Zenaida Arroyo

23
Jun
2020

Tuesday Topics: My summer bucket list

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Topics!

Tuesday Topics-49

This week’s Tuesday Topic: What’s on your Summer 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!

This summer will definitely be different! We are entering Phase 4 on Friday but I don’t think I am ready yet to venture out. However, I am hoping to enjoy my Summer Break and check off a few things off my list.

→ California Coast 500. I signed up with this virtual race with a few other BibRave Pros. With this challenge I had the option of signing up to run 100, 250, 400 or 500 virtual miles this summer from LA’s Santa Monica Pier to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge along California’s idyllic Highway One. This challenge runs from June 8-September 7. I signed up to run 250 miles and as of this morning I’ve run 40.5 miles. I still need 205. 5 miles to go.

→ Declutter. I have accumulated many boxes to help with this project. Right now they’re in the back porch. I’ve cleaned out the pantry and part of the kitchen. The place I was planning to take my donations only accepts them on Friday. I need to call and double check so I can make a trip this Friday.

→ Move. I’ve been talking about this for how long? I really want to move this summer or sometime this year. I do like where I live but I need more space. I want a house with a small apartment for my sister so she can have her own kitchen and space. I know what I want but just haven’t found it. I am going to wait till June 30th which is the end of teacher contract year before I make a decision. <

→ Not get sick. I am doing the best I can to avoid contracting Covid. I go out to do a few errands but mostly have been staying home.

→ Continue talking to friends and family via Zoom. It isn’t really my favorite thing to do but I don’t have much of a choice. Would I like to get together with them? Of course. I know it isn’t the same but I am still enjoying these conversations. One of my friends lives in Texas and the rest of us are in Illinois so it is nice to see all of us together in one place.

Not a very exciting list. 🙂 It will be interesting when I go back to school in the Fall. For now I am not going to worry about it.

Tuesday Topics

21
Jun
2020

Weekly Run Down: New shoes and hello Summer

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Mileage-60

A good week! Ran 5 days for a total of 20.91 miles. Pleased with how this week went.

Wednesday’s workout was 2 sets of 3×3 minutes with 90 seconds recovery. I did this later in the evening. I thought about doing it the following day but I realized that if I did, I would lose the RunBet Challenge. Talk about motivation! 🙂

My first set was all positive splits but the second one was all negative splits. I will confess that I did stop my watch to quickly catch my breath. Then I kept going. It still counts, right?

Workout-196

On Saturday I ran my longest run since the Atlanta Half Marathon in March. It was tough. It was the first day of summer and it was HOT. My overall pace was 12:36 and I thought that was pretty good since it was hot and an easy run. It was fun running around my neighborhood seeing all of the graduation signs.

I’ve mentioned that I have way too many pairs of shoes. I knew it was time to wear a new pair and could not decide between the Ghost 12 (NYC Marathon) or Launch 7 (Brave like Gabe). I checked out what other pairs I had and found the Launch 5 Tie Dye. Yes, Launch 5. I bought these in Denver when I ran the RnR Denver Half Marathon. I wore them 3 times and then put them aside since at that time I was running in a different pair.

Brooks Shoes-23

I saw on Facebook that the lakefront will be open tomorrow. It’s been months since I’ve run there so I am excited to go there. I won’t be able to make it tomorrow but my plan is to go on Saturday for a long run. I did get annoyed that they mentioned joggers instead of runners. Isn’t it the same thing?

Lakefront is open

Lakefront is open-2 This week was my first week of Summer School. It is going well with my 16 kids. On a daily basis, about 13 or 14 log in my Google Meet session. I like them all a lot. They’re smart and excited to learn. I made a postcard for them and was ready to mail it yesterday but the envelopes I had ordered were the wrong size. I ordered more and should get them today.

Postcard for students-2

Summer is not my favorite season for running. I prefer Fall. I will try not to complain too much about the weather. I do need to make sure to get out there before it gets too sunny and warm. 🙂

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

Weekly Run Down.jpg

18
Jun
2020

Random Thoughts Thursday 129

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

• Summer school is going well. I have 16 students and almost everyone participates in our daily Google Meet session. The students are also very respectful and well-mannered. They say “Buenos Dias”, “Gracias, maestra”, and “Que tenga un buen dia, maestra” (Good Morning; Thank you, teacher; Have a good day, teacher. Many students use “maestra” since they rarely call me Ms. Arroyo). I rarely hear this from students and it makes me feel good when I hear this now from my students.

Summer School-1

• I came home from my run and Mateo was waiting for me. He loves being outside. Everyday he meows and stands by the door until one of us lets him out.

• So many graduations this year and no way to celebrate. Sigh. We’ve had several caravan parades to honor these graduates. Plus, there’s been a few birthdays. It’s been fun but of course it isn’t the same thing.

• Always a teacher.

Bored Teachers-4

16
Jun
2020

Tuesday Topics: My training philosophy

categories: Tuesday Topics

Tuesday Topics-48

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Topics! This week’s Tuesday Topic: What is your training philosophy? 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 no expert nor a running coach, but over the years I have learned a few things here and there thanks to my wonderful blogger friends. As a teacher, I know that learning is power. 🙂

My training philosophy is to to have fun. I’ve said it before and I will say it again but running is a hobby and not my job. Yes it should be taken seriously but not to a point that our life depends on it. Will we be happy? Yes. Will we be disappointed? Yes. Life still goes on. Something else I keep in mind are:

♥ Easy runs means run slow. It took me a while to figure it out. I am not a “fast” runner but I still look forward to my easy runs. They have helped me recover much faster and stay injury free.

♥ Never compare yourself to others. I used to do that and it would drive me CRAZY. Everyone is different so there is no point in saying that someone is “better” than you.

♥ Be proud of the work you put in. Whether it is one mile or 10 miles, pat yourself on the back. Running is not easy and should never be taken for granted.

♥ The only person you are competing with is yourself. So what if you are running 12 minute or 8 minute miles. No one will look down on you or make fun of you. A mile is still a mile.

♥ Not all runs/races will go like they’re supposed to. That one also took me a while to figure out. I would be so hard on myself if I didn’t always hit the time or the required paces. So what if my intervals are supposed to be done at ABC pace and I do them at XYZ pace? I will still be proud of how I did!

♥ Trust the process. I rely on a running coach to tell me what to do. Yes, I can follow a plan, but sometimes I want someone else to do it for me.

14
Jun
2020

Weekly Run Down: Not all runs are great and back to work

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Mileage-59

Ran 4 days for a total of 13.64 miles and did 1 virtual race for the Uncanceled Project. These past few weeks I’ve had some great run but this week they were OK. Still, it is better than no miles. 🙂

This week was about staying home and decluttering. I cleaned the pantry and took out so much stuff. Baking pans? I had a Bundt cake pan. I don’t remember the last time I baked and don’t think I will. Time to get rid of all of it.

Bundt Cake Pan

I had some good runs on Monday and Tuesday. On Thursday I had to run 5 miles using a run/walk method (3 minutes/90 seconds). I procrastinated and then decided to run Friday morning. At the last minute I told myself “Why wait? Just go.” and I did. However, it did not go well. There was a school issue that was bothering me. I sent a text to a coworker and then that ended up with several other text messages with another coworker. No matter what I did, I couldn’t shake it off and it kept bothering me. I decided to go home. I honestly thought I was about to get fired or moved to another school. I had anxiety for two days. The email system was down on Friday so you can imagine my anxiety level that day (I thought it was the first step in letting me go. Now I know how ridiculous that sounds). I hate being vague but right now I cannot say more as I don’t want to get in trouble if I provide specific details.

Earlier that day I went to school to pick up a few things that I need for Summer School. I was there for 40 minutes and it was sad to walk in my room. It looks just how I left it on Friday, March 13. 🙁

I almost skipped Sunday’s race. The weather was perfect but I was still not up for running. What got me out the door was Deborah’s RunBet Challenge and the California Coast 500 Virtual Challenge. Ran 3 miles and then walked the rest home for a total of 3.57 miles. Total miles for the challenge is 13.64 and have 236.36 miles to go.

Saw this by my house and it made me laugh! I guess he had a rough night!

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