Nymeria is stranded on Mars until Sol - 42

[Nymeria]

 

Main goal: Climb all of the things!  Parkour all of the things!  Thumb my nose at gravity!  Make and post videos of all of the things!  

 

My schedule is already really full, so I'm not biting off too much this challenge, fitness-wise.  I already spend a lot of time doing parkour, rock climbing, and yoga.  When I can manage to squeeze it in, I also like hand balancing, playing with weapons, hiking, rucking, and playground workouts.  I'm also trying hard to remember that rest days are important, too.  Even if I don't have so many direct fitness goals, I tend to log and talk incessantly about the parkour and climbing and other shenanigans.  Because PARKOUR!!! and CLIMBING!!!  

 

Goal 1: Stick to strict rations (food goal)

 

 

Between all of the holidays, the Halloween candy, football booze, and my body trying to convince me to fatten up for winter, it's really tough to avoid eating like an asshole.  But, for once, I don't want to just brush off this season as a "dirty bulk".  So, it's time to stick with (what is for me) strict rations.

 

1a. Fix that breakfast.  I typically eat an apple, greek yogurt, and some sort of breakfast bar.  Not only is the breakfast bar unhealthy, but I'm also usually hungry well before lunch time.  So, the goal is to have 5 days/week where I avoid any sort of breakfast bar or cereal, and instead replace that by cooking eggs or some oatmeal.

 

1b. Continue loving the crock pot.  The goal is at least 6 batch cooked meals over the course of the challenge.  Having healthy food in abundance tends to encourage healthy eating.

 

1c. Don't overdo the booze.  I'm not being as strict as last challenge, but I'm still only allowing myself 12 drinks over the 6 weeks.  Also, whenever I'm in a social drinking situation and don't really want to drink, but go along with the crowd, I lose a point.  I can re-gain that point by either foregoing one drink for the challenge or by making a point of passing up some social drinking.

 

 

Goal 2: Jump like I'm in Martian gravity. (fitness goal)

 

At this point in my parkour training, I really feel that my jumping ability is holding me back.  I was a decent (but not great) jumper before the knee blowout, and I unfortunately still haven't managed to even regain my old abilities.   One of the better ways to jump higher is to add some weight to that squat.  So, twice/week, I will do some sort of squat session.  It might be goblet squats.  It might be assisted pistols.  It might be weighted bulgarian split squats.  I also need to take better care of my knee(s) if I want to continue with training hard.  But, I learned last challenge that if I don't make a goal of doing my prehab work and foam rolling, I just end up not doing it.  So....

Goal is twice/week squat session and 5x/ week prehab.

 

 

Goal 3:  Science!  (Life goal)

 

 

 

Now that the kids are in school, I have much more time to return to my scientific roots.  One of my future goals is to make a bunch of science and math educational apps.  I have a lot of ideas.  What I lack is some of the coding knowledge.  So, the goal is to completely finish my Xcode 7 and Swift course.  

 

Goal 4: Become a data nerd -> Hack my headspace. (Life goal)

Most days, the kids are in school, the husband is at work, and I'm spending too much time like this

 

And to be fair, I am very productive.  I just don't always deal very well with too much alone-ness and too much unstructured time.  I'm prone to anxiety.  I also have bouts of being overly pissed off and some bouts of seasonal affective disorder.  Anyone who has followed me for any length of time knows that I'm the antithesis of being a data nerd.  Usually I just wing everything and more or less remember what's what.  But for once, I want to keep better notes, so I can see a pattern.  

 

The goal for this is to track what effects any of these have when I'm having mood issues and want to re-gain control of my headspace:  calming tea, playing the piano, yoga, guided meditation, taking a nature walk, and any other methods I can come up with.  I'm not going to expect results this challenge.  I just want to get in the habit of recognizing the signs of a bad mood, trying something, and tracking how well it works.  

 

And here is the spreadsheet.

 

 

Bonus: #1 - Get back in the habit of playing the piano.  At least 60 minutes/week.  Hopefully, this can double with goal 4 in helping with the headspace.

 

Bonus #2 - Be resourceful!  I'm going to shamelessly steal Raptron's Catch-em-all hand balancing fest.  Because I can.

 

Bonus #3 - Actually participate in the guild mini this time.

 

I'll probably have some strong edits for this later.  The new challenge thread was already exploding, and I wanted to get in on the action right away!    

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I'll be following. This looks like a great challenge. I love seeing that Ranger Badge under your avatar.

[Marauder]

Definitely following.  The Martian was such a stellar movie.  I love the theme.  I'm interested what you discover with the data nerd/mood hacking goal.  I have a hard time with this one myself.  I think I could benefit from the tracking and the cause/effect/probability game, but I get easily bogged down and bored with data collection.  Inconsistency is my biggest consistency.  

 

PS.  Glad to see you drank the Ranger juice.  

[Agnarr]

I love the theme! I really enjoyed the film when it came out and I'm sure to enjoy following your challenge

[obax]

Following along for all that parkour goodness!

[Rurik Harrgath]

 

Main goal: Climb all of the things!  Parkour all of the things!  Thumb my nose at gravity!  Make and post videos of all of the things!  

 

Thumbing my nose at gravity on your behalf.  Yay for The Martian theme!  I'm so glad you went with this.

[Mad Hatter]

Excellent challenge!

 

I'm still hesitant about watching the movie though, everyone is raving about it but for some strange reason I really don't like Matt Damon and watching his face for two hours might just make me grumpy. But I should probably at least pick up the book.

[Nymeria]

Sol (-6) update (week 0, days 1-2): 

I was hoping to go climbing yesterday, but the repair guy didn't arrive until 5:45-ish.  So, climbing is happening tonight, instead.  I'm still trying to chip away at a 5.10+ slab route and a V4-ish boulder problem.  

 

I ended up having a great yoga session yesterday.  I had a full 20 second (unsupported) forearm stand hold.  My bird of paradise was much more stable and balanced than usual.  And then I finally felt solid enough on my side crow to give Fallen Angel another try.  I an pretty consistently lift my hip off of my arm, but the moment I fully straighten the other leg, I topple.  I think in the short term, I'll have to practice keeping my legs a bit bent and holding that for time before progressing to extending them.  

 

But, I had to whip out my yoga toe socks, since my basement was otherwise too damn cold.  And this is such BS.  It's only october.  I shouldn't need to be in winter-yoga mode.  Ugh.

 

Speaking of yoga, I went ahead and rebooted the Beer Yoga PVP.  I had expected to just cut and paste the old spreadsheet into a new file and then do some minor tweaks, but it ended up being a major overhaul.  There were a lot of redundant poses, and almost none of the links were working.  But it's done and ready now!

[Marauder]

Excellent challenge!

 

I'm still hesitant about watching the movie though, everyone is raving about it but for some strange reason I really don't like Matt Damon and watching his face for two hours might just make me grumpy. But I should probably at least pick up the book.

 

The book is even better.  You won't regret it.  

[Nymeria]

Excellent challenge!

 

I'm still hesitant about watching the movie though, everyone is raving about it but for some strange reason I really don't like Matt Damon and watching his face for two hours might just make me grumpy. But I should probably at least pick up the book.

 

I totally understand your Matt Damon feelings.  So, yeah.  Read the book!

 

The book is even better.  You won't regret it.  

 

Agreed!

[Wild Wolf]

I'm going to probably borrow ALL your crock-pot meals. We love our crock-pot and use it daily it seems lol. I second Tank..it's pretty swanky to see that ranger badge under your name...WOOT!

 

I also subbed the Beer Yoga thread, you are kickass for getting that up even if some of the links don't work.

 

 

 

Bonus #3 - Actually participate in the guild mini this time.

 

Eww... I did terrible with this last time. This is also something I want to keep up with!

 

Wolf

[Wild Wolf]

Oh, and duh, LOVE the theme and how you integrated it into this challenge! Still need to see the movie but at least I can go along with book references

 

Wolf

[Elastigirl]

So much to love about this challenge, The Martian theme, the jumping challenge, the hacking what helps you deal with anxiety, and stealing Raptron's hand balancing feats!

[raptron]

Yesss. Such a solid challenge outline. I loveeee it. And yes, all the poses! I need to dig up more to flesh out the sheet better. I only put it together in about 20 minutes this morning so there's tons and tons more fun stuff out there I am sure.

[Rurik Harrgath]

Sol (-6) update (week 0, days 1-2): 

I was hoping to go climbing yesterday, but the repair guy didn't arrive until 5:45-ish.  So, climbing is happening tonight, instead.  I'm still trying to chip away at a 5.10+ slab route and a V4-ish boulder problem.  

 

I ended up having a great yoga session yesterday.  I had a full 20 second (unsupported) forearm stand hold.  My bird of paradise was much more stable and balanced than usual.  And then I finally felt solid enough on my side crow to give Fallen Angel another try.  I an pretty consistently lift my hip off of my arm, but the moment I fully straighten the other leg, I topple.  I think in the short term, I'll have to practice keeping my legs a bit bent and holding that for time before progressing to extending them.  

 

But, I had to whip out my yoga toe socks, since my basement was otherwise too damn cold.  And this is such BS.  It's only october.  I shouldn't need to be in winter-yoga mode.  Ugh.

 

Speaking of yoga, I went ahead and rebooted the Beer Yoga PVP.  I had expected to just cut and paste the old spreadsheet into a new file and then do some minor tweaks, but it ended up being a major overhaul.  There were a lot of redundant poses, and almost none of the links were working.  But it's done and ready now!

 

HELL TO THE YES.

 

Stop getting me all fired up for strange activities.  You got me hooked on Parkour and now I'm glaring at my girlfriend's yoga mat in anticipation...

 

ALSO BEER YOGA

[rowan]

Um you are really cool and you are kind of my hero.  Subbed.  Also the Martian is amazing, everyone should read it!

[ShadowLion]

Great theme! Following for the code, the data, the science, the awesome!

[MasterOfCows]

I'm here because I like you and the things you do.  

[Endor]

la la la I'm not listening!!

 

I haven't seen the Martian yet so I skipped over all the stuffs and came straight to the comment box! I will come back and check in once I've seen the movie because spoilers!

[SymphonicDan]

Nice challenge again following! Hoping to see you jumping 9 feet like a Martian by the end of this challenge...

[Raxie]

I really like how varied your headspace correcting ideas are.  I find that a lot of times if I'm feeling not so great in that department it depends what contributed to my not-so-great state that ends up bringing me back to center again.  I really like your idea for tracking your mood and how you react to these things! I'm a data junkie and I never considered looking at that aspect of life from a data perspective before. 

[Leimanu]

Awesome theme!  I adore the movie and now listening to the audiobook.

 

Good luck with the challenge!

 

Matt's great, but here's my other favorite Martian

 

The Mars rover Curiosity.  Built for 100 days and going 3 years strong.

 

[EricMN]

Following along for all the reasons. Especially the headspace hacking.

Also, as someone who came to programming from a nontraditional path, it's fun to see others do the same.

[Nymeria]

Sol (-5)  Climbing last night was great!  Multiple times, I made it to the 3rd from the last hold of a 5.10+ route, only to lose my grip at the very end.  The entire route is made of little foot chips, so I reached a point where my fingers just gave out (and then burned for the next 5 minutes after releasing tension).  I also managed tons of bouldering and fore-running some new routes.  But...

 

Sol (-4) - Today - is my "all the parkour" day.  And I'm sore from yesterday.  Damn it.  On the good side, we're focusing on rail techniques this week, so I won't need to be hauling around a bunch of heavy boxes for the two classes I'm teaching today.  I still will need to haul around a bunch of crash mats (also quite heavy), and I'll probably fry out my grip and shoulders while taking my own parkour class.  

 

I've been trying to use the zero week to start establishing good habits, and I'm glad I have the extra time to get into a groove.  I had some headspace problems yesterday, but I forgot to really record things.  I'm going to have to make a spreadsheet (ugh.  this is so not in my nature) and stay honest with keeping track of things.  

 

I have been doing a good job with laying off of the breakfast bars, so there is that.  

 

Tentatively, this week's plan is:

Monday - yoga DONE

Tuesday - climbing DONE

Wednesday - teach 2 parkour classes; take 1 class

Thurs - Hot Vinyasa yoga class

Friday - Rest (so probably a nature walk and light yoga)

Saturday - Parkour (teach 1 class, 1 hour of "free time" in gym, take one class).  Halloween!

Sunday - hopefully hit up big climbing gym.

[karinajean]

yay challenge! I love that you keep doing challenges and dialing it in. because that's what I try to do too, and you're such a great role model (HA!)

 

though I don't understand how beer yoga works with less drinking...?

asking because I am also doing less drinking, and would like to do beer yoga. please advise.