast without coffee is like, well I don't know, I've done it but my brains seems to have that memory blocked forever.

 

Great set of goals, and funny, useless data on the units, thanks for sharing. A least I know now how much a stone is supposed to weigh, and since my feet do not measure an actual foot, well.. never mind, I'll stick to my beloved kilos and meters and liters.

[shortstuff]

*sigh*

Breakfast without coffee is like a sentence without a

How's the coffeeless morning going?

[18ck]

I did thirty days with no coffee in jan.... The first week was the hardest... Good luck Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

Belated thanks! It feels like 30 days to me already <-- it's one day

[18ck]

How's the coffeeless morning going?

I refer the right honourable lady to my previous answer

[18ck]

I'll stick to my beloved kilos and meters and liters.

Very wise. Those are proper units based on tens. Having got the metric system sorted, Napoleon tried to decimalise the calendar too. It did not go well... which is sort of funny when you consider that the names September, October etc mean 7th month, 8th month, etc, up to December = 10 - the history of weights and measures is a strange patchwork...

[18ck]

Anyway... Bit of a heavy day at work but I managed a very short run and some ad-hoc bodyweight/resistance band activities, plus a basic starter session of the rotating plank of doom. Coffee-free life (for all my complaining) wasn't so terrible really. Listened to Prova Oral during boring bits of work and am now going to also some verb drills before bed. So an ok first day really... Hope you're all on form too. Tinkerty-tonk!

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[huSTLer]

Sounds like a successful day 1. I've been trying to kick the caffeine habit too. Decaf coffee is my friend (~half the time).