Zenaida Arroyo

14
Apr
2012

Brooks Ravenna 3

At one point I owned three different pairs of gym shoes – Brooks Pure Cadence, Green Silence, and Ravenna 2. I ran in the Pure Cadence from mid November to end of March. I felt fine running in the treadmill but experienced some pain running outside. The hard concrete, flat feet and a somewhat developed bunion in my right foot is not a good combination. I need more support.

I returned the Green Silence. I bought them on sale from Running Warehouse. The company was nice enough to accept them back even though it was past the 60 day return deadline.

I ran once in the Ravenna 2 and knew they were not a right fit. They felt too tight in the front. It was weird because I tried them at the Chicago Marathon expo and they felt fine. Is it possible my feet grew or they got more flat? I went to Fleet Feet and they were nice enough to exchange them for me. They no longer carried the Ravenna 2 so I tried the 3. Oh. My. Goodness. The shoes felt so good. I tried a size 10 but they felt kind of big so I tried the 9.5. Much better. I went home with the same size but in a different style. I love the color! Brooks Ravenna 3 ROCKS!!

After a two week recovery, I ran 4 miles today in my new shoes. It felt good to run. I meant to run last week during my Spring Break but I just did not feel like it so I didn’t. Every morning I told myself to get up and run. Nope. Did not happen. Something snapped today. I realized I had a race in two weeks and then one almost every weekend till possibly October. Yikes! Better start moving if I want to do well in each race. Overachiever? Ambitious? Maybe, but it is driving me to get out there and run!

Run Happy!

29
Mar
2012

1,000 miles

categories: Running

I finally hit the 1,000 miles thanks to dailymile. However, I’ve been keeping track of the miles I’ve ran (in an excel spreadsheet) since 2007 and it’s been more than 1,000. My goal was to run 1,000 miles in 2011. However, due to excuses and more excuses, I only banked 736.54 miles last year. I set the same goal again but to run them before my birthday this year. I am happy to report that as of today I’ve ran 392.33 miles. Will I accomplish this goal? Absolutely! Now more than ever I am determined to achieve it!!

07
Mar
2012

Photos from Marathon

categories: Running

Thank goodness I was off from work yesterday. I am feeling much better today. I don’t know if it is the Aleve I’ve been taking or the walking I did after the race and yesterday when I got home.

My running outfit. Very colorful! I love my purple compression socks from Running Skirts. No pain in my calves.

I missed the beer stop here. At this point all I needed was water.

These looked so cute! Very tempting to take one just for the heck of it.

One of my favorite medals. Love it!

Run Happy!

04
Mar
2012

Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans Marathon

categories: Race Recap, Rock 'n' Roll Race

Time to beat was 5:25:22. Finish time for this marathon was 5:16:53. Yes, a PR!! I was aiming for less than 5 hours because I thought I trained better for this race. I know, I know I should be happy (and I am) but I am slightly annoyed. Average running pace was 12:06.

Overall, it is a GREAT race!! The course is flat with just a few inclines. I have yet to be friends with them because I walk through them instead of running. There was wind from mile 13 till about 17.5 miles and then again from mile 20 till almost till the end. That did not make me happy. 🙁

I loved the crowd support. There was a man giving little dry martinis. So cute! I did not dare drink one. I should have because I wanted beer but they were all out. I did not know and by the time I realized it I did not want to run back for it. I think this was about mile 22.5 or so and I just wanted to finish the race.

I love the medal. So colorful! I will post pictures tomorrow when I get home. I am typing this post on my iPad and don’t know how to upload them.

The only thing I did not like about the race was that the start and finish locations were not close together. When I am done with a marathon, I just want to get something to eat and then shower. Today I had to walk about half a mile to get to the shuttle buses and then be on the bus for a 20 minute ride to take me back downtown. I was hurting and I struggled to get off the bus. Well, at least there were buses. Before I found out about the buses at the expo, I thought I would have to take a cab back to the hotel.

If you get a chance to run this race, do so. You will love it!

Next on my list is to run an ultra marathon on March 31st. There is a 7 hour limit so I think I will be OK with finishing in 6:59:59.

Happy running!

29
Feb
2012

February 2012 in Review

categories: Monthly Review

This month I ran 84 miles compared to 107.22 last month. Yes, I did slack on a few runs. Two weeks of taper and I only ran twice. I hope that does not affect my performance on Sunday. I read that the course is flat. Hmm, the Chicago course is flat. We’ll see about this one.

No races this month. My first one is next month and then nonstop races till at least October. I plan to run in every race I can afford. I would like to run in at least 20 races and complete 12 half marathons. Can I pull this off?

I have not completed one marathon but am already planning another one. Yep, I plan to run the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th. Registration starts on Wednesday, March 7th.

I will retire my Brooks PureCadence after the marathon. Next, I will be running in the Brooks Green Silence. I read a review by Runblogger and on the Brooks site. Looks like a decent shoe but not sure about doing long runs in them.

I am planning to go to Las Vegas next month. Yes, I need a vacation before my Spring Break. I have friends that are going for a meeting so I plan to stay with them. The plan ticket is EXPENSIVE….over $400. I want to go!! I want to play blackjack in a casino and go to the Grand Canyon. Sigh. But am I willing to spend $400 on the ticket? Well, considering that I won’t have to pay for a hotel I guess it is not a bad deal huh?

Run Happy!!

Author: Zenaida Arroyo