New Challenge!

It's time for another challenge! Since the last challenge was an eye-opener for me (I only managed to reach one of my goals), I'm going to try again, and this time I'm getting out my dayplanner and making sure this happens. Hold on, I have to find that and a pen...

OK, got it: day planner, bag of forty sharpies, purple pen. I'm going to try a couple things. I'm going to write all my work stuff in my work pen (black ink) and write my goal stuff in bright colors, so I'll have a better idea what grade to give myself at the end.

This challenge starts 6 August and ends 16 September. You only get four goals: 3 diet/fitness and 1 Level UP! goal. (Can I trademark that? It's so much nicer to say!) Six weeks to meet four goals. Here we go.

GOALS:
Diet/Fitness:

• Swimming; color code BLUE: Swim for 30 minutes a minimum of 3x a week, up to 6x a week, and keep a record. The pool is closed Sundays, so I figure it's an enforced rest day! Actually, I'm pretty psyched about swimming. I'm going to try to go every day, but I won't beat myself up if I miss a day or if work goes insane and I work 20- and 15- hour days again. I want to count beach days, but they usually end up being tanning time with Chris where I jump in the water every hour or so.
• Food Journal, color code GREEN: Keep a food journal! For every completely Primal meal, a star. For every completely Primal day, a sticker. For six Primal Day Stickers, one small frozen yogurt. I want to see how much I'm really eating Primally. I want to see an increase in the percentage of Primal eating from week one to week six. Also, I'll be able to see where I'm giving in to SAD and/or the boyfriend's taking me out to dinner.
• Commute, color code PURPLE: Use my bicycle for commuting to work and PT. I'm going to work up to riding every day like this: Week 1, 1 required ride to work; week 2, 2 required rides to work; week 3, 3 required rides; etc. I actually work & PT (for work) 6 out of the 7 days in a week. I work strange hours, so I need to make sure the bike is up to the laws on lights and stuff. These rides will be fairly short, but there will be hills. She's had her yearly checkup, so she should be in good shape. I have a super-nice helmet and I even have gloves for longer rides. I may be getting a rack or a basket so I can haul my swimming things easier. That way I won't have any excuse to not go right after work. Until then, I'll probably drive myself.

Level UP!:

• Read The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson, color code BROWN. I've started it, so this is just one of those completion goals. Once I've read it, application begins. I'm going to put a check mark for every day I work on reading it and make a note in my food journal when I try something from the Blueprint.

Additional Unofficial Notes for the Challenge:

• Include Boyfriend in working out. Chris is my boyfriend and we're trying to find out what he likes to do so fitness isn't such a drag for him. Chasing me seems to be a prime motivator :). Yes, actually chasing me. Don't judge, I'm going to do what works!
• Don't re-injure or newly injure anything. Hip bursitis is the "itis" of the month. I'm tired of being hurt.
• I'll be keeping up with my karate as much as possible with my injury.

 I am going to plan my minimum goal-meeting requirements in my day planner and get a notebook to keep track of the challenge separately from all my work business and outside commitments. I know I'll be recording all of my exercise, not just my swims. I'll leave work PT out of it, since I don't consider that to be worthwhile and it's usually so far outside my plans that I can't count it. That's probably because no one bothers to plan it... and now that there is a plan, it will probably be on repeat forever ending.

Okay, that seems to be about it. I hope this one goes better than the last one!