January 2021 – Zenaida Arroyo

31
Jan
2021

Weekly Run Down: Goodbye January and finally on the list!

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Sigh, I this weather is really messing up my training. I runfessed in Friday’s post that I don’t feel like I am getting any good workouts this month. I was reminded that it is Winter. It is cold. I should be glad to be out there. Those points are so true. The good news is I finished the month with 64.55 miles and 156 days in my run streak.

We got snow on Monday evening. Luckily Tuesday I worked from home. I also ran 2 miles. I live close to an elementary school and the workers had cleaned up the sidewalk and it was perfect for running.

The rest of the week were easy miles around the school again. There was still ice on the sidewalk and I took it easy but still did not want to run more than one mile.

More snow on Saturday. It may look pretty but it makes it difficult to run or walk. This morning I went out but could not run 1 mile (I mostly walked). But you bet I still counted today as part of my run streak.

Who knows now how long it will take for the snow to melt. For now that means lots of easy runs. Once the wether improves then I can start again or resume training for a 10k.

On a positive note and a perfect way to end this month is that I got an email from my school district and I signed up to get the first vaccine on Tuesday. Yay! My mother will be going next Monday. I am trying to get an appointment for her on the same day that I will get mine. But if that doesn’t work out then we are still both set to get the vaccine.

To start off the new month tomorrow. I have deleted all of my emails from my work inbox. I has so many and it was driving me crazy. We used to use Outlook and one of the features I loved about it is that I was able to create folders and move emails to the folders. With Gmail I can create labels but the emails are still in my inbox.

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

29
Jan
2021

Fit Five Friday and January 2021 Runfessions

categories: Fit Five Friday, Runfessions

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional! It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by Darlene, Renée, Jenn, Michelle, and me! Let’s get started, shall we?!

Hello! Just a few more days and then I can rip off the January page from my wall calendar. This month brought lots of excitement with a new administration, one week of Winter Break, one remote learning day, and a snowstorm.

Let’s get started on my Runfessions for this month!

I runfess…
That this is my first time participating in this linkup. Not sure why I never participated. I did read a few posts but I hope to participate every month.

I runfess…
That earlier this week I returned 3 new pairs of running shoes. Thank goodness for the excellent customer service from Running Warehouse and Zappos. Now I have 2 pairs in boxes and 1 that I bought from eBay. I did try to return the 2 pairs to Dick’s Sporting Goods but they said “No”. That is OK because I still enough pairs to last me this year and more than $300 in credits. I’ve been eyeing the Brooks Launch 8 but I won’t be buying them anytime soon. Maybe towards the end of the year and mostly likely they’ll be on sale.

I runfess…
That I almost skipped taking a shower after a run. I run and take a shower everyday. During one of my runs I wasn’t sweating a lot and thought I could just use a few baby wipes to clean up. Oh no! Once I got home I began sweating more and no way was I not going to shower. I wash my hair every 2-3 days and on the days I do not wash it then I make sure to rinse it with water.

I runfess…
That I am tempted to sign up for MyPanera Coffee Subscription. It is for unlimited coffee for only $8.99 per month. If I sign up now then I can get 3 months free. I love their coffee. However, the locations are not close to me or where I work. There are 2 that I can probably go to but it would add an extra 15-20 minutes to my commute. Is it worth it?

I runfess…
That this month I feel like I’ve had only a few decent runs. I know I’ve complained about the cold weather but it is the snow and ice that I dislike even more. I’ve had to run slower than normal and sticking to running around the block or the school sidewalk. We are expecting more snow this weekend. I know some will say to run longer since I am already out there but honestly I don’t want to. On a positive note, as of yesterday so far I’ve run 60 miles this month. Pleased and proud of myself.

Well, this was fun! How did I do? Let’s see what I have next month.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below. I am also linking up with Marcia for Runfessions.

26
Jan
2021

Tuesday Topics: My six favorites of 2020

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Your six favorites of 2020. You can write about this topic or feel free to post any running related blog post. Remember to link up with Kim and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!

Oh, 2020. We will never stop talking about it. It wasn’t all that bad. Here are some of my six favorite things of 2020.

⭐ Favorite Day. It was September 9th. That day we celebrated my mother’s birthday. A few weeks ago she had tested positive for Covid. She got tested again and on the 8th her results came back negative. Happy she was able to celebrate another birthday.

⭐ Favorite Group Run. We did not run together but we all ran at the same time in different locations. It was a HOT day too in Chicago!

⭐ Favorite Cat Photo. This was hard to pick. I have so many photos of them but chose this one because they’re both being nice to each other and enjoying life in the balcony. I love my balcony. As you know last year my mother and I spent hours there since we couldn’t go anywhere. I felt bad for her because at least I could go outside to run and to the store for errands but not her. She only left the house to go back and forth to my sister’s condo and my apartment.

⭐ Favorite Run. For 9 weeks I trained for a 5k. I had many great and not so great runs. Then in December everything came together. My coach had picked the date for this race but I did it before. I was out for a run and I was feeling good. The weather was perfect too and I went for it.

⭐ Favorite Purchase. I love Picky Bars but this Drizzle is AMAZING. It can be eaten with apples, oatmeal, yogurt, bread, etc. I have eaten it straight from the jar too. If you can interested in joining the Picky Club, click on this link to get $10 off.

⭐ Favorite Thing I Found while Decluttering. Can you find me in this magazine? The photo is from when I ran my first marathon, The Chicago Marathon, in 2006. I remember submitting it but didn’t think it would be selected for the magazine. It was published in “Chicago Athlete” in March 2007.

This was another fun topic. It was great going through my photos and remembering that not everything in 2020 was horrible. One of the most difficult things was finding ways to make eLearning/Remote Learning work. Months later I think I figured it out. 40 kids in my classroom? Sure, why not? Haha, JK.

24
Jan
2021

Weekly Run Down: Week #7 of training for a 10k and Inauguration Day!

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

I thought I could handle the cold weather but I realized that I cannot. Brrr, too many cold mornings and I just wanted to stay inside in my warm apartment. But I still got out there even if it was just one mile.

I remember this day but cannot remember if I took an Uber to my car or ran back to it. I must have been about 3-4 miles from it.

It is quite an adventure running these days with the ice on the sidewalk and the potholes on the street. Ran 4.21 miles on Monday and did not rush to get back home since I was off.

I love how it is getting lighter earlier.

More snow on Wednesday. I did not care. I was too excited that day.

I watched the Inauguration with my students. There were many tears from me. My students are not back in the classroom. I had to present it via Google Meet on my computer.

During my lunch break I realized that I was saying Vice President Kamala’s name incorrectly. How embarrassing. Then my students laughed at me when I told them I was saying her name wrong. I told them that the First Lady is a teacher and one girl said “wow”. They had no idea.

I know Kim will have more Bernie memes but I just had to include these two. Chicago is known for calling “dibs” on a parking spot. Yep, Bernie is saving a spot.

This weekend I watched “The Trial of the Chicago 7” on Netflix. Has anyone watched it? OMG, if you have let’s set up a Zoom call to discuss it.

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

22
Jan
2021

Fit Five Friday: Five things I thought about this week while running

categories: Fit Five Friday

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below.

👟 Sunrises. Now that I have been out earlier in the morning to run, I have been seeing more sunrises. It truly amazes me how it is the beginning of a new day but in another part of the world it is already night. I know how or why it happens but to me it is still a wonderful thing that takes place. I like to teach this lesson to my students because many of them have no idea. I have also noticed that now it is lighter before 7am and it is getting darker later than 5pm.

👟 Being careful. It bothers me that as a woman I have to be extra careful when running outside. How many times do I hear or see an article of what I should or should not do? There is never anything like that for men. This week a man stopped me to ask a question about the bus. I was having a great run and was more than happy to help him. I answered his question and our conversation was about 2 minutes. He was grateful that I helped him. I felt good for helping him. However, moments later I realized that maybe I should not have stopped to talk to him. Yeah, at that moment I thought of what could have happened to me and it freaked me out.

👟 Sports bras. Why are they expensive and why is it so hard to find one that fits well? Mine are from Victoria’s Secret and I’ve had them for a few years. I love them because they provide enough support and they’re easy to take off after a sweaty run. I know I need to replace them but have not found any that I like (I hate the padded ones). I ordered 4 new ones from Victoria’s Secret again and received two already. I do not like them at all. Hopefully the other 2 will fit.

👟 Things happen for a reason. I am a firm believer of it. However, there are times that I think really hard about those reasons. Sometimes I like running in the neighborhood where I want to buy a house. I see the house that I almost bought. It was perfect for me. But I also know that it wasn’t meant to be. Right? This was almost two years ago. What is taking so long? It is meant for me to live in an apartment for the rest of my life? These past couple of months drove me crazy because I wished I had more room to move around. When I was in quarantine I was limited to where I could go. I also want more room so I can get a treadmill (I do want the Peloton treadmill). Ugh! I know, I know. I need to be more patient.

👟 My run streak. I slept in yesterday and did not have time to run in morning. I ran after work. However, I had to think really hard about why I “had” to run. I think part of the reason was that I was tired. Last week I was also tired and almost skipped my run. My coach asked me to think about why I started this streak and if that why was still valid today. I told him that “The why was to get out and run. To get some fresh air. To start off my day on the right foot. To clear my head”. I thought about those reasons and went running. It was just one mile but I felt better afterwards. Oh, and it was day #146.

Month: January 2021