February 2017 – Zenaida Arroyo

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap.

Hoping everyone had a good week!

Wow, cannot believe another week is over. We have been enjoying some semi mild weather for February which is nice. However, not nice for this girl that still cannot run.

I made it to the pool on Saturday morning for 30 minutes of pool running. I got there at 8:05 and there was another person swimming in the pool. I went about doing my thing. Then more people arrived. Thankfully I was done with my workout. It was fun but also tiring. Thanks to Marcia I have a plan that includes more pool running on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday and a 2 mile run/walk on Friday. I am crossing my fingers and toes that my run is pain free. Remember, my goal is simply to finish the race and get my medal.

Other important stuff. My awesome wine opener broke. Maybe it isn’t so awesome since it broke? Well, I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get another one because it is an important gadget to have in the kitchen. Am I right?

My mom made pozole and invited some family over to eat this delicious meal. Have you ever eaten pozole? If you get a chance, please do. There is white, red, and green and with chicken or pork. My mother makes it white with chicken. I add avocado, cabbage, lemon juice, oregano, raw onion, and chile.

Fridays are the best. It is the end of the week and almost the weekend. Plus, I get paid every two weeks on Friday and on said day we have breakfast. Teachers sign up to bring an assortment of food and it is always delicious. I had ‘molletes’ which are slices of bolillo, topped with beans, cheese and jalapeño peppers and grilled in the oven till the cheese melts. There wasn’t any peppers so I added pico de gallo. It was very good.

Friday ended with some wine at home. I stopped at Walgreens and bought 3 bottles. I am not picky. I like red, white, pink, etc.

On Saturday I received my box of NOW Foods. I found a bunch of recipes on their website that I’ve been meaning to try.

First I made Pumpkin Seed Brittle. It was so easy – just 3 ingredients and it came out really good. I did not have parchment paper but thanks to Google I found out I could use aluminum foil covered in cooking spray.

Then I made Buttermilk Pancakes. They were OK. Let’s just say that I need to do more work on the pancakes. How hard can it be to make them, right? I did like the maple syrup. It isn’t cheap but still very tasty.

On Wednesday it is a half day at school (students leave at 12pm but teachers stay till 3pm) and then no school on Monday next week. The plan is to go over President’s Day and have them write about several U.S. Presidents. A good reminder as to the reason we will be off on Monday.

REMINDER: Don’t forget about my giveaway!!

Disclaimer: None of these items are sponsored by the companies but are items I purchased with my own money.

It’s been over 4 weeks since my injury. My calf is better. I can walk and go up and down the stairs feeling no pain. I ran 3 miles on Sunday using a run/walk method thanks to the advice of my friend, Marcia. I felt good but did feel some pain on the inside of my left knee. The pain stopped when I began to walk and I did not feel any more pain the rest of the run.

I felt confident enough to seek Marcia’s help and have her work on a plan to get me to Rock ‘n’ Roll DC in March – which is 4 weeks away. I will admit that when I began training for this race, my goal was to run a sub 2 or at least get a PR. Things do not go the way we want them to and I had to change my goal. I changed it to simply finishing the race. I love DC and was looking forward to run with friends and also meet new ones (Courtney and Elizabeth).

Marcia had me run 3 miles yesterday and to take walking breaks as needed. I did a few errands after work and then got home to change and set out for my run. Ugh, I only managed 1 mile. I felt the same pain in the same leg. Not good. I stopped running and walked back home. I have two new and cute Brooks shoes and I was ready to hang them up for good. Marcia believes in me more than I do. She is not letting me give up and advised me to try pool running to get me ready for my half marathon next month.

Below is a video that explains pool running.

That is what I will be doing until race day while I rest my calf and knee. Am I upset? Well, maybe a little. I am frustrated. I do get jealous when I see people’s running pictures on Facebook and Instagram. OK so maybe I am not all that upset because I do have a giveaway that includes some of my favorite items I use during a run. The winner will receive a NUUN container (I have various flavors), a Momentum SPARKlet, a pair of Lock Laces, Headsweats Visor, Honey Stinger Organic Chews, and Honey Stinger Strawberry Waffle.

To enter, click on the image below where you will be directed to Gleam and enter several different ways such as leaving a blog post comment, following me on Instagram, commenting on any of my Instagram posts, or tweeting about the giveaway.

This giveaway will run for seven days (until February 15th at 11:59 pm). The winner will be selected on the eighth day. The giveaway is open to US residents only. The winner will be contacted via the email address associated with their Gleam account and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. All entries are verified, so please be sure to complete them or a new, random winner will be selected.

Best luck to everyone that enters!