July 2021 – Zenaida Arroyo

30
Jul
2021

Fit Five Friday and July 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?!

I runfess…
That I am a sucker for Teachers pay Teachers (TpT). It is a place where I can purchase (some are free too) resources created by other teachers that are ready to use in the classroom. The best thing is that I’ve been able to find great resources in Spanish! There is a giveaway going on right now for 5 gift cards of $250 each and you bet I entered. There are quite a few teachers that organized this giveaway and in total my entries came to 132. Wow, I have never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway with that many entries. It took me about 45 minutes because I had to check Instagram, Facebook, TpT, and blog posts to submit my entries. Crossing my fingers I win!

I runfess…
That I get really annoyed and irritated when people (mostly men) stare at me while I am out running. Sometimes I ignore them but lately I stop and also stare at them and raise my shoulders and hands like saying “What? What are you looking at?” Most of the time they turn away and I continue on my run.

I runfess…
That I am a teeny tiny bit excited about going back to school. Please remind me saying this when I am complaining about it during the school year. I am not so much excited about the politics, BS, and some of the work but am looking forward to being again in a classroom with students. As much as I am enjoying my time off, I want to start setting up my classroom because I know it will take me a long time to get it ready.

I runfess…
That while I am happy and proud of myself for doing a run streak this long, I don’t think I will continue once I get to one year. I started it because I asked myself “Why not”? I wanted to see if I could do it. Plus I was inspired by others doing one too. Running in the morning is one thing I look forward to and let’t not forget how it has been these past months. While I enjoy running, I feel that running everyday is in the way of me doing other activities (cross training and strength). Or maybe it is me and I don’t know how to schedule all of my activities to get them done?

I runfess…
That I order many things from Amazon. I like the flexibility and convenience. I love that I can get many items in 2 days and can return them for free if I don’t like them. The other day I ordered a small whiteboard for my classwork. What I failed to notice is just exactly how small it is. I laughed when I saw the box and wondered what the heck I would use it for. I decided to return it but then noticed on the website that the item is nonreturnable. Oh well. I am sure I could use it for something in the classroom. Oh and next time I will pay closer attention to see if items are returnable.

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.

27
Jul
2021

Tuesday Topics: Benefits of running solo

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Benefits of running solo. 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!

As most of you know I am a solo runner. I have been doing it for a few years and am used to it. Just like there are benefits of running with a group, there are also benefits of running solo. Reading along to find out those benefits.

🏃🏽‍♀️ No one is waiting for you. Running late? No problem. Want to skip the workout? No problem either.

🏃🏽‍♀️Time alone. I know I am an introvert but also enjoy being in a group. However, just like some runners want that time to talk and catch up with others, I look forward to that time alone. I like starting my day with a run. During this time I am lost in my own thoughts. I think about my life, the things that I have to do, things that are going on, etc. Or sometimes I listen to music. Last year with everything that was going on, I looked forward to this time alone.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Your own workout/pace. I have a coach and have specific workouts/paces for them. Even without a coach, you decide how far to run, how fast, when to stop, route, etc.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Just get up and run. There is no need to make plans to meet someone at a specific time and location. I love being able to get out and start my run. Again, best way to start the day!

Tuesday Topics

25
Jul
2021

Weekly Run Down: Busy week and lots of good food

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

This week went by fast. Two nephews were in town visiting us which was fun. I had not seen them in over 2 hours. There was also a lot of driving done this week. During the school year I drive 6 miles to work so about 12 mile each day. One of my nephews stayed with my sister and mother so I went almost everyday to their condo to visit or to pick him up to go eat, etc. By Saturday I was exhausted from the week’s activities.

My runs went well. However, my easy/recovery runs felt hard. It could have been that I was tired from the previous day’s workout, the weather, or just plain tired. I ran them slow and that was OK with me.

There are no hills close to me so my hill workout is to go up a ramp by the expressway. I could drive to other locations for a real hill but for now this will do. The ramp is .23 miles and it feels like an eternity. I don’t know the exact elevation but it is quite a workout for me. On Monday I ran up 3 times and was really tired by the last one. Splits were 10:26, 10:27, and 10:07.

On Saturday morning I took one of my nephews to the airport. He had been out late the night before and I was also up late too so I could open the door for him. By the time I dropped him off and was home, it was hot and I had no desire to run. I stayed in bed pretty much all day. I did get out around 5:45 but by then it was hot and humid (it had rained earlier). It was awful. I was supposed to run 7 miles but a short run is better than no run.

Sunday morning I slept in till 7 and it felt wonderful. I drank coffee while checking email and waited for it to work its magic. 😉 By the time I got out it was almost 8 and it was already hot and sunny. My 2 miles felt tough but I got it done.

We had some great food this week! On Monday we had Home Run Inn Pizza and on Tuesday we had pozole. On Thursday my nephews and I went to Tzuco. The chef is from Guerrero, Mexico and that was mainly the reason we went there. The place is nice and the food was good. Even the bathrooms were nice! They have this fancy hand soap, Aesop, and now I want to get a bottle. We are planning to go again on Tuesday because another nephew will be visiting and wants to go there too. Then on Friday we went to Little Village to eat gorditas at Aguascalientes. << I forgot to take pictures.

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned how there was a nest in our balcony? It was because of that reason that we could not go out there. Well, the pigeons finally left. I cleaned the area and bought some new chairs. The cats were happy to finally be out there!

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

23
Jul
2021

Fit Five Friday: 5 gross things runners do

categories: Fit Five Friday

Happy Friday! I hope everyone is doing well. It is getting hot here in Chicago. I have my days when I like it and other days when I don’t. Regardless, I am still out there running. Today is day #329 of my runstreak.

I know there are more than 5 gross things runners do. But for this post, I will limit it to 5. Feel free to add more in the comments!

😮 Stay in running clothes all day long. I know it isn’t always possible to shower after a run. However, I simply cannot imagine staying in sweaty and smelly clothes (I know not everyone may sweat or smell) the rest of the day. I smell and sweat a lot! When I get home after a run, I either eat first or shower. I remember one time that I did not shower after my run. I cannot remember the reason but do remember that I was assembling a desk from IKEA. Friends invited me out to eat and I didn’t go because I wanted to finish the desk.

😮 Pop blisters. I have done this. I know I am not supposed to but for some weird reason the blister hurts less when I pop it. When I ran the RunDisney Goofy Challenge a few years ago, I got two blood blisters. I had a flight to catch and knew I would be very uncomfortable if I left it alone.

😮 Snot rockets. All I can say is that I don’t do it and haven’t been behind anyone that did this. GROSS!

😮 Pee along the course. I have seen mostly men do this. I remember once during either the Chicago Marathon or the Shamrock Shuffle, there was a line of men peeing on the side of the course. I am not justifying what they did but I do know that we all had to wait close to or over an hour in line before we could start running.

😮 Peel off dead toenails. I’ve only had one black toenail and it took a while for it to separate from my toe. It was completely separate but still somewhat attached. I thought it would hurt more if I left it to fall off on its own. So, I took my nail clipper and removed it.

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.

20
Jul
2021

Tuesday Topics: Benefits of running with a group

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Benefits of running with a group. 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!

I’ve been running on my own for the past couple of years. I like it and will write about it next week. However, I’ve run with a group as well. There are benefits for both. This week I will write about running with a group.

BENEFITS OF RUNNING WITH A GROUP:

➡️ Motivate each other. I ran with CARA while training for my first marathon. The runners and pace leaders were wonderful. I remember a couple of runners in my group were also training for their first marathon. We all motivated and encouraged each other. I also remember that during the marathon my feet were hurting a lot and I wanted to quit. Two runners that I trained with and were also running the marathon with me told me not to quit and to keep going. I did not quit. Glad I listened to them. 🙂

➡️ Accountability. When you know others will be waiting for you at your set location, you will not be tempted to miss/skip your run. I have paced several training groups and it was very important for me to show up because I knew others were counting on me to be there.

➡️ Safety. If anything were to happen to you, at least you will have someone to make sure you’re OK. One time I was running with a friend and I fell. Luckily it wasn’t serious and she helped me get up and made sure I was OK. Then I think I cried and then laughed. She laughed with me too.

➡️ Social networking. When you run with a group you meet other individuals with the same interests. You will make new friends. There will be fun events to go to and more fun things to do. I love reading Darlene’s posts because she always does many fun things with her running friends.

Do you prefer to run with a group or solo?

Tuesday Topics

Month: July 2021

BENEFITS OF RUNNING WITH A GROUP:

Do you prefer to run with a group or solo?