Fit Five Friday – Page 11

Category: Fit Five Friday

05
May
2023

Fit Five Friday and May 2023 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to the May 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 don’t understand the deal with Easter baskets. Is it because I never got any as a kid? Or is it because I don’t believe in Easter? I saw many friends posting pictures of their kids with their baskets. It came to a point where I was annoyed with them.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I finally admitted to a friend (and to myself) that I don’t believe in Jesus, God, Heaven, etc. A friend had asked me if I wanted to go with her to watch the Via Crucis. I told her that I didn’t like watching it and she asked me why. That is what prompted the whole conversation. At one point I know I did believe in all that. I went to a Catholic school from grades 1-8. As I got older I remember going to church and feeling at peace and very calm. I don’t know what happened to not believing in that anymore.

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask if after learning what I said about Jesus and God, does it make me a hypocrite when in a moment of desperation, I do “pray to someone”? I know I will never get everything that I want but you all know how much I want to buy a house and still nothing. The interest rates keep going up and soon it will be a crappy time to buy for those with good credit. I have my moments of desperation because of it along with other personal stuff.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am loving Grammarly. I use the free version and that is fine. I am good with spelling but many times struggle with grammar. I also am not a very good writer. You may wonder how since I am a teacher and I have a blog! Writing is hard and I never did well when I had to submit a term paper or research paper. I love how Grammarly makes suggestions for me. Sometimes I look at previous posts and cringe at all of the mistakes I’ve made (before using Grammarly).

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I will be done with school in 4 weeks. I will not stop talking about it until I am done. I am exhausted. I have 3 kids that misbehave so much and I don’t know what else to do. They say mean things to others and are rude. They do not play nicely and hit other kids. I tell them that they are kids and that they should be having fun, coloring, etc., and not being mean.

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

21
Apr
2023

Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler

categories: Fit Five Friday, Race Recap

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 “Favorite recipe with 5 ingredients”. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like.

I am going to deviate from this week’s topic to write about my recent race on Sunday. I almost didn’t run it because I wasn’t feeling good on Saturday. I felt so tired and thought I had a fever. I didn’t. I did a Covid test and it was negative. Before bed, I took a Tylenol and told myself that if I felt better in the morning, I would do the race.

Here are some fun things about the race:

⭐ There was a 10-miler and a 5k. Both began at the same time which in my opinion was not a good idea. It was crowded at the start. At mile 1, we split up but then we met up again about 3/4-1 mile later. The lakefront path isn’t wide and it can get very crowded. At one point a runner (not from the race) that was coming from the opposite direction yelled at some of us that we were running on the wrong side. We were running on her side of the path. She was right.

⭐ I didn’t want to run anymore 10 miles. I tried to switch to the 5k but was told that it was too late to do that. So, I sucked it up and ran 10 miles.

⭐ I was really cold and that is why I wanted to switch to the 5k. OK, maybe not as cold as the NYC Half Marathon but the combination of the wind (it was very windy) and rain didn’t help. It wasn’t pouring but just light rain. Once I got moving it was fine. There were times when I did get very warm and wanted to remove my jacket.

⭐ The finish line is on the track. I liked that. But before getting to the track you had to go up and down Cricket Hill. It is a monstrous hill that we had no business to run. That put me in a bad mood because I was sore, tired, and cold. I started to run but then stopped and walked. On the way down I had to walk (I usually run downhill) because I could swear that I was about to fall.

⭐ My first time running this race was in 2009. My last time was in 2016. I’ve done several other 10-mile races but my PR for this race is 1:47:57. This year I finished in 2:05:15.

After the race I didn’t stick around and couldn’t wait to get home. I was cold, tired, and hungry.

I know we cannot control the weather and I know I complained about it but I made the best of this race. I am also glad I couldn’t switch to the 5k. I’d probably do this race again. 10 mile races are fun!

The topic for next week: Runfessions with Marcia! We hope you will link up.

14
Apr
2023

Fit Five Friday: 5 words to describe me

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 words to describe yourself”. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like.

This is a fun topic. I’ve written two posts about this topic: Here and here. The words I’ve chosen before are: Introverted, proactive, independent, hardworking, beautiful, bilingual, emotional, dependable, responsible, and strong.

This is what I came up with this year:

Passionate
Despite how much I complain about my job, I am still passionate about it. I care deeply about my students. I want the best for them. I always look for resources for my students to help them with reading, writing, math, etc.

Intelligent
No further explanation is needed. 😊

Positive
I may not always have a positive outlook about life, but I see the best in people. I know there is good in everyone. Well, almost everyone.

Punctual
I hate being late. I am rarely late for work. If you tell me to meet you at 1 pm, then that is the time I will meet up with you. The whole “Mexican time” drives me crazy – 4 pm does not mean 5 or 6 pm.

Grateful
I have my good and bad days. No matter what happens, I am always grateful for my job, my family, and my health. I always feel very lucky for having those things in life. Whenever I have a day when I am feeling down, I think about the things I do have and sometimes it makes me feel better.

The topic for next week: Favorite recipe with 5 ingredients. We hope you’ll link up with us!

07
Apr
2023

Fit Five Friday and April 2023 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to the April 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 have been enjoying my Spring Break. I caught up on reading blog posts and reading and commenting on comments. I also went downtown for what I thought would be a Lasik consultation, met a coworker for lunch, and met the family for lunch. I also watched TV and read my book.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am going back in May for another Lasik consultation. Since I already had Lasik years ago, I have to get a different set of tests. I have to pay for them (I have HMO so my insurance will not pay for them). I walked out annoyed on Monday because I didn’t know about it and didn’t want to pay. However, if I really want to get this procedure done, then I will just suck it up and pay.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am also off on Monday. We usually get Good Friday off and this year we are already off because of Spring Break. Our next day off won’t be until May for Memorial Day and then we are done for the school year that Friday. I am taking a few half days off for doctor appointments for me and my mom. These next few months will fly by!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that on Wednesday I signed up for 4 races! There is another one that I am interested in next month but will play it by ear. The price will increase on May 1st so I have until then to decide. These are all local races with the next one taking place on April 16th.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I had missed out on the opportunity to meet and hear Desi talk about her new book “Choosing to Run”. I have met her a few times and didn’t want to pay to see her again. Does that make me cheap and am I really missing out since I didn’t want to pay? The event was postponed to April 20th because she was stuck in NYC and couldn’t make it in time to come here.

Earlier this week I read part of her book and was HOOKED. I wanted to read more. I am waiting to get a copy from the library so I can read it. I could buy it but I really do not need another book. Soon I need to start decluttering again and do not want to bring extra stuff into the apartment.

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

31
Mar
2023

Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the Shamrock Shuffle 8k

categories: Fit Five Friday, Race Recap

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us. For this week’s Fit Five Friday we don’t have a topic but instead, invite you to also join in Runfessions with Marcia.

I am behind on reading and commenting on posts. I haven’t forgotten. I will be catching up in the next couple of days. For today’s post, I will write about the Shamrock Shuffle 8k. I ran this fun race on Sunday and am very happy I ran it again.

Here are some fun things about the race:

☘️ It was my 13th year running this race. My first time was in 2006. I’ve run it every year since then except for 2009, 2012, 2013, 2020 (it was canceled), and 2021. I didn’t realize I had missed it many times but remember that one year I missed it because I went to a wedding in Mexico and another time it was because it had snowed the day before and I didn’t want to run in the snow. 🤣

The photo below is from 2007.

☘️ The weather was perfect! It was in the 30s but no wind. I wore pants and a thicker wool shirt. At one point I was actually too warm. The outfit I had would have been perfect for the NYC Half Marathon.

☘️ I didn’t train for this race. It didn’t matter. I still wanted to run it because it is one of my favorite races. I had just run a half marathon the week before so what could go wrong? Absolutely nothing. I didn’t use the run/walk method but ran by feel. I felt really good and ran one mile nonstop.

My PR is 48:38 from 2014. This year I did better than expected and bettered my time from last year. All of my finish times have been less than one hour.

☘️ The finish line is the same as the Chicago Marathon. I dislike the finish line. To get there you need to run up a bridge. Why? Why? I walked a bit but tried just to keep running. I don’t think I’ve ever only run up that darn thing. I was shocked that I ran that last mile in 11:24 and it was also my fastest mile.

☘️ It is a great race to run in Chicago. Seriously, this race is so much fun and I love it! For me, it is easy to get it via public transportation and the 8k distance is just perfect. I love that packet pickup is easier to get to (at least for me).

The topic for next week: Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah. We hope you will link up.