Mizbrek Trains with the Dúnedain

[Mizbrek]

 

Mizbrek slipped off his horse with a jarring hop. Horses were too big for hobbits, usually, but, to be fair, Miz tended to disregard that when said about just about everything. The brown mare whinnied at him as he patted her on the side of her head, taking the reins and leading her forward.

 

The road was largely grown over now, but not nearly as such as the city ahead of him. Fornost. Northern City, in the Sindarin. Deadmen’s Dike. An ancient city of Arnor. The trader in Bree had been right, and worth the bribe to send the hobbit on the right path. As he approached the front gates, Miz breathed deeply, hesitating. This was probably a bad idea.

 

He could almost hear the cries of ancient warriors as he stepped over the threshold. The gates were barely there, merely crumbled ruins now, but just strong enough to still have some structure. A testament to the ingenuity of the descendents of Numenor. This site had seen much death and destruction.

 

The brewmaster had no particular aim in mind, no spot to visit. There were no guidebooks or top ten lists of sights to see in this ancient city. Middle Earth was not the Discworld. But he did have a goal here.

 

There was the slightest of noises. Undetectable, practically. Miz waited a breath, before rolling to his right, clear of the horse. As he came up he whirled around and whipped his staff off his back, catching the Dunedain’s sword on the shaft. The Ranger grunted with grudging surprise.

 

“Quick, for a halfing,” he said. The man was tall, far taller than Miz. He loomed over him. His face was hooded, his clothes the usual worn, earth tones of his kind. “But you should not be here, burglar. The blood of Numenor still guard this place, and we do not take kindly to thieves.”

 

 

“I am no thief,” Miz said, lowering his staff. The Ranger lowered his sword. “I did not come here for ancient trinkets. I came here for you.”

 

The Ranger’s face, still largely hidden by the hood, betrayed a bit of shock. “Me?”

 

“Well, not you specifically,” Miz replied honestly. “I seek the Dunedain, and you guys don’t exactly have an email address.”

 

The Ranger tilted his head. “Your words are strange. Are you quite right in the head?” The hobbit sighed. He always had to adjust his speech patterns when back in Middle Earth.

 

“I wish to become one of you, one of the Rangers.” At this, the Dunedain laughed.

 

“Go back to your hobbit hole, halfling. One does not simply become one of the Dunedain Rangers.”

 

“You had no training? You were born sword in hand, knowing how to strike an Orc from 400 yards with an arrow?” At this the man paused. Miz continued. He was a time and dimension traveller. He knew his history. “A great darkness stirs in the East. I feel it, as I’m sure you do. If he hasn’t already, one of your kind will soon ride to meet up with some of my kind, and head to Rivendell for a great council with Elrond. I am no mere halfing. I am Mizbrek, Hobbit of the Shire, Brewmaster of the Pandaren Monks, Slayer of Dragons, but I need more. I need help, I need training. I can be of value, but I need to become a Ranger, in order to help fight the coming darkness. I would not be pushed to the side, nor cower like an ailing pet.”

 

The Ranger sheathed his sword, pulling back his hood to reveal a greying, weathered, bearded face. “You have fire, Mizbrek Sogbrannon**. There is no process for this. We have never trained anyone but our own people.” He turned to the East and breathed, deeply. When he spoke, there was a weariness there. “But you are right that a darkness is coming. Many of my people feel it. And I would be a fool to turn down aid, regardless of its source, or its size.” He turned back to Miz with a smile. “I am Noratir, a Dunedain Ranger. I will show you our ways. This will not be easy.”

 

“Nothing worthwhile ever is,” Miz said, as he followed the Ranger, who began walking towards the gates. The Brewmaster swung his keg around as he took the reins of the horse, grabbing two small cups attached to the top of it. “Except, that is, having a drink. Beer?”

 

Noratir’s laughter boomed through the quiet ruins.

 

*Note: I did my best to research some Lord of the Rings lore and the Dunedain, but may have gotten a bit wrong!

**The closest translation I could come to Brewmaster in Sindarin.

 

Last Challenge Run Down

The last challenge was probably one of my most successful yet! I lost 6 pounds since the start of it, am feeling significantly stronger, and stuck to my goals like never before. A lot of this I credit with putting a significant loot goal at the end. While I can’t afford to be buying a new phone every 5 weeks, I’m going to try and put something fun at the end of this challenge. I’ve put a few options here but am still nailing down what makes the most sense for me. My plan for now is to pick 2 of the items I've listed below under loot goals, but I'm leaving this open for whatever floats my boat at the time!

 

Challenge Overview

I’ve carried forward a lot of the habits from last time, with some tweaks, as I think they’ve all worked well. The idea here it to lighten up in some places, where it makes sense (6 days of workouts instead of committing to 7, 1 variance on the purchasing challenge) and buckle down in others (not allowing myself to eat back exerted calories). The biggest hurdle will be in Week 3 - I’ll be visiting my in-laws in Utah again, with a stop over in Las Vegas for two nights (one on the way there, one on the way back). My in-laws are pretty healthy and active, so it shouldn’t be TOO bad, but the last time I was there I went up about 8 pounds. Mind you that was also Christmas. But the idea with this challenge is to work very hard for the next 3 weeks so as to build up as much of a buffer, and be as good as I can there. I’ll also need to work on speaking up and being vocal about my needs - saying no to a glass of wine, taking time to go to the gym (they have access to a health club while there which is great), stuff like that.

 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - I may well continue 7 days a week but I’m allowing one rest day. I’ve been enjoying the daily workouts and I feel like I’m getting good result from them, and I have enough variance in them I don’t think I’m tiring out any particular muscles.

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - largely the same as last time for me, but with this I will be doing my best not to eat back my exerted calories. I was doing that a bit the last little while, and I think it’s good practice to work towards keeping my consumption low. As before though I allow one variance per week, and I will allow myself to bank them (or take an advance on one). So yes, I could do 4 in week one.

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm - last challenge, going to bed at 9:30 worked well for me, but I’d often end up in bed reading til 11 or 11:30. So for this challenge we’ll work at getting everything off by 10:15, including my eReader.

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Another carry over, but a good one. This made me think a lot more about my spending - I caught myself in various situations where I would have bought something unthinkingly. Again, my definition of essential is somewhat broad - I do include basic beer, scotch and wine in that, as, I mean, I’m only human guys. But I often end up buying fancier beer, scotch or wine than I need, along with various other trinkets. No more!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - Ms. Miz has asked me to put this one on here, and I’m happy to oblige. We will be doing the 1hr together on the weekends (and it may or may not be accompanied by some wine from our cellar!).

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - I’ve noticed I’m reading a bit less lately and spending more time on social media or gaming. While I enjoy all these things, I’d like to spend a bit more time reading. I initially made a list of all the things I’d like to read in any given day and realized I’d be spending 2h reading every day! A bit much. And since I find myself often feeling like reading different things on different days, I thought I’d allow that. So my goal is to complete 2 of the following below daily, whichever 2 work for me on that given day.

• 30 minutes of a book

• The Economist Espresso (short daily magazine put out by the Economist)

• 1 full newspaper

• 10 minutes of a magazine (Economist/Atlantic/Golf Digest)

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - One of the following: New dress shoes, new sport band for Apple Watch, bottle of good Scotch (~$100), Apple Watch charging stand/dock, Kettlebells, New Dumbbells, 40 Hearthstone Packs, or one Character Boost in World of Warcraft

 

I am considering Week Zero a kind of soft launch/practice run for this challenge, where I'll do my best to stick to it, but I'm not holding myself to anything in particular. So the challenge officially starts on Monday!

[Elastigirl]

All great rewards, but the  best is the kettlebell.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

I like your narrative and your goals.

[jonfirestar]

Love your story intro. Following along 

[Mizbrek]

All great rewards, but the  best is the kettlebell.

Ha! I thought you might say that!

 

I like your narrative and your goals.

Thanks! I rewatched LotR for the millionth time a week or two ago and it reminded me why I initially made Miz a hobbit.

 

Love your story intro. Following along 

Thanks! Was a tiny bit rushed but I didn't want to flesh it out too too much. No need to make a book out of it!

 

Not a bad soft start to the challenge so far. Under on calories yesterday, worked out briefly, stayed up a bit later (but part of that was due to posting the challenge) but not too bad. Tried NF's Wolverine workout this morning too which was fun! Weight still hovering around the same place but not really up (well up like .4 lbs). Hoping I'm due for a drop again soon!

 

[Lydiechan]

Love your writing.  Nicely done.  LMK if you ever need an editor for something you want to publish.

[Mizbrek]

4 hours ago, Lydiechan said:

Love your writing.  Nicely done.  LMK if you ever need an editor for something you want to publish.

Thanks! Just something I mostly do for fun - most of my characters end up being total Mary Sues. But with this one that's encouraged!

[Lydiechan]

17 hours ago, Mizbrek said:

most of my characters end up being total Mary Sues

 

Haha!  That's funny.  I was in a panel once where the speaker said you have to start with the character's fatal flaw, and everything else grows out of that.  Good advice.

[Tzippi Longstockings]

Ooh! Following!

[Terra]

Hi - following!  

[Mizbrek]

5 hours ago, Lydiechan said:

 

Haha!  That's funny.  I was in a panel once where the speaker said you have to start with the character's fatal flaw, and everything else grows out of that.  Good advice.

Very true!

 

2 hours ago, Tzippi Longstockings said:

Ooh! Following!

Thanks! 

 

1 hour ago, Terra said:

Hi - following!  

Hi! Great to see you again!

 

So Week Zero for me is kind of a soft launch - I'm testing out and working on the new challenge goals but not being officially totally bound by them. Some quick updates so far:

 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - Had a short workout today, slightly interrupted by a dog needing to go outside! No worries though, got some extra steps in, and still got about 15 minutes of working out in.

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - On this so far. I'm actually aiming for closer to 1800, trying to build in some space for underestimating something. So far so good! Wife made delicious zucchini tots yesterday and sweet potatoes with some chicken. Super good!

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm (weekdays) - Similarly due to the dog this one didn't happen last night, which is okay, she's not feeling well right now, but seeing the vet later today, so hopefully we get that nice and cleared up. Should manage this tonight.

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Not purchased a thing!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - Didn't manage this last night - same issues with the dog took a lot of my time, but must remember it tonight.

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - Yesterday was a newspaper and magazine, and today was the Economist Espresso and a full paper. I debated building in some kind of bonus goal for reading 3/4 or 4/4 of the dailies, but I think I'll stick with this.

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - Still on this, since this week is kind of a test run here.

[Mizbrek]

Another day, another post! Dropped 2lbs today!! I mean I'm sure really I have over the course of the last while and it just showed up today, but still, really great to see that finally show up. I'd been bouncing between 210 and 212 for what felt like ever, and now down to 208. Let's hope I never see a 21 ever again! So to 210-219 I say...

 

 

This one also came up in the search and I can never resist a Fifth Element reference:

 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - Did the NF Wolverine workout today, few rounds. My calories burned were a little low. Not sure if this was due to my AW not counting my HR properly, me getting distracted by the TV, or just a function of that workout. Did the work though, so not too bad.

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - Been around 1800 the last couple days, including last night. I actually had a snack after dinner cause I was closer to about 1400 and that seemed a bit low. Could be I was underestimating, of course, but either way it seems to be pushing me in the right direction.

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm (weekdays) - Working towards this in Week Zero. Probably had everything off around 10:45.

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Not purchased a thing!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - Didn't do this last night - got home in good time but got chatting. Still doing my best to pitch in however!

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - Full paper so far - likely read the Economist Espresso as well.

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - Still on this, since this week is kind of a test run here.

[Elastigirl]

Congrats on the weight loss! You've been super consistent with your food, it just took a while to show the work.

[Rurik Harrgath]

That narrative gave me the good (masterful) kind of prose tingles. 

[Xena]

Really liked your narrative too. And your challenge maps really nicely onto the theme. Very cool :-)

[Mizbrek]

On 2017-03-16 at 2:30 PM, Elastigirl said:

Congrats on the weight loss! You've been super consistent with your food, it just took a while to show the work.

Thanks! It's funny how it takes its time!

On 2017-03-16 at 7:19 PM, Rurik Harrgath said:

That narrative gave me the good (masterful) kind of prose tingles. 

High praise! Thank you!

On 2017-03-16 at 9:01 PM, Xena said:

Really liked your narrative too. And your challenge maps really nicely onto the theme. Very cool :-)

Thanks! A bit of that was a last minute addition, glad it worked well!

 

Weight ticked up a bit today, but I think that was due to a salty dinner. It'll likely stick that way for a couple days - variance day today with some extra pizza, but that's okay. Rest of the day was very good (I may even still be within calorie goals overall, but not really counting it totally).
 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - Shorter workout today. Need to work on getting up a bit earlier next week.

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - Variance day today!

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm (weekdays) - Weekend, so not on today!

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Purchased a couple extra beers today, but since it's week zero, I'm good with it!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - None really today, but tried my best to help out where I can!

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - Did this today!

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - Still on this, since this week is kind of a test run here.

[Rhovaniel]

You know I approve of a LOTR theme. Love the narrative  (dammit, why didn't I think of that!) And your goals. 

 

Following of course!

[Mizbrek]

2 hours ago, Rhovaniel said:

You know I approve of a LOTR theme. Love the narrative  (dammit, why didn't I think of that!) And your goals. 

 

Following of course!

 

Thanks! I thought you might! Getting back to my roots a bit, so to speak!

[jonfirestar]

On 18/03/2017 at 2:54 AM, Mizbrek said:

Weight ticked up a bit today, but I think that was due to a salty dinner. I

That number can be a little fickle. Best to look at the overall trend than individual ticks.

[Mizbrek]

20 hours ago, jonfirestar said:

That number can be a little fickle. Best to look at the overall trend than individual ticks.

Absolutely! I use an app called Happy Scale to calculate a moving average weight, which tends to be a bit harder to move with those fluctuations.

 

Enjoyed my last couple days of "freedom" in Week Zero before the challenge officially started today! Had a bit too much to drink over the weekend, but it was lovely, and my weight only ticked up a little bit. Now on track and ready to go. 

 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - Homebrew workout today with some curls and presses, flies, and resistance band work. Not hugely calorically burning but felt good, and since I did a bunch of the basic Rising Heroes workout over the weekend I needed a change of pace (and something easy on the knees - did something like 200 squats over the weekend!).

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - On track for this today, and then some. Most days I'm closer to 1800, but don't really want to set my goal to there. It's funny though how my eating habits have changed. On other "variance" days I might've gone crazy, but instead I had a reasonable lunch yesterday. Very neat.

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm (weekdays) - Missed this last night, but as it was still week zero technically not counting it! This one will be tough for sure.

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Now officially on! Have purchased nothing yet today, don't plan to!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - Did a lot over the weekend and intend to keep that up.

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - Realizing Sundays are going to be a bit tough on this one - much bigger papers, and no Economist Espresso. I'll have to figure out what makes sense in terms of that, but likely just spend more time reading.

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - Still on this!

[Mizbrek]

Technically broke a couple of my goals yesterday, but calling it a variance day on a few things as opposed to a failure. I had kind of fallen back into old habits this past weekend, still finding my way back to the path, so to speak!

 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - Knocked this off well today. Did Workout A of the RH Advanced Workout. Romanian Deadlifts still feel odd to me, but a bit better now.

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - Off this a bit yesterday. Not calling it a variance so much as just an off day. Breakfast and lunch were still excellent though so overall doing well.

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm (weekdays) - More like 10:45 last night, but still earlier than normal. As before, I'm allowing myself some give and take here.

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Didn't buy anything!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - Did this yesterday. In a bit of fits and starts, but did it!

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - Espresso and the paper yesterday!

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - Still on this!

[Terra]

Great start...  

 

[jonfirestar]

17 hours ago, Mizbrek said:

I had kind of fallen back into old habits this past weekend, still finding my way back to the path, so to speak!

It's always scary at how easy it is to do that. For me it's always just when I think 'I've finally beaten it' that it just slips back on like an old (self destructive) glove.

[Mizbrek]

It's always scary at how easy it is to do that. For me it's always just when I think 'I've finally beaten it' that it just slips back on like an old (self destructive) glove.

 

Ugh right? I take some solace though in the little things. My portion sizes are still far better. I still work out. I'm actually at the point now where if I don't do SOMETHING on a given day I feel listless and have really low energy. So some things still work! And at least we know the path, eh?

[Mizbrek]

Good day so far today health wise, for the most part. Been a stressful day though. Feeling a bit angry and on edge. On other days I would've popped out at lunch and picked up some chocolate, instead I ate a bit too much lunch, perhaps. Pressure cooked chicken sauteed in a light peanut sauce, with a couple cups of shredded cabbage and carrots. Funny how life shifts.

 

Weight was down a bit when I weighed myself first thing this morning, then up a bit after breakfast! Taking the first thing in the morning one for my own edification today.

 

Move like Aragorn - Workout 6 days per week (M-Sun) - Was feeling a bit achey this morning muscle wise. Did a lighter, slower workout, but still about 20 mins of it.

 

Eat like Legolas - Consume no more than 2100 calories (1 variance per week) - I was over about 50-100 cals yesterday by own estimation. Bit too much beer. Have to watch that.

 

Sleep like Treebeard - All devices/tablets off by 10:15pm (weekdays) - More like 10:45 last night, again, but that's within the variance allowance, I think.

 

Shop like Gimli - Buy nothing non-essential (1 variance under $20 per week) - Didn't buy anything!

 

Clean like Sam - 20 mins housework weekdays/1hr housework weekends - Did this yesterday. 

 

Study like Gandalf - Reading (2/4 of these tasks daily) - Will read Espresso today and work on a paper I think.

Loot Reward for Perfect Score - Still on this!