Weekly Run Down – Page 24

Category: Weekly Run Down

11
Aug
2019

Weekly Run Down: A great run on Saturday and some new records

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

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The days are going back too fast! I like it but then I don’t. We had some great weather this week and I ran 22 miles. Big improvement from last week! 🙂

I deleted all of my records from my Garmin watch. Feels good to see some new records! I went from a 11:24 fastest mile to a 10:50. I am confused about the 10:50 record because I don’t see it in the mile splits from yesterday’s run.

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I also got new records for a 5k and a 10k. It is the little things that make my day.

I love my 4 mile runs. Slow and easy since I don’t worry about pace. I tried to do a speed workout on Wednesday but had to stop because I ran out of time. My next one is on Wednesday and I plan to do 6×800.

My run on Saturday was PERFECT. In the morning I had coffee and an Orgain Organic protein bar before heading downtown. I also drank some UCAN on the way. The weather was gorgeous! I felt great too! I didn’t feel sore or tired. Honestly, I haven’t felt this way in a long time. The heel of my left foot was a little sore but then I foam rolled when I got home and it was better. Again, I cannot believe how great I felt yesterday!

I know I’ve written about issues with my mother’s medical coverage and it looks like we have it all straighten out. For some weird reason her Medicaid medical coverage (County Care) was cancelled. I thought she didn’t have medical coverage and freaked out! We were told to go to the Public Aid office and apply again. We went on Thursday and I learned a couple new things. She does have medical coverage. What was cancelled was the long term care which pays for medical supplies and a caregiver. What we need to do now is pick a new medical plan for her. Some options are Aetna, Blue Cross Community, Cigna, and Humana. After that visit, my sister called the Department of Aging and we were able to get a caregiver and medical supplies. Cross your fingers we don’t have any more issues with it.

Beginning tomorrow is when I can start setting up my classroom. This was my view on Tuesday when I went for a meeting. 2019-2020 Classroom-1.jpg

My classroom is 104. My classroom is on the right side of the hallway so as my kids enter the building, they’ll be on the right side of the hallway and easier for them to get to the classroom. You probably think it is silly but when you have that many students trying to get inside in the morning and after lunch, this definitely helps.

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This year we have a new GE classroom for a total of 5 second grade classrooms (3 GE and 2 TR). What is nice is that the teacher in the new classroom is someone that I’ve worked with before and the transitional teacher I will be working with is someone that already works in our school. Due to some changes, her 1st grade TR classroom isn’t available anymore and she moved to 2nd grade. It looks like we will have a GREAT year! I still have 17 students in my roster so I hope that number does not change.

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

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04
Aug
2019

Weekly Run Down: August and a Peloton Bike

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Mileage-20.jpg Hello August! I am excited for it because it means Fall will be here soon. It is my favorite season. August also means back to school. I have 3 weeks left of summer break. I have a few meetings/PD this coming week and then will have a chance to set up my classroom. I checked the roster and so far I have 17 students. It is a good number but I know it will change in the next couple of weeks.

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I ended July with 58.72 miles. It is my 2nd lowest mileage month after February with 21.52 miles.

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Still not running as much before and that is OK with me. I did run Monday through Wednesday with 7.31 miles for the week. It cooled down this week and my runs felt pretty good. I just realized that my next half marathon is in 11 weeks. I’ve been checking out various 12 weeks training plans and there are so many. Do you have a good one I could use?

This was Lola waiting for me on one of my runs. I guess she does miss me when I’m gone. 🙂

On Wednesday my mom and I went to The Great American Bagel. We both enjoyed our bagel with jalapeño cream cheese. I remember there used to be one at Midway Airport and I would get one before boarding the plane.

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Now the exciting news is that I finally ordered a Peloton bike! Earlier I received an email to schedule the delivery. It will be delivered Tuesday, August 13. I’ve been wanting one for months! Kim gave me her referral code and I was able to get $100 off my purchase towards accessories (she will also get $100 towards her accessories purchase.) I bought the bike mat and a heart rate monitor.

My week might not have been THAT exciting but to me it was perfect. 🙂

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

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28
Jul
2019

Weekly Run Down: Not motivated to run and some new running gear

categories: Brooks Running, Oiselle, Running, Running Gear, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

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I don’t know what is going on but this week I had no motivation to run. I also felt more tired than usual. I ran 2 days this week (my coach has me running 5 days a week). I have been massaging my left foot every single day. It only hurts a little when I get up in the morning but then it feels fine.

Even Lola felt tired too. 🙂

I decided not to run the three half marathons (WY, SD, and ND) next month. No way will I be ready. The race in New Mexico is still up in the air because my mother’s birthday is September 9th and we have a birthday party for her. Her party will not be the 7th so most likely it will be the 14th.

We are still dealing with some issues with my mother’s medical card. I am so frustrated. She has County Care which is a managed care organization through Medicaid. I don’t understand why her coverage changed and why she doesn’t have medical coverage. County Care only offers long term care. She was assigned a PCP located downtown and I tried switching her to her current one but couldn’t do it because she has Medicare and that covers her medical doctor appointments. At this point, why would she switch her PCP? Ugh! Rant over..for now. Thanks for listening.

On Tuesday I went to see “The Lion King”. Have you seen it? I loved it! I want to see it again, and again, and again.

I may have been banned from ordering from the Brooks website, but that didn’t stop me from ordering these from Zappos. These are the Ghost 12. Aren’t they lovely? I have the Ghost 11 and love them.

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I ordered some new Oiselle gear. I love the new colors.

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The new tops have a watch window. Not sure If I like it but we’ll see once I start wearing them.

I emailed my coach and she suggested I take some time off from structured running but definitely go for a run if I feel like it. She also said not to put any pressure/expectations on me nor worry about pace. Maybe now the new shoes and gear will motivate me to go out for a run. 🙂

How do you stay motivated? Is it new shoes? New gear? Or simply take some time off?

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

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21
Jul
2019

Weekly Run Down: A few days with mom and some running injuries

categories: BibRave Pro, Rock 'n' Roll Race, Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

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What is the weather like where you live? For us in the Chicago area it was another hot week. It cooled down a bit on Thursday because it rained but then midday it was hot again. Then Friday and Saturday were just brutal HOT. It is summer after all. 🙂

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My mom came home with me on Sunday because she had a doctor appointment on Monday and an eye doctor appointment on Tuesday. Both doctors are close to where I live so it made sense to have her stay with me.

Monday morning I ran 4 miles. I accidentally stopped and saved my run at .39 of a mile and didn’t realize it will about 1/2 mile later. I am not sure how that happened. I did keep running to complete my run.

At the doctor’s office we found out there were some changes to her medical benefits and therefore could not see her doctor. Somehow her current doctor is not in the network and she was assigned to a different one located downtown. Anyway, since it was early and we were still hungry, we went to eat breakfast.

I was told to call County Care and have them switch her back to her current doctor. I didn’t call and instead went back and forth via email and some phone calls to another clinic where I was told that her doctor is in the network. I also found out that County Care does not pay for medical appointments. Medicare pays for those appointments. Finally I was on the phone with someone from the clinic and County Care and I think we got it straightened out. She has an appointment on Wednesday. Cross your fingers we are not turned away again.

On Tuesday we went to the eye doctor. My mother had cataract surgery 5 years ago. She has some trouble seeing clearly with her right eye. The doctor said there is a wrinkle (?) in her right lens and a minor laser procedure can fix it. We scheduled an appointment for next Friday. Later that evening my cousin invited us to his house for enchiladas.

Wednesday morning I ran 5 miles. It was warm but not too bad. It helped that it was cloudy. Later on I took Lola to the vet for her yearly checkup. She is healthy but has lost some weight compared to last year. It was just a few ounces and was told to take her back in 6 months. Not sure how she lost weight since my sister and I always make sure she is fed. I hope it isn’t anything serious. Obviously she does not like going to the vet and as soon as we got home, she hid under the bed and was there for the rest of the day..until dinner time. 🙂

Oh, and my mother made enchiladas again. 🙂 That evening I took her home. I am glad she stayed with me. It was a change for her and it gave my sister a break too.

It rained all morning on Thursday. I must have been really tired because I slept in a bit and felt really good. No running for me because I met a coworker for breakfast. Her mom had been in the hospital and nursing facility since February and came home about a week ago.

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It cleared up in the afternoon and it was hot again. I knew I still had to run and waited till after 8 to go outside. It was like an oven. I managed 1.5 miles. I wore my Koala Clip and was very happy with it. I did notice that my phone did get a little wet. Perhaps I didn’t close it correctly? Who knows but I still liked it and best of all there was no bouncing and it did not move.

I also went to the doctor to have him check out my left knee and foot. The bottom of my left foot started bothering me during the Missoula Half Marathon. Then again last weekend when I tried to run 10 miles. I suspected it was plantar fasciitis (thanks Google) but still wanted to be sure. The doctor did say it was plantar fasciitis, along with knee bursitis and patellar maltracking (my kneecap moves a bit and makes a clicking and scraping sound when I bend my knee). My knee does not hurt..just my foot. He gave me some exercises to do and a prescription for physical therapy (along with a recommendation for a gait analysis). He also told me to wear a knee support brace, but only when I run, and reminded me to stretch and foam roll. I thought for sure he was going to tell me to stop running. 🙂

When I suspected that I had plantar fasciitis, I bought these massage rollers from Amazon. Wow, they’re amazing!!!

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On Friday I meet a few BibRave Pros at the RnR Chicago. I got excited when I saw Kathrine Switzer and one of my favorite Brooks shoes.

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Then I meet the Pros for dinner at City Winery West Loop.

Saturday evening I decided not to run the half marathon. I went back and forth with my coach about my knee and foot. She advised me to take a few days off from running and instead to focus on cross training activities. I am to let her know Monday afternoon how my foot feels. Let’s hope I can get back to running soon.

Have you ever had plantar fasciitis? Suggestions on how to treat it?

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

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14
Jul
2019

Weekly Run Down: HOT in Chicago and another StepBet Challenge

categories: Running, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Mileage-17.jpg This week was another HOT one. It seems like the AC has been working nonstop all day this week. Check out the forecast for this week. I am running a half marathon next Sunday.

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I decided to do another StepBet Challenge. The first one I did was in the winter (at least it wasn’t that cold and I could walk outside). You can read about it HERE. My active and power goals are 1,000 fewer steps than the last one. Definitely not complaining. This week is a warm up week so I will not be eliminated if I don’t meet my goals this week. Next week is when the fun part begins!

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Monday’s 5 miles felt glorious. The weather was in the 60s. Sometimes I match and sometimes I don’t. 🙂 Later on that day I took my mother to the nephrologist. Her appointment was at 2:15 and we saw the doctor an hour later. We were there for about 15 minutes and the doctor told us we need to go back again next month. I am happy I can take her to doctor appointments this summer since I am off. Once I am back at work it will be a bit more difficult but I am sure I will manage.

Tuesday was 4 miles. I was planning to run in the morning but that didn’t happen. I went out in the evening instead. It’s been a while since I’ve run in the evening. It was glorious!

My next run wasn’t till Friday. Well, that actually did not happen. I had to run 5 miles and I started off too late. I figured if I take it slow then it would be OK. Nope. I should have known better. The sun felt like a furnace and I had to stop at mile 1.11. I decided to try again that evening since I had an appointment at 7:30pm to see a house (about 2 miles away). The plan was to run there, see the house, and then run back home. That would make it a little over 5 miles for the day. Why is it that when you have the “perfect” plan it never goes that way? My realtor texted me about 3:00 asking if I could go earlier? Umm, sure, but I knew I couldn’t run there.

I saw the house, liked it a lot, and told my agent I wanted to make an offer. He then told me that the seller wanted to accept one by 8pm that evening. I did a few errands (Target, Sam’s Club, and Walmart) before going home. He then suggested an offer price to make. It was way over what I was planning to spend. I told him the maximum amount I was willing to offer and went to bed. The next day he told me there was a chance that the buyer would consider the price I was willing to offer. He then told me that the seller also wanted to know if “their buyer was willing to sign the as-is rider plus the rider “waiving the right to a home inspection” section.” I said “No, thank you”. No inspection? Definitely not a good sign. I guess that house wasn’t meant to be for me.

Well my running on Saturday did not go well. I had to run 10 miles and met some friends at Waterfall Glen. Maybe I should stop going there because the last time I was there, my run didn’t go well either. 🙂 I ran 5 miles and turned around but then the heel on my left foot was hurting a lot. I stopped running at mile 7.37 and walked the rest back to my car. At home I used a tennis ball to massage my foot and it felt so much better.

Saturday afternoon I to a party to celebrate my nephew’s daughter’s baptism. It was a lot of fun and I got home late. Well, that made it difficult to get up early in the morning for a run. Running and a late party equals to sleeping in the next day. 🙂 I have another party to go to later on today which I am excited about. I love these parties with my cousins. We eat, talk, and laugh!!

I have a doctor appointment on the 25th (I thought it was this Thursday) and I will ask him about my foot and my left knee. He is the one I saw when I got a muscle strain in my left calf muscle. My knee makes a clicking/popping sound every time I bend it. It doesn’t hurt but the sound worries me.

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

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