March 2022 – Zenaida Arroyo

Month: March 2022

29
Mar
2022

Tuesday Topics: Thoughts on Inside Tracker

This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic. 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!

For years I’ve heard about Inside Tracker but never purchased their plan. My latest blood work was done in August but I was curious to know where I stood now. I looked into the various plans, reached out to someone about it, and purchased the Essentials Plan. It isn’t cheap but I told myself I wouldn’t buy more running shoes. 😄 I used a coupon and I paid $136 for it.

I answered a few questions about nutrition, supplements, exercise and lifestyle. Once I completed it, I made an appointment with Quest Diagnostics for Monday, March 7th. I was off that day and went there after doing a few errands. Luckily I didn’t have to fast.

Two days later I got my results. I had already downloaded the app to my phone and was excited to see my results. The first thing I had to do was select my goal. The options were overall health, lose fat, metabolism, gut health, energy, heart health, endurance, aging, sleep, and cognition. I picked overall health. The point of it is to get recommendations (exercise, nutrition, supplement, and lifestyle) based on the results and my goal.

Each biomarker is categorized as optimized, needs improvement (could be low or high), and at risk. And yes they’re also identified by those colors.

My results:

LDL

Glucose

HbA1c

Hemoglobin

Iron

HDL

Triglycerides

Vitamin D

Calcium

Folate

Creatine kinese

Total cholesterol

Magnesium

Based on the results and my goal, the following thing were recommended.

➡️ Level up my aerobic workouts

➡️ Incorporate more olive oil

➡️ Take an ALA supplement

➡️ Eat one serving of a probiotic food everyday

➡️ Take a psyllium supplement

➡️ Take spirulina

➡️ Continue to sleep 7-9 hours daily

What’s next? I was definitely overwhelmed with all of the information and recommendations. I compared my results from my last blood work in August and did notice an increase in my triglycerides, HDL, and HbA1c levels, but a decrease in my glucose level. My doctor tested for other things as well. She told me my results were normal/negative and that my cholesterol was pretty good. She also mentioned that my HDL was a little low.

These past couple of months have been hectic. I haven’t been taking care of myself and haven’t kept up with a consistent form of exercise. I know I did a lot of Peloton cycling classes but then didn’t keep up with it either. My mother and I cook every weekend and, well, Mexican food is not healthy. A lot of food we make is fried. Cooking with her is a special thing we do. We make a lot of her favorite dishes and it makes me happy to see her eat the food we make.

I have purchased a few of the supplements but I know that I need to do more than take supplements. But at least it is something to start with. The information/results on the website are more thorough than the app. On the website you get food recommendations for each group that needs improvement or is at risk. As an example below are some recommendations for my high LDL. I’ve never heard of bulgur, spelt, kamut, or teff. I clicked on the icon on the right of each image and the image turns around to give me more information about it. I click on the image on the left and I get a recipe.

I did find it interesting that my iron and hemoglobin levels was low. I already take an iron pill. I wonder now if that is the reason why I am feeling more tired than before. I don’t remember being this tired last year when I was running everyday! My coworkers tell me that this school year is taking a toll on everyone (especially with my one student that is giving me a lot of trouble). I rarely drink coffee in the evening because it keeps me up at night. Now there are times that I drink a cup of coffee and can still fall asleep at night.

I mentioned earlier that all of this is overwhelming. However, I am glad I did this to get a better understanding of where I am health wise. I do want to avoid getting diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. My cholesterol level goes up and down but never high enough to be on medication. Once my doctor told me I was pre-diabetic and that freaked me out.

Will I use Inside Tracker again? Absolutely. I want to check my progress. It was recommended that I get tested again in June. Hopefully I will see more biomarkers in green.

Topic for next week –Things you saw on your last run. Feel free to write about this or any running related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

22
Mar
2022

Tuesday Topics: 2022 Shamrock Shuffle 8k Race Recap

categories: Race Recap, Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: What do you do after a long run or race? 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 am deviating from this week’s topic to write about my race from Sunday. I was debating on whether or not to run it and Saturday morning at the expo is when I made the final decision. I am glad I did it because it was LOTS OF FUN!

The last time I ran this race was in 2019. The expo was in a different location than in previous years. It was cold and rainy on Saturday morning as I made my way downtown. It was actually fun taking the train and being downtown again. It must have been 2 years since I’d taken the train as well.

I went to one tent to pick up my bib and then to another one to get my shirt. The expo was very small. I just looked around but didn’t buy anything.

Race day was cool – not warm nor too cold either. I wore pants but could have worn shorts. I wore a long sleeve top under my shirt and am glad I did because I waited 12 minutes to cross the start line.

Wow! There were times that I felt cold but OMG it felt GREAT being there. It is hard to explain it but it felt wonderful to be able to race again. This race is one of my favorites! I loved seeing everyone’s outfit and their excitement of being able to run this race again.

Finally it was time to run! I knew the signals downtown were wacky and Garmin information isn’t reliable. The day before I had set my watch for manual laps. That morning I changed it back to auto lap. While I did care a teeny tiny bit about my time, I didn’t want to worry too much about pressing that lap button at each mile marker. I wanted to enjoy the race and finish! Secretly I was hoping to finish under an hour – and I did, but it was close.

I had been doing good with running without stopping. I wanted to see if I could do it again and for how long. I kept an easy pace. My watch was showing numbers in the 10s but I knew that wasn’t possible. I also saw the numbers 9 and 8. I ran and ran. I took in the sounds and the sights. I ran sans music and am glad I did. I listened to everyone around me (luckily no one was talking too much because you all know I hate it).

I stopped at the first water stop. According to my watch it was before the 2 mile marker. I then learned later on not to rely on my watch. I took two cups of Gatorade and continued to run again.

When I was at the one mile marker my watch said 1.15 mile. OK, not too far off. However, at mile 2 it said 2.30. Soon it was 3 miles but for sure I thought I had missed the mile marker. Then I saw it when my watch said 3.5 miles. For some reason that messed with my head. I stopped to walk for a few seconds. Then I snapped out of it and kept running.

There wasn’t too many people out there but it was still enough. I was already getting tired and did my best not to walk too much. There is nothing wrong with walking but I wanted to limit it. There was another water stop around mile 4 and I took two more cups of Gatorade. I was thirsty and should have drank water instead.

I ended up walking more the last mile of the race. By this point I was even more tired and wanted to finish. I’ve run this race plenty of times and know where the finish line is but it felt like it was taking too long to get there. I knew the hardest part was yet to come. I was on Michigan Avenue ready to turn left on Mt. Roosevelt. Oh, I mean Roosevelt Road. It is a long and hard incline and it feels harder when running the Chicago Marathon. I was running but stopped to walk. I picked up the pace knowing that I could still make it under one hour. I finally finished in 59:42.

I didn’t take any pictures along the course. I took in everything around me – the energy, the runners, the noise, and the sights. I recognized many places but also saw some new ones. Did I mention how great it felt to be downtown again? Did I also mention how great it felt to run a race again? Part of the route was new but some of it was the same from before.

It was a beautiful day for a race. No rain like the day before. It was sunny and perfect.

My original goal was to have fun and finish. Deep down I also wanted to finish under an hour. I wasn’t sure if it was going to happen since I hadn’t been running much these past few months. I was pleased with how I did and was surprised at my average pace. I ran without walking too much. I am definitely in much better running shape than I thought I was.

Below is the data from my watch. Interesting on the pace and distance. 🤣

Topic for next week – FREE topic. Feel free to write about this or any running related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

18
Mar
2022

Fit Five Friday: 5 pictures from this week

categories: Fit Five Friday

Happy Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. One more week till Spring Break. I have parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday so that means 4 more work days. Very excited about it!

I love taking pictures. Right now I have almost 8,544 pictures stored in my phone. I wrote a similar post last year and at that time I had almost 6,000 pictures. I need to go through them and delete some since many are duplicates.

Let me share with you 5 of those pictures from this week.

📷 Mateo is rarely affectionate with me. Lately I’ve woken up in the morning to find him right next to me on the bed. I don’t know what time he gets on it but it’s like he is trying to protect me. There are plenty of other places he can sleep on but he picks my bed. He does care about me.

📷 The balcony is one of my favorite places in my apartment. I know my cats love it there too. No more snow (hopefully) so I put out the chairs. Once it is warm enough my mother and I will sit outside and hang out.

📷 My kids are pretty awesome. No matter what, they’re still kids. I love seeing them have fun. One thing they like to do is draw and color. They also enjoy doodling. Here are some items they drew.

📷 Funny that I had a similar picture in last year’s post. My neighbor across the street sells elotes and sometimes I get one to enjoy. Definitely not the healthiest but it is yummy!

📷 I started running again. Thank you for your encouragement and support! It is warming up here and that makes me very happy (we’ve been able to have outdoor recess too). I’ve done two days of running where I’ve run nonstop for at least 20 minutes. Total mileage as of yesterday is 27.21 miles so running nonstop for that long is a HUGE deal to me.

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.

15
Mar
2022

Tuesday Topics: My Spring bucket list

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: What’s on your Spring bucket list? 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!

Spring is here! Well, not officially but yesterday it was so nice outside. My students and I enjoyed our recess time outside. It felt great being out there!

Still not running yet (can’t think of a reason since the weather is nice now) but I still wanted to put together a small bucket list.

💐 Continue to use the Peloton bike. I want to finish all of Camila’s classes. I’ve been lazy (more like too tired) and haven’t kept up with the classes. She has 111 classes and I’ve taken 68 leaving me with 43 more to go. I am leaving the 45 minute classes till the end. Those intimidate me.

💐 Leave work stuff at work. Lately I’ve been staying late a lot, checking email, and doing school stuff in the evening and on the weekends. I need to find a balance between work and my personal life. I start work at 8:30am but usually get there by 7 so there is really no need for me to stay late that much. Working so much has left me exhausted and not liking my job anymore.

💐 Start running again. I wasn’t running because of the weather. Finally it is warming up. I need to find that groove and energy again when I would be up very early to run. I keep thinking of how I ran everyday for one year. Now I am exhausted. I have no desire nor energy. I can’t say I am burned out because, well, I haven’t been running. Maybe having a goal will motivate it.

💐 Take a few days off. There are days when I do not want to go to work anymore. Last year I took a few days because I was tired and hated going to work. I thought last year was tough. No. This year is way more tough. There is just so much to do for these students since many are below grade level. Kids still do not want to put in the work and I find myself talking almost all day because they do not want to participate.

💐 The last item is this 🏠. I know you are all tired of hearing me talk about it so I won’t. 😀

Topic for next week – What do you do after a long run or race? Feel free to write about this or any running related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

11
Mar
2022

Fit Five Friday: 5 things I am loving

categories: Fit Five Friday, Things I Am Loving

Hello there! I am very happy it is Friday. I was off on Monday but it still feels like a long week. I have two more weeks till Spring Break and I am even more excited about that. My plan is to relax and take it easy. I have a race (8K) on the 20th and am not ready for it. What was I thinking signing up for a race when I haven’t been consistent with running? I am debating on whether or not to run it.

For today’s post I’m sharing 5 things I am loving.

💖 Noxgear Tracer 2. I have written about this before. I know I haven’t been running as much as before but I still love it. This is seriously the best running gear I purchased last year. It provides maximum visibility, lots of different color modes, and it is rechargeable. If you run in the dark, then you need to get it for you!

💖 Liquid I.V. I was a huge fan of Nuun but wanted to try something different. “A single serving offers 2-3 times the hydration that a single glass of water may provide. What’s more, the hydration multipliers contain electrolytes that are absorbed into your cells faster than drinking water.” There many yummy flavors but my favorite is grape. One thing I do not like about it is the sugar – each serving has 11 grams of sugar. I use one packet for 32 ounces of water and it is sweet enough for me.

💖 Salud – I found out about these from my coach. I sent him a few samples of Liquid IV and he sent me some of Salud. The flavors are horchata, mango, jamaica (hibiscus), pepino limón (cucumber lime), and tamarindo. I’ve tried them all and my favorite is pepino limón. Even my mother likes that flavor. The packet is small and it is enough for 24 ounces of water. “Each serving of Salud is packed full of powerful benefits to support hydration and improve immune health.” The best thing about it is that each packet is 1 gram of sugar.

💖 Cable management box. I think I saw this in one of those work from home or home organization articles on Facebook. I have a surge protector on top of my desk where I plug my laptop along with several USB adapters to charge my Garmin, computer mouse, etc. This box keeps all of the cables organized. I did have some trouble closing the lid because one of the adapters was too high but I replaced it with another one.

💖 Jot Ultra Coffee. You all know I love coffee. Jot Ultra Coffee is concentrated. You add one tablespoon of it to whatever liquid you want to make an espresso, americano, cappuccino, hot coffee, or iced coffee. The flavor is smooth and delicious. I was actually very impressed with the taste. Each 200ml bottle is $28 and makes 14 cups. I bought this from an ad on Facebook or Instagram and there was a promotion going on. I got two bottles of the coffee, a tablespoon, and a 12oz mug for around $40. You can sign up for a subscription to get 25% off each order. If you are interested in this coffee, use THIS LINK. You get a free gift with your first order and I get a free bottle of coffee.

Have you tried any of these products? Thoughts?

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.