I am so happy that I got my 5 runs done this week!  But boy was I tired.  

As usual the weather has been changing almost every single day.  I was cold on Tuesday when I ran 5 miles.

Wednesday’s workout was 3×3 minutes and 6×1 minute intervals with 2 minutes recovery.  I love how light it is earlier in the morning.  I can leave my house without wearing a headlamp.  I ran in shorts and compression socks.  Great workout but I was tired at the end.

I had to run 3 miles on Thursday but woke up very tired.  I slept in and felt much better.  I did my run on Friday morning.  Picture below is using the portrait filter in my iPhone.  🙂

Friday we went to The Field Museum.  It has been years since I’ve been there.  We thought the students would be bored but in fact they loved it!

Saturday morning was back at The Arboretum.  I had to run 8 miles with 6 miles warmup and 2 at a faster pace.  I will admit that I didn’t think I could do it with the hills.  I did 4 and then turned around to do another 4.  Mile 4 is mostly downhill so I struggled with mile 5 since it was uphill.  Mile 6 was mostly trying to recover.  I took a Huma Gel at mile 4 and it must have kicked in after mile 6 because miles 7 and 8 were my fastest!  Definitely a GREAT feeling!

Sunday was back at Lake Katherine.  It was cloudy and humid but still very pretty and peaceful.

Overall almost 25 miles for the week.  Pretty pleased with how I did.  Excited to see how I do next week.

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

I hope everyone is having a GREAT Mother’s Day!  I feel like everyday should be Mother’s Day.  You are are AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL!!

This week was just one of those weeks!  I was EXHAUSTED.  I spent the beginning of the week with my sister and mother and each day came home late and ready for bed (they live about 30-40 minutes away).  I didn’t run on Wednesday (5 miles) and almost skipped my run on Thursday.

So much rain in the Chicago area.  That really dampens the mood.  It was gorgeous on Monday and then rain and more rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.  There was a little rain yesterday afternoon, but thankfully none today.

On Wednesday the students made some Mother’s Day gifts.  So cute!  They also made a certificate and wrote a letter for mom.  I was a bit sad for one of my students because her mom died the last week of March.  I did talk to her (and dad) before to let her know what we were going to do and gave her the option of participating or going to another classroom.  She decided to do the activities with the rest of us.  I also asked again each time we did something new to make sure she was still OK with it.

For Teacher Appreciation Week the students made cards for me.  Love each single one!  I love that some of them talk about Lola.  🙂

This week consisted of 3 runs.  I ran 4 miles on Thursday (in another new to me place), 6.78 on Saturday, and 3 on Sunday.   Also, I ran at Lake Katherine, really close to where my mom and sister live.  Very pretty!

On Saturday I went back to The Morton Arboretum to do 1×8 minutes, 1×4 minutes, and 4×2 minutes with 2 miles warmup and cooldown, and 2 minutes recovery between each interval.  I really wanted to do this close to home because it is flat but want to get into the habit of running every Saturday at the Arboretum.  The workout alone is tough but add in the hills and it is even more tough.  I survived.  🙂  I will admit that I did have to stop a few times during the first interval because I received a few texts that I had to check and respond.  Overall, pleased with how I did.

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

Another month!  I ran 76.83 miles in April.  In April we had a variety of weather conditions – cold, warm, rainy, and snow.  So crazy!  So far April has been my highest mileage this year.

I am back to running 5 days a week.  Well, not 💯 percent yet.  I had 5 runs scheduled for this week.  Would you believe that I skipped Wednesday’s run because of the rain.  Ugh!  It was pouring in the morning.  I didn’t plan properly since I could have gone to the gym. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🤦🏻‍♀️

I did 4 runs and 2 of them were awesome.  The first one was on Thursday.  I was up at 4:15 to get this done because I knew it was a longer run.  I had to do 1.5 mile warmup, and 2 sets of 5×2 minutes, and 1 mile cool down.  The first set had 90 seconds recovery and the second set had 60 seconds recovery.  It wasn’t cold but it was very foggy.  Each interval had to be done at a 10:01 pace.  Did great but I definitely felt tired during the second set of intervals.  I needed more than one minute to recover.

On Saturday I went to The Morton Arboretum to run 7 miles.  It was my second time there (first time was last year on a field trip with my students) but first time for running.  It is hilly but a gorgeous place to run.  My plan was to run 7 miles and not worry about pace.  I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect so I just wanted to run by feel.  It was tough.  I walked.  I did feel tired but did really good even with the hills.  My plan is to go there every Saturday for my long run.

I am planning the rest of my half marathons.  I want to be done in June 2020.  Below is what I still need to do.  

* Montana-Missoula Half Marathon, July 2019
* Wyoming-Center of the Nation (Mainly Marathons), August 2019
* South Dakota-Center of the Nation (Mainly Marathons), August 2019
* North Dakota-Center of the Nation (Mainly Marathons), August 2019
* Michigan-Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Half Marathon, October 2019
* South Carolina-Kiawah Island Golf Resort Half Marathon, December 2019
* Georgia-Publix Atlanta Half Marathon-March 2020
* Kansas-Garmin Half Marathon, April 2020
* Idaho-Famous Idaho Potato Half Marathon, May 2020
* New Mexico-Run for the Zoo Half Marathon, May 2020 or Armed Forces Half Marathon,  May 2020, or Santa Fe Thunder, September 2019
* Hawaii-Kona Half Marathon, June 2020

Notice the 3 in a row in August?  I got the idea from another runner.  She is also running a race in each state.  She asked me which states I still had to do and then proceeded to tell me that I could run in WY, SD, and ND through Mainly Marathons.  I checked it out and am in the process of planning logistics for those three races.  Anyone wants to join me?

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

Does it finally feel like Spring where you live?  Mother Nature is definitely cruel.  While we had some nice weather this week, Chicago got more snow on Saturday.  I was out of town but still couldn’t believe it.

On Thursday we went to the zoo.  Originally we wanted to go on Friday but there weren’t district busses available to take us to the zoo.  It was great on Thursday.  The weather was perfect and it wasn’t crowded.

I was EXHAUSTED by the time we got back to school. We didn’t walk a lot but still.  One of my students told me that it was the best day ever!  🙂  It was so sad to see the polar bears.  One of them was trying to sit but couldn’t.  Walking was another story.  The bear could hardly walk and it was sad. ☹️😞  My coworker sent me this article.  I think it was the bear we saw.  No pictures other than the bear and the gorillas.  Not sure why I didn’t take more pictures.

My best workout this week was on Wednesday.  It was 1.5 miles warm up, 5×2 minutes intervals with 2 minutes recovery, and 1.5 miles cool down for a total of 4.64 miles.

I got some new socks.  How is it that new socks make me happy?

As of Friday, we have 25 days left till summer break.  I am excited!  However, I will have one week off before I start summer school.  I am looking forward to it too.  The hours are great and my last day will be July 6th.

On Saturday I flew to Philadelphia and then took a shuttle to Wilmington, DE for the Delaware Half Marathon.  How is it that one can pack so much for a one day trip?

Once at the hotel, I picked up my bib and went to get something to eat.  The restaurant I went to was about 5 minutes from my hotel.  I had a chicken wrap with fries and a beer flight.  

My coach asked me to do a 20 minute shakeout run.  That didn’t happen.  I was too tired from the trip and the food made me sleepy.  After my nap I met Kim for dinner.

Time to run 13.1 miles!  I will have my race recap on Tuesday.

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

This week I went to work Monday-Wednesday.  On Thursday we had an Institute Day and Friday was Good Friday.  Even though it is a public school, we are always off on Good Friday. 

The 2nd grade students did another art project.  This time we did an Easter Egg Wreath.  It was more work and more supplies to buy but the students had fun!

https://iheartcraftythings.com/easter-egg-wreath.html

After Sunday’s weather fiasco, it warmed up to do some runs in shorts!  I was supposed to run 5 miles on Monday but had no desire to deal with the snow and did my run on Tuesday.

Thursday’s workout was 2 miles warmup, 6×25 seconds intervals with 90 seconds recovery, and 2 miles cooldown.  The warmup and cooldown felt more tough than the intervals.  I am pretty pleased with how I did though!

It did rain for bit while I was out there but I was home by the time it began to rain more.  While out on my run I saw a few male workers.  I moved to the other side of the street because I had no desire to deal with any comments/catcalls.  Would they have said something?  Maybe, I don’t know.  There have been a few times that some men have made some comments.  So annoying.

We also had some sunny but windy days where it was got cold.  On Friday I struggled just to run 3 miles.  I am loving again the Brooks Levitate 1.  Bought a pair at Nordstrom and purchased another pair from eBay.  I like those so much better than the 2s and definitely more than the Brooks Glycerin (sending those back).  

I procrastinated my run on Saturday.  I slept in till 8:30 and still did not feel like running.  I was on my computer for a few hours before deciding to get out.  I had to do 8 miles but did not want to do that with it being so windy.   I took some Generation UCAN and filled my water bottles with UCAN Hydrate.  

It was awful.  I was OK for 3 miles and then the wind sucked everything out of me.  I almost cried.  I wanted to quit.  The reason I didn’t is because of my race next weekend.  My coach wanted me to do some miles at marathon pace but I didn’t and I didn’t care.  The way I was feeling I just wanted to finish the 8 miles.

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