HERRGGRRK! Tzippi trains in Project Freelancer

[Tzippi Longstockings]

HERRRGGRRK BLEH

Okay, so living fast and loose with hunters has made me strong, and eager to do more. That said, to continue my training, I’m going to seek out strict, organized, Military discipline.

 

Fair warning – this challenge will feature A LOT of swearing. I’ll try to avoid RvB spoilers, but it’s hard with so many gifs available.)

 

 

Turns out, being embroiled in an endless, pointless, Godot-type war/waiting game gives you plenty of time to work out and do squats. So, using the state-of-the-art training programs recommended by both the Red and Blue armies, I intend to spend the next six weeks going from Blood Gulch slacker (Grif) to awesome Freelancer (Tex).

 

My goals are as follows:

 

Seriously. What the fuck are “girly laps�

DEX 2 STA 2

The step counting has been great, but I need to build up my stamina, especially as it starts getting hot and humid. 3 runs per week. No excuses. Long bike rides can substitute. If it’s too hot, I can wait for nightfall or go to the gym and work out on a treadmill.

 

 

“What’s stronger than rock? Like, super rock?â€

“PAPER!â€

STR 3

I let weights fall by the wayside as I got more into dancing and taiko. My goals involve strength, though. So 3x/ week, I’ll do BW (or learn to do regular weights at the gym). Emphasis on pull-up training. I can let one slide, if I have a really intense taiko session, but dance has not been intense enough to take the place of a BW. Again, if it’s super-hot, I can do a Neila Rey at home or go to the gym. No excuses!

 

 

“Do they put something in the water here?â€

“Water? We ran outta water six months ago.â€

“No water, then what do you drink?â€

“Uh, you know, ketchup, uh, soy sauce, gravy, the usual.â€

CON 2 WIS 1

 

Food and drink has varied wildly from overeating a bunch of junk (Grif), undereating good stuff, and undereating junk. And water consumption has just sucked. So I will log everything. I will use MFP and a text document on my phone to keep track. Not trying to hit macros, but I will journal a bit to figure out how much I need to keep going.

Also, inspired by Polgara, I will not eat sweet treats when I am alone. Sweets are for sharing, so no solo snacking on crap!

 

"I'm just chillin'. That's the only rule on blue team, rookie. Be cool."

"I thought the only rule was don't kill the leader?"

"Yeah, but we break that rule all the time. That's what makes us so cool."

CHA 1 DEX 1

 

Without going all lazy like Grif, or a little . . . too stretchy, like Grif's sister, I want to continue my stretching and meditation/prayer ritual before bed. It helps me shut down a little - i often can't fall asleep because of whirling thoughts. 

 

 

“Talk about a waste of resources. I mean, we should be out there finding new and intelligent forms of life, you know, fight them.â€

CHA 1 WIS 2

 

I’ve been getting excited about going back home in August, but I have two more months in Japan to have amazing experiences, and “discover new mapsâ€. So my goal is, every week, to find/do/see/eat/try one new thing. This is a little fuzzy, but some ideas are:

Cook a new dish, with a new ingredient

Try a new activity/exercise

See a new site in the area

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Reserved for Challenge Round up

 

 

Challenge Roundup

 

Well, hoping to be more specific seems not to have worked in this case. I was kind of all over the map, and did somecool stuff, but fell way short.

 

Grades:

Seriously. What the fuck are “girly laps�

DEX 2 STA 2

 

I did very poorly here, and even with being pretty nice on substitutions, can only in good faith give myself 25%. I need to consider bumping up my step challenge next time, or figuring some way to let walking a lot count, while still keeping up with running. Being out of humidity should help, but I guess this will be something to check in future.

ADDED:  DEX  + 0.5,   STA +0.5

 

“What’s stronger than rock? Like, super rock?â€

“PAPER!â€

STR 3

This one only succeeded on substitutions, and considering that I wrote "No excuses!" I shouldn't give myself 68%. I'm gonna, though.

ADDED: STR +2

 

“Do they put something in the water here?â€

“Water? We ran outta water six months ago.â€

“No water, then what do you drink?â€

“Uh, you know, ketchup, uh, soy sauce, gravy, the usual.â€

CON 2 WIS 1

The tracking was utterly failed. A lot of that was traveling (I hate using the app on my phone to try to input my food), and the rest was sheer cussedness because I just didn't want to. The "no solo sweet stuff" was a better goal, and I mostly kept to it.

ADDED: CON +0.5,  WIS +0.25

 

"I'm just chillin'. That's the only rule on blue team, rookie. Be cool."

"I thought the only rule was don't kill the leader?"

"Yeah, but we break that rule all the time. That's what makes us so cool."

CHA 1 DEX 1

Not bad, and I definitely feel better for it. This will be easier when we no longer have a studio apartment, which will be the case as of August 3. Then again, we'll be in hotels or visiting for quite a while after that, so it may be a while before I have this really down as a regular thing.

CHA +0.75, DEX +0.75

 

“Talk about a waste of resources. I mean, we should be out there finding new and intelligent forms of life, you know, fight them.â€

CHA 1 WIS 2

Complete success. I mean, wow.

CHA +1, WIS +2

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Reserved for Weekly Roundups

 

Week 1 – Donut

Weekly steps: 60,222/70,000 = 86%

 

3 runs â€“ FAIL

3 BW â€“ 2/3 Mountain climbing and Taiko

Track food, no solo sweets â€“ FAIL

Stretch and Meditate â€“ every day but one. WIN!

New thing â€“ climbed A MOUNTAIN* and teaching at an English camp. Also invented a soup because I was hungry and lazy. And first time foam rolling and making curry with coconut milk.

 

Week 2 – Tucker

step total: 60,607. 86% again.

 

3 runs â€“ One out of three

3 BW â€“ 1.5 short BW and taiko together

Track food, no solo sweets â€“ Food tracking 50%, no solo sweets = yes.

Stretch and Meditate â€“ every day but one. WIN!

New thing â€“ new "recipe", i guess. More of a new combination of veg to roast. I call them "Dornish Veggies".

 

 

Week 3 – Caboose

Steps: 68,818 = 98%

 

3 runs â€“ One out of three

3 BW â€“ Three! Only one was a proper "BW", but the others more than worked me.

Track food, no solo sweets â€“ Food tracking utter fail. Solo sweets . . . ZERO!

Stretch and Meditate â€“ Every night.

New thing â€“ Rafting down the Yoshino, visited the Yokai museum, crossed a "Temple of Doom" type vine bridge, and learned to caption videos.

 

Week 4 - Sarge

Steps: a little over 71,000 = 101.4%

 

3 runs â€“ 1 run, two long bike rides.

3 BW â€“ .One, combining a light BW and taiko. Some random mini-workouts during work days 

Track food, no solo sweets â€“ Food tracking, 65% or so. Some solo sweets.

Stretch and Meditate â€“ Every night but one!

New thing â€“ Bike ride around Oshima island, visiting several places I've never been!

 

 

 

Week 5 - Agent Maine - BOOM!

Steps: 78536 = 112%

 

3 runs â€“ None. I'll count the long walk as one, but really none.

3 BW â€“ Twice taiko, plus roadie practice. I'll call it 75% 

Track food, no solo sweets â€“ That's cute. No solo sweets, though.

Stretch and Meditate â€“ Maybe half the time.

New thing â€“ Purikura and doing a major taiko event.

 

 

Week 6 - Sheila

Steps: 74,225 = 106%

 

3 runs â€“  None.

3 BW â€“  Sports and taiko makes 2. I usually wouldn't count them, but seriously. TZIPPI DID SPORTS.

Track food, no solo sweets â€“ No tracking, some solo sweets

Stretch and Meditate â€“ Sometimes. Pretty much fail.

New thing â€“ Played softball and volleyball, and actually quite enjoyed volleyball

[Tzippi Longstockings]

cleaning Game

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Reserved for Woots and Achievements Unlocked.


Woot one: Climbed the tallest mountain in Western Japan, 6/7/2015. Sea level to 1982 meters and back in seven hours (to be fair, 2/3 the elevation change was by bus and ropeway, so it was more 600 meters in four or five hours, but still).

 

Woot two: Developed a new roasted vegetable formula: Dornish Veggies!

 

Woot three: Went rafting on the Yoshino river and crossed one of Japan's three vine bridges. Felt like Indiana Jones.

[Everstorm]

[shaar]

Ok, I need to carve out some YouTube time tomorrow to check this out because it looks HI - LARIOUS.

 

Also, subbed, natch.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Ok, I need to carve out some YouTube time tomorrow to check this out because it looks HI - LARIOUS.

 

Also, subbed, natch.

If you watch it at Roosterteeth.com, it is in 5-minute segments, so you can use them as treats throughout your chores/workouts/whatever. 

 

Funny thing - I have never played Halo. Anything I know about its world and stuff are from Red vs. Blue.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

First day of a new challenge! Actually taking it easy today. Took the day off of work, because it's my first wedding anniversary. And to celebrate our first year together, yesterday, we CLIMBED THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN WESTERN JAPAN! Including the bit where you climb up iron chains! Feel so tough!

Pictures soon!

[Everstorm]

Happy anniversary! What a fantastic way to celebrate.

[Viscura]

Red vs Blue - excellent choice And good challenges, I'm a-watching

[shaar]

First day of a new challenge! Actually taking it easy today. Took the day off of work, because it's my first wedding anniversary. And to celebrate our first year together, yesterday, we CLIMBED THE TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN WESTERN JAPAN! Including the bit where you climb up iron chains! Feel so tough!

Pictures soon!

 

IRON CHAINS?!?!?!?!

 

GOT DANG!

 

I cannot wait to see pictures of this mighty mountain!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Tuesday June 9 -

Well, my calves are still killing me. That's not why I ate a donut for breakfast, though. the reason I did that was that I slept in because I couldn't sleep last night for some reason. Anyway, I did a bad breakfast, so I will walk out to get a good lunch. which will be good on my calves, and good on my gut. I may even do a big protein salad for dinner.

 

Continued to take it easy(ish). My calves have never been sore for this long before, so I'm being careful. I wanted to run, but decided to walk out for lunch and walk to the store before dinner, totalling just over 15,000 steps. I had vegetables and soba (buckwheat) noodles for lunch, and a Sri Lankan-style curry for dinner, then meditated and stretched. 

 

Tuesday grade overall: pretty good! No workouts, but lots of steps to keep me moving while recovering. New recipe unlocked: Sri Lankan-style curry with coconut milk and such. Meditated before bed, and actually slept well and had good dreams. Ate well, and most importantly, I didn't turn a bad beginning (tired, donut, depression) into a bad day. I call it a win.  We'll call it a "Donut" day - donut is happy and makes good choices (except with his words), and seems to be well-adjusted.

 

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Okay, so I'm taking an easy start (instead of jumping right in, like I want to), because my calves are *still* so sore from the mountain on Sunday that I have to go slowly down stairs. I have been stretching, but I think they're currently under repair. as such, I am concentrating on walking, getting my steps in each day, and not worrying about the running goal, even though I really want to run. Anyway, day is good so far, with curry eggs for breakfast and Taiko to look forward to tonight.

[She-Hulk]

TZIPPI! Happy (belated) Anniversary! That's so awesome! (so is this challenge) It's definitely a good idea to start slow. You DID climb a mountain after all! Which is awesome. Moving back in August? That's so soon! Gotta get in all of the fun things while you're still there. =]

[Phytomancer]

 

 

 

I don't know what show this is, but it's gorgeous.  

 

And I am back at stalking you again, LongStockings.... 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Well, back on the hamster wheel of visiting all my "away" schools, which plays merry hell with posting (I don't have internet access at most), diet (i get motion sick on the ferries and buses, so I end up eating bready stuff to calm my tummy), and sometimes exercise (i have to get up early, and get home late, which cuts into workout time). and by the time I get home to the internet, I'm sad and don't want to post how badly I've done.

 

So, Week One had a few good points, in between all the bread-eating and workout-skipping. On Day 0 (Sunday, before the challenge started), I climbed a mountain* with my husband.  This made the rest of the week a little . . . still, because I could barely walk, so I forced myself to. walk, not run or do lunges and stuff.

anyway, brief review:

Monday. Sore and tired. Anniversary with my husband. 1740 steps. Evening Stretches

Tuesday 16482 steps with a long evening walk, trying to get my calves to chill out. Stretches.

Wednesday – 10,000 steps with lots of stairs at school. Oy. Taiko counts as BW this week, because my arms were sore afterwards and I helped move all the drums in and out. Evening stretches

Thursday – Cooked a lot, and did good on steps w/ going to the store. About 12.000 steps. Evening stretches

Friday – eh.

Saturday – good food, lots of running around with kids at English camp.

Sunday – ditto from Saturday

Weekly steps: 60,222/70,000 = 86%

3 runs – FAIL

3 BW – 2/3 Mountain climbing and Taiko

Track food, no solo sweets – FAIL

Stretch and Meditate – every day but one. WIN!

New thing – climbed A MOUNTAIN* and teaching at an English camp. Also invented a soup because I was hungry and lazy. And first time foam rolling and making curry with coconut milk.

 

 

all in all, not great. I'm pleased that I kept walking, and eventually got some decent eating in, but as a whole, Week One is just something to put behind me, fitness-wise.

 

*

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Week 2, so far.

 

after a long, mostly unproductive week one, mostly spent recovering from climbing a mountain (the existence of which is probable), Week two so far has been a bit more active.

 

Monday - walked around a lot at my visiting schools, had a good lunch, and went for a 30-minute run after school, which brought my step count up to 15,784. 150%! Also had a good dinner, with a big salad. Evening stretches were nice, and I slept well. WIN.

 

Tuesday - I had planned to do a body weight workout, but decided to just do the dishes and run to the store first. So I spent all night doing things that needed to be done (dishes, cooking, dishes again, grocery store), but did not exercise. I still feel good, because now the fridge is full of roasted vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, and I stretched out before bed. 10.413 steps.

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Roasted Veggie formula here so I don't forget it:

 

"Dornish" Roasted Vegetables

 

 

Swagger fuelled by chickpeas and veggies, all reds, golds, and oranges with asparagus spears. Roast together or seperately.

 

Bell peppers, preferably red and yellow

Smallish zucchini, preferably yellow, cut into "suns" (coins)

Carrots

Kabocha 

Asparagus (sun)spears

Canned or cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

Onions and garlic

Bok choy "stems", use the greens for something else where the color would be good.

Cherry or Grape tomatoes, halved.

 

Olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Lemon Juice to brighten

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Herbs and spices to taste (preferably spicy or Mediterranean flavors like chili, rosemary, thyme, whichever.)

 

(If I were someplace where it was available/I could afford it, I would maybe add some goat cheese crumbles to this. As it is, I'm eating it at room temperature with rice/quinoa blend and some hijiki salad adding a little black color to the bento. Wish I had a big green salad too.)

 

[Tzippi Longstockings]

I don't know what show this is, but it's gorgeous.

 

And I am back at stalking you again, LongStockings.... 

 

Red vs. Blue, a mechanima series in 5 minute chunks. It's very silly, but makes me happy. It gets more sophisticated as it goes along, but I still love the simplicity of the first seasons, too. and since it's in 5-minute chunks, it makes good "treats" while cleaning, working out, etc. 

You can also watch a season at a time with no breaks on Netflix.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Wednesday, so far.

Ate well and did a ton of steps. Did two reps of this before taiko:

*Maybe* I could have done a third, but I'm going to be squatting at taiko, too, and don't want to fall down. Because that would be embarrassing.

[shaar]

Hmmmmmm rolling taiko... not very traditional, and potentially dangerous?  WOO HOO!!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

This is just plain not good enough. i need to stop this, and i feel so stupid, every time I buy this stuff. i had a good, healthy lunch and an okay breakfast, but then I left school and bought/ate all that ridiculous crap.

 

I need to tighten it up, so I am going to try to hit protein and calorie macros. Ideally all of them, but definitely protein, since it fills me up more.

 

I feel like I have a septa following me with a bell, calling "Shame! Shame!"

 

 

Breakfast: Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sugar Fiber Generic - Brown Rice Bread, 0.5 slice 55 11 1 1 2 1   Green Smoothie, 1 serving(s) 250 37 6 14 23 7   Peanut butter, smooth style, with salt, 1 tbsp 96 4 8 4 2 1   

401 51 15 18 26 9  

Lunch Rice - Brown, Short Grain, Cooked, 0.2 cup 43 9 0 1 0 1   Per Usda - Quinoa, Cooked, 0.15 cup 33 6 1 1 0 1   Homemade - Roasted Vegetable Medley, 0.5 cup cooked 50 11 4 1 2 2   Hijiki - Hijiki Salad, 1 serving 77 11 3 1 9 0   Goya - Chickpeas / Garbanzos (Canned), 0.25 cup 50 10 1 3 1 4   

254 47 8 7 11 8  

"Dinner": Lays Wavy - Potato Chips, 2 oz 320 30 20 4 2 2   Haagen Dazs Mint Chip Ice Cream - Haagen Dazs Mint Chip Ice Cream, 0.5 cup (106 g) 300 26 19 5 23 0   Add Food

Quick Tools

620 56 39 9 25 2  

Snacks: Morinaga - Parm Strawberry White Chocolate Ice Cream, 1 bar 126 11 9 1 0 0   Nestle - Kit Kat Big Little, 1 Bag 213 25 11 3 0 0   Peanut butter, smooth style, with salt, 1 tbsp 96 4 8 4 2 1   Warburtons - Premium Brown Bread, 1 slice 61 10 1 3 1 1   Dns Active - Whey Protein (Chocolate), 1 scoop (20g) 79 3 1 13 0 0   the Farmer's Cow - 1% Milk, 0.25 cup 55 7 1 4 6 0   Hersheys - Chocolate Syrup Corrected, 2 Tbsp 100 24 0 0 20 1   Donut - Donut, 1 each 297 38 15 3 25 1  

1,027 121 47 31 54 4      

Totals:              2,301 /  274  / 109  / 65    / 116 / 23  

Your Daily Goal 1,700  / 213 /  47    / 106  / 57 / 25  

Remaining          -601  /  -61 / -61   / 41   / -59   / 2    

                    Calories / Carbs/ Fat/  Protein /Sugar/ Fiber

[Alexandrite]

Subbing for epic RvB fun! My husband and I don't cuss, but there is one favorite word from season one that gets us giggling every time!

Hmmm... I would guess you're not eating enough protein directly after focused body work (like your circuit+taiko) so your body completely overrides your willpower the next day. If you load up on protein directly after a workout (in this example, before you had gone to bed that night of taiko?) I wonder if that would make a difference in the cravings/willpower battle? Your muscles are saying they NEED more, and are acquiring energy however they can, especially as time goes on.

Work on reducing the willpower battle ahead of time instead of beating yourself up. All we can do is learn!

- Sent from my magic Navi-powered device!

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Unrelated to anything Japanese whisky commercial with Martin Freeman.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwYq70j-rKY