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Sara Kingdom Lets the Chains of Fenric Shatter (sarakingdom)

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Challenge #1 - The Curse of Fenric Challenge

 

Black fog turned day into night,
and the fingers of death
reached out from the waters
to reclaim the treasures we have stolen.

We sought haven in Northumbria,
and took refuge at a place called Maidens’ Bay,
but the curse of the treasure
has followed us to this place.

Night is the time of the evil curse,
and no man is safe alone.
The waters are most dangerous.

 

Main Quest:  Look, time travelling isn't for the faint of heart or weak of stomach.  For that matter, it takes a certain physical readiness for action.  Sure, the voyeuristic intellectual rewards are great, but you'd be surprised how often it involves sprinting for your life, or hand-to-hand combat with multiple inhuman assailants, or beating a relentless killing machine into submission with a baseball bat and then sprinting for your life.  You've got to slim down and build some strength if you want to survive it.

 

 

Objective #1: Prepare for the physical challenges.

 

"You've got to come into the water."

 

Three days a week of bodyweight training (mostly the Angry Birds workout, on the Keep It Simple, Stupid principle) to build up the strength to climb up church bell towers and beat the crap out of haemovores, and three days a week of cardio.  This challenge won the right to be the Fenric challenge on the basis of how much time I plan to spend in the water: my usual cardio is rowing HIIT, but due to an ankle injury I'd like to baby for a while, there'll also be a lot of pool time, working up to swimming HIIT after I get back into my swimming routine.  There's a decent amount of rowing and swimming involved in sneaking into England via the coast and learning that your unfortunate Viking ancestors have doomed you all to fight off a timeless evil that lurks beneath the waves.

 

Objective #2: Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

 

"They are what Homo sapiens evolve into thousands of years in the future, creatures with an insatiable hunger for blood.  They devour humans the way you eat fruit."

 

Drink 2-3 litres of water a day.  Because I actually forget to do that.  A lot.  And chronic dehydration never helped anyone fight off monsters.  Also, if you're not going to go into the water, even if it's on very sound aquatic-Viking-vampire-related reasons, then the water had better go into you.  That's just logic, that is.  Then I will sate my highly evolved Homo sapiens hunger for blood and fruit on a Paleo/Primal diet, at a calorie level midway between my BMR and TDEE (+ exercise expenditure).  That one I'm pretty close on, but a little effort towards cleaning it up would be helpful.

 

Objective #3: Be rested, be ready.

 

"Ace! Bunk beds! Bags I go on top."
"Quiet, people are trying to sleep."

 

Get eight hours of sleep a night, starting before midnight of the night in question.  Because, again, I... forget to do that.  Or find out at 4am that I can't do that.  Sometimes both.  That's no good at all for my mind or for my body.

 

Motivation: I am, at heart, very shallow, and mostly I want to climb things, beat the shit out of things, and have adventures.  I find I currently lack the tools to do these things with my life.  I want to change this, because there's a certain exhilaration that comes just from using your body the way it wants to be used.  Also from explosions.  They're pretty exhilarating, too.

 

"And the half-time score: Perivale, six hundred million; rest of the universe, nil."

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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I forget to drink water, too.  So much that some days I find that it's evening time, and I have not drank any water at all.

 

That's precisely what I do, if I'm not consciously drinking water.  I realize around 5pm that all I've had to drink all day was my morning cup of coffee.  I've started noticing more and more things that look like signs of dehydration, so I really ought to drink more water.

 

More water is one of my goals as well (I don't think I've ever seriously thought about the difference between hunger and thirst) but your reasoning behind it is much more fun.

 

Everything is more fun with aquatic Viking vampires. :)

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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cavemom

cavemom

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That's precisely what I do, if I'm not consciously drinking water.  I realize around 5pm that all I've had to drink all day was my morning cup of coffee.  I've started noticing more and more things that look like signs of dehydration, so I really ought to drink more water.

 

Yes!  This is it exactly.  I have my coffee in the morning, and that's it some days.  I get headaches a lot, and I just recently realized they may very well be connected to dehydration.  Hopefully your water drinking goal goes well for you.

Brenda

Cave-dwelling Druid

 

Current Challenge

 

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Squeege

Squeege

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I'm not a Dr. Who watcher (Whovian, right?), but I love that you are using Time Travel as a starting reason for your challenge. Because yeah, baseball bats aren't going to swing themselves, and no one is going to sprint away for you! Great goals, can't wait to see how you demolish this challenge, and discover the feats your body can do. Good luck! Subbed from the Brown Coats. 

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Those are some great goals! Staying hydrated and getting enough sleep for 6 days of solid butt-kicking sounds really awesome to me. Keep us posted on your progress!

Thanks! It's really all about just making sure all the habits are solid before I step things up next challenge, and these are the big wins.

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Looks like you're ready to go! Great-looking goals, I think.

Welcome to the Rebellion!

Thank you, kindling! I think this set of goals will be fun and doable, and set me up pretty well for the next challenge. Good luck on your challenge!

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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I'm not a Dr. Who watcher (Whovian, right?), but I love that you are using Time Travel as a starting reason for your challenge. Because yeah, baseball bats aren't going to swing themselves, and no one is going to sprint away for you! Great goals, can't wait to see how you demolish this challenge, and discover the feats your body can do. Good luck! Subbed from the Brown Coats.

Thanks, Squeege! People totally underestimate the sheer range of physical challenges involved in time travel, and how many things want you dead. Not as sedate as it looks. :)

I think this one will be fun! Which is part of the point. The habits will stick better if it's fun getting there.

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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To add to the original post, I've been giving some thoughts to scoring before we start.

Objective #1: 1 point per workout, 2 points for doing them on six different days (to reward daily consistency). 1 bonus point for an extra workout available, but lose 1 point if I don't take my one rest day. I think that covers all the priorities. Scored out of 8 points per week, max possible score is 9.

Objective #2: My main goal here is the water, rather than the diet, though I will track that and introduce scoring if there's something that pops out of tracking. 0.5 points for two litres of water, 1 point for three, 1.5 for four. No points for the day if I don't drink any water before 5pm. Scored out of 8 7 points per week, max possible score is 10.5.

I recalculated my BMR for this challenge: BMR ~1600, TDEE ~1900, calorie target midway at ~1700. That's not much of a deficit, particularly since I'm planning to give myself the option of going over target by the amount I use in exercise so I don't drop below my BMR, but my initial goal is just to observe and find my problem areas - I've been doing primal and food tracking long enough that it's probably slipping in places. The purpose of this challenge for me is just making sure the habits are solid, before I tweak up the difficulty. Oh, what the heck, let's say 3 points a week for diet averaged over the week, 1 for hitting the calorie target, 1 for 80% primal/20% leeway, and one if I fail to track in a reasonable way.

Objective #3: 0.5 points for 7 hours of sleep, because that's not bad, and 1 point for 8. Lose a point if I pull some stupid sleep stunt. Bonus point if the majority of days of the week have between 8 and 9 hours of sleep. Sleep quantity scored weekly out of 7, max possible 8. 1 point per day for being in bed before 11:45 (because I'm trying to break the mental association between midnight and bedtime, so no rush at 11:57), though 8 hours will clearly need an earlier bedtime. 0.5 bonus points for doing something relaxing for 15-20 minutes before bed, like reading, and keeping away from the computer. Sleep scheduling scored out of 7, max 10.5 points.

Right. Enough math. Let the games begin.

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Day 1: The aftermath

 

So I'll be posting these the day after, due to the sleep goal.

 

Swimming: closer to 45 minutes than the planned 30, because I got to a part of my playlist I liked. 1 point

Water: 1.5 liters + 20 ounces + 16 ounces of herbal tea = rounds up to 3 liters.  1 point

Sleep: in bed well before deadline, and got about 8.5 hours. 1 point each

 

Great swim.  Went significantly better than my last swim, so I think I'm recovering my swimming chops pretty quickly.  I think every muscle in my upper body felt that swim.  My plan for this week is nothing fancy, just whatever it takes to do the time - it's been quite a while since I've been in the pool, so it's going to take me a little time to get my lungs and muscles back up to speed before I can start messing with high-intensity drills. 

 

Workouts:

2.08%
2.08%

Water:

2.08%
2.08%

Sleep Quantity:

2.38%
2.38%

Sleep Schedule:

2.38%
2.38%

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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How'd it go last night? Are you feeling super well rested with your full night of sleep?

 

I was!  A little too rested, in fact. :)

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Day 2 & 3 Aftermath

 

Day 2:

Water: 2.75 litres.  1 point (2 total)

Sleep: On time & enough.  1 point each (2 total)

 

Day 3:

Swimming: 25 minutes, four 50%/75% intervals. 1 point (2 total)

Water: 2.5 litres plus a large mouthful of the pool, rounded up.  1 point (3 total)

Sleep: On time, but I can't call that 7 hours.  1 point for the schedule (2 quantity, 3 schedule)

 

Wow, I cannot wait for my new swim suit to arrive in the mail.  There's nothing like distance swimming to help you figure out your suit is too big for you. 

 

Missed yesterday's planned strength training session, due to starting work again after dinner and losing track of time till 11:30.  Well, I guess that shall become my rest day, and I'll juggle things around a bit.

 

Workouts:

4.16%
4.16%

Water:

6.24%
6.24%

Sleep Quantity:

4.76%
4.76%

Sleep Schedule:

7.14%
7.14%

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Day 4 Aftermath (8/1/13)

 

Day 4:

Workout: An hour of walking plus the planned strength training. 1 point (3 total)

Water: Under 2, can't count this today.  (3 total)

Sleep: On time,  7 hours.  1 point for the schedule, 0.5 for quantity (2.5 quantity, 4 schedule)

 

Not my best strength workout.  My ankle injury occasionally interferes with my squats, strangely enough, so I finished the minimum and took the strain off my joints.  And my plank performance was not as good as my usual.  But it got done.

 

Workouts:

6.25%
6.25%

Water:

6.25%
6.25%

Sleep Quantity:

5.95%
5.95%

Sleep Schedule:

9.5%
9.5%

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Great week so far! Swimming with a too-large swimsuit just adds to the resistance factor, right? Hope the new one is fantastic!

 

Man, I hope it ups the resistance!  Mostly, I'm aware of the wardrobe-malfunction potential, which can't be helping my stroke any. :)

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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sarakingdom

sarakingdom

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Looks like you're doing good, and I had to laugh that you counted the large mouthful of pool into your water intake.  That's awesome.

 

That huge mouthful of pool water had to be good for something, and if that something is tipping me over to the right side of the midway point, well, so be it. :)

I felt like I could run forever, like I could smell the wind and feel the grass under my feet, and just run forever.

Current Challenge: #24 - Mrs. Cosmopolite Challenge

Past: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6,  #7, #8, #9, #10, #11a & #11b, #12, #13, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22, #23

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