Zenaida Arroyo

04
Aug
2023

Fit Five Friday and August 2023 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to the August edition of the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah. It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by My First 5K and More, Running with Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me!

Now, grab a mug of your favorite beverage, and let’s chat briefly!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am excited to see Desi at the Chicago Marathon. I won’t be running but will be at my usual spot spectating. It is much more fun than running!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that we are two weeks out from our first day of school and no word on when we can go into our classroom to start setting it up. That is stressing me out because it takes me DAYS to set it up. We have two days of Institute (8/18 and 8/21) with our first day with our students on the 22nd. I have a few meetings in the next two weeks and I am doing a couple of things at home for my students – time is precious!!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that a friend of mine invited me for the weekend on a trip to Mexico City. She is going with her daughter and sister-in-law. I was interested and bought a ticket. It is for 4 days but it is still enough for a nice getaway. The other day I had lunch with my cousin and she also invited me to go to Mexico (Aguascalientes) for her daughter’s wedding. That is tempting too! Now I am torn on which trip to take.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I had Southwest credits and got a ticket to go to NY in November. I will be there to visit my nephews and spectate the NYC Marathon. I am looking forward to this trip for many reasons. The only thing I don’t like is that I have parent/teacher conferences on November 6th so I would need to be on the first flight back on Monday morning. That is what I did in March. I guess I can come back Sunday night.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that after looking at different venues for my mom’s birthday party next month, I secured a place for it. It will be lunch at Paisan’s Pizzeria. I already sent invites to family members and a few have already confirmed. My sister and I will be picking out the menu. Luckily there are several options to pick from since we don’t want pizza. I will get some decorations and confirm the guests’ attendance closer to the date of the party.

The topic for next week’s Fit Fit Friday – Your 5 ways to avoid fitness burnout. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like. We hope you’ll link up with us!

01
Aug
2023

Tuesday Topics: Favorite Instagram Pictures/Memories

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic: Favorite Instagram Pictures/Memories. You can write about this topic or 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!

It is always fun to come across pictures of memories. Some make me laugh and some make me sad. Others make me anxious but overall I enjoy looking at the pictures. As much as I like Instagram more than Facebook, I like Facebook memories more. Plus, they are easier to capture.

Here are a couple of a few I managed to download a few days ago.

On a cruise ship going to Vancouver. I had been in Alaska that week and it was time to get back home.

Now I am over 600 runs. Oh, how I loved those Brooks Levitate shoes!

A very pretty pair of Brooks Ghost running shoes.

Lola, my beautiful and loyal cat, waiting for me to get home.

One of the reasons I dislike my name. It isn’t easy to spell.

The topic for next week: Favorite Facebook Pictures/Memories. Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

25
Jul
2023

Tuesday Topics: July 2023 Review

categories: Monthly Review, Tuesday Topics

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!

No! July cannot be almost over. I have a few weeks left of Summer Break before I go back to work. I think I have said it before but a teeny tiny part of me is excited about the new school year. So far I have 22 students and already have in place a welcome letter to send them in the next couple of weeks. Do remind me of this excitement when complaining about the school year.

Let me tell you about how July went for me:

Mileage: A good month. As of yesterday, I’ve run 64.92 and walked 19.80 miles this month. My walking miles are the highest it’s ever been.

I began training for a 50k. Who knows if I will do it? The beginning of the school will be here soon and every year I am swamped for the first couple of weeks/months. How is it that I am already being negative and thinking that I won’t succeed?

Current Book: I am currently reading “God Spare The Girls. I am not liking it too much. I always have a difficult time with God, church, and priests. Throw in here an extramarital affair, and it isn’t going well.

I finished reading “The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike’s Elite Running Team”, “A Slow Fire Burning”, and “Intimacies”. I loved, loved Kara’s book. I was disgusted by what she went through. I had to stop reading when she mentioned what her coach did during the sports massage. I am glad he was banned from anymore coaching and he should have been sent to prison for what he did to her. I did not like “Intimacies” but kept reading it hoping that I would like it.

2023 Running Goal: Total mileage to date is 380.38. It is 47 percent of my goal leaving me with 419.62 miles to go.

Injuries: It is the same song—some discomfort with the hip and the same with plantar fasciitis.

Races: No races in July.

School: Summer Break! This week I and taking some PD classes. They’re interesting but tiring too. So much thinking!

Health: I’ve had a few hot flashes this month but they didn’t feel awful. Hopefully, I won’t have to suffer anymore. I haven’t had a period since January and I am glad because I hated it.

The topic for next week: Favorite Instagram Pictures/Memories. Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

21
Jul
2023

Fit Five Friday: 5 favorite rest/recovery tips

categories: Fit Five Friday

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me for another Fit Five Friday link-up! This week’s topic is “5 favorite running /fitness resources”. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like.

Here are some of my tips to rest and recover:

✅ Get a massage. There was a time when I would get one every 2 weeks. I would always feel so much better afterward. I haven’t had one since February 2020. I know I need to follow my advice but I haven’t looked for another masseuse. In the meantime, I use my massage gun. I know it isn’t the same thing but it is something.

✅ Sleep. Our bodies recover and rest when we sleep. Unfortunately, I do not get enough sleep. I go to bed at 9 but then wake up around 3-3:30 to use the bathroom. Sometimes I go back to sleep and other times I am wide awake and trying to go back to sleep. Then I get up at 5 to start my day. Sometimes I take a nap during the day.

✅ Walk. I was never a fan of it but I have been incorporating more of it into my routine lately. I walk back home after my run. “Walking helps stimulate blood flow, aids in eliminating toxins, keeps muscles flexible, reduces lactic acid buildup and soreness in muscles, and reduces your recovery time.” My running plan has me running 5 days a week with one day of rest and another day of rest or cross-training. I like to go out for an easy 2-mile walk in the neighborhood while I listen to music.

✅ Stretch. I am sometimes guilty of not doing enough of it. But when I do it, it feels good all over.

✅ Do nothing and rest. There is nothing wrong with just doing nothing and rest. I like to watch TV and read a book. During the Summer I like going out on the balcony with my cats while I read a book. When my mom is here, we go out while she listens to music.

The topic for next week: Runfessions with Marcia! We hope you’ll link up with us!

18
Jul
2023

Tuesday Topics: Yesterday was National Lottery Day. What I would do if I win the lottery.

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic: Yesterday was National Lottery Day. What would you do/buy if you won the lottery? You can write about this topic or 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!

This is a fun topic! More than once I have thought about what I would do if I had extra cash.

💰 Buy a house. You knew I was going to say that, right? It would be nice to not have a mortgage payment and only pay utilities each month. Oh, and let’s not forget property taxes.

💰 Buy a condo. I would like to get one downtown. I know exactly where too — The Columbian. It is in a great location, close to the lakefront and Grant Park. I think you can see the finish line of the Chicago Marathon from one of the top floors. I would use the condo for weekend getaways and will live there when I retire.

💰 Fund a few projects on DonorsChoose. “It is an online charity on a mission to make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need by allowing people to donate directly to classrooms.” Last year I was lucky and someone funded my project. I got many cool things for my classroom and I plan to set up another project when I go back to school.

💰 Get a charity bib to run the Boston Marathon. I know I will never qualify so either I get a free bib or go the charity route. With my lottery wins I won’t have to ask for donations.

💰 Travel. I have a few more states for my 50 states goal, but there are other places I want to go to like Greece, Mexico, Costa Rica, and France.

The most important one is the house. Having a fairy godmother would be nice to build me said house.

Next week is a FREE topic. Feel free to write about any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

Author: Zenaida Arroyo

Here are a couple of a few I managed to download a few days ago.