First lap as a Scout - Keliswicked

[keliswicked]

Hello Scouts!

 

Background:

This is my first time doing a challenge away from the Druids in quite a while, but due to moving, running is the most convenient exercise I can commit to and I figured this was the place to work on that skill.

 

I finished a Couch to 5k earlier this year and since then have run three 5ks.  However, I fell out of the habit of running in the past few months and also gained some weight.  So my goal for this challenge is to reestablish healthy habits for myself, because the last week of this challenge is my first week of work at my first full-time post-college job!

 

I don't look like a runner and I'm not a fast runner, at all, but I do somewhat enjoy it and I think it's good for me, plus I love races!  When I have gym access again I plan to take back up lifting and regular yoga in addition to running.

 

So without further ado, here are my goals for the challenge:

 

 

 

Run every day.

-This may seem a little ambitious, but I honestly have NOTHING to do in the next few weeks, I don't have a car at the moment and I'm staying at my mom's house.  I have nothing to do but go for a run each day.

-I can still get full credit for 6x a week instead of 7 just in case things come up at some point.

-I'm following the Couch to 5k again, started at Week 5 and since I'm running every day I'm doing each day twice.  I'll probably switch this up when it gets into longer (for me) runs, but for now it's working.

 

 

No more snacking!

-Self explanatory.  Since I have so little to do, I end up eating a lot throughout the day.  Instead, I need to stick to meals.  Probably 3, though I'm not opposed to eating 4 real meals if I'm that legitimately hungry. (legitimately hungry = "would I eat chicken and broccoli? yes")

-A meal also means it includes a veggie or fruit!

-I'll give myself a little leeway - 4 total snacks between the start and end of the challenge.

 

 

Do something productive EVERY day.

-This can be a chore in my mom's house, something to do with my apartment, watching videos for a Coursera class... pretty much anything other than staring at the television all day! 

-(Does not include running or cooking).

-No excuses on this one - something productive EVERY day.  There is ALWAYS something to do!

 

 

Here is my race schedule for the rest of the year (accurate as of 6/6):

July 3rd - 5k

July 12th - Dirty Girl Mud Run

August 9th - 5k

October 18th - 5k

November 22nd - 8k

 

 

 

I am really excited to be part of the Scouts for this challenge, and kicking ass with all of you!

Cheers!

[18ck]

Wow, that special druid-attracting pheromone Shukar sprayed around the guild entrance is really working well. That's two already.

Hello and welcome @keliswicked. Glad to have you on board. You're right, 7 days a week does sound ambitious but there's nothing wrong with that.

The race calendar is looking impressively full. Dobson want us to put them in the event calendar? It's one of the pinned threads at the top of the guild conference, and if you post your dates there they'll pop up on the smartphones of suitably tooled-up fellow-Scouts.

What coursera course are you doing BTW?

[The Borg Queen]

Hey, welcome to the scouts! I like your running streak idea. For your productivity goal, what about a cool to-do list?

[Kailer]

Welcome to the Scouts!! We are thrilled to have you. I think there is a natural connection between Druids and Scouts - most Scouts spend a lot of time outside in nature, and when you spend an hour running you're likely to get a little introspective.

 

Your goals look great, and congrats on your new job! What an exciting time

[18ck]

"Dobson". Hmph, nice one, spellcheck.

[Shukar]

If say the smell was granola but that sounds mean. welcome! That's a lot of nice 5k plans, maybe you wanna look into a half marathon for the spring? Also, I agree with Kailer, the guilds really have a lot of things in common if you look at it the right way, and things one does that can help people who focus on another. But that's a different rant.

[keliswicked]

Wow, that special druid-attracting pheromone Shukar sprayed around the guild entrance is really working well. That's two already.

Hello and welcome @keliswicked. Glad to have you on board. You're right, 7 days a week does sound ambitious but there's nothing wrong with that.

The race calendar is looking impressively full. Dobson want us to put them in the event calendar? It's one of the pinned threads at the top of the guild conference, and if you post your dates there they'll pop up on the smartphones of suitably tooled-up fellow-Scouts.

What coursera course are you doing BTW?

 

I'll have to remember that pheromone trick if I return to the Druids =P  I'll look into putting my races on the calendar.  And I'm doing the Horse Course on Coursera right now! I usually like the nutrition and health courses a lot too.

 

 

Hey, welcome to the scouts! I like your running streak idea. For your productivity goal, what about a cool to-do list?

 

Thank you! I do have a working to-do list, but it changes by the hour. It does help to keep on track though!

 

 

Welcome to the Scouts!! We are thrilled to have you. I think there is a natural connection between Druids and Scouts - most Scouts spend a lot of time outside in nature, and when you spend an hour running you're likely to get a little introspective.

 

Your goals look great, and congrats on your new job! What an exciting time

 

Thank you! I completely agree about druids and scouts, and a lot of the other guilds.  There's always an overlap in goals and styles. 

 

 

If say the smell was granola but that sounds mean. welcome! That's a lot of nice 5k plans, maybe you wanna look into a half marathon for the spring? Also, I agree with Kailer, the guilds really have a lot of things in common if you look at it the right way, and things one does that can help people who focus on another. But that's a different rant.

 

Thanks! I am excited for all the 5ks.  I think I may be able to work up to a 10k in a while.  A half marathon is a distant, distant dream - I'm just not a naturally good runner so my progress is really slow. I'm just content with being able to finish 5ks at the moment, and then trying to get my speed up =)

[keliswicked]

Update #1

 

Got my run in today, 8am as usual! This was my 6th day in a row.

 

Today I did Week 5 Day 3 of the Couch to 5k.  I'll probably repeat it tomorrow. I found a way to make it mostly downhill instead of my usual hilly run, though I'm still going to do the hilly run when I run intervals because I know it's great for my running.

 

My productive activity today was cleaning my room here at my mom's house. 

 

I've been good about snacking the last couple days so I should be good again today!

[Silo]

Good start! W3d3--that's the 20 minute run, right? Sounds like it was a good one if you are doing it again.

[Kailer]

That's a great first day! I admire you morning runners, lol.

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[18ck]

I'll have to remember that pheromone trick if I return to the Druids =P  I'll look into putting my races on the calendar.  And I'm doing the Horse Course on Coursera right now! I usually like the nutrition and health courses a lot too.

I keep circling back here meaning to copy all of the races into the calendar but it's such a daunting task, what with there being 5 of them. Either i need better time management or you need to be less badass! I'll get to it eventually though. 

"Horse Course"? Aintree? No, that can't be right... What's the horse course? Actually, I thought Coursera was a language program like RosettaStone at first so when I first read it I pictured you learning to talk to the animals... but i guess not! 

[Nightside]

Update #1

 

Got my run in today, 8am as usual! This was my 6th day in a row.

 

Today I did Week 5 Day 3 of the Couch to 5k.  I'll probably repeat it tomorrow. I found a way to make it mostly downhill instead of my usual hilly run, though I'm still going to do the hilly run when I run intervals because I know it's great for my running.

 

My productive activity today was cleaning my room here at my mom's house. 

 

I've been good about snacking the last couple days so I should be good again today!

All good, just keep on keeping on.

[Kailer]

I keep circling back here meaning to copy all of the races into the calendar but it's such a daunting task, what with there being 5 of them. Either i need better time management or you need to be less badass! I'll get to it eventually though.

"Horse Course"? Aintree? No, that can't be right... What's the horse course? Actually, I thought Coursera was a language program like RosettaStone at first so when I first read it I pictured you learning to talk to the animals... but i guess not!

I'm curious, too!

[keliswicked]

Good start! W3d3--that's the 20 minute run, right? Sounds like it was a good one if you are doing it again.

It did go well =) The 2 mile/20 minute run is always such a hurdle!

 

That's a great first day! I admire you morning runners, lol.

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If I don't run in the morning, I tend not to run at all =P I found out that my job will be 8:30am-5:30pm starting next month, so I figure it's better to get in the habit of doing it early!

 

 

I keep circling back here meaning to copy all of the races into the calendar but it's such a daunting task, what with there being 5 of them. Either i need better time management or you need to be less badass! I'll get to it eventually though. 

"Horse Course"? Aintree? No, that can't be right... What's the horse course? Actually, I thought Coursera was a language program like RosettaStone at first so when I first read it I pictured you learning to talk to the animals... but i guess not! 

Lol! I will go and add my races at some point today, just to take it off your plate!

Coursera is essentially free, online college courses. So the class I'm currently taking is about horses! Here is the link if you are curious: https://class.coursera.org/thehorsecourse-001

 

All good, just keep on keeping on.

Thank you! I've been doing pretty fabulous...

[keliswicked]

Update #2

 

After my last update I took a day off from running, so I went 6 days on, 1 day off.  Since then I've run every day (another 6 days) but with quite a bit more excitement.  The day after my day off I fell while running and tore up both my knees and the heel of my hand.  So now I essentially look like a 5 year old with skinned knees.  I haven't missed a day running though I only did a light run the day after.  A few days after that, I started getting some cramping in my right calf.  I miss my foam roller immensely!  I also think that a second pair of sneakers may help with it.

 

I've done great with not snacking.  I feel like I may not be eating quite enough but I'm eating meals when I'm hungry and haven't been snacking at all, which is hard in my mom's house since there are always chips/ice cream/insert other unhealthy snack here =)

 

Productivity I would say has been good but not perfect. I forgot to track it specifically last week.  I spent about 5 days just reading books (The Moral Instruments series and then the Seven Realms series).  But I haven't let anything go that I should have done, so I'll give myself a pass for that week.

 

So far so good on the challenge! I'm up to Week 6 Day 3 on the Couch to 5k and I'm debating how to proceed since now it's just 2+mile runs.  I thinking every other day I'll do the next day of the Couch to 5k and on the off days I'll go up to the track and run short intervals.

[The Borg Queen]

Hey, a great first week! Looks like you got a lot of great reading done.

 

You know, going from 0 -> 6 days/week of running can be pretty ambitious. It's okay to take extra days off as you ease back in, or do something else instead of running. Walking, biking, and swimming are great subs for running and can improve your overall running fitness level. Also, doing another fitness activity will help you to avoid cramps from overuse.

[18ck]

Coursera is essentially free, online college courses. So the class I'm currently taking is about horses!

Ah! I should've guessed!

By the way, have you met Rookie? She's another fan of horses.

[keliswicked]

Hey, a great first week! Looks like you got a lot of great reading done.

 

You know, going from 0 -> 6 days/week of running can be pretty ambitious. It's okay to take extra days off as you ease back in, or do something else instead of running. Walking, biking, and swimming are great subs for running and can improve your overall running fitness level. Also, doing another fitness activity will help you to avoid cramps from overuse.

Thanks! I would love to swim or bike but I don't have access to either for another week or so. I still feel pretty good running every day but I take a day off when I feel like I need it =) When I move in a week I'll get to find a new gym and add back in lifting and yoga and decrease the number of days I run.

 

Ah! I should've guessed!

By the way, have you met Rookie? She's another fan of horses.

I have not, but I will keep an eye out for her =)

[keliswicked]

Update #3

 

Running every day is going great! On Tuesday I did Week 6 Day 3 of the Couch to 5k which is a 2.25 mile run. Yesterday I used as my day off and then today I came back with Week 7 Day 1, a 2.5 mile run.  Tomorrow I'm planning on running some light intervals and Saturday will be a full 5k for the summer solstice! With this plan, I'm on track to be ready for consistent 3 mile runs by July 3rd which is my next 5k!

 

I used one of my snack allowances yesterday, kind of uselessly. I had been out shopping with my mom and when we got home she was having chips and dip and I ended up having some too. 

 

Productivity is still eh, today I have things that I absolutely have to get done so today will be a pass/fail kind of day.

 

I'm looking forward to being able to join a gym again and get back into lifting and yoga! 

[Kailer]

Hey Keliswicked! While I was down in the L1 forum I met J-Man and I thought you guys would really get along because you’re both working on mastering the 5K this challenge. When you get a few minutes you should go catch up on this thread by clicking here and saying some encouraging words! Remember, it really means a lot to the newer rebels when we take time to check in on them

[keliswicked]

Hey Keliswicked! While I was down in the L1 forum I met J-Man and I thought you guys would really get along because you’re both working on mastering the 5K this challenge. When you get a few minutes you should go catch up on this thread by clicking here and saying some encouraging words! Remember, it really means a lot to the newer rebels when we take time to check in on them

Hey Kailer! I will have to stop by there in the next few days, thanks for the suggestion!

[keliswicked]

Update #4

 

So my running is still going good! Let's see, my last update was the 19th. So since then, I've done some interval running, a run/walk 5k on the summer solstice, a one mile light jog, Week 8 Day 1 of the Couch to 5k, and a 1 mile fartlek run today! I was going to do more but it started to rain and since I carry my phone with me I didn't want it to get too much exposure to water.

 

My no snacking has been going great.  Which is good because my meals haven't all been incredibly healthy. But at least I'm not overeating too bad!

 

I'm passing myself for the last week of productivity because I've gotten everything done that I've needed to get done, including buying a new car and filling out all my paperwork for my new job!

 

So far this has been a fantastic challenge for me!!

[Kailer]

Awesome!! I'm glad to see so much WIN in here! What kind of vehicle did you buy?

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[keliswicked]

Awesome!! I'm glad to see so much WIN in here! What kind of vehicle did you buy?

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I got a Honda CRV =) 

 

Update #5

 

OKAY! So my running got detoured while I moved into a new apartment.  So I missed three days (technically we can say 2 since I usually take a day off each week anyway).  Today, to get back into it, I went on a short mile and change run.  Tomorrow I'm going to make sure I'm up earlier since 8:30am here is wayyyy too hot to run.

 

I actually haven't been snacking since I haven't really had any food, which works out I guess!  I just went to a farm and bought some bacon, sausage and beef so at least I'll have some delicious, humanely raised food =)

 

Productivity has been GREAT, mostly because everything I've had to do was buying a car, getting a new phone, signing a lease for my apartment, etc etc.  But I'm all moved in, except for unpacking clothing! 

 

I also found a gym just 5 minutes from my apartment with a small but nice barbell section.  The owner said it's never crowded so I'm excited to start going!!

[Kailer]

New car, New apartment, New gym - lots of exciting things here. Even if you missed a few runs, sometimes you have to take the time to take the set up shot before you go for the goal, you know?