Perfection is an insult to the Gods [NeverThatBored]

[NeverThatBored]

Hi! I'm NTB and my special talents are oversharing, bop-it extreme, and getting headphones really tangled in a very short time. Let's do an icebreaker! What are your special talents?  And also, will you remember that I asked this by the time you get to the bottom of this post?

 

I was planning a slightly different challenge for this month, but after my post-vacation struggles with food last challenge, I haven’t been feeling as aggressive.

 

So. I read an article a few years ago that mentioned a culture where people consider anything that is too perfect to be an insult to the gods, because only gods can be perfect. I thought that was neat, and the idea stuck with me even though I remember literally nothing else about what I read.

 

 

I’m not a perfectionist like some people around here, but I do get frustrated easily when I start to backslide. My only benchmark is myself, but I have had some pretty awesome challenges in the past, so there’s still a lot to live up to.

 

Last challenge I tried to be a king, and that failed miserably. So I guess this challenge my goal is still to do pretty much all the same stuff as usual, but also to remember that not every week will be my best week, and that’s the way it should be.

 

Goal 1: Food

 

Spoiler

 

Part A: Maintain What Works

• 19 primal meals per week (allows for 2 variance meals)
• 4 primal snack days per week (allows for 3 non-primal snack days per week)
• Don’t eat after 8pm. -1 point if I do.
• Avoid consecutive non-primal foods. -1 point for consecutive meals/snacks.
• Generally avoid grains and sugar
• +1 point for completing meal prep for the week on Sunday

 

Part B: Conscious Eating

• Think about what I’m doing before I eat something. Acknowledge when I’m about to sell out my future self by making an unhealthy decision. That won’t always stop me, but it’s important nonetheless.
• NEW - When I eat my daily apple, I want to practice mindful eating. Eat it slowly and taste every bite.

 

Part C: Cholesterol Protocols

• Have green protein smoothies for breakfast instead of eggs several days/week
• Aim for roughly 25g of fiber/day
• Avoid cooking with dairy at home, with exception of occasional butter
• Limit fattier cuts of meat to about 10 meals/month
• Have fish 2x/week
• Some honey and maple syrup ok, but largely avoid sugars
• Avoid coconut products
• Have an apple a day

 

 

 

Goal 2: Maintain Fitness

• Workout 3x/week (usually two at-home bodyweight workouts and 1 bootcamp class)
• Run 1x/week - After the Spartan is over, I’m going to resume experimenting with sprinting. I also get points for remembering to do ankle alphabets before and after each run. 
• Walk. My walking is usually really strong, but that’s suffered lately too. So instead of walking 16 miles/week this challenge, my goal is just to walk deliberately every day, even if it’s just a loop around the block.

 

Goal 3: Movement Focus

• I don’t actually have any formal goals this time. This is just kind of a mishmash of things I want to do and might potentially get around to:
  • Leading up to the Spartan: prioritize frequent yoga, excessive walking, miscellaneous burpees, and trying to climb stuff
  • September: I’ve been daydreaming about trying out a GMB program for months now, so I am thinking of trying either their elements or flexibility program. I have 0 plans for integrating this into my current exercise schedule and complete #doallthethings rangerbrain about it. 
  • I would still like to haul the bike out and get riding, even if it’s just in the parking lot next door.

 

Goal 4: Life Goal - Swimming

• This should be the easiest life goal ever. I’ve been wanting to take swim lessons for ages since I never learned to tread water. I don’t even have to sign up for anything yet. I just have to contact at least once place and get moving on this goal already.

 

Bonus Goals:

I get a bonus point for each week I accomplish one of these goals, but I cannot complete these goals at the expense of others:

• Meditate daily
• Yoga 4x/week
• Clean the sink 4x/week
• Go to bed around 10pm on Sunday nights

[Lara]

15 minutes ago, NeverThatBored said:

I’m not a perfectionist like some people around here

 

15 minutes ago, NeverThatBored said:

What are your special talents?

I've been recently accused of being the voice of reason.

 

I like the biking and swimming goals. Good luck finding a nice place to start!

 

[shaar]

My personal special talent is forgetting about Tupperwares in the fridge for 2+ months at a time..... yikes.  Although, I have a combined special power with Kell that always, always, magically makes us show up at a restaurant right before it gets crowded so we never EVER have to wait.  I like that one better.

 

I miss consistent walking too!!!  It's so hot and humid here, I usually enjoy the heat of summertime, but this one is a doozy! ; ;

 

 

[SomeGuyFromScotland]

My special talent is magic tricks. I can make entire cheesecakes disappear. Then I go in the box and I feel shame.

 

Following!

[NeverThatBored]

1 hour ago, zenLara said:

 

 

Maaaaaaaaybe?

 

1 hour ago, shaarawy said:

My personal special talent is forgetting about Tupperwares in the fridge for 2+ months at a time..... yikes.  Although, I have a combined special power with Kell that always, always, magically makes us show up at a restaurant right before it gets crowded so we never EVER have to wait.  I like that one better.

 

I miss consistent walking too!!!  It's so hot and humid here, I usually enjoy the heat of summertime, but this one is a doozy! ; ;

 

 

 

Ooh! That second one is a very useful skill! 

 

Yeahhh I think the heat might be more of the problem than I like to admit. It's been sweltering here too. I never think the heat's affecting me, but I'm sure it actually does. I went on a walk last night when it was actually cool and I enjoyed it way more! 

 

39 minutes ago, SomeGuyFromScotland said:

My special talent is magic tricks. I can make entire cheesecakes disappear. Then I go in the box and I feel shame.

 

Following!

 

That is a wonderful skill. Fun fact - cheesecake was my first solid food! Yummmm. 

[Sylvaa]

Yay! New challenge! I am SO EXCITED for the SPARTAN!

 

Also, swimming is amazing and I will of course be following anyway, but will pay special attention to how this goes. 

 

Also, my special talents include: knowing (most of) the words to a ridiculous amounts of songs and being able to use them in conversation, finding gifs for any and all circumstances, and using an obnoxious amount of exclamation points!

[NeverThatBored]

1 hour ago, Sylvaa said:

 

Also, my special talents include: knowing (most of) the words to a ridiculous amounts of songs and being able to use them in conversation, finding gifs for any and all circumstances, and using an obnoxious amount of exclamation points!

 

So what you're saying is that your talents are perfectly tailored to using forums? (I use a lot of exclamation points too!)

[NeverThatBored]

Sooo I went on a run today which is awesome - go me! - and did 5K. The GPS Gods were either trying to help me or torture me by saying I had completed 5K about .5-.75 miles before I actually had. It was nice and cool and breezy out for once, so my energy levels were AMAZING. 5K feels so easy when it isn't 85 degrees out. I ran the whole thing for the first time in a while. I had to stop 3 times to stretch because of reasons mentioned below, but I stopped and then started again at those times instead of taking walking breaks. I still had plenty of energy at the end of the run. 

 

Buuut of course I'm not allowed to just have a nice run, so my legs objected to the pair of shoes I'm trying to break in (this is attempt #2 at finding a new pair of running shoes). Unlike the last pair, I can say definitively that this pair does not agree with my leg structure. My shins were hurting early on, and my toes started to tingle and go numb at the end of the run, which is something I used to struggle with a lot when running.

 

I am very grumbly about this because I was hoping to use these shoes for the Spartan instead of my usual bricks. The insoles are removable, so I can still try swapping them out for a different pair and see if that helps at all. But I somehow only have one more week (and therefore one more run) to test it before the race??? So I'll try that next week and make a last minute decision after that I guess. 

 

 

[fleaball]

Hi, my name is Flea and my special talents include complaining and injuring myself in increasingly obnoxious and creative ways.

 

If it makes you feel better, I'm probably going to be ruining my obnoxious pink shoes at the Spartan, so we can both be grumpy.

[Noname123]

Ok, so Spartan? Which one? When? Will I see you there

 

And shoes...tell me more, I've gone through so many troubles and have had trial and error with a number of brands. 

[NeverThatBored]

15 minutes ago, fleaball said:

If it makes you feel better, I'm probably going to be ruining my obnoxious pink shoes at the Spartan, so we can both be grumpy.

 

Yes let's be grumpy together! (Except we'll be playing in mud so how could we be??) 

 

[Sylvaa]

FWIW, I wear different shoes for running than I do for my Spartans (I do break them in first, but it's generally using trails near my house). 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following.

[NeverThatBored]

Just now, Slates said:

Ok, so Spartan? Which one? When? Will I see you there

 

And shoes...tell me more, I've gone through so many troubles and have had trial and error with a number of brands. 

 

Hi Slates!! @fleaball, @Sylvaa, and I will be running the DC Sprint on the 27th! 

 

I have weird flat feet so pretty much the only shoes I've found that I can run in are these bricks. They are very heavy and clunky and I've had them for two and a half years now, so I'd really like to upgrade to something lighter. But I get angry shins / tingly feet when I wear support shoes OR minimal shoes apparently. 

 

3 minutes ago, Sylvaa said:

FWIW, I wear different shoes for running than I do for my Spartans (I do break them in first, but it's generally using trails near my house). 

 

Yeah, I think I'm going to end up doing the same thing since I have accumulated so many running shoes lately. I train on asphalt, so it's a completely different terrain anyway. 

 

2 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following.

 

Hiiiiiii Tank! 

[Noname123]

With a little luck I'm getting cleared to run the 27th! I'm doing am competitive wave and may run a second lap with a charity group afterwards. Maybe I'll see you there!

 

Word of Advice from an the OCR obsessed enthusiasts: DO NOT wear new running shoes to the Sprint unless you want to wreck them. If you think OCR/mud runs are something you'll want to do regularly I strongly suggest in investing in some solid OCR/Trail running shoes. The ones you linked will turn into bowling shoes at the first mud pit and you wont run/walk as much as slide around after that. If you invest $$ in the shoes don't trash them if they're not built for mud. 

[Wild Wolf]

Following! Spartan prepping is a lot of fun and I'm excited for you. Swimming is a great way to help cross-train for it....though doing endless amounts of burpess is probably the best way to go about things lol.

 

If you go with GMB coming up, I would say go with the flexibility one because it sounds like you got your regular fitness in order. More flexibility means more room for strength gains

 

W0lf

[NeverThatBored]

4 minutes ago, Slates said:

With a little luck I'm getting cleared to run the 27th! I'm doing am competitive wave and may run a second lap with a charity group afterwards. Maybe I'll see you there!

 

Word of Advice from an the OCR obsessed enthusiasts: DO NOT wear new running shoes to the Sprint unless you want to wreck them. If you think OCR/mud runs are something you'll want to do regularly I strongly suggest in investing in some solid OCR/Trail running shoes. The ones you linked will turn into bowling shoes at the first mud pit and you wont run/walk as much as slide around after that. If you invest $$ in the shoes don't trash them if they're not built for mud. 

 

Oooh, cool!! Clearly we should have an NF get together afterward. 

 

I definitely don't want to wear my typical running shoes for the race, because they are bricks. I don't care about wrecking them, but I have no desire to run in bowling balls. The last two pairs I've tried are OCR/mud run shoes. My feet don't love them but I'm probably still better off using those for the race. 

[NeverThatBored]

7 minutes ago, Wild Wolf said:

Following! Spartan prepping is a lot of fun and I'm excited for you. Swimming is a great way to help cross-train for it....though doing endless amounts of burpess is probably the best way to go about things lol.

 

If you go with GMB coming up, I would say go with the flexibility one because it sounds like you got your regular fitness in order. More flexibility means more room for strength gains

 

W0lf

 

So. many. burpees. 

 

Ooh, that's useful advice! I've been going back and forth a lot because elements is supposed to help with flexibility too, but you make a good point there. 

[Noname123]

Which brands? Supers broke for me and had little support. Innov8s, Salomon and ice bugs are the most raved about shoes.

[fleaball]

1 minute ago, Slates said:

With a little luck I'm getting cleared to run the 27th! I'm doing am competitive wave and may run a second lap with a charity group afterwards. Maybe I'll see you there!

 

Word of Advice from an the OCR obsessed enthusiasts: DO NOT wear new running shoes to the Sprint unless you want to wreck them. If you think OCR/mud runs are something you'll want to do regularly I strongly suggest in investing in some solid OCR/Trail running shoes. The ones you linked will turn into bowling shoes at the first mud pit and you wont run/walk as much as slide around after that. If you invest $$ in the shoes don't trash them if they're not built for mud. 

...well, shit. I guess I'm going shopping this week. 

 

@NeverThatBored FWIW Elements is 6 (maybe 7?) days a week and they suggest not doing it alongside other programs unless you've been doing said programs for a year or more. I bought Focused Flexibility too but haven't even bothered looking at it because I'm a slacker.

[NeverThatBored]

7 minutes ago, Slates said:

Which brands? Supers broke for me and had little support. Innov8s, Salomon and ice bugs are the most raved about shoes.

 

The first pair I tried were ASICs fuji runnegades. They were actually pretty nice shoes but they're a little too tight in the toes so they get uncomfortable. 

 

Now I'm trying out a pair of Rebock Thunders which are way more comfortable, but something about the arch support/build isn't working too well for me. 

 

3 minutes ago, fleaball said:

...well, shit. I guess I'm going shopping this week. 

 

@NeverThatBored FWIW Elements is 6 (maybe 7?) days a week and they suggest not doing it alongside other programs unless you've been doing said programs for a year or more. I bought Focused Flexibility too but haven't even bothered looking at it because I'm a slacker.

 

Hahaha! There are some good outlets outside of DC I think. 

 

Fiiiiine I'll obey the rules and do flexibility instead then. That's the one I was really most interested in anyway.

[fleaball]

20 minutes ago, Slates said:

With a little luck I'm getting cleared to run the 27th! I'm doing am competitive wave and may run a second lap with a charity group afterwards. Maybe I'll see you there!

 

Word of Advice from an the OCR obsessed enthusiasts: DO NOT wear new running shoes to the Sprint unless you want to wreck them. If you think OCR/mud runs are something you'll want to do regularly I strongly suggest in investing in some solid OCR/Trail running shoes. The ones you linked will turn into bowling shoes at the first mud pit and you wont run/walk as much as slide around after that. If you invest $$ in the shoes don't trash them if they're not built for mud. 

Yeah there's one super nearby in MD, and then there's a Reebok store and several other things in VA. I'm just lazy and don't want to go.

[deftona]

My special talent isn't pretty or sexy but it is hella useful. I can pee on demand, literally at any point, even when I have just peed. 

 

Some heroes are made. Some are born. 

 

Following along again NTB! 

[NeverThatBored]

36 minutes ago, deftona said:

My special talent isn't pretty or sexy but it is hella useful. I can pee on demand, literally at any point, even when I have just peed. 

 

Some heroes are made. Some are born.

 

I am now trying to imagine situations in which this would be useful. 

[Sylvaa]

1 minute ago, NeverThatBored said:

 

I am now trying to imagine situations in which this would be useful. 

 

Jellyfish stings.