Jarric

I ran Nuts Challenge yesterday. Planning to put together a proper race report for it for you guys, but just wanted to say I hit the 4 laps (28km / 17.5miles) I was aiming for! Took me a shade under 7 hours and I'm feeling a bit beaten up this morning, but really pleased to have done it! I also owe you guys a proper update, and a challenge wrap-up, which I hope to do today or tomorrow.

My sister had cerebral palsey, it's a fantastic cause, good on you. Nice to see you back Yasha.

Aww, it's so tiny, but it looks like it's 104 years old!

Welcome to the Rangers @michael.gonzalez! Good to have you. We're on week 5 of the current 5 week challenge, but still feel free to post a challenge now if you feel like jumping in. If not, the next challenge is only a couple of weeks away.

Doesn't sound like you need too much of a workout man if you're messing with these shutters all day, particularly when you get to climbing scaffolding to do it.

Well done on setting barriers with Sunshine and working to help her at the same time, that's a tough line to walk. That sounds great, that feeling is what it's all about.

I sincerely hope the double post was intentional

Thank you! I'm very pleased For WW and I, for a 3 hour D&D session, I reckon 9x330ml cans (which I'll usually have 6 of). So about 3 litres, 5 9/16 UK pints, or 6 13/16 US pints. Based on an alcohol content of 4-4.5% by volume. That's enough to have a bit of fun, but whilst still being able to focus on the game/play my character and without getting a hangover the following day. Of course there's a lot of variables, changing the session length by an hour or the beer strength by a percentage point changes everything. I feel like I may be taking this answer far too seriously... Yeah, I think it helped that the last time we faced this thing it damn near killed us, so we knew we couldn't just wing it.

Week 4 Day 2 stats Running: 1/4 Hangboarding: 0/2 Splitting: 0/1 Rolling: 1/3 Brushing: 1/7 Drawing: 0/4 D&D last night was really fun. We had a rare situation where we knew what we were preparing to face with lots of time to plan. That was because we'd faced this ancient white dragon once before, and talked our way out of trouble because it was about to kill us. Now we were going back for revenge, and a shot at stealing its hoard. Preparations in spoiler, for they are long and nerdy: After over an hour and a half of preparation we finally shifted to the correct plane of existence, and then teleported to the dragon's lair. And all of that preparation paid off, we managed to bombard him over the course of a fairly tense combat and eventually he was destroyed. And then we got a ton of cash and magic items, it was a good time! * * * Dinner last night was gnocchi with our home grown tomatoes, plus courgette, garlic and cheese. It was a quick and easy meal which was exactly what we needed. Between D&D beers and getting to bed late I forgot to brush my teeth, which is rather annoying, but there we are. * * * This morning was Crossfit. After about 20 minutes of trying I got my first ever bar muscle up! Very pleased with that. That was followed by 'Helen': 3 rounds for time - 12 pullups, 21 American swings, 400m run. I Rx'd the workout with a 24kg (~53#) kettlebell, and finished in 13:33. I was the last to finish by a fair way, but also the only person to Rx it (and the only person doing full pullups in fact), so I'm ok with it being slow. * * * Lunch today was more leftover chicken soup - it's really very good! I didn't do any drawing or anything else on my lunch break. Tonight is snooker with Hopalong, a late dinner, and hopefully an early night!

Thanks! Me too to be honest!

Glad you're ok, try not to fall in front of traffic! Ah calorie cycling, or as I like to call it, having a beer! I found it worked very well for me to have high calorie days and low calorie days, based on my social life rather than any training or weight loss reason.

Week 4 Day 1 stats Running: 0/4 Hangboarding: 0/2 Splitting: 0/1 Rolling: 1/3 Brushing: 1/7 Drawing: 0/4 Worked a bit late last night. WW cooked chicken soup from a leftover roast chicken carcass we had. I did my foam rolling in front of the TV, did my teeth, and got to bed somewhere in the region of on time. * * * I woke up this morning and spent a bit of time reading e-mails and catching up on group chats before getting up for my workout. That turned out to be lucky, as I got a text from MG at half 6 saying their COVID test had come back negative. The meant I could leave the house, so I went out for a run instead of doing a home workout. Went to the shop at lunchtime and bought beer for tonight's D&D session. It's the Rise of the Runelords group, and we're currently in the First World (Feywild/Wildwood/realm of crazy fey bullshit), but I suspect we'll be leaving to potentially get killed by an ancient white dragon before to long! * * * Planning the next few days: Crossfit Wednesday to Friday Snooker Wednesday evening D&D Thursday evening (Mummy's Mask group) Climbing Saturday morning, after a medium length run D&D Saturday DM'd by @DarK_RaideR with @Starpuck, @Raxie and @Wild Wolf - really excited about that! Run to break in my new race shoes Sunday morning D&D Sunday - running my Lost Mine of Phandelver group No plans for weekend evenings, other than watching Questing Time on Saturday, so that's when foam rolling needs to happen Drawing should happen on lunch breaks at work Hangboarding probably won't happen unless I manage to close my fist properly! Split stretches will be tomorrow after Crossfit, and maybe Friday after Crossfit as well

Thank you! Not sure how I'm an inspiration, but I'm pleased to bo one nonetheless Thanks everyone! Their test results came back negative this morning, so we're all clear. I've missed 2 gym sessions and WW's had 2 days off work, and now we're back to normal, so not too much of a hardship really.

Looks solid dude, and of course I thoroughly support the Ziggurat principle.

Week 3 Roundup Running: 4/4 Hangboarding: 1/2 Splitting: 2/1 Rolling: 3/3 Brushing: 2/7 Drawing: 2/4 Running went well last week. I ran Saturday morning before bouldering, and ran to Hopalong's house on Sunday to pick up my car. He only lives 10 miles away, so it was shorter than the 3 hour run I should have done, but it was nice to go somewhere different and run with the purpose of getting somewhere. My second hangboarding session would usually have been on Friday, but I didn't want to do it as I was bouldering on Saturday. Turned out to be a good plan as now my left middle finger is swollen and won't close properly, and I'm sure it would be even worse. No hangboarding now until I can close my left fist properly, whenever that may be. Split stretches were good, and I even did an extra session instead of hangboarding. Rolling I got out of the way early in the week, which is good because I did naff all in the latter part of the week. Teeth brushing and drawing didn't really happen. Overall I've felt tired, irritable, and stressed this week, with bouts of anxiousness. I don't really know why, and I'm trying not to let it affect me, whilst at the same time recognising it and not beating myself up about it. It's hard to do, but there it is. Hoping for a less stressful week this week, and a considerably less stressful week 5 (last week of the month tends to be a bit tense with work, so next week should be better). * * * I had a really lovely day on Saturday. Went for a run for 5 and a bit miles, had breakfast, went bouldering with Hopalong and MG. Bouldering went well, and after that I went back to their place for homemade pizza in their pizza oven. I spent the afternoon drinking craft beer, eating pizza, smoking (that bit being less ideal), and chilling out with friends. I also didn't read any messages on my phone all day, which made a lovely change. We went home early-ish, snacked on stuff instead of having dinner, and watched Questing Time. It was not a day for completing goals, but it was a good day. Sunday I ran 10 miles to pick up the car, and then found out that Hopalong's lodger's girlfriend tested positive for Coronavirus. So now WW and I are isolating for a couple of days until Hopalong and MG get their test results, and if they test positive we'll have to go out and get tested too. We did a bit of cleaning the house in the afternoon, then I cooked a roast dinner (rather slowly as I turned the oven off by mistake halfway through!), and watched High Rollers. * * * No Crossfit this morning as I'm isolating, so I did 15 minutes of handstand practice and then about 45 minutes of yoga videos. It was a nice way to start the day. I also had a longish conversation about my job role at work with one of the company directors, and it looks like there might be some exciting changes there over the next few months. Tonight will be a chilled one. Tomorrow I need to figure out a home workout in the morning, and it's D&D in the evening.

It certainly is. All you can hope for is to make the most of the situation presented to you, and it sounds like you did just that.

Level 8 now, so hopefully we'll be ok. Without knowing the capabilities of the enemy it's really hard to tell how screwed we are. Knowing that the adventure path will be designed for 4-6 players and that we've split the party, this could be a problem.

Urgh, that's rubbish about the car service place. You should put in a complaint, that's really shitty. Glad to hear you're feeling stronger and less meh though

Hey Fit Monkey, sorry to hear about the job difficulties, that's really tough. The attitude of focussing on what you /can/ control is great though, stick with that. Don't worry about going off topic here - a lot of folks talk more about their mental health than their physical health on the forums (and lets face it the two are inextricably linked). Obviously don't feel the need to share more than you feel comfortable with sharing, but we're here if you want someone to listen.

Week 3 Day 3 stats Running: 2/4 Hangboarding: 1/2 Splitting: 1/1 Rolling: 3/3 Brushing: 2/7 Drawing: 2/4 D&D last night was fun. We didn't get to the chariot race because we were ambushed by some would-be assassins. They focussed the brunt of their anger on our warpriest Jemima (played by WW), so the rest of us came out virtually unscathed and took out the three assassins with ease. We kept one alive and interrogated him, learning very little information. Then we deposited him and the corpses of his companions with a very confused guard, who apparently wasn't used to strangers in the street approaching him with dead bodies. The following morning the two bruisers (my bloodrager Urah and our barbarian Woody) headed out for breakfast with our wealthy noble patron, and on the way were attacked by a hieracosphinx, 4 fighters and some kind of mage. So next session will start with that terrifying combat, with the rest of the party quite a way away. Hieracosphinx: After D&D I went straight to bed, having had a few beers, and did not do my teeth. I'd been feeling pretty weird all day mentally, and while D&D was a welcome distraction I don't think that had totally gone away by bedtime. * * * Crossfit this morning was a bodybuilding-esque workout - 3 sets of 12 on bench press, supplinated rows, push press, wide grip pullups, bicep curls and tricep pulldowns. It was quite good fun. At lunchtime I went out for another 15 minute run in my new shoes - alternating 1 minute run with 1 minute walk again. I'm not counting these runs towards challenge goals, they're extra. I've spent most of the day reviewing a lease for a client, which I actually quite enjoy but has been very time consuming. On that note I need to get back to working pretty sharpish. Tonight we're going to the supermarket then chilling out, tomorrow is short run, bouldering and homemade pizza, and Sunday is long run, relaxation and maybe sorting the house out a bit.

No, that's by Staind, not Linkin Park That's not true, you won't have lost much. Also, remember that art is supposed to be fun, not hard work. That doesn't mean you shouldn't work hard at it, but just pick up a pencil and doodle something you enjoy first. It will only suck if you go into it determined that it's going to suck.

Thanks! I did a bit of reading up on it, and it seems like cautious is definitely the way to go.

Week 3 Day 3 stats Running: 1/4 Hangboarding: 1/2 Splitting: 1/1 Rolling: 2/3 Brushing: 2/7 Drawing: 2/4 Wow this week's going quickly! Tuesday WW made a slow cooked chicken and chorizo Spanish thing for dinner, and I chilled out, did some drawing and my foam rolling. * * * Wednesday morning's Crossfit was squats - worked up to 85kg x 6, 77.5kg x 8, 70kg x 10 and 62.5kg x 12 (~187#, ~171#, ~154# and ~138#). Then we had yoke carries, which again I stayed conservative on working up to 125kg for 100ft (~275# for ~30m). When I got home I attempted hangboarding. I couldn't do much of anything without my left middle finger hurting, so I only did a tiny bit, but I'm counting that for challenge purposes. At lunch time I went out for a 10 minute run to try out my new shoes, which turned into a 15 minute run. I'm going from a 8mm drop to a 4mm drop and an even lighter shoe, so I'm going to need to get used to them gradually to avoid breaking myself. Yesterday evening I worked late, and then cooked a Japanese-y prawn and rice dish with edamame beans, spring onions, radishes and black sesame seeds. We tried to watch some Questing Time but Twitch was being fucky so we switch over to some of the charity streams that D&D Beyond have been running - an all clerics one-shot and an all-artificer one-shot. I didn't do any rolling last night, I stayed up a little late (only 10.30, but still later than normal) and I didn't brush my teeth. I think working late had a knock-on effect of me wanting time to unwind and wanting to push back against my goals. I can't quite explain it, but that's my best answer for why that happened. I also had a conversation about my career with one of our company directors in the day, which is in preparation for a much bigger conversation next week, so maybe that's playing on my mind? It's all good stuff, it just might mean big changes. * * * This morning I ran to Crossfit. We started off building to a 'heavy' snatch, which in my case was 35kg (~77#). I feel like I need a lot more snatch practice to really get the technique down. I also find power snatches much easier, but chose to do full snatches today to work on them. After that we had a tough little 10 minute AMRAP: 6 chest to bar, 8 box jumps, 10 box step-ups. I did the box jumps at 24" (602.4mm), and using the same box had 2 x 15kg (~33#) dumbbells for the step ups. The step ups were by far the hardest bit to be honest! I got through 4 rounds and 1 rep. I did some foam rolling at lunch time, which actually means I've hit my goal for the week already. I'm going to keep on with it though; more can only be better here! * * * Tonight is D&D. I'm hoping that our GM will have set up my new Urah token I drew. Hopefully this session will be the chariot race, but who knows with how much we mess about and avoid the plot!

Why thank you Aww, thank you. I choose to be positive about things when I can. When something bothers me and it's a big deal I do something about it. If I don't want to do something about it it's clearly not a big deal, so I forget about it. I also choose to take things at face value and ignore subtext. Don't worry about that which you cannot control is basically my philosophy on life. No to say that I don't get wound up about stuff, but if it's not important then I try not to reinforce that frustration it by talking about it here.