Zenaida Arroyo

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.