This week’s Tuesday Topic:  Brag Time: Share some of your most popular running related blog posts!  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!

Last year I wrote a similar post – My most popular running related blog posts.  Today I am going to focus on only 5 Tuesday Topics posts.  It was so much fun checking out past posts from this linkup and others in general.  At one point I was writing about my training to get a BQ!  Ha, who knows if that is something I will consider again.

✸ I walked 610,966 steps in the StepBet Challenge!  Published on 2/2/2019.  It was a fun challenge!  I didn’t care too much about winning money but I also didn’t want to lose the $40 I paid.  I haven’t done another one of these again but now am thinking about it.  I will be going back to school next month and most likely will be walking a lot more.  Have you participated in a StepBet Challenge?

✸ Thankful for running.  Published on 11/24/2020.  I will always be thankful for this hobby of mine.  But it was during that year that I was even more thankful for running.  It has gotten me through some very tough times whether it was personal or work related.

✸ What I bring along on my run.  Published on 3/19/2019.  I have made a few changes since this post was published.  I sold my lightening layers and got the Noxgear vest.  Sometimes I forget my pepper spray.  I definitely run with my Road ID and a Koala Clip (instead of a running belt).  Depending on my runs I wear the Oiselle pocket joggers and I store my water bottles in the pockets.

✸ My cold weather running essentials.  Published on 2/19/2019.  Just thinking of cold weather makes me shiver.  Haha.  Last year I was outside running every single day during the Winter.  This year I was not brave enough to get out there.  I know the right gear makes a big difference.  I have added an insulated Vim jacket and fleece lined tights from Baleaf.  Let’s see if I will be brave again this Winter.

✸ Publix Atlanta Half Marathon Race Recap.  Published on 3/3/2020.  A HILLY race!  This race was after the Olympic Marathon Trials so it was a fun weekend.

Topic for next week – Ask someone who’s been struggling to share their story.  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 2020 mid year review.  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!

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.

 Stay injury free.  So far so good but I’ve been noticing some pain that feels like plantar fasciitis.  I’ve been using my mom’s leg massager.  It has been helping a lot.  I like to use while watching “Golden Girls”. 

 Buy a house.  Still looking.  Supposedly house prices are going to decrease?  

 Travel.  Nothing yet but thinking of going to NY for my 50th birthday.  Don’t want to be there when it is cold but I am sure it will still be fun.

 Continue to be patient at work and at home.  Going good.  Though sometimes I have my days when I am so frustrated and sometimes lose it.  I am human.

 PR in my 50k.  Last year I started training for a 50k in March.  I stopped because of the weather.  Yep, excuses.  I am training again and that is still the goal.  My race is on October 29th.

 Run 1,200 miles.  I thought about changing it but I decided to leave it to see how close I get to it.  I am trying, but regardless I will still be pleased with whatever number I end up with.

Complete 300 Peloton rides.  Very close to it.  Right now I am at 274 rides.

So let’s review on how 2022 is going so far.  

January-February

✳️ Picked my word for 2022 – Patience.

✳️ Took my first bike class with Camila and decided to do all of her classes.  At one point I needed 34 classes to go.

✳️ I stopped running because of the weather. 

✳️ Ran 11.10 miles in January.

✳️ Signed up for the Bank of American Shamrock Shuffle.  My first race since February 2020.

✳️ Ran 1.49 miles in February.

March-April

✳️ Ran the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k.

✳️ Got bloodwork done through Inside Tracker – low iron and high LDL cholesterol.

✳️ Ran 27.68 miles in March.

✳️ Thought about running the Marine Corps 50k in October to celebrate my 50th birthday in November.  

✳️ Ran everyday in April.  

✳️ Ran 68.13 miles in April.  Highest mileage to date.

May-June

✳️ After over 10 years of not wearing contacts, I began wearing them again.  I think eventually I will get Lasik surgery again.

✳️ Got a cold.  First one in over 2 years.  I had to stop my run streak.  I was not upset about it.

✳️ Got my assignment for Summer School to teach 1st grade GE.  I was not happy about it.

✳️ Found out my school will be closed for the 2022-2023 school year.  Was moved to a different school.

✳️ Ran 55.40 miles in May.

✳️ School ended.  Had 3 days off and began teaching Summer School.  

✳️ Went to see “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations” and had a blast!

✳️ Decided to run the Chicago Lakefront 50/50 on October 29.  I don’t have to travel, I can sleep on my own bed the night before, and I can actually train on the course.

✳️ Ran 62.42 miles in June.

✳️ Summer School ended.

Topic for next week – Brag Time: Share some of your most popular running related blog posts!  Feel free to write about this or any running related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic.  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!

Today is a Remote Day for us.  I still have to go to school but students stay home.  Now, do YOU really think that makes sense?  Our schools are used as a polling place but still not clear as to why students stay home.  

Anyway, let’s have a little fun today.  My kids love “Would You Rather?”  Sometimes they would give me a 3rd option and I would have to explain that there is no 3rd option – they have to pick one or the other.  Let’s do this!

Would you rather…

Run with someone chatty or silent? Definitely silent.  You all know I cannot stand it when there are chatty people around me.

Run with no socks or no sports bra? Oh gosh, definitely no socks.  I cannot imagine running without a sports bra.  I am not well endowed but still need some support for the boobs.

Run a mile naked or in a snow suit? Definitely a snow suit!  

Run in the freezing cold or sweltering heat?  I dislike both of them but will pick freezing cold.

Run with an empty stomach or a full bladder?  An empty stomach because I will pee along the way with a full bladder.

Run a hilly 5K or a flat marathon?  A hilly 5k.  I’d rather “suffer” for 3 miles instead of 26. 

Run without music or without a GPS watch?  Without music.  As much as I enjoy running with it, I have also run without it and it isn’t that bad.  Does my run count if I run without my watch?  JK.  I know Kim runs a lot sans a GPS watch but I just couldn’t do it.  

Run the New York City or Boston Marathon?  The Boston Marathon!  I know both are great races but come on, Boston.

Run as much as you want on the treadmill or only once a week outside?  I do like running outside but don’t mind too much the treadmill.  I like it even more in the dangerously cold and hot weather.

Run a beer mile or a color run?  I’ve heard about both of them but think the beer mile would be more fun.  Run and drink?  Sure. 

Run on a trail or the road?  Trail.

Run in shoes that are too big or too small?  Too big.

Eat a slice of pizza mid-race or drink a milkshake?  Cheese only pizza, please.  

Run in the rain or snow?  As long as it isn’t cold then the rain.  Cold weather and rain is not a good combo for me.

Run alone or with a big group for the rest of your life?  Run alone.

Run the same outdoor route every single day or run on a treadmill every single day?  Same outdoor route. 

Have a personal chef or running coach?  A personal chef.

Get free running shoes or free race registrations for life?  Free shoes!  

Do only gentle yoga or intense boot camp classes for your cross-training?  Gentle yoga.  

Run in your favorite outfit every day but only wash it once a week or run in clean clothes that you hate every day?  Clean clothes.  I sweat so much and I stink.  I cannot imagine wearing it every day and washing it once a week.

Questions are from an article in Women’s Running.  Click HERE for the article.

Topic for next week: Your 2022 mid year review.  Feel free to write about this or any running related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Today is World Day of Music. If you run with music, share your perfect playlist!  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 listen to music in the shower, in my car, and in my classroom.  I mainly use Pandora but also have some great songs on Amazon.  I have a specific playlist for my mother on Amazon that we listen to in the car or out in the balcony.  She gets excited when she remembers a song that she likes and asks me to add it to the playlist.

🎵 So what do I listen to?  I love 80s music.  That is what I usually look for on the Peloton app.  I also like 90s pop music.  I don’t care too much for anything in the 2000s but may recognize a song here and there.  I also like Spanish music.  I have a great playlist on Pandora.  It’s taken me years to get the songs I like.  Sometimes Pandora will suggest a song in English and I make a face wondering how the heck that happened.  The only song I will listen to is “Tennessee Whiskey”.  I am obsessed with that song. 😀

🎵 A class with a great playlist on the Peloton app is one I took with Chase.  Now I know he is no longer with Peloton and his class isn’t available anymore.  But I did find a class from 2019 that is still available so I am not sure what the deal is.  When instructors leave, does Peloton remove the classes?

🎵 Another great class I’ve taken multiple times is the 30 min All For One Run.  The music and the energy is perfect!

🎵 I also listen to cumbia and salsa.  I love Selena and wish there was a Peloton class with her songs.  Sadly I began to listen to her music after she died.  I did know about her before but didn’t pay too much attention to her.  One of my favorites are these two songs that she performed at the Houston Astrodome a month before she died (I think it was her last concert).

🎵 Danza Kuduro also gets me in a good and dancing mood!  This is the clean version we were allowed to play in the classroom when there was a competition (similar to March Madness) to find the best song.  It did not win.  “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” won.  So maybe not everyone likes Danza Kuduro but there were others much better than the one about Bruno.  🤣 🤣

🎵 Not running related but I love “We Are The World”.  On Saturday I heard the song which included pictures of the children that were killed in Uvalde.  I was in the Sam’s Club parking lot when I searched for the song and I listened to it again.  I began crying.  I could not stop crying.  I thought about those kids and their family.  I also thought about my kids and how difficult it had been for them and everyone else these past 2 years.  

Topic for next week – FREE Topic!  Feel free to write about any running related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: What are your Summer fitness goals??  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!

Today is second day of Summer School.  There were 22 students on my roster, but 13 showed up yesterday.  However, yesterday evening I checked again and 3 students had been dropped from my class.  I met a few parents which is nice.  We use the app “Remind” and I sent a message to get chaperones for our field trip on Thursday.  We are going to the Adler Planetarium which we are excited about!

Let’s talk about a few of my Summer fitness goals:

✨ Continue to drink water.  Now that I will be home most of the day, I can drink more water.  I am close to a bathroom.  I have a small bladder and constantly have to go.  I don’t drink as much coffee anymore but sometimes I get the urge to have a cup in the afternoon or evening.

✨ East more fruit and vegetables.  I am really bad when it comes to it.  I like grapes, strawberries, and watermelon.  I also want to eat more salads and prefer spinach instead of lettuce.

✨ Reduce fat intake.  I got my InsideTracker results and cholesterol is higher than it was three months ago.  I know I do a lot of cooking with my mother (and we use a lot of oil) but I need to be careful of what I eat or not use too much of it.  My next blood work is in September and I want the number to go down and not up.

✨ Less TV time.  I don’t have a TV anymore in my room which is nice.  I have a long list of books I want to read and am excited about it.  I still want to watch “The Golden Girls” and can do it on my computer or phone.  I also want to reduce my computer time and limit it to my blog and work stuff (and to watch “The Golden Girls” 😀).

✨ Sleep more.  My ferritin and hemoglobin levels are still low which leaves me tired during the day.  I do enjoy my nap with my cats.  I’ve been leaving my phone in another room and it is nice not checking it before going to bed or as soon as I wake up.  The reason I would leave it in my room is in case something happens to my mother and my sister needed to get a hold of me.  What I am planning to do is leave it in another area of my room and not right next to me.

Topic for next week – Today is World Day of Music.  If you run with music, share your perfect playlist!  Feel free to write about this or any running related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!