Jarric

This sounds cool; I'm in for darkness. Won't mess up the spreadsheet now as I'm late, but reminds me to write myself in come week 2.

Gonna keep following this for inspiration, though I won't be targeting a number of posts this time.

Hope you're enjoying your holiday! Glad the hear MH Survival was good - it's pretty easy for me to get to so may well give it a shot next year.

Nearly there, just one more thing and I'll call this challenge properly up to date. Icebreaker: When did you have a really long laugh? (last time or best time; player's choice). This was one of those silly moments. I was with WW and we were going to the supermarket, and she was looking for a parking space. It wasn't busy - there were loads of spaces, but she kept turning them down and driving on. And I found it a bit funny, and every time I thought she was going to park and she drove past a space it was just a tiny bit funnier, like another card being stacked on a house of cards. And then after dozens of spaces she finally did park and the final card fell, and I just burst out laughing. And then I had to try to explain, doubled up in laughter, what I was laughing at. And then she got really annoyed about it, and the more annoyed she was the funnier it got. It was totally stupid, but I laughed until I ached.

Update - Week 1 so far Ok, it feels odd that it's week 1, given that I've already had 2 great challenge weeks. Monday was my last day in Dublin. Met up with D_R and SRLF to go to the archaeological museum, to find that it is closed on Mondays. Went to a library exhibition instead, which was very interesting but probably too much information to take in in one go, and a lot of time looking at books written in languages I don't speak and in alphabets I don't understand. Then we went out for a barbeque lunch and I said a fond farewell to @DarK_RaideR and SRLF. I'm not exaggerating when I say I am privileged to have spent the weekend with these guys, I couldn't have asked for nicer, more thoughtful or more fun people. Then it was the flight home, and I bought American Gods to read on the journey (thanks in part to @Wild Wolf's thread - excellent read so far). A chilled out evening, decided to reduce the budget for the week slightly as I didn't spend any sterling for most of the day. Had an easy dinner from the chippy. Score for the day was 9 points, low because of travelling. Tuesday - back to work, back to reality. Got in 3 easy miles plus 3 sprints in the morning - felt pretty easy but pretty slow - for a total of 3.81 miles. Got some grocery shopping done, watched some critical role, updated my bujo and did my race report. A pretty good day with a score of 24 points. Budget Bonus: £66.77 remaining Running Bonus: 41.24/100 miles This morning I slept in late again, and missed the gym again. I don't know why this keeps happening, but it occurs that it used to be I'd miss my runs and make the gym. Maybe that means it's lack of enthusiasm. So to get that back, or at least to carry on without it, I'm setting a new goal. 15XP for hitting a perfect run of 10 gym sessions by the end of the challenge (that's one on Friday and then 3 per week for the rest of the challenge).

Well you'll know not to miss it next time then, won't you You definitely should! I wouldn't worry about strength too much - give yourself a couple of months to prepare but there's always people around to help out pulling you over and out of things - that team spirit is a big part of the fun. And there are shorter races out there is you want to ease into it a bit.

Great write-up man, I got excited about the race again just reading it . You're too hard on yourself though, you seriously spurred me on to complete all the obstacles - it really wouldn't have been the same without you there with me.

Well I had heard rumours

When did I last do an update? Oh, it's been over a week! Update - Week 0-II Wednesday was a day. Woke up late so missed the gym, had a lovely pork ramen for dinner (made by WW), snooker in the evening and I refrained from going too overboard with the drink or staying too late. Thursday I got in a run in the morning. 2 threshold miles at 8'50" and 9'03" respectively (a little slower than I'd like), plus some padding for a total of 4.1 miles. Sausage, homemade chips and baked beans were an easy dinner, and then I packed for Ireland. Friday woke up a ball of nervous excitement as mentioned on here (and thank you all again for the encouragement with that). Flew to Ireland, and gave myself points for that and for driving into central Dublin as a pushing my comfort zone thing. Did a short jog to St Stephen's Green to get my legs working - my Fitbit app sucks so I'm conservatively estimating a 2.5 mile total including a bit of walking. That evening I got to meet D_R and SRLF for food and a few beers - had a really nice time and then an early night. Saturday I eventually worked out where I'd parked the car (the ticket had no location on it, so it was a bit of a challenge) and drove us to Tough Mudder. Gave myself 10 points for completing the mudder as it's a long time running and a big milestone (and because it's my challenge, so there! ) After the race we drove back, dropped SRLF in town and dropped the car to the airport. That evening we went for a late tour of the leprechaun museum to hear some grizzly faerie stories, and then out to the pub to meet some of D_R's friends who live in Dublin and to have talk and drink and generally be merry. Sunday I was expecting to be on my own for the day as D_R and SRLF had to fly home, so I did a little shopping and went on a walking tour about the 1916 Easter Uprising. Then the others discovered that they were actually around for an extra day, so we got to eat and drink together for another night. I went on after for a few beers after to see some musicians and eek out a bit more of my final night. Scores for the week were 17+23+14+20+16+18+5 = 113. With a better start it could have been a perfect week, but no regrets for what I managed on holiday; it was just such an excellent time.

You definitely do! Haha, thanks man. It was a great weekend and we will definitely make it happen again somewhere in the future. Thanks man. I really am keen, but money dude! I definitely plan to make it, but it might be a couple of pay days before I can book. But still, please do keep nudging

Ok, so firstly you guys are all awesome, thank you! Secondly... Race Report - Tough Mudder Ireland @DarK_RaideR and I arrived at the race reasonably early, and set about getting ready, have race numbers written on (I chose to have mine on the forehead; I think it was a good look) and ingesting some last minute caffeine. A quick warm up, over a little wall and we were at the start ready to go. Course started off pretty simple - a barbed wire crawl, a nice cold stream an ice cold stream to walk through, and a net crawl. On to "Bail Bonds" which was essentially some stacked bails of hay to climb over. People were messing about and doing commando rolls over the top, so not to be outdone D_R did his as a box jump. I tried to be clever and vault the top, only to find that they were wider than I expected and land on my arse on the top one. A lot of jogging in the next section (well, a lot of distance, as much walking as jogging probably), over an overhang wall, through some nice deep boggy ditches and on to the high walls. They were 10' high maybe, with a thin bar a couple of feet off the ground to enable you to reach the top. Over the high walls we both stopped to help/drag a couple of others over, which felt pretty good to be comfortable enough up the walls to do. Hero carry was a funny moment of getting to wind each other up carrying each other up the hill. After that were a couple of miles of mainly running with a nice big swap in the middle we reached the Reach Around. A quick climb up and under some scaffolding poles, a flip over the top to the welcome news from the steward at the top that we'd reached half way. Skipping forward a bit to where it we reach Pyramid Scheme. A long steep slope we both sprinted up, but both grabbed people's hands to bring us up the final few feet. The round to Arctic Enema: The Rebirth. Basically that's down a slide plunging you underneath ice-cold water, then as you come up you have to dive under the water again to get under a beam. I swore as I went through, pushed myself out the other side as quickly as possible with an immediate brain freeze - only to be met with D_R's comment that "I don't think that's as bad in colder weather really (git ). Now the fun really begins - Block Ness Monster. It's easier to show you than explain: This was brilliant fun - I found that I could just about jump and grip the top of the block so I hauled myself over first. Then I started to pull the thing round for D_R, and then we both pulled it over for another guy and just had a laugh flipping people over this and the other block as a little team. Next up we had Dead Ringer, another great obstacle. We were each given a pair of rings and had to hook ourselves across a series of pegs, going up a slope and back down again. As we were running up everyone we saw were just using the pegs as monkey bars and leaving the rings alone, but that didn't look as much fun. It took me a few swings to get into the rhythm of it but after that I was flying along, and though my grip was starting to fail (this was the first obstacle I thought I might fail all day) I got to the end and was very pleased with it. Not to be outdone D_R stepped up and absolutely smashed through it, and by half way he was skipping pegs and pushing through two at a time - awesome stuff. The next really interesting stuff was at the end of the race. First, we have Everest, which is a quarter-pipe. Now when I've done Warrior Run in the past they've had a quarter-pipe at the end. The first time I ran it I managed it, but only with the help of a rope that dangled a couple of feet from the top. The second time I ran it I thrashed through it, but only because they'd reduced the height of the wall by a couple of feet. So basically, I was pretty determined to do this. D_R had already run up, and with a couple of hands to grab him he flew up the wall. I went for my run and managed to get hold of the top - a couple of people came to help but I shouted them to get back, and hauled myself up and over the wall. I may have shouted/roared slightly in victory as I stood up, thoroughly pleased! We stayed at Everest for a good few minutes after that, helping pull other people up over the wall for the sheer fun of it. The final obstacle for first-timers is Electro Shock Therapy. It didn't hurt exactly, though it wasn't pleasant, but it's such an odd sensation as your muscles spasm totally outside of your control. I spread my arms wide and took it. I'm waiting for the photos now, I hope it made a good photo. The final obstacle for Legionnaires is Kong. That's a set of rings perhaps 20' in the air, and quite a long way from each other. Technically we weren't supposed to do this one as first timers, but the stewards didn't mind and it looked so fun! D_R has already shared the video of this one so I'll leave that to speak for itself, but I will say I had awesome fun doing it. Overall I had a fantastic day, got to hug lots of stewards whilst covered in mud and had a fantastic time with a fantastic running partner. It was a fairly easy course, though I guess we could have tried to kill ourselves running it faster, but it was fun and chilled out and there were just lots of nice people to enjoy it with. And now I'm tired and I'm certainly not going to proof-read this, so I hope it makes sense.

Nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat.

Keep nudging man! I really want to do this, but might take a couple of months for funds to line up.

Thanks you all for the lovely things you're saying guys! In other news, @DarK_RaideR and I did a thing:

To be fair, that could be equally miserable

You've come on so much in those progress photos, well done! And also well done on all the work and assessment productivity - sounds like you've got a lot on your plate but you're crushing it! With squats, put some safety bars on! It'll give you the confidence to go deep knowing that the safety bars will stop the bar if you fall, plus which it's just much safer anyway. Also, and this might sound weird, practice failing a rep and bailing out with the bar, so that you know it works and can have the confidence of doing it under weight.

Sounds like you learned loads on your travels, and now you have some great ideas for going forward Can we have the summary? I love an adventure.

Right now I'm sat in the airport, ready to head off to Ireland. Didn't sleep too well last night, from a combination of excitement and nerves I think. Excitement because holiday, Tough Mudder and getting to meet @DarK_RaideR! Nerves because this kind of feels like a big deal. I've never flown on my own before. I'm going to pick up a car I've never driven and drive it in a foreign country (though at least they drive on the correct side of the road ). I'm staying in a hostel on my own, which again I've never done before. I'm meeting a friend from the internet in person for the first time and that's a whole social situation I have no idea how to deal with. And then I'm running what is basically a muddy half marathon with added obstacles! At 28 years old I should probably be able to handle this shit. To be fair, I definitely can and I'll be totally fine, but it doesn't stop me getting all anxious and agitated about it . Back to excited though, I am looking forward to an awesome weekend! Will check in when I can, and know when I can't it's because I'm off being really cool!

Hey! So I realised you've been supporting me loads over the last couple of challenges and I've totally failed to follow you, so I'm hear to rectify that! Well done on getting out and getting those runs in - you were scared about it and you went out and did it anyway, and that's pretty cool. I know others have said it, but listen to your body and don't push yourself too hard. For a new runner 2-3 runs per week is absolutely enough, and to be honest some people train for marathons on 4 runs per week, so don't feel you have to run every day.

I haven't read that article yet, though I certainly will when I get the chance. I absolutely agree on the internal consistency of stories from a writing point of view, and it's much more fun to follow the logical trail through a story, to try and predict the writer's conclusion from the information on hand. For certain cases however, and particularly for over-powered superheros like wolverine (also Superman, Claire Bennett from heroes and Doctor Manhattan from Watchmen amongst others), as a reader I find it more enjoyable to try not to dwell on the minutae of the mechanics of their powers. I mean, it can be fun to think about independently of watching a show or reading a book but if you focus on it too hard as part of the audience you can end up spoiling the fantastic nature of the work.

You. I like you. Welcome to the rangers! Welcome back! So looking forward to this!

Got my run in this morning, so I'm just shy of 25 miles for the challenge so far. Tough Mudder on Saturday should push that up a bit more

Man, you really don't like that yogurt thief guy, do you? I try not to think too much about wolverine's power. It's not unlimited, because otherwise he wouldn't have grown to the age he is. So what is the limit? And where does he grow back from if you cut large chunks off? If you cut him clean in half do you get two wolverines in an amoeba split kind of way? And as you said, shouldn't he burn through calories at a rate where he needs to eat constantly? He doesn't scar for some reason, so can he actually damage his muscles sufficiently to grow them or is it impossible for him to get gains? And now I am thinking to much about it. That'd be call - just to hit pause, walk away, and come back to things when you've had a break. I've never been (to be fair, I probably never will - it's quite a long way from me!). I take it you like it there? Good to have you dude.

Awesome, glad others are doing it too! That is a nice bizarre (and suitably Australian) list of foods! I did have to look up the Goanna tbh. And that's really nice! I think you get points for the only selfless response to that question. That would be a parkour dream for you man! All the mad jumps and crazy shit you could do! That gif is strangely mesmerising. I've been watching it for quite a while.

As always I have no idea what's going on, but I'm happy to be here. Hope you had a good holiday man.