Tourennatrix does things

[tourennatrix]

The little halfling, exhausted after a long, hard day's work, pulls a large tome from the shelf and drops it on the table with a hefty thud. She opens to the first page, dips her quill, and begins to write...

 

"Day one..."

 

This log is where I will post status updates between challenges, and links to challenges as they come up. I am currently in the midst of my first challenge, So I will link that below. I will also be including info as it pertains to my Epic Quest. 

 

Epic Quest: The Epic Little Halfling on an Epic Little Quest

 

2015:

Challenge #5: Tourennatrix continues her BAMF training

Challenge #4: Tourennatrix goes around the world

Challenge #3: Tourennatrix joins the Knight Sabers

Challenge #2: Tourennatrix and the Ancient Relic Machines

Challenge #1: Tourennatrix Enters the Tall Grass

[tourennatrix]

6WC #1: Tourennatrix Enters the Tall Grass: Intro

 

Main Quest

Feel better in my own skin. Drop 20 pounds over the summer, keep it off through the winter. Take advantage of good weather, but don't let the bad days throw me off. Yeah, it's a little enigmatic, but the hero never knows their true quest right as they're leaving the starting village.

 

 

Quest #1: Combat the Omnoms

 

Cut out snacking at work entirely. If I miss breakfast, just count it as a fasting period. Lunch and Dinner should be veggie and protein heavy. Avoid the pastas and breads. Any snacks and desserts should be fruit or HQ chocolate. (I've got a sweet tooth that needs to be satiated somehow!)

 

Scoring

Good Meal: 2pts (2x/day)

Bad Meal: 1pt (2x/day)

Good Snack: 1pt (2x/day - breakfast, dessert, and snack all count as snack)

Bad Snack: -2pt (1x/day)

 

Final scoring

210+ pts: A+

175+ pts: A

140+ pts: B

105+ pts: C

70+ pts: D

69- pts: F

 

If I can complete the remaining 4 weeks (4/28 thru 5/25) without scoring any -2 on my Combat the Omnoms quest, I will treat myself to something, $10 or less (likely a book). 

 

What this means:

Regardless of the quality of my regular meals (+1 or +2), I cannot have any negative scores during the day. Absolutely NO candy or snack crackers*. Not for "dessert," Not for "Oh I forgot breakfast," Not for "stay awake car food." The one caveat I will allow is emergency snacking to prevent a legitimate hardcore headache as explained above.

Other treats may be allowed as long as they are pre-planned/not impulsive (such as a small bowl of HQ ice cream after a +2 dinner) but must of course be kept within reason.

 

 

Quest #2: Get moving

 

I ran (well, ran, jogged, walked, and hobbled) a 5k last October. Yesterday I had a hard time going 2 blocks (at a time, I tend to do walk/jog intervals)

 

Run 30 minutes/day, 3x/week

 

Scoring:

1pt per run

 

Final Scoring:

15+ pts: A+

14+ pts: A

12+ pts: B

10+ pts: C

8+ pts: D

7- pts: F

 

Bonuses may be awarded for the following:

Neila Rey workouts thrown in for bodyweight training.

Yard work done (because who needs to run a marathon when you've got crazy overgrown grass to mow amirite?)

 

 

Quest #3: Train your Body-Mind

 

In my therapy, I've been reminded of how much I loved doing yoga, and how much it helped me feel better about myself and about life in general. Getting into the habit of doing it regularly is proving tricky however. Since I do this in my own home, I don't have the accountability of going to a gym, but I also don't have to do a huge time commitment either, so I can do super short morning and bedtime routines if I don't have time for a full well-rounded session.

 

Yoga 10-60 minutes/day, 5x/week

 

As of 5/9 this has been expanded to include bodyweight exercises, in the interest of staying interested and not injuring myself.

 

Scoring:

10+ min: 1pt

30+ min: 2pts

60+ min: 3pts

 

Final Scoring:

75+ pts: A+

65+ pts: A

55+ pts: B

45+ pts: C

25+ pts: D

24- pts: F 

 

 

Life Quest: Follow through!

 

I'm pretty bad about not following things through. The next 6 (well, 5) weeks will be a test to this.

- Keep a planner, not because I'm ultra busy, but just to keep it, use it, learn how it can be used to make keeping track of life simpler. (Currently I'm trying out the "Bullet Journal" method, and once these quests are posted, they will be transcribed into my notebook for permanent tracking)

- Stick to the 6 week challenge, and check in at least once per week (daily in aforementioned planner)

 

 

Motivation

 

Get into the habit of building habits, then anything is possible. Make this practice transformative, if not in the body, then in the mind.

 

Follow the rest of the challenge here

[tourennatrix]

Not much has been going on over here... The first 6WC has been wrapped up, and I mulled some things over for a while and have declared alliance with the Assassin's guild. Through all of my waffling between the guilds, what grabbed my eye and solidified my decision was this line on the assassin FAQ:

 

• What does it mean to be an Assassin if there's so much variety?
  We Assassins love movement and fluidity, thrive off both competition and cooperation, and prize enjoyment of whatever we are doing; but most of all we are determined to be the masters of our own bodies.  We train anywhere, anytime, with anything, in whatever ways we think best (or are just plain fun).  The world is our playground!

I've gone ahead and set up the thread for my next challenge, with a WILD ARMS theme (hells to the yeah!), but if I do any sort of noteworthy activity over the next week I'll be sure to post it here. During the last week, I haven't been doing much, which is heavily due to the holiday weekend wrecking my sleep schedule (among other things). Hopefully I'll be able to crank out a bit more activity in preparation for the next challenge over the coming days!

[tourennatrix]

Oh man, big day!

 

When I was putting together my challenge over in the Assassins guild, I had completely forgotten about signing up for a Yoga challenge over at MyYogaWorks. In fact, I only remembered this morning when I saw the email for day 1 sitting in my inbox. Whoops!

 

Also, at work I received an email that I was greatly anticipating, details on the first ever wellness challenge put on by my employer. Probably the most exciting thing about this is that the start lines up with the start of this week's challenge, which is pretty much going to force me to take weights and measures the day before the start of the challenge, which is something I would otherwise totally space out on. We're all divided up into teams (mostly 1 team per office, except one office is just CRAZY and has 3 teams to keep scoring even.

 

(and to keep this all in one easy-to-reference location...)

 

Challenge dates: June 8 - August 30

Scoring:

Water – 8 ounces = 1 point  (total weekly consumption)

Exercise – 20 minutes = 5 points (weekly accumulation)

Weight Lost – ½ pound = 5 points (total weight lost within the week)

Inches Lost – 1 inch = 1 point (inches lost within the week)

 

It is going to be hard as hell to remember to weigh and measure every Monday morning before work. Tracking water and exercise should be easy peasy with my bullet journal system, I'll just need to remember to drink only out of water bottles and pint glasses so I can keep track. And given that I just started this yoga challenge, I have a feeling I'll be blowing this exercise category out of the water. At least... for the first few weeks. This is a 12 week challenge, so maintaining momentum is going to be a toughy. BUT hopefully by that point, I'll have some pretty solid habits built up to carry me through the beginning of autumn?

 

Man, all of these challenges... They dovetail into each other pretty well which is SUPER good, but this is exactly why I need my life quest this round: make sure to do something that makes me feel good. Even if that means taking a day to sit and play video games for 12 hours and eat nothing but ice cream. Extreme example, and hopefully by doing something small every day I'll be able to avoid going off the deep end, but sometimes you just need to forget about the calories and ruin your day so you don't go insane.

 

IN OTHER NEWS...

 

Training Log:

 

I've decided I need to solidify a running schedule to make sure I don't keep postponing everything. And so: there will be a run on Thursday OR Friday, Saturday OR Sunday, Monday OR Tuesday. Wednesday is always mandatory rest day because I just don't have time for that (no seriously).

 

Zombies, Run! >>> 2.57 mi | 36.18 min | 14:07 pace

Yoga >>> 20 min Lower Body Strengthener

Fun >>> Husband is out of town, I'm going to spend the rest of the evening playing some old school JRPGs.

 

Aw yeah.

[tourennatrix]

Hah. I "solidify a running schedule" and then promptly find myself "too tired" or "in pain" and don't run for a week. I should be ok to go tomorrow. I *hope* I'm good to go tomorrow! Tomorrow's a big day!!

 

6 week challenge #2 starts tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to tracking everything again. Plus re-checking my weight and measurements for the big start at the wellness challenge at work tomorrow. Oh, and I really need to get back into the daily yoga practice that's showing up in my email. 

 

And there will be extra people in my house tomorrow. I will try not to overload. Everything will be bon.

[tourennatrix]

Woah totally forgot to update over here... New 6WC #2: Tourennatrix and the Ancient Relic Machines

 

Wild [ARMs] 

Ancient Relic Machines

 

 

Wild ARMs was one of my favorite JRPGs growing up, and it holds up as one of my favorite games of all time (one of the few that I've actually completed, too!). In the game the characters obtain certain [tool]s to help them navigate their environment and stay ahead of the baddies. I will start by focusing on the resident (mostly) silent protagonist, Rudy Roughknight.

 

 

 

 Quest 1: Tool [ROCKET SKATES]

 

Rudy is always on the move, whether he has a choice or not. On those times that he doesn't have a choice, he must move fast. 

 

Run 3x/week

 - At least for the first portion of the challenge, I will be focusing on upping my distance for the upcoming Color Run, then I will focus more on taking fewer and shorter walking breaks until I am able to run without walking breaks for 30+ minutes.

Scoring: 1 pt per run (Max 18)

Reward: 4 STA

 

**BOSS BATTLE**

***Zed***

 

 

5k Color Run on June 20th 

Reward: TBD

 

 

 Quest 2: Tool [POWER GLOVE]

 

One of the things that makes Rudy different from all the other kids is his impressive strength. 

 

Bodyweight Training & Yoga 4x/week (min. 20 minutes)

 - Also participating in a 20 day yoga challenge with MyYogaWorks, so the first 3 weeks of the challenge should score up pretty quickly. 

Scoring: 1 pt per workout for first 4 in a week (Max 24)

Reward: 3 STR | 1 DEX

 

 

 Quest 3: Item [NECTAR]

 

As a [Dream Chaser], Rudy can't rely on other people to prepare his food...

 

Prepare at least 2 meals/week from scratch.

  - Also, continuing from my last challenge, NO CANDY!!!

Scoring: 1 pt per meal (Max 12)

Reward: 2 WIS | 2 CON

 

 

 Life Quest: Tool [TEAR DROP]

 

Cecilia: I know you're scared, Rudy. Just hang in there. You are not afraid
of the demons. Your fear is pointed inwards! You are Rudy, our dear friend!
Don't deny yourself...

 

Take at least 5 minutes 5days/week to do something that makes me feel good, makes me feel good about myself. 

  - This could be in the form of more peaceful yoga, meditation, reading, playing video games, taking the dog for a walk, cuddling with the kitties... or even just not doing something that would stress me out.

Scoring: 1 pt per day (Max: 30)

Reward: 3 CHA

 

 

Bonuses:

For each quest, there will be a .25 pt bonus for each accomplishment beyond the goal for the week.

 

 

Expected challenges and other comments:

 

 - For the first 3 or 4 days of the challenge, we may have a guest staying in the room where I normally do my workouts. This means that I will either have to request access to the room every evening, or get creative and find somewhere else to workout, or do a massive clean of the other room where we have a guest bed. 

- The life quest is going to be hardest to keep up with, by far, and I will have to play this one by ear to figure out how to not make it backfire and make ultra-guilt set in if I miss a few points (any suggestions on this are TOTALLY welcome!). I need to make a list of go-to things to do so I don't get stuck in a rut of 'I want to do something but I don't know what!'

- I am also participating in a 3 month wellness challenge through my employer. I will be logging my progress primarily over in my Battle Log since it is a longer challenge, though I may share some of it over here as well.

- I will also be taking part in the Assassins Mini Challenge at Nerdwarts. Heck yeah!!

 

Follow the rest of the challenge here

[tourennatrix]

Week 1 of the Wellness Challenge at work.. Not too much to show for it, but it's just week 1 (and there may be some PMS involved?). I drank way more water than I expected to on a daily basis though so that's cool I Guess?

 

Water - 74

Exercise - 168 min

Weight lost - 0 (it was exactly the same to the 10th of a pound. That NEVER happens)

Inches lost - 1.25 

 

Plan for the future:

Pretty much... focus on what kinds of food I'm taking in. I started trying to track calories (such a headache) and found it bizarrely easy to stay under par for what it was saying to do for losing 1lb/week, (One of the days in the midst of a bit of a life crisis I just... forgot to eat for a while) but didn't really go too far out of my way to make sure those calories came from excellent sources. From what I've observed over the last week, I would probably make leaps and bounds if I could get myself to consistently stay away from nasty snacks and manage to stick with healthy snacks!

[tourennatrix]

Time to tidy things up a bit around here. From 6/21, 5k Color Run:

 

BOSS BATTLE

***ZED***

 

 

Goodness Gracious. I'm used to running in 60-70* mornings in a tank top, not 85* afternoons in a teeshirt! Most of the run was in direct sunlight, though some of it was in the trees and some of it was during some (thank goodness) cloud cover. I would say I walked a little over half of it, but tried to run as much as I could without giving myself a heat stroke or something. Oyf! It wasn't quite 5k (my tracker clocked it in at 4.28k, but it's known to be a little off), and my time wasn't accurate (app issues), I'd say probably 40 minutes?

 

But I had an absolute blast I left my sister and niece behind at the start, then we all chugged along, and at the end my niece caught up to me and we sprinted for the finish line. It was pretty amusing. I'm pretty sure by the end of it I had more color on my arms and face than on my shirt, and I'm gonna have pink pit stains for a while- hah! My nephew had a fun time smearing the chalk all over my back while we were getting ready to leave. I ended up rocking a pretty cool spotted design up the side of my neck and face, it kindof reminded me of Mystique or some humanoid alien from Star Trek or smilar. So much fun!

 

  

 

However, in a your princess is in another castle sort of twist, I will not be getting my prize for this run- Instead I will be tackling another boss! On July 18, I will be participating in the Insane Inflatable 5k! (there's one going on closer to home today but, y'no, just ran one yesterday, jeebus.) It's a little pricey (especially since I didn't hear about it until recently) but it looks like amazing assassins training 

 

**BOSS BATTLE**

***Alhazad***

 

 

My next task will be to try to set the colors on the shirt as much as possible (I recognize this is somewhat futile, but one can always try) and modify the shirt into a nice breathable running tank. Oh, and spend lots of time at the nearby playgrounds remembering how to jump and climb and not be afraid of heights.

[tourennatrix]

From 7/18: Insane Inflatable 5K

 

BOSS BATTLE

 

***ALHAZAD***

 

 

 

This was SO. MUCH. FUN. I was really concerned about the heat leading up to the event, as I've had some brushes with near-heat-exhaustion in the past and it is no joke. However, I prepared ahead of time (traded my reward tank for a water pack) and once we got there, we had some reasonable cloud cover which cut the temp down considerably. Even still, we took the first obstacle/starting gate, made a very light jog to the next obstacle, and promptly confirmed our decision to walk the remainder of the course. Even still, we managed to come in at less than 55 minutes (though to be honest we did semi-accidentally take a few short cuts and I think the course may have been a little shy of 5k, so there is that as well.)

 

And there were water tables set up so a couple times throughout the race, Sister and I got to throw cups of water at each other!

 

My favorite type of obstacle were the ones where we'd climb up a tall hill and slide down the other side. Mostly because at the top there was usually a really nice breeze, and then the slide down was super fun. However, the obstacle I think we had the most fun with overall was "Tangled Up." The image makes it look a little bigger than it really was, but it took a while to figure out exactly what we were supposed to do! There wasn't quite enough room to go under... but going overmeant making a couple really... interesting jumps. 

 

 

Overall, loads of fun, and I didn't overheat (too much)! And I may have given myself a bit of a delay on getting the zombie tank, but I did get another t-shirt, so I think I'm ready to start doing some t-shirt surgery in the next coming weeks!

 

And now for some pictures of me flying because that's apparently what assassins do!