Lalie Fanyarendil wants to be the Pan!

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

All children, except one, grow up. However, some of them grow up quite a bit less than the others. This was the case for Lalie. This does not refer solely to stature, although she did seem to have gone 'round the corner the day that height was passed out to all the other elves. For she continued to find joy in the things that others of her age had long left behind. Dress-up (cosplay) and pretend (tabletop gaming), Star Wars and comic books--these were her constant, faithful friends. They stayed with her through many illnesses and injuries that destroyed her health.

 

However, there was another friend, a best friend, who had known Lalie long before she had met these new friends. And while she continued to play with all of her friends, she looked to her best friend when she set about trying to put herself back together again. He is Peter Pan, you know, dear reader, and Lalie decided that she also wanted to be the Pan. Fortunately, in the delightful cinematic feature Hook Tootles enumerated the three qualities most essential to being the Pan: "Got to fight! Got to fly! Got to crow!"

 

Lalie decided that she would start with fighting. She would fight all of the nasty things that had been done to her or that she had been made to do, and she would fit her life the way that was best, just like being fitted for your tree.

 

Main Goal: To get back in good enough shape to go hiking with a friend. Hopefully the weather might start cooling off soon, so in six weeks it might be bearable to be outside in long pants and sleeves. I am too allergic to poison ivy to be willing to go in shorts. To complete this goal, I will need better endurance, and I will need to start having some strength again so that I can catch myself without injury if I slip or trip on something. I will also need to be in the habit of eating enough to give me energy through the whole day.

 

Sub-Quest #1: Eat at least 1500 calories per day.

 

I am still breaking free of my mother's weight loss lifestyle that the rest of the family had to follow along with her. I'd been eating reduced fat or fat free foods for most of my life and, over the past five or six years, had to stop cooking a lot of dishes I liked because she said they would be too fattening. So I ended up getting probably around 700-800 calories on the days that I didn't skip any meals because there just wasn't anything that seemed worth the time and effort to eat. Now that I have moved out I can cook whatever I want, and my life has improved drastically. But, I am still working on eating enough every day. My BMR is probably about 1350 and my TDEE is probably about 1700. 1500 seems like a healthy minimum goal. A bit over 1700 would be even better because I am wanting to build some strength, but I need to get in the habit of eating over starvation mode enough before I can develop the habit of eating to build muscle. First things first. I have found some easy, high-calorie recipes that I can keep on hand or whip up quickly if I realize I need more.

 

A - Eat 1500+ calories every day of the challenge.

B - Eat 1500+ calories 6 days per week of the challenge.

C - Eat 1500+ calories 5 days per week of the challenge.

 

Sub-Quest #2: Complete 2-3 circuits of the BBWW 3 days per week. Currently I can get through 2 with extra resting on the second one, but I'm hoping I'll be able to increase it to three by the end of the challenge.

 

A - Complete BBWW 3 days of the week.

B - Complete BBWW 2 days of the week.

C - Complete BBWW 1 day of the week.

 

Sub-Quest #3: Do the route I like to walk/run twice a week. Ideally three, but due to Things I don't know if I could sustain that goal across six weeks, so I'm not penalizing myself for only getting in two.

 

A - Do the route 2 days of the week.

B - Do the full route 1 day and part of it the second day.

C - Do the full route 1 day or do it partially 2 days.

 

The Allergy Contingency: I have severe year-round allergies, and they've been bothering me more lately. I have found that, if I notice what's going on in time, there are precautions I can take to help prevent a throat or sinus infection from developing from my allergies. I have also noticed that trying to grit my teeth and power through the symptoms just makes me get sick faster. In order not to get sick, this plan needs an allergy contingency. If I notice that I have a sore throat and/or cough from drainage, and/or a fever up to 99.5 degrees F, and I have already used my two rest days for the week, I may replace that day's workout with at least 30 minutes of dedicated stretching followed by anti-symptom warfare. I should not penalize myself for tending to my health. Frequent necessity of the Allergy Contingency will result in allocation of attribute points to Wisdom instead of a physical attribute. A fever higher than 99.5F probably means that I am sick from actual germs and need to put the challenge on hold while I go see a doctor.

 

Progress

Week 1: A

- BBWW x3

- Walk/run favorite route x2

- 1500+ calories per day x7

- Allergy Contingency Invocation x0

Week 2: A

- BBWW x3

- Walk/run favorite route x2

- 1500+ calories per day x7

- Allergy Contingency Invocation x0

Week 3: B

- BBWW x2

- Walk/run favorite route x1

- 1500+ calories per day x7

- Allergy Contingency Invocation x1

- Staff + stretching x1

Week 4: B

- BBWW x2

- Walk/run favorite route x0

- Staff + stretching x1

- 1500+ calories per day x7

- Allergy Contingency Invocation x1

Week 5: A

- BBWW x2

- Walk 30 min + staff + stretching x2

- 1500+ calories per day x7

- Allergy Contingency Invocation x2

Week 6: B

- BBWW x2

- Walk + staff x2

- 1500+ calories per day x7

- Allergy Contingency Invocation x0

[lishvicious]

I love your beginning story - what a great introduction!

 

I haven't grown up yet either, which is hilarious since I have children of my own. I'm 32 and I still play games, geek out with movies and TV shows and read comics. And next year I'm even thinking of doing my first ever cosplay! Any advice would be appreciated on how to get started.

 

But seriously you have some great goals here - that seem very achievable - as long as those allergies don't go crazy! So I wish you luck on your challenge - hope your rock it!

[GingaNinja]

Beautiful story  and I wish you the best of luck with your challenge and goals!

 

I'm KingLeeroy and I'm an adventurer ambassador, I don't know exactly what you are going through but I was quite ill for a couple of years and I can sympathise with stuff like that destroying your health!

Maybe is you find you are struggling to get the trails done, you can focus on maybe getting 10.000 steps done a day to keep  building walking momentum!

If you have questions about anything don't hesitate to ask me anything  

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Thank you, lishvicious! I think growing up is overrated. You just need to grow up enough to be able to buy alcohol, get a driver's license if desired, and have a job. The job is so that you'll be able to fund awesome toys.

 

The best advice I can think of for starting cosplay is to pick a costume you want to make, make a list of all the parts you will need to make for it, and identify how you'll make each part. Pick the most difficult piece and make that first. That way if you can't figure out how to make it you won't have a half-finished costume that you won't be able to complete taking up space. And once you finish that part you'll get a big sense of accomplishment! The first costume I made that would really count as cosplay was Raven from the Teen Titans television series. I didn't start making it until I figured out a way to make the belt and brooch. The rest of it was just sewing. Figuring out those gave me the confidence to try cutting a wig for the first time. I've ended up getting to use that costume every year since I made it (I found an annual costumed volunteering opportunity) so now I'm working on upgrading it since I have more skills and money for supplies now.

[Blaidd]

i love your intro

 

You might notice that i've added an Adventurers' tag to your thread.  This isn't to pigeonhole you into particular guild, but rather to bring one of their ambassadors here to offer you encouragement, support or advice.  Your goals this challenge fit well with the overall spirit of their guild and you are more than welcome to pop into their Tavern and introduce yourself to them.  You are also more than welcome to pop me a message anytime. 

 

Good Luck

AB xx

[starsapart]

I notice by your signature that you've expressed an interest in our guild...   

 

On behalf of the Assassins' Guild Ambassadors, welcome to your first official Nerd Fitness challenge!  It seems like you might be looking to join us at some point on your fitness journey, so I'm extending the official (black-gloved, naturally) hand of welcome on behalf of the guild!  We love bodyweight training, and we'd like to do what we can to help you achieve all your goals!  I've got a few links for you that might help you along:

 

Here's a link to the Assassin Guild Info & Announcements.  You can also feel free to pop into the Assassins' Den guild chat thread and get in on the fun.  Everyone's friendly and glad to answer questions - or spam your inbox with gifs, either or, really.

 

It seems like you've already found the Level 1 Assassin Initiates Q&A/Chat  thread.  Feel free to pop in there if you're thinking of donning the black post-challenge to meet other newbies with similar interests and interact with some current Assassins as well!

 

We've also got a Phone Book in the works (coming soon - I or one of my partners in crime will link you when it's up) which will list guild members based on the skills they're working on, so you can go check out others with similar interests.  There are definitely people who can talk to you about your goals!

 

In any case, we'll be checking in on you as the challenge goes on, but it looks like you're ready and eager to go.  So get out there and kill those goals!

 

(Note that I did not say assassinate those goals.  I would be proud of myself for resisting the pun, but I seem to have made it now after all.)

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Panic! Things! I'm catastrophizing.

 

I finally figured out how to do a squat properly yesterday. It has taken me almost a month of comparing what I see myself doing in the mirror with what I see in pictures and videos. I knew that what I was doing was off, but it took awhile to identify how to fix it. The "third-world squat" article somebody shared the other day is what finally made it click for me. Specifically, the part about physically putting your kneecaps in your armpits. I prefer the floor to chairs, so I've been using the third-world squat for a long time! Except for when I was trying to do squats for exercise.

 

The bad part of all this is that yesterday, right before I finally got it, my knee started giving me stabby pain. I've never had knee problems before, so I'm guessing that this is a result of bad form, even though I hadn't done very many incorrect ones. (I have not been cranking out a bunch of bad ones over a month just to have something to do.) And today I stupidly aggravated it by doing a few (correct) squats to check that I had actually figured it out and was not just imagining it. It hurts when I walk, but not enough that I feel like I should limp. So I'm hoping that it's just some strain that will be gone when I wake up tomorrow morning. But what if it's not?

 

I think I've planned my challenge for such unexpectedness. I've assigned myself a possible two days of rest each week, so if I have to delay the exercise part of this week's goals until Wednesday it will not be the end of the world. Or, I can treat it like an Allergy Contingency, because it would fall under "don't penalize myself for tending to my health." Or, I can do non-leg strength exercises. When I was a gymnast the coaches told us that if something hurt but was not swelling or changing colors then it should be ignored. I think this might have led to my back injury. Sometimes you might not have an injury, but if you don't take it easy when something hurts then it might turn into an injury. I think.

 

[shaar]

Noooo knee stabby pain!    When I was running "decently" last year (read: 3 minutes of running without passing out on the concrete) my right knee eventually started to click... and I could feel something moving in there when I put my hand on the side and flexed it... AUGH... that can't be good, right?  Right?!  It eventually went away but good grief I'm sitting here thinking, yup, gonna need a knee replacement... 

 

How deep are you squatting?  Like, thighs completely parallel to the floor?  Maybe try at a 45 degree angle for a little bit until your knee gets used to all that crazy brand new motion XD  My Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred video actually recommends that in Level 1 as a way to ease yourself into an eventual full squat.

 

Whenever my quads have serious DOMS I'll just switch it up and do upper body strength training instead!  Or some nice gentle yoga... a good stretch always rules  Keep us posted!!

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

I've been doing parallel or deeper--but with my toes and knees pointing the wrong direction. I'm happy to say that this is not crazy new motion for my knees. The direction of my knees and toes seems to be the difference between what I was trying to do and what I do bouncing around the office and the house every day. In trying to make sure I had correct form I made my form wrong. That made it different from the repetitive bending motion my knees are used to. Maybe I was overthinking it. Realized that today as I was getting things out from under the sink to cook.

 

I'm barely noticing it today,so I'm thinking I can stop panicking. Going to try the BBWW as originally planned and pay attention to how it feels. I did a few squats behind my desk at work just to see and felt nothing out of the ordinary. Fingers crossed!

 

Dinner is still in the oven, but I'm well on my way to clearing my calorie goal for the day. Yay!

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Today was supposed to be a walk/run for endurance day. A few minutes before I was ready to leave it started pouring rain. Yes!! (I love rain. We don't get much of it.) I switched my contacts for my glasses, put away my music player, and went anyway. I think I probably went about half the route I usually go. I turned back when it sounded like the thunder was picking up because getting hit by lightning on the second day of my challenge would be rather anticlimactic. I also just stuck with walking because the sidewalk was slippery and my visibility was lousy. I feel pretty tired now so I guess I got a better workout than I'd predicted I would.

 

I had originally planned for points from this quest to go into Stamina and Constitution; I think one of them will go to Charisma now because I jumped and splashed in all the puddles and didn't care if anyone was watching me. Because that's what Pan would do! And I had a blast.

[shaar]

Definitely don't get lightning-ed!  Detrimental for the challenge for sure... XD

 

Puddle jumping RULES!  I like to play like a kid whenever I can, other people be damned!  It's FUN!!

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

My exercise plans got rained out today. (That's a once in a year thing!) While I would willingly have gone walking in the rain again, my shoes are still drying out from Tuesday and I don't want them to start growing mold. I'm hoping to transition to barefoot running, but I'm going to need the shoes awhile still. It also started getting darker a lot sooner today than it did on Tuesday. I'm not worried about being attacked, but I WAS worried about visibility. Breaking an ankle and crawling a mile home would ALSO be detrimental to the challenge.

 

My apartment complex has a "gym" (so they call it, never been inside) that surely has treadmills in it, but I hate treadmills. Instead I decided to load some videos of dances that I've admired for years and (try to) follow along. It finally occurred to me that it doesn't matter if I'm doing them mirrored and with terrible form because I am never going to attempt to dance for anyone! So I had a good time with that.

[shaar]

My exercise plans got rained out today. (That's a once in a year thing!) While I would willingly have gone walking in the rain again, my shoes are still drying out from Tuesday and I don't want them to start growing mold. I'm hoping to transition to barefoot running, but I'm going to need the shoes awhile still. It also started getting darker a lot sooner today than it did on Tuesday. I'm not worried about being attacked, but I WAS worried about visibility. Breaking an ankle and crawling a mile home would ALSO be detrimental to the challenge.

 

My apartment complex has a "gym" (so they call it, never been inside) that surely has treadmills in it, but I hate treadmills. Instead I decided to load some videos of dances that I've admired for years and (try to) follow along. It finally occurred to me that it doesn't matter if I'm doing them mirrored and with terrible form because I am never going to attempt to dance for anyone! So I had a good time with that.

 

Dancing is fun AND HARD!!  Man, I never really think about how much cardio it is to rock out... I guess that's why I don't go to shows very often... ^^;;;

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Since it's not raining I decided to get in an endurance day. I can do the BBWW in my bedroom, so I know I'll be able to get the last one in this week. I tried barefoot walking for the first time today. (Well, I wore slippers that I had knitted for this purpose, to help assuage my worry of grinding gravel into the soles of my feet.) It was awesome!! I did my whole usual route. (Maybe that wasn't a good idea. I'll find out tomorrow. But I just walked instead of doing any running.) I know I'm doing some heel striking because I've got a patch of skin toward the back of each foot sole that's unhappy with me. BUT, no blisters, no broken skin, just a very small amount of redness. So maybe I'm not TOO far off.

 

I did the route in the same amount of time as when I walk it in shoes. That seems odd. But I'm totally doing this again. I didn't realize how much I would like having sensory input from the soles of my feet!

[Kyellan]

 

The bad part of all this is that yesterday, right before I finally got it, my knee started giving me stabby pain. I've never had knee problems before, so I'm guessing that this is a result of bad form, even though I hadn't done very many incorrect ones. (I have not been cranking out a bunch of bad ones over a month just to have something to do.) And today I stupidly aggravated it by doing a few (correct) squats to check that I had actually figured it out and was not just imagining it. It hurts when I walk, but not enough that I feel like I should limp. So I'm hoping that it's just some strain that will be gone when I wake up tomorrow morning. But what if it's not?

 

 

I ran into this exact same stabby pain on my third BBWW day. I've always had middling-to-bad knees that like to hurt at the most inconvenient times (think long car rides and traveling by plane), and the chronic pain condition I get to live with always gets worse when it's raining, and it was raining that day. I had to stop my second squat circuit in the middle because my left knee hurt so bad I could suddenly barely walk.

 

It sounds like you figured out as well that it was bad form... thankfully the pain went away by the next day (phew) and I went back to review my form and realized that my feet were too wide apart, so it was putting undue strain on my knee joints. I've found a good way to tell now when I'm doing them wrong--my knee joint makes a cracking sound if I'm descending the wrong way, and I can fix it before it hurts.

 

Sounds like you're making great progress! ^.^ I've never tried barefoot walking or running... I hate being barefoot in the house, much less outside. I pretty much always wear socks at least, and oftentimes slippers as well. Is there really a big difference?

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Me too! No pain, I mean. I did all the squats and lunges that I intended this week without pain, so yay. I don't have bad knees, but all my relatives do, so I get worried that I'm headed in that direction. All my relatives have also been overweight for as long as I can remember, so I'm hoping that staying at a healthy weight gives my knees a better chance.

 

I prefer being barefoot in the house (and whenever else I can get away with it) so that is probably a big factor in my enjoyment. I thought that my stride felt more natural somehow. I got into the zone a lot faster. I also found myself assessing the texture of whatever was underfoot and noting whether or not I enjoyed walking on it, and that made me feel more aware of my surroundings. So I loved it, but I don't know if others would feel the same.

[starsapart]

It looks like you're progressing really well.  Awesome job!  Good for you on figuring out how to fix your form to avoid injury, too.  Pain is no fun.

 

How did your week end up scoring across all goals?  You haven't talked too much about the eating, so I'm assuming that one's right on track.

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Oh yeah! I got all As the first week. The eating goal has been the easiest one, although I'm still finding myself short on calories by the end of most days. So I eat a high-calorie snack, but previously I'd be going to bed thinking I'd gotten enough but actually a few hundred short of my BMR.

 

I was able to increase the amount of weight I'm using for rows! I'm using a bag with some of the bricks I use as weights when I'm pressing cheese. I already know how much they weigh. ^^ Unfortunately, my ability to do pushups is lagging behind all the other exercises--but I'll get there, they've always been a problem for me.

[Kyellan]

Looks like you had a great first week, Lalie--all A's is definitely cause for celebration! =)

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

Thank you! I feel like I'm off to a good start--although my self-esteem issues are giving me a really hard time about giving myself As. But that's why the grading criteria are clear and objective. It IS okay to feel like I've done a good job when I have met those criteria.

 

I went for a barefoot (well, slippered) walk again today. I tried adding some running in this time since my legs didn't feel bad after the first time just walking. It felt waaaaay easier to have correct form while running in comparison to walking. It was almost instant with the running, although judging by where I felt friction on the soles of my feet I did better with the walking too. I felt like there was a HUGE improvement in how I felt running barefoot versus running shod. I felt really springy and was able to run longer. I also did my normal route about five minutes faster than my best with-shoes day. O.O

 

Walking without shoes, I kind of feel like Sam Vimes. Running without shoes, I feel like Wuming in Hero.

[shaar]

All A's for your first week is AWESOME, and you're definitely allowed to be proud of your accomplishments! ROCK ON!! :D

[starsapart]

You're doing fantastic!  Keep up the great work!!!

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

My calves are sooo sooore today! But that's a good thing, and nothing else hurts. I've been trying to figure out something that'll actually work my calves for months.

[Lalie Fanyarendil]

I feel frustrated. One of my goals is to be able to do three circuits of the BBWW, but so far I'm still on two. I've managed to add extra reps at the end of the second round on some things and increase the difficulty on the other things--except for the pushups. I could probably manage a third circuit except for the pushups. I've made no improvements toward being able to get through two sets of ten pushups without resting in the pushup position--haven't even been able to reduce the amount of resting. I wondered if maybe I should be doing them on an decline instead of trying to do full pushups, but maybe not since I am able to do three or four with good form before tiredness hits.

 

I guess it's a little early to be frustrated since this is only the second week, but I'd started working on pushups before the challenge. Sigh.

[Hazard]

I feel frustrated. One of my goals is to be able to do three circuits of the BBWW, but so far I'm still on two.

I might be able to help. Could you list the exercises you're using, in the order you're doing them, and the amount of reps you've gotten on them the last 3 days that you trained?

-