Goodbye September and Hello October!

Hello October.jpg

• September flew by!  Cannot believe I’ve been in school for a little over a month.  I had a rough couple of weeks but now it is so much better.  Every single day I go to school thinking of how I can make it a good day for my students.  I am constantly dealing with students that talk too much :-), those that don’t talk at all, low reading comprehension levels, and those that struggle with simple addition problems.   I am being observed this year so I also need to get some information (data binders, assessment binders, etc) ready.

• Brooks Launch and Levitate.  Still have in my rotation two pairs of the Launch and one pair of the Levitate.  I do my easy runs in the Levitate and my speed workouts in the Launch.  I remember how before I used to do all of my runs in the same pair of shoes.  That changed once I realized how much I loved the Launch and purchased a few pairs.  I wanted to wear all of them and that’s what I did.  🙂

• Ran 96.08 miles.  Dang, didn’t make it to 100 miles this month!  Despite doing all of my workouts this month, I was still short 3.92 miles.  I am now 70% done of my yearly goal.  There are 90 days left in 2018 and I still need to run 355.24 miles to achieve my goal.  Looking at the numbers now, I don’t think I will make that goal but I know I will be very close to it.

Total September 2018

2018 Goal

• Total time running was 19:14:51.

• I enjoyed each workout this month.  There were easy runs but also faster workouts.  I did intervals ranging from 1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 5 minutes.  Definitely hard but also fun!

• 22 days of running.  I am loving running 5 days a week.  I don’t know how I used to run 6 days with the Hansons Method.  I love the easy runs (although a few I did too fast) but am also enjoying my speed workouts.

September 2018 Calendar

• No races but excited about my half marathon in October.  I am looking forward to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon.  It will be my 39th state in my goal to run a half marathon in each state.  You can use code RNRBRP2018 to save $15 off the half marathon.

• Final Thoughts:  I did every single run and on almost all of them did better than expected.  It is such a GREAT feeling .  About 99% of my runs were done early in the morning and it wasn’t easy to wake up to run at 5am.  However, I am glad I did because it was the last thing I wanted to do after work.  Plus, there were a few HOT days in September and I was happy to run early when it wasn’t as hot.

September 2018 Report Card

So how did September go for you?

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

TuesdaysOnTheRun

Random Thoughts Thursday 39

Random Thoughts Thursday

• I think my students like me.  They know I have a cat and love all cat stuff.  They were excited to draw cat pictures for me.

Pictures from Students-1

• Have you tried these protein shakes from Orgain?  They’re actually pretty good and tasty!  I’ve tried vanilla, chocolate, and strawberries and cream.  So far my favorites are chocolate and strawberries and cream.

Orgain Protein Shake-1.jpg

• I’ve said it before and will say it again but Amazon truly has the best customer service.  A month ago I ordered some steel cut oats.  The school clerk delivered the box to my classroom and I left it there until I decided to take it home (which was a couple of weeks).  Recently I ran out of the oatmeal I had at home and decided to open the box from Amazon.  Imagine my surprise when I saw that there wasn’t any oatmeal in the box but instead there were 4 bags of gluten free muffin mix.  I immediately got in touch with someone from Amazon and I explained the situation.  They apologized, issued me a refund, and told me to keep/donate/dispose the muffin mix.  

• Feel Good Friday.  Another great idea to do with the kids!

Feel Good Friday-1.jpg

• Anyone watched “The Manifest”?  The first episode got me hooked!  So good.  Kind of reminds me of “Lost”.  Excited for the new episode on Monday!

Random Thoughts Thursday 38

Random Thoughts Thursday

• Gotta love grandmas and their grandchildren.  When I was a kid, I rarely saw my grandparents.  They lived in Mexico and died when I was 18 years old.  However, I love seeing my mom and her grandkids.  The best!

When mom says no

• I always look forward to the weekend but rarely get to do everything on my list.  I  make sure to always do laundry, run, and catch up on sleep.  Definitely sleep!

This weekend

• Halloween is next month and I saw some really cute costumes at Target.  My cat doesn’t like anything on her and for sure will remove them as soon as I put them on.  Aren’t they cute?

• Got this idea from another teacher and did it in my classroom.  I had so much fun and the kids loved it.  One asked why I did it.  I responded that I wanted to do something nice for them.  I asked if they liked it and they all responded “Yes!”

• I want a taco too! 

I need a taco-1

 

Random Thoughts Thursday 37

Random Thoughts Thursday

• My running clothes stink.  I bought this detergent because an ad kept popping up on Facebook.  Plus, I was curious to see if this will help remove that awful smell from my clothes.  However, only 1 tablespoon?  Not sure how I feel about that.  Have you used this detergent?

• I purchased some new socks and so far am loving them.  I don’t like socks that are thick and have too much cushion.  These are soft, thin, but yet still provide enough cushion.  

• Cannot believe the Chicago Marathon is less than a month away.  I definitely do not miss training for this marathon or any marathon.  🙂  I am surprised that they are no longer allowing hydration backpacks.

• I definitely do not need more bottles of glue.  Saw this bottle at Target and couldn’t resist getting it.  It is the little things that make me smile.  Purple, why not?

Purple Elmer's Glue-1

• Went to get a mammogram and saw this sign at the doctor’s office.  Haha, couldn’t resist taking a picture of it.  🙂

No phone at doctor's office-1

2018 Fall Running Plans

Fall Weather-1The official season is not here yet but fall weather is here!  It feels wonderful running in 60-70 degree weather.  Friday evening I went out for a run.  I was supposed to run 4 but thought that it said 5 on my training calendar.  I felt so good and ended up not only doing negative splits, but running faster than I was supposed to.  

Fall is my favorite running weather.  I love seeing the different color leaves on the ground.  I love the cool weather and being able to run in a short sleeve shirt or a thin long sleeve shirt and still not feeling too hot.  I love that I can still run in shorts and not feel cold.

However, I do not like that it gets darker earlier in the day and it gets lighter later in the day.  😉  But still these temperatures are wonderful.

I have a few races coming up soon and I am excited about them!

ZOOMA Great Lakes 5kOriginally I signed up for the half marathon and last week decided to do instead the 5k.  I did the half marathon back in August 2014 when it was held in Chicago.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver.  I am excited to run in a new state.  My last one was in July 2017 when I ran in Alaska.  I remember signing up for this last year but then couldn’t make it but for sure I will be there this year.

RnR Denver 2018-1

Rock ‘n’ Roll Savannah.  Another new state for me.  Honestly, I am glad to finally cross GA off my list.  I had wanted to run in Atlanta but somehow couldn’t make it work.  Then when Rock ‘n’ Roll had a special back in June, I took advantage of it and registered for this race.  The logistics suck (for me).  Savannah doesn’t seem like a long way from Chicago but it will take me almost 6 hours to get there (beginning with a 6am flight).  Luckily the race is on Saturday so I will be home that same day and have Sunday to recuperate.  🙂  I’ve heard Savannah is pretty and do have a couple of hours to explore before my flight home.

RnR Savannah 2018-1

For now that is all I have for the fall.  I am kind of excited to train during the winter for Rock ‘n’ Roll New Orleans.  I’ve run both the marathon and the half marathon.  Last year I trained for the IL Marathon and had many, many great runs even with the cold weather.  Of all of my years of running, I don’t remember running so many days outside during the winter (always used the treadmill when there was snow or “too cold”).  Plus, I learned how to dress properly for winter running.  Haha.  Sounds silly saying it but so true.

RnR New Orleans 2019-1

 

What is YOUR favorite season for running?  What are your fall race plans?

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

TuesdaysOnTheRun