This week’s Tuesday Topic:  Yesterday was National Lottery Day. What would you do/buy if you won the lottery?  You can write about this topic or 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 is a fun topic!  More than once I have thought about what I would do if I had extra cash.  

💰 Buy a house.  You knew I was going to say that, right?  It would be nice to not have a mortgage payment and only pay utilities each month.  Oh, and let’s not forget property taxes.

💰 Buy a condo.  I would like to get one downtown.  I know exactly where too — The Columbian.  It is in a great location, close to the lakefront and Grant Park.  I think you can see the finish line of the Chicago Marathon from one of the top floors.  I would use the condo for weekend getaways and will live there when I retire.

💰 Fund a few projects on DonorsChoose.  “It is an online charity on a mission to make it easy for anyone to help a classroom in need by allowing people to donate directly to classrooms.”  Last year I was lucky and someone funded my project.  I got many cool things for my classroom and I plan to set up another project when I go back to school.

💰 Get a charity bib to run the Boston Marathon.  I know I will never qualify so either I get a free bib or go the charity route.  With my lottery wins I won’t have to ask for donations.

💰 Travel.  I have a few more states for my 50 states goal, but there are other places I want to go to like Greece, Mexico, Costa Rica, and France.

The most important one is the house.  Having a fairy godmother would be nice to build me said house.

Next week is a FREE topic.  Feel free to write about any running-related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic:  Tomorrow is National Simplicity Day.  How do you simplify your life?  You can write about this topic or 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 had no idea there was such a thing as National Simplicity Day.  I remember someone mentioning that there is a day for just about anything.

“National Simplicity Day was born out of a need to be free from the complications of the world and to allow ourselves to just be simple. Celebrate life through simplicity by turning off your devices, getting rid of complicated things and just let life be about living for a day.”

“From every angle, modern life encourages us to do more, be more, achieve more, spend more. We end up trying to do ‘all the things’ and then wonder why we feel tired, stressed out or stuck on auto-pilot as one day drifts into the next.”

Here is a list of things I plan to do to simplify my life:

🛑 Declutter – I have a lot of stuff that I don’t want or need anymore.  I did a big decluttering job a few years ago and it is time for another one.  What worked for me is to tackle one room at a time.

🛑 Unplug from electronics – My computer and phone (social media) are very addicting.  I do not have a TV in my room so I use my computer to watch shows on Netflix, Hulu, etc.  I take a break from them and instead go to my room or outside in the balcony to read.  I finally got a copy of Kara Goucher’s “The Long Race” and I am loving it.

🛑 Purge my closet – I have a good size closet which can be a good thing and a bad thing.  I know that this past year I’ve worn pretty much the same tops for work.  Now that I can wear jeans and a school shirt, I don’t need all of the tops that I have in my closet.  I also have a bunch of Oiselle items that I don’t wear anymore and have listed them for sale in a group on Facebook.  If they do not sell by next month, then I will just donate them.

🛑 Say no sometimes – That is never an issue for me.  I am not one that always “has to be doing something.”  I know one of the things I hoped to do this Summer is get together with family and friends.  I have gotten together more with family than friends and I am OK with it.

🛑 Opt out of email lists – Sometimes I get emails from companies that I’ve never heard of or don’t remember signing up.  I quickly click on that “Unsubscribe” link.  I don’t get too many in my school email inbox but I still have to do it here and there.

The topic for next week:  Yesterday was National Lottery Day. What would you do/buy if you won the lottery? Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic:  Your 2023 mid-year review.  You can write about this topic or 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! 

In December I wrote my goals for this year.  Since we are halfway through the year, let me update you on how it is going.

Complete 500 Peloton rides.  I had to pause my membership because I wasn’t taking full advantage of it.  However, I do know I have completed 360 rides.

Run 800 miles.  I might have to adjust this goal.  I am at 38% of my goal.

Run at least 5 races.  Today’s race will be #5.

Do one Peloton activity each day.  See above regarding 500 Peloton rides.

Read 12 books.  Done.

So let’s review how 2023 is going so far.  

January-February

✳️ Picked my word for 2023 – Balance.

✳️ Ran 59.66 miles in January.

✳️ Signed up for the Bank of American Shamrock Shuffle. 

✳️ I got Covid.  It was very mild with a lot of coughing.

✳️ Ran 18.78 miles in February.

March-April

✳️ Ran the NYC Half Marathon.

✳️ Ran the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k.

✳️ Ran 67.24 miles in March.

✳️ Ran the CARA Lakefront 10 Miler.

✳️ Ran 95.88 miles in April.  It is the highest mileage to date.

May-June

✳️ Ran the CARA Spring Trail Chase 10k.

✳️ Ran 27.68 miles in May.

✳️ The 2022-2023 school year ended.  I had 5 days off and began teaching Summer School.  

✳️ Ran 46.21 miles in June.

✳️ Finished reading 12 books.

✳️ Summer School ended.

I just read all of this again and laughed a little.  My life is not exciting.  🤣

The topic for next week:  Tomorrow is National Simplicity Day. How do you simplify your life?  Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic:  What are your Summer running plans and/or race schedule?  You can write about this topic or 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! 

Tomorrow is officially the first day of Summer.  While it isn’t my favorite season, I do what I can when it comes to running.  So far I am signed up for one race but hopefully, there will be more.  This is what I have planned for this Summer – running and nonrunning.

☀️ Run the Elmhurst 4 on the 4th.  It is one of my favorite races and I cannot wait. This year will be the 9th year running this race.

☀️ Continue walking.  I’ve been incorporating a short walk after each run; longer if it is a longer run.  I would like to do a few walks in the evening to unwind.  

☀️ Continue to relax.  Everyone has a different way to relax.  I like to read and watch TV.  I just finished reading my 12th book this year.  I have already met my goal of reading 12 books by December.  Thanks to Wendy for her list of recommendations!   I get together a lot with family, but I hope that I can get together with friends.

☀️ Stretch and foam roll.  I am not getting younger so my body isn’t the same as before.  While foam rolling sometimes hurts, in the end, I do feel much better.  I’ve been using my “free” Tiger Tail Roadster 11″ Foam Roller from Brooks everyday and that little thing is wonderful.

☀️ Be consistent with running.  I would like to have a base before I train for a 50k.  I still have my eye on the Chicago Lakefront 50/50, which will take place on Saturday, October 28.  This will be the third time training for it, so the third time is a charm, right?  Part of me wonders why I “insist” on doing a 50k.  Why not just forget about it and focus on something else?

Next week is a FREE topic.  Feel free to write about any running-related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!