Fit Five Friday – Page 24

02
Apr
2021

Fit Five Friday and April Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Hello April! Like Jenn mentioned in her post, we are 1/4 through the year. Wow! These past few months were a blur, well, except for February with that awful weather. 🙂

I am still on Spring Break, but today is my last day. However, I am also off on Monday and then Tuesday is a Remote Planning Institute Day (I can work from home). This week also went by fast. No complaints. So, grab your favorite drink and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I want to go on vacation. I just want to go somewhere and get away. I have my good days and bad days and I am itching for some time alone. Is that bad? I know the pandemic has affected everyone but like everyone else I am just so tired of it. I want to travel to NYC and to Washington, DC.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I want to buy anther Garmin watch (245) just because of the walking feature. My 235 does not have it. Do I really need a new watch? No. But I do want to have the feature when I do go out for a walk. There’s been a few times when it’s been so windy and I’ve had no desire to deal with it while running, that I’d just go for a 20 minute walk. You will then tell me that I don’t like to walk. You are right. However, lately, I don’t mind it. I usually do a Peloton class or listen to a podcast. You will be shocked because I don’t like podcasts either.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I find this whole virtual Boston Marathon thing a bit crazy and silly. I get it that it’s been tough on the running industry but they are taking advantage of people wanting to supposedly race a Boston Marathon and get a unicorn medal. It isn’t even on the actual course. Plus, $125 is a lot of money for a virtual race. So am I a hypocrite if I tell you that, since I will never qualify for it, if I were given an entry to it, I will take it?

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you “What do you do about all of the ads on Instagram?” This past week I spent some time going through quite a few of them and hiding them and either selecting “It’s irrelevant” or “I see it too often”. I’d ask you if I just wasted my time by doing that.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I know you are tired of hearing about me wanting to buy a house. While I am excited about it, I am also nervous. I know the interest rates are low. Actually, they’ve gone up a little bit. House now are still so expensive. More than they were last year. I live on the south side of Chicago where it isn’t that expensive but seeing prices for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $250,000-$300,000 scares me. I remember years ago when I started looking I did not want to spend more than $225K (I thought it was too much). Now I have no choice.

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.

26
Mar
2021

Fit Five Friday and March 2021 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?!

Today is the last day of work before Spring Break. It is also the last Friday in March so it is time for Runfessions. This month was just blah. I was happy, sad, and angry. I smiled but also cried. My Runfessions for this month are all over the place. Actually some of more complaints. 😬 Thank you all in advance for listening.

I runfess…
That I am still learning something new about this whole menstrual cycle thing. We can talk about this, right? I’ve been tracking it on the Garmin Connect app. A few years ago my period would last about 4-5 days. Now for the past year or so, it’s been longer than 5 days. I don’t like it one bit. For this month, my first day was the 15th and it ended on the 24th. That is 10 days. That is long. Should I be concerned?

I runfess…
That 5 months after buying my car, I learned that it has a remote starter. That would have come in handy in February when we had those really cold days. A few weeks ago I had to take my car to the dealer for something else and I felt so stupid asking the technician about it. Not only did they confirm the remote starter, but they also showed me how it works. And why did I take my car there in the first place? For some weird reason the windows would go down and the sunroof would open. I thought it was something electrical. No, it turns out that somehow when the keys are in my pocket or purse, something would press on the “open” button (for longer than necessary) causing those things to happen. Apparently, it has happened to many of their customers. Sigh, while I do like my new car, I also miss my old one.

I runfess…
That I’ve noticed more gray hair and I don’t like it one bit. A few I’ve been able to pluck out with tweezers but then they come back or more show up days later. Thanks Orgain Collagen Peptides! I know it is part of life but I am just not ready for them now.

I runfess…
That all of the Reels on Instagram are starting to annoy me. Yes, I know I don’t have to watch them. But I do wonder what is the point of them. The ones I’ve been seeing a lot are of people dancing and/or singing. Is there more to it? Am I missing something here? Is it just me?

I runfess…
That I really want to know what an influencer is supposed to do. Lately I’ve been seeing more of them on Instagram. Maybe I shouldn’t use Instagram anymore? It seems like more and more of them will just post about a “great” or “fabulous” item just to get paid. It makes me wonder if they really like all of the items they’re promoting. Well, let me tell you that I skim through them while also rolling my eyes. 🙄 🙄

Again, thanks for listening!!

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.

19
Mar
2021

Fit Five Friday: Running advice I would give to my younger myself

categories: Fit Five Friday

I started running in 2005. I didn’t know much about it. I knew one other person that ran (he worked with me). My friends that run now, didn’t run before. I remember going to races and I didn’t know anybody there. Fast forward many years later, and I know so much more about running and more of my friends are runners now. On race day I would always see someone I knew. Sigh, cannot wait till I can race again.

I am pleased with how things have turned out. I’ve run many races and have met many wonderful runners. However, if I could go back in time, there are a few things I would tell my younger self.

✔️ Be ready to invest good money for shoes, clothes, and gear. Running stuff is not cheap. Do you have to spend $150 for a pair of shoes? No, but there is a difference between spending that amount of money versus $50. However, there are a few instances in which you will find some great deals. I remember a few years ago I bought some Brooks shoes that were on sale and they were around $60.

✔️ Make sure it is fun. It was within these past few years that I finally realized it. Running is a hobby and not a job. When running is no longer fun, it feels like a burden. There is no joy so what’s the point?

✔️ Don’t compare yourself to others. It is very easy to do it, but one of the worst things a runner can do. Comparing yourself to others will not make you feel better. On the contrary, it will make you feel worse. I don’t do that anymore because sometimes it would make me envious of others instead of being happy for them.

✔️ Never say never. I remember saying that I would never run an ultramarathon. It my mind 26.2 miles was more than enough. Why go longer than that? Eventually I did get the itch to run more than that. Ha, I didn’t run just one ultramarathon, I did two. Now I am thinking of doing another one in the next couple of years.

✔️ Don’t run all of the races and have a goal or goals. In the beginning I would sign up for whatever race I could find. It was in 2012 that I decided to run a half marathon in each state. By then I had run about 20 half marathons. Then about 2 years ago I decided to work on speed and get some PRs. The ones I have now are a few years old and it is time for some new ones.

I am not saying that any of these are “wrong”. I am just saying that if I knew those things, then I would have done things a bit different. But then maybe that’s how it was supposed to happen? Life is weird. 🙂 What running advice would you give to your younger self?

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.

12
Mar
2021

Fit Five Friday: 5 pictures from this week

categories: Fit Five Friday

Happy Friday! Friday is my favorite day of the week. Every other Friday it is payday for me. Currently, our students are in school till 11:30 am and the rest of the day they have asynchronous work. That will change on 3/22 with the new hybrid schedule. Monday will be how our current Friday is now. We’ll see how that goes.

Anyway, I love taking pictures. Right now I have almost 6,000 pictures stored in my phone. Many are duplicates since I need to get the right one. 🙂 I take pictures of things I see on my runs, my students, my cats, and my mom.

Let me share with you 5 of those pictures from this week.

📷 I took this Peloton running class on Tuesday and just thinking about it makes me smile. Since there are so many classes I have not taken, my plan is not to take any class twice. I may make an exception here. I had so much fun with Chase and the playlist was amazing. In 45 minutes I listened to 10 songs (1 from each year) while learning something interesting about each song. I highly recommend it!

📷 I ran in shorts! It made me so happy. I wore one of my newest Oiselle shorts. It was warm but very windy. I also felt very tired (have not been sleeping well) and ran for 20 minutes.

📷 I’ve mentioned that Lola and Mateo do not get along. It is very rare to see them together. I was in bed reading and Lola joined me. Then Mateo came along. Lola did not move and Mateo got comfortable. I’d say too comfortable. I don’t know how long they stayed like that because in the morning they were both gone.

📷 This reminds me of the hours and days spent last year on the balcony with my mother. Did we enjoy being stuck inside the house? No, but we made the best of it. We ate, drank coffee, talked, people watched, and listened to music. You bet I am looking forward to it again this year!

📷 Yesterday right before lunch my students asked me if we could have lunch together. It made me feel really good and made me smile. I thought that for sure they would be tired of being with me. I guess not.

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.

05
Mar
2021

Fit Five Friday and March Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to March and to the Ultimate Coffee Date linkup. I am liking it and wondering why I didn’t participate before? Who knows but better late than never.

So grab your favorite drink and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I received an email from the Department of State regarding the status of my passport. I was told they’re processing it and it would take 10-12 weeks. Now that means for sure I cannot go to Mexico during Spring Break. I am not disappointed at all. I guess deep down I really didn’t want to go now. However, a few days later I got another email letting me know that my passport had been approved and that I should receive it next week. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that this week I was interested in two houses but both had offers before I had a chance to see them. Is it a sign? I truly believe things happen for a reason. I know the house market is HOT right now but it is getting ridiculous! Now I need to think about how much more I am willing to spend to buy a house.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell that I am very excited about the new hybrid schedule at school. It will start on the 22nd of this month. With this new schedule the students will be online with me from 8:30am-12pm (instead of 8:30am-3:00pm). Then in the afternoon they have asynchronous work. It is the best schedule? No, but clearly I am not upset about it at all. Does that make me a bad teacher? Well, it isn’t like the rest of the day will be free for me because it will be spent either in meetings, grading, lesson planning, etc.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I ordered a few new bras from Brooks. If you recall, about 2 years ago I was no longer allowed to order any more shoes from the site. Well, so far my order has not been cancelled so hopefully I will get them. I still have not found ones that I like. I bought so many from other companies (lots from Athleta) and I am sure one of these days they will also ban me from ordering anything else from their site. Why is it so hard to find good running bras?

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that March 16th will be my 200th day of my run streak. I never thought I would make it this far. I started it because “why not”? I was already running 5-6 days a week. The other days are easy runs and maybe a mile or so. I think I will continue and will stop if I get injured or if I start training for a marathon. Right now I am getting back to running consistently again after not running much in February.