Erick the Red: Getting Harder, Getting Faster

[Erick the Red]

My main quest for the last couple of challenges has been based on a line from a Nerdfitness blog post a while back.  In A Beginner's Guide to Getting Bigger Muscle and Bulking Up, this line really struck home:

 

If you are skinny fat (you have skinny arms and legs but have a gut), I would recommend strength training while following a healthy diet to decrease your body fat percentage.

Get yourself down to roughly 12% bodyfat (~20% for women), and then start packing on size.

 

I started at about 25% body fat in July 2013.  I set calorie limits and tracked foods.  I lifted heavy, and I continued to run.  I got down to 15% by the end of 2013.

Now my main quest is to get even harder.

I will get my body fat down to 12% or less by 28 February 2014, and stay big and strong in the process.

 

Quest 1: You are what you eat.  I want to look like a stone giant, but I can’t eat gravel.  So I will get as close as I can. 
Paleo diet: Non-starchy vegetables, meat, fish, some fruit, some nuts. Volume will be in that order.  Avoid added sugar, added fructose, starches like grains (wheat, rice, corn) and potatoes, and snacks. I will initially not be tracking calories in myfitnesspal, but if the needle isn’t moving like it should by halfway through the challenge, I will start doing that again with a particular daily calorie goal as well.
Grading: I will give myself a weekly grade, anything more than one day of inappropriate foods is a failure for the week.

 

Quest 2: Try fasting. At least once per week, 24 hours without food (just water).

Grading: Pass/fail for each of six weeks.

 

Quest 3: Rolling stone gathers no moss.  Total of 30 minutes walking per day, in addition to regular heavy lifting and running.
Grading: Weekly grade based on percentage completed.

 

 

Fitness Side Quest: Catch Cheetara

I happen to have come of age to start noticing girls at exactly the time that Thundercats was a big deal, and so this fast and strong gal was probably my first (non-human) crush.  She can hit thirty seconds to the mile, but only for a little while, so I have a chance if I can go the distance.

 

I am signing up for the Scenic City Trail Half Marathon on 26 April 2014.  I have a very conservative race training plan based on this one (warning PDF file), covering the sixteen weeks (coincidentally) from the beginning of this six week challenge.  It starts very low-mileage for me, but I am choosing slow-but-steady this time because I have developed chronic-use injuries while training for races in the past.

 

Fitness Side Quest: three runs per week, per the training plan.
Grading: Pass/fail for the week, with a little lee-way for distance and specific dates.

[Librarian of Doom]

Great goals! Sounds like you know what you want and how you're going to go after it. I totally get training conservatively to avoid injury; I'm doing the same thing this challenge. Welcome to the Rangers; 2014 is going to be a great year. Stay shiny!!!

[Mikroftt]

Have you tried the IM fasting that has been posted on the NerdFitness main blog?  I have been doing that for the last half of 2013 and have seen good results with it.  I do the everyday type were I only eat between 11am and 7pm.  It has worked for me.  

 

Good luck with the half marathon.  I did one in Indianapolis that was fun a couple of years ago.  

[Erick the Red]

Great goals! Sounds like you know what you want and how you're going to go after it. I totally get training conservatively to avoid injury; I'm doing the same thing this challenge. Welcome to the Rangers; 2014 is going to be a great year. Stay shiny!!!

 

I am glad to be here.  My fitness activities have been "ranger-y" for the last six months, but I never placed my challenge thread here because my specific goals were focused on Warrior or Assassin areas.

 

Have you tried the IM fasting that has been posted on the NerdFitness main blog?  I have been doing that for the last half of 2013 and have seen good results with it.  I do the everyday type were I only eat between 11am and 7pm.  It has worked for me.  

 

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have not tried the daily fasting thing that Steve writes about, not in a formal structured sense anyway.  Yesterday I didn't eat until after noon, but that that was because I ate too much junk food at a party the night before and needed to skip breakfast and run for an hour to work some of it off.   I have done longer 24-hour fasts like I have in my current challenge pretty regularly for years, so it is not a new thing.  All I am doing is just making it more frequent, which I am pretty confident I can do.  It probably won't be a lifestyle change, but we'll see.

[AlexCold]

Good luck! 

[Xena]

Look like great goals and you have already made huge progress in 2013. So cool that your first(?) half will be on trails! Have you done trail races before? They tend to have a different feel than road races. Because the terrain is varied and you aren't (usually) running past mile markers, it feels more like a journey and your own best effort than trying to stay on a specific pace. I've fought off lots of overuse injuries over the years and mostly have managed to keep on the road/trails...so if you have any questions, I would be happy to share what I know.

p.s. I really like the way you set up your signature line.

[Twibbly]

*waves*

 

I'm watching you again.

 

...THAT didn't sound creepy.

[Erick the Red]

Good luck! 

 

Thanks.

 

Look like great goals and you have already made huge progress in 2013. So cool that your first(?) half will be on trails! Have you done trail races before? They tend to have a different feel than road races. Because the terrain is varied and you aren't (usually) running past mile markers, it feels more like a journey and your own best effort than trying to stay on a specific pace. I've fought off lots of overuse injuries over the years and mostly have managed to keep on the road/trails...so if you have any questions, I would be happy to share what I know.

p.s. I really like the way you set up your signature line.

 

Yes, my first half.  I live in an area with lots of hills, and I like running on trails anyway, so it is not the technical easpect that I worry about.  It is just getting to the starting line whole and prepared.  Glad to know I can ask you for tips.

 

*waves*

 

I'm watching you again.

 

...THAT didn't sound creepy.

 

Twibble, I'll be watching you too.  Actually, I am watching you right now.

 

Me: "Come on.  That's not nearly creepy enough."

Other me: "Shut up.  You try thinking of something creepy while under pressure.  It's difficult."

Me: "Don't talk to me about difficult.  Twibble is doing low-carb keto.  That's difficult."

Other me: "I said shut up.  She will do fine.  Everyone saw how she pushed through on her last challenge."

 

I'll think of something properly creepy later, when I am off the computer. 

L'esprit de l'escalier is my nemesis.

[Heidi]

The wit of the staircase - I love that expression (and use it often)

[Twibbly]

Twibble, I'll be watching you too.  Actually, I am watching you right now.

 

Me: "Come on.  That's not nearly creepy enough."

Other me: "Shut up.  You try thinking of something creepy while under pressure.  It's difficult."

Me: "Don't talk to me about difficult.  Twibble is doing low-carb keto.  That's difficult."

Other me: "I said shut up.  She will do fine.  Everyone saw how she pushed through on her last challenge."

 

I'll think of something properly creepy later, when I am off the computer. 

L'esprit de l'escalier is my nemesis.

 

One of the You on a Diet stretching videos has a creepy guy in it who, in the middle of the workout, tells you, "No one's watching you.  Except us.  We're all watching you."

 

If not for the creepy guy, they'd be a marvelous stretch.

[The Borg Queen]

Looks like a great challenge! Half marathons are fun. I like your slow-and-steady training schedule. 

[cavemom]

Thunder thunder thunder thundercats!  Hoooooooooooo!

 

You know if you write thunder enough times it starts to look really weird.  Looking forward to following your progress.  I've still got to figure out my goals before I get a thread up.

[Erick the Red]

Looks like a great challenge! Half marathons are fun. I like your slow-and-steady training schedule. 

 

Thanks.  I hope that the trail race will make it more interesting as well.  Two-plus hours on the road seems boring to me.

[Erick the Red]

Thunder thunder thunder thundercats!  Hoooooooooooo!

 

You know if you write thunder enough times it starts to look really weird.  Looking forward to following your progress.  I've still got to figure out my goals before I get a thread up.

 

I am happy to hear from you.  I agree that coming up with goals is a challenge in itself.  PM me if you want any ideas.

[rowan]

MISTER RED!

 

I found you I found you!  I love the look of this challenge, and I'm interested to see how the fasting goes for you - do you plan to work out on fast days?  

 

LETS ROCK THIS TOWN ROCK IT INSIDE OUT

 

STRAY THUNDERCATS!

[JessOfAllTrades]

I love how you have moved through the guilds. Truly an inspiration for the jack-of-all-trades found here at the Rangers. Also, your Cheetara goal makes me giggle. Hope you enjoy your stay here, and best of luck on the challenge!

[Rraythe]

Wow, congrats on dropping 10% body fat in a year! That's awesome!

 

Love the Cheetara goal She was my fav cartoon lady after She-Ra.

[Erick the Red]

MISTER RED!

 

I found you I found you!  I love the look of this challenge, and I'm interested to see how the fasting goes for you - do you plan to work out on fast days?  

 

LETS ROCK THIS TOWN ROCK IT INSIDE OUT

 

STRAY THUNDERCATS!

 

Rowan is my favorite silly head on Nerd Fitness.  I always smile when I read your posts.

 

I am still trying to decide if I want to do fast days on a rest day or not.  I have tried lifting deadlifts on a late Saturday morning without breakfast, and I definitely struggled.  On the other hand, staying active while fasting is one easy way to not notice that you are not eating.  I'll probably try some different ways. 

 

I am fasting today (Saturday evening to Sunday evening) and not even for challenge credit.  Not a big deal for me.  Pork roast is in the crock pot, and I will probably go on a long walk in a little while to get away from the smell. 

[Erick the Red]

I love how you have moved through the guilds. Truly an inspiration for the jack-of-all-trades found here at the Rangers. Also, your Cheetara goal makes me giggle. Hope you enjoy your stay here, and best of luck on the challenge!

 

I have just followed my nose, and went to where I thought I needed the most help.  Right now I need to integrate these things and figure out how to be big and strong and also run for a long time, and since I can barely do each of these separately I figured it was time to tap into the Rangers' big brain.

[Erick the Red]

Wow, congrats on dropping 10% body fat in a year! That's awesome!

 

Love the Cheetara goal She was my fav cartoon lady after She-Ra.

 

Thanks.  The Christmas holidays (and not having a Nerd Fitness crew to have to report to) has put a dent in my progress that I will need to remedy before I make any more progress.

[cavemom]

Just reading about your pork roast in the crock pot makes me hungry.  I don't even have to smell it.  Are your fast days in the future going to be dinner to the following day's dinner, or just a full day of breakfast, lunch, dinner?

[rowan]

How.  How are you doing it.  I know from experience that crock pots are like those plug in flowery air fresheners for your house but more intense and also meat scented.  How do you do it.  I can't even fathom it.

[JessOfAllTrades]

Rowan's comment is spot-on. It's tough to fast when your house smells of delicious! You'll have to let us know how it goes.

[Raxie]

Love your goals!  Congrats on the awesome progress in 2013, here's to the start of another successful year

[KieraMoonfire]

Sounds like you are gonna do great! Way to have a long term goal of the marathon to keep you going

 

-Kiera Moonfire

Browncoat