Monday Questions

Lobsters25

I am freaking bored and you ladies always make the day more fun and interesting, so this seemed logical. 
PS- FTL and KW, I know you're both busy with your 'real world' lives, but that is a lame excuse.  Get back here more.  I miss you guys.

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend? 
2. What is one great thing about today?
3. What is for dinner tonight?
4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?
5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!
6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?
7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?

cnf2013

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend?  

We did a lot of wedding stuff- stuffed hotel bags, did the seating chart, etc. I'm getting really excited. Only 19 more days!

2. What is one great thing about today?

I ran 8 miles, a new distance PR for me. I'm probably going to sign up for the October half marathon that FI's BM runs. 

3. What is for dinner tonight?

Grilled chicken and asparagus, yum!

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?

Timing actually. I have only so long in the morning between when the gym opens and when I need to get back home to get ready for work. I'm horrible at working out in the afternoon. Also, I need to get my ass in a pool. The lake's still too cold, but I have three triathlons this summer and have swam zero times so far. Ick. 

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!

You are kicking ass running, you animal you!

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?

Not working out. I get so anxious and uncomfortable if I miss a workout. I beat myself up all day if I oversleep. 

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?

Long runs. I was trained as a sprinter and ran as a sprinter for six plus years. I never thought I could run more than three miles at a time. And the fact that I'm thinking so much about signing up for a half is really gratifying. 

Lobsters25

cnf-you're answers made me smile so much!  you are totally kicking butt these days, lady, and I love your strong and positive outlook/reflection of your accomplishments!

jaenella

Love it!

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend?  

Frisbee tournament! Even if it snowed, rained and hailed on us, it was great to be out running. And I got my wedding shoes this weekend too!

2. What is one great thing about today?

I'm very impressed at how I'm not super sore after the weekend. I did a lot of rehab work all this week on my IT band and I was able to run for 5 games this weekend without much pain - success, considering it started hurting after 2 games last weekend!

3. What is for dinner tonight?

Tacos!!! It's been at least a month since I've had tacos... mmmm.

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?

Right now, with frisbee 3x a week and tournaments the past two weekends, the biggest challenge is doing anything else. I know I need to crosstrain because running is so repetitive (and I need to prepare for triathlons coming up), I just end up wanting to take rest days before and after a tournament weekend and have frisbee Tues, Wed and Thurs!

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!

Even though I was completely, totally terrified of trying out for this team, I pushed myself and I did it!

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?

In the beginning of undergrad I didn't exercise at all - no gym, no intramurals, nothing. I can't have a week where I do nothing anymore - I start going stir crazy!

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?

About 5 years ago I started a "learn to run" program. I can still remember those first few runs (run 30 seconds, walk 2 minutes), when I thought it was impossible that I'd ever even be able to run for 5 minutes straight, because I got so winded after just 30 seconds of running.

Lobsters25

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend?  

I spent a day outside, away from the tv, computer, and phones, with H and my mom.  It just felt so good and healthy.

2. What is one great thing about today?

It's a rest day, and H doesn't have anything after work tonight.  I love family time, and am looking forward to it tonight. 

3. What is for dinner tonight?

Quinoa with feta, cucumber, tomato, and balsamic.  YUM.  Oh, and a scoop of frozen yogurt for dessert.  Double YUM.

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?

Level two of 30DS was ROUGH.  My shoulders are not made of steel, and even at day ten I still had to stop for an extra water break, well, two.  I have also been having a hard time with convincing myself to do an extra evening workout. 

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!

Your new drive to be strong is amazing.  Your goal has never been strength before, and it's such a healthier goal for you than a scale number or waist size, and now you're ramping up and kicking butt!

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?

Letting myself continue to eat bad once I've fallen off of the wagon/had one bad meal.  It's not a downward spiral anymore. I also always at least think about working the excess off.

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?

Get through p90x and a round of pushups like it's NBD.  I can also run two miles without much issue.  I used to think I could run more, but with the gastro issues I was held up.  Still, running a 'quick run' was never a thing for me before - it was always an immense struggle. 
I'm also working at being able to do pull ups and chin ups.  While I can't do them yet, I never thought I would try those again, or even care about being able to be strong enough to do them.

Lobsters25

Jaenella-going from learning to run to playing Ultimate and a triathalon?  that (and you) are amazing and incredible!

cnf2013

Lobsters, you are just the sweetest thing today! Look at you giving out all the compliments!

Jaenalla, what triathlon are you running? Is it your first? Yay triathlons! I'm revving up for my three month TRI-fecta starting in June. 

Lobsters25

not compliments...simply acknowledgements of some serious butt kicking that is going on!

The questions are sort of geared that way, bc, if you didn't know the person who wrote your post, and you read it, would you be inspired? 
You should be, because you sound like a bad a**, and you are, and I am impressed  

I feel like so many on this board have experienced repeated 'I fell off the wagon again' posts lately, myself included.  And so, I sincerely hope that this helps the lot of us to reflect and and re-focus/re-energize toward being the amazing person who just told us about doing something they were never able to do before, and giving due recognition to that person! 

*Terrible-sounding 'go team' speech over

Lobsters25

Dinner sounds amazing, xcaly! 
I love your speech to yourself, too - you ARE hot.  I still look at your pic and say 'darn her and being able to sport that amazing lipstick.'  You are gorgeous and rocking that color, lady, like not many can do.
Way to become a pushup beast!  If you want to restart and want a buddy, I could go for starting that up again, too!

jaenella

lobsters - I'm always amazed in accountability at how determined you are to push through with 30DS. You are kicking butt - it's inspiring!

cnf - I did a few try-a-tris in years past and one spring last year but I'm hoping to do about 2-3 sprints this summer (yikes!). I also need to get in the pool... I haven't swam once this year! I'm planning to run a few in southern Ontario - starting with a try-a-tri in Milton in June then a sprint in July. Which ones are you doing?

entropicbeauty

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend?  

Actually getting some time to vegetate and not have anything that HAD to get done or anywhere I HAD to be.

2. What is one great thing about today?

My wonderful husband cooked pork carnitas for lunch for me, and he made sure to make some broccoli too! 

3. What is for dinner tonight?

DH will be cooking a whole chicken on the grill for dinner. I love when he has the day off and puts his energy into our meals...I wish I cared enough about cooking to do this stuff.

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?

Motivating myself to go. The past 2-3 weeks It's been a pretty big task just to convince myself to do a workout.

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!

I'm so proud to see that I've stuck with eating better and exercising regularly for over a year. I know that I can do this for the rest of my life, I just have to keep at it!

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?

I still struggle with all of the issues I had in my past...I'm just a lot better about not letting one slip up end up being a week or month long slip up. I'm really good at getting back to being healthy now.

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?

I can run for 5 minutes at a time. I've never been a runner and never thought I could be. I'm hoping to be able to run a whole 5k by August, but I'm proud of myself that I'm even trying.

Lobsters25

entropic-can H come cook for us?
I love hearing you say you're proud of yourself, that's the biggest win   Way to go on the running!  I know you'll have some awesome support from the newfound runners around here!

entropicbeauty

Haha, it was hard enough to get him to cook today! We've had this pork loin and whole chicken in the freezer for over a month and every week he was all "I'll cook it tomorrow, I'll cook it tomorrow"....it IS great when he actually gets around to cooking though!

And this whole community is awesome for ALL kinds of support, not just running

cnf2013

Great work on running Entropic! It's a tough thing to get into for a lot of people. Keep working at it. Also, I'm coming over for dinner, FYI.

Jaenella, I ran the Syracuse IronGirl last year for my first and felt so good afterwards I decided to do three this year. I'm running the Mini Mussel sprint tri with FI in July. It's hosted in the town we live in, like three blocks from our house, so it's about time I get my booty into it. Then in August I'm running the Iron Girl again. In September I'm running the Oylmpic distance version of the Finger Lakes Triathlon. There's two other mostly local ones in June, but with the wedding and the honeymoon I thought three should suffice. If I do well on the Olympic distance I'm hoping to register for the Mussel Man Half Iron for next July (also hosted in our town, same weekend as the mini). We'll see. I need to survive this year first. 

AllieBear725

I'm bored too

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend? 

I had a nice Mother's Day lunch with my mom, Aunt and grandmother's

  
2. What is one great thing about today? 

It's more than halfway over, lol.

3. What is for dinner tonight? 

More than likely a salad.

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you? 

Cardio!!!!

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything! 

I am trying to be a good DIL because I always include MIL in our plans (even though she drives me insane)

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore? 

Taco Bell.

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago? 

Take the stairs up my apartment in 2's

jaenella

Lobsters - totally an awesome 'go team' speech! This thread is definitely motivating.

xcaly - you ARE hot! You are totally inspiring.

entropic - way to go on the running! For me, I found getting up to the 5min mark was the hardest part.

cnf - I was thinking of doing the Iron Girl in Grimsby in August! And wow - I'm so impressed you are doing an olympic distance tri! Good for you - I'd love to do one some day but the distances scare me (especially the run). Amazing that you are doing all of this right after the wedding/honeymoon!

Allie - My FI always brings Taco Bell home after practice and the smell is so tempting... good for you for giving it up!

Lobsters25

allie-way to go bounding up the stairs!  Anything fun going into the salad?

choagie42

Loving the motivation here!!  I just got done leading a group therapy session in which I tried to get a bunch of pathological gamblers to discuss their motivations to work toward recovery.  It didn't go so well, so this is a much needed motivation-palooza!!

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend? 
I scored serious future DIL points by taking a card and flowers over to future MIL because she was alone on Mother's Day.  Is it suck-up-ish, yes, but at least I acknowledge it...

2. What is one great thing about today?
My FI is playing golf with my papa.  I love when they bond, it makes me happy.  Oh, and I have low fat/low cal/surprisingly good cupcakes waiting for me at home.  They're from a specialty bakery or else I would post recipes!

3. What is for dinner tonight?
Leftover rice and beans that I'll throw in a tortilla.  Plus baked broccoli and carrots.

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?
Right now it's my damn taper for my half marathon.  It's a mental thing, I feel so lazy!  Other than that it's adding in cross-training, I so much prefer running to other cardio, so it's hard to make myself do other stuff.

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!
I actually stuck to this half marathon goal and did it for no one else but myself (I actually didn't tell my family I was running it until recently, because I didn't want to seem braggish).  And I got some leg muscles to show for it!!  Bonus!

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?
Not eating veggies.  Omg I NEVER used to have them.  Now I eat them with almost every meal.  Even salads which were completely out of the question before.  I'm almost like a grown-up!

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?
Well, hopefully by this time on Sunday I'll say I could run a half marathon, perhaps in under 2 hours!!  Until last spring I could never do more than a 5k, and usually only 2 miles.  So this is a big change!

Lobsters25

you at least have to tell us what flavor cupcake, choagie! congratulations on your upcoming half, and doing it for YOU!  I am sure you'll kick butt!

AllieBear725

In Response to Re: Monday Questions:
[QUOTE]allie-way to go bounding up the stairs!  Anything fun going into the salad?
Posted by Lobsters25[/QUOTE]
Actually.... I saw an interesting recipe on pinterest. I'm going to add strawberries, red onions, nuts, spinach, cran-raisins, and blue cheese! I needed to change for these taste buds ;P

choagie42

I bought a dozen for my ma for Mother's day, I think the remaining flavors are banana cream pie, red velvet, shirley temple, and toffee.

cnf2013

Ahhh, choagie, good luck on your half!

And Jaenella, do the Iron Girl! The atmosphere is amazing and the supportiveness is something I've never experienced at any other race I've ever done. There's a reason the Syracuse one sells out in a matter of hours. You'll love it. I'm scared for the swim on my Olympic. A mile swim is pretty intense, especially since I haven't swam at all yet this year. Ugh. 

jh715

I like this!

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend? 
I work in a gas camp out of town, and was in camp this weekend, I guess one great thing was getting to really jump into wedding planning (we were just engaged on May 4th).

2. What is one great thing about today?
It's a beautiful sunny day

3. What is for dinner tonight?
I'll have an IsaPro shake (nutritional protein shake), and maybe some fruit for dessert.

4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?
For me the hardest part is pushing past 'uncomfortable'.  I want to hurt the next day, I want to know my workout was effective, but at the same time, I struggle to push past pain when I'm doing the actual workout.

5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!
This year I've totally jumped feet first into professional and personal development, and am the happiest (and most successful) that I've ever been.

6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?
Pop.  I was drinking 2-3 cans of pop every day for a while.  I can't even recall the last time I had a can.

7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?
I can run for 30 minutes.  3 months ago, I could barely keep going for 5.

libbybacon

1. What was one great thing about this past weekend? 
I got to spend a ton of time with my mom, and also got a ton of yard work done.
2. What is one great thing about today?
I got a lot of work done that I could have put off, but now I will have some extra time on my hands later this week
3. What is for dinner tonight?
Sweet tea chicken with grilled squash and corn
4. What is the hardest part of your current workout, for you?
Discipline! Gosh, it is so easy to just take an extra free day here and there, and then you realize you've taken 3 days off...whoops.
5. Tell yourself something positive about yourself. It can be anything!
You are so much healthier than you were 6 months ago, and you are a fox!
6. Even if you've fallen off the wagon lately, what is one old bad diet/exercise/or lackthereof habit that simply doesn't even cross your mind anymore?
Fast food and soda. I don't even think twice when I drive by McDonalds anymore.
7. Share with us one thing that you can do now, that you didn't think you could do either one week/month/year/or decade ago?
I can do a pull up finally! I have never been able to do this in my life, and I accomplished this last week!

AllieBear725

I have never been able to do a pullup, lol. Good for you!

Lobsters25

allie-that sounds delicious!

choagie-yum, options! which will you pick?

jv-love your answers!  way to push yourself in all aspects and kick up the running!

libby-so jealous of your pull-up!  what did it take you to get there?  and tell me more about this sweet tea chicken...

jh715

I'm also super jealous of the pullup!!  At the same time, I know you worked hard to do it, so even though I don't know you I'm proud of you for getting there!
I'm working my way towards a pullup with my FI (former military, super fit guy) giving me pointers.

A couple of things that I do to try to get there are:
- assisted pullups (giant rubber bands that make pullups easier).  I have about 40lbs of band support, and am able to do pullups for reps assisted.  Eventually I'll get to a real one.
-negative pullups - get yourself to the top of a pullup by stepping up on a block or something else, and then try to let yourself down slowly
-hanging out - I don't know how effective this actually is, but for me it feels like it's helping.  I hang on pullup bars and then switch from one hand to another, just to get my forearms and shoulders used to hanging.

I'm getting closer and closer to an actual pullup, and my goal is to do one by the end of June, it's definitely going to be a challenge.