Fit Five Friday – Page 15

08
Jul
2022

Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the 4 on the 4th Race

On Tuesday I ran my 2nd race of 2022. I knew I wasn’t going to get a PR so my goal was to have fun and finish. I did that and did better than expected.

This race is special to me because it takes place on July 4th. To me it is more than Independence Day (and that is a WHOLE different conversation). My family emigrated from Mexico to the US on July 4, 1978 – I was 5 years old. I remember seeing the Sears Tower and Lake Michigan. My father was already living here and finally he had his whole family together.

Here are some fun things about the race:

🇺🇸 I’ve been doing this race since 2013 – It was cancelled in 2020 and I skipped it in 2021. Almost 10 years of running this race. It is a fun race – there aren’t that many races that are 4 miles. I realized I need to get more fun gear for this race. Pictures below are from 2013 and 2014. I don’t have any of that gear anymore.

🇺🇸 My PR is 39:39 from 2014 – The closest I’ve come to beating it was in 2015 with a finish time of 40:47. This year my finish time was 45:46. My coach had asked me to do a progressive run with the first mile being between 12:00-12:30. I did it in 11:30. My last mile was 11:02 with an uphill to the finish line.

🇺🇸 It is not a flat course – Chicago is flat which is nice. I think this is the only race I do in the Chicago area that has hills. The first photo is from the race and the one below is from a 3 mile run by my house.

🇺🇸 Well organized with great volunteers – I had the option to pick up my bib before the race or wait till race day. I love that we have options! The race started right on time. There were a few water stops but I didn’t stop because I had my own bottle bottle. After mile 3 one of the race volunteers told me that the last mile was the shortest mile. I laughed. I told him that to get from 3 to 4 is only 1. He replied that it was all in my head.

🇺🇸 It is a huge confident booster – Why is it that many times we don’t always believe in ourselves? We are too hard on ourselves too. I did get tired and walked a little but still I was smiling. It helped me see that my training is going well and that makes me a bit more excited about my 50k.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below.

01
Jul
2022

Fit Five Friday and July 2022 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Hello July! We are half way done with the year 2022. And what a year it has been. I’m starting off the weekend with a little catch-up over the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah. So grab a mug of your favorite beverage and let’s chat for a bit!

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you to ask me how many gifts I received from my students are the end of the school year. Now, I don’t do this job for the gifts but it is nice to get them. Go ahead, ask me. 0. NOLLA. ZERO. NULA. NUL. I have been teaching for 13 years and every year (except 2020 and we know why) I have received gifts from students. I went out for drinks with my coworker that day and even she was shocked. Her husband and other friend that joined us were also shocked. I did receive a few thank you on Remind from parents, but still. Update: Receiving gifts is not an expectation. I was just surprised that is all. I am not trying to sound ungrateful.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that Summer School went better than expected. I started off with 22 students on my roster and ended up with 14. We took one field trip to the Adler Planetarium. They made me smile but no one made me cry. Teaching in all English isn’t that bad.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that my yesterday my mom and I went to Walgreens to get our 2nd booster shot. Crossing my fingers we don’t have any side effects from it. Our first one was in October so it was time for this one.

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you if you rate a Peloton class based on the instructor’s playlist. I know I can check out the playlist before deciding to take the class, but sometimes I forget and then wonder how the heck they picked that song or songs. On Sunday I took a 90s Run and I only recognized the first two. I was so annoyed towards the end and was glad it was only 20 minutes. On Tuesday I took an 80s Run class. I’ve listened to plenty of 80s songs but only recognized one. 🤔

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am noticing more gray hair. They’re mostly baby hairs on the top right. I know I am at that point when I will be seeing them more often. I am just not ready for them.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below. I am also linking up with Running with Perseverance and Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

24
Jun
2022

Fit Five Friday and June 2022 Runfessions

categories: Fit Five Friday, Runfessions

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional! It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by Darlene, Renée, Jenn, Michelle, and me! Let’s get started, shall we?!

I runfess…
That I thought Runfessions was next week. Early this week I bought a new wall calendar. I buy the academic July-June calendar though I prefer August-July but that is not the point. 😉 All week I kept looking at it since it is right above my computer monitor. I was even staring at the June 30th box because that is the last day of Summer School. And even with that I still didn’t realize today is the last Friday of the month. ¡Caramba! Am I working too hard? Or am I truly relaxing this Summer and it truly slipped my mind?

I runfess…
I tried to schedule blood work for my mother for September but the earliest appointment I could get was at 9:30am. Umm, why? She is diabetic and also has to fast and 9:30 is way too late for her to go without eating. Plus, she takes medicine. I was told that the technicians cannot draw blood unless there is a doctor in the clinic. I knew that already and in the past have been able to take her at 8am. The receptionist did tell me which doctor (and the days) goes in at 7:30. The plan is to walk in and get it done.

I runfess…
That after YEARS of taking my mother for blood work, I didn’t follow the same procedure for me. My mother has to fast, but on my past two visits to Quest Diagnostics, I did not fast. 🤦🏾‍♀️ 🤦🏾‍♀️ Now I know why my glucose levels were high! At least with the last results my HbA1c is lower so I must be doing something right. Below are the instructions I got. Check out the part about eating or drinking. Isn’t it confusing? How did you interpret it? Well I am not making the same mistake again! I already scheduled my next appointment for 7am in September.

I runfess…
That I got asked not once but TWICE to attend a PLC Conference for school. The locations are Seattle, Detroit, and Orlando. I was asked to go to Detroit and Orlando and both times I said no. I don’t like those types of conferences and all that mumbo jumbo stuff for school. Just let me do my job. Would I have learned something interesting? Probably. Next year I will be on the School Improvement Team and a PLC Facilitator for my team so I am sure it would be have beneficial. But no thanks. However, I did get a bit jealous when I saw pictures from those in Orlando. Yes, it was work but also a chance to get away. And that is why I should have gone! 🤣 But I would have missed two paid days of Summer School. Would you have gone?

I runfess…
That during my run this morning I had two additional items to add to this post (I wrote the first 3 before heading out). Now that I am showered and ready for work, I cannot remember. I knew I should have stopped and typed them on my phone so I wouldn’t forget. I use Google Keep to keep my notes, ideas in one place. Oh well. At least I was able to add this runfession to my post. I hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below. I am also linking up with Marcia for Runfessions.

10
Jun
2022

Fit Five Friday: 5 things I thought about this week while running

categories: Fit Five Friday

What a week! I am officially on Summer Break and will be going in today to set up my classroom. School starts on Monday. The good thing is that it is only for 3 weeks and will be done June 30th. Also, we are off on the 20th and on the 28th it will be a Remote Day (we still have to go in but students do not).

Running is going OK. The weather has been pleasant but next week we will have our hot days.

Here are a few thoughts from this week:

💭 Mortgage interest rate – Holy cow! I’ve been wide awake at night thinking about it. How can it be so high? Will it keep getting higher? Will I still be able to afford a house?

💭 Twitter – I am not a big fan of it but so far am liking it. Much of the conversation right now is about teachers, the January 6th Hearing, and the mess with the Republicans. Many times I shake my head in disbelief with the things Republicans are doing/not doing.

💭 Parents – How can they be irresponsible and really think we are simply babysitters? Remember my student that was giving me trouble? He had been acting out. I thought for sure he would be suspended. He didn’t. Long story short, he should have stayed home on Tuesday. It was Field Day (we went in the morning) for everyone and he didn’t deserve to go. The rest of the day he was with other teachers instead of being in my room. I know the school called parents to pick him up and they didn’t. I saw mom after 3pm when she picked up her other son. He said something to me and I responded but I was doing something else for another mom. When I was done I walked away. I had NO desire to talk to mom. Well, actually I did, but I knew that I would just go off on her.

💭 Summer School – There will be 21 students in my class. How and why? I had 22 in the school year and that was tough. Why do administrators think that is a good decision? Many administrators have no idea what it is like being in the classroom now. Some may have been classroom teachers YEARS ago but so many things have changed. I am determined to make it a good 3 weeks for my students. I just need to remember that I will be teaching 1st graders (not 2nd graders) and in English (not in Spanish).

💭 Planning for next year – I haven’t made definite travel plans for this year but am already thinking of going on a cruise next year. It is a 7 night Greek Isles Cruise in July. Anyone want to go? Here is the link with more information.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below.

03
Jun
2022

Fit Five Friday and June 2022 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Wow, hard to believe it is already June! The month sure does go by fast when you are having fun. I’m starting off the weekend with a little catch-up over the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah. So grab a mug of your favorite beverage and let’s chat for a bit!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am emotionally and mentally exhausted. With the last few days of school, packing up my classroom, and my mother being home this week I am very tired. Taking care of an elderly woman is tiring. My sister is home with her during the day until I come home. Who would have thought personalities change as we get older?

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that there is a house that I want to see but am having trouble doing so. I’ve been eyeing it for a few weeks and finally contacted my agent about it. I was surprised no one had bought it yet since houses are selling like hot cakes. Last week he told me that the owners were going on vacation and to reach out to him on Tuesday. I did. I told him I could see it Wednesday or Thursday. No luck. I am wondering if the owners really want to sell their house. Why are they making it so difficult? I believe things happen for a reason so maybe this is a way of saying that this house is no bueno.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that on Wednesday I received my new teaching assignment for the 2022-2023 school year. There are 4 second grade teachers (2 GE and 2 DL) and we get along and work very well together. We were split up. One GE and one DL teacher are going to one school and the other 2 to a different school. I knew it could happen but still cannot believe it. It is making me very sad but am trying to stay positive. I am glad that at least I will be working with someone I’ve worked with for years.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that a friend of mine reached out to me because she had an extra ticket to see “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” on Saturday. I love musicals. I haven’t seen her in years and am looking forward to it. I feel like a kid with a new toy. I realized it’s been a long time since I’ve been out with friends. There are 4 of us going and are meeting first for lunch and then go see the musical. I hope I stay awake. I usually take a nap after lunch.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I didn’t realize I had so much school stuff. The last time I packed was about 4-5 years ago. I was moved to my current room 2 years ago but administration packed it all up for me. When I am done I think I will have about 80 boxes, bags, and containers that will need to be sent to my new school. That number doesn’t even include some items I will store in my cousin’s garage. Does that make me a hoarder?

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below. I am also linking up with Running with Perseverance and Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

Zenaida Arroyo

Category: Fit Five Friday