Zenaida Arroyo

27
Feb
2018

February was good for me!

categories: Illinois Marathon, Running, Tuesdays on the Run

I cannot believe tomorrow is the last day of February! Two months done for the year. If you have been following along my training for the Illinois Marathon, you know that this winter has sucked. I’ve run in freezing weather and in the snow. It hasn’t been easy and I had to talk myself into getting out there.

• To date I’ve run 81.90 miles. I have a run today and Wednesday. I still won’t make my goal of running 100 miles per month. I know it is my fault because I did miss 2 workouts and didn’t complete another one that was 11 miles. Oh well. My marathon is in two months and I know there will be heavy mileage coming up and for sure will go over 100 miles each month. As long as I have at least 1,200 miles for the year I will be happy.

• Total time run is 16:11:13. That is about the same amount of hours from the time I wake up in the morning to the time I am in bed at night and start all over. Fascinating!

• I’ve run 16 days. This training cycle has me running 5 days a week. I’ve been doing pretty good even with this crappy weather. I am proud of myself for getting out there.

• I’ve had some great quality session workouts. Not only have they been great but they’ve been fun! I’ve managed to hit the required paces and that has been a great confidence booster. I remember how before I would do these workouts on the treadmill because it would help me stay on pace. Now I can do these on my own with no help from it.

• I have not kept up with strength workouts. I slacked off. I had signed up to do a February Challenge (Supermans, Squats, and Russian Twists) with a few other bloggers and did good for the first few days and then stopped. I got tired and lazy. Hopefully there will be another challenge in March that I can participate.

So how did February go for you?

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

25
Feb
2018

Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 13

categories: Illinois Marathon, Marathon Training, Running, Weekly Recap

Week #13, February 19-25

M Rest
T 3.76
W 2.51
TH 4.91
F Rest
S Ran 3.80
S Ran 11.38

Another great week of training for the Illinois Marathon! I didn’t miss/skip any of my workouts. Mother Nature cannot make up her mind about the weather. It rains one day and then cold the next day. Hopefully in March we’ll have decent weather.

Tuesday’s run was in the rain. Well, maybe not exactly rain but more like a mist. I was still cold but glad it was a 45 minute run. Lola didn’t care that I was cold.

It was cold again on Wednesday and honestly I did not want to run. Sucked it up and did it anyway.

I was looking forward to and excited about my run on Thursday (2 mile warmup, 5 minutes @10:45, 5 minutes @10:02, 3 minute rest, repeat and then 1 mile cool down). Pretty cool huh? Well, during the first 5 minute session I was curious to see my pace so instead of pressing the light button, I pressed the lap button. No! I almost wanted to cry. I know, stupid.🤦🏻‍♀️ It was a long day plus we had a practice lockdown so you can imagine how emotional that was during school. Anyway, I quickly snapped out of it and continued with my run and it was AWESOME! Moral of the story: Trust the process and don’t mess with your Garmin.

After cuddling with Lola in the morning I went out for 45 minutes of running. It was cloudy and not too cold. I should have done my long run on Saturday instead of Sunday.

Saw these shoes on Running Warehouse and want to get them.

Illinois Marathon-133

I was NOT looking forward to my long run on Sunday. Total time to run was 2 hours and 2 minutes. It was cold and windy. The sun did come out but also decided to hide. I was very tired towards the end but pleased to get it done.

Total mileage for the week: 26.37
Total mileage for this training cycle: 247.18
Total mileage for the year: 168.37

Here’s how training has gone so far:
• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12

How was YOUR week?

Link back to the host and let’s support other bloggers linking up as they train for a marathon, half marathon, or any other event.

23
Feb
2018

Friday Five 2.0-Top 5 reasons to run the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K

categories: Ambassador, BibRave Pro, Friday Five 2.0, Running

Disclaimer: I am promoting the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K is next month and I am excited to run it again. It is one of my favorite races in Chicago! This race marks the start of the official running season in the city. Are you signed up for it? If yes, GREAT but if not then read on to find out why you MUST run this race. I will even give you a discount code. 🙂

1. Automatic PR and sweet medal. Isn’t it beautiful? An 8K is 4.97 miles so if you’ve never run this distance before then you automatically get a PR. I’ve run this race 9 times and my PR is 48:38 in 2014. I am having a great marathon training season and hopefully will get a PR this year.

2. Beer! Celebrate that new PR and/or show off that sweet medal at the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle Post-Race Party. Each runner gets a ticket for one (1) Michelob ULTRA (must be 21 years or older to consume). There will also be live music. The party doesn’t stop there. The celebration will continue at The Scout Waterhouse & Kitchen (1301 S. Wabash Ave.) from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m. Shamrock Shuffle participants who bring their race bib will receive a ticket that can be redeemed for one (1) Michelob ULTRA.

3. You can dress up! How fun is it to be all decked out in green and run in a beautiful city? I’ve lived in Chicago for almost 40 years and never get tired of the view. This race is also great to do with friends. Each year I’ve been able to run with friends and have a fabulous time.

4. It is a short but yet popular race. An 8K is a unique distance and in Chicago there aren’t that many 8K races. Over 30,000 runners run the Shamrock Shuffle. It is so popular that on race morning NBC 5 Chicago provides live, streaming coverage of the race start and finish from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. where supporters can watch their favorite runner cross the line.

5. Save $10 off registration fee. Make sure to use code “SHUFFLE” at the following link: http://haku.ly/dd2567 to save $10 on your race entry.

So did I convince you? Will I see you there? Have you run this race before?

I’m linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 2.0.

22
Feb
2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 8

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

Happy Thursday! It was a short week and it felt wonderful. Tomorrow all 2nd graders in my school are going on a field trip to the Museum of Science of Industry. It should be fun and I am actually looking to it! Read along for some of my random thoughts.

• Are you a pet owner and have an Instagram account for your pet? I love my Lola very much and have an account for her. You can follow her HERE.

• I am excited about my new pair of Tieks by Gavrieli but have yet to wear them. My new pair are in my room waiting to be worn. I ordered them in Chestnut because I needed a neutral color that will go with many outfits (I already have a pair in black). The problem now is that I don’t have that many outfits that go with that color. Most of the pants that I wear to work are black or some other dark color and do not go well with brown. I might exchange them for another color. I do have a few skirts that will go very well with those shoes but for now the weather isn’t cooperating and I am not wearing any skirts. Or I can go crazy and not exactly match my shoes with my pants! 🙂

• Spring is around the corner and I got a great deal on sweaters! I had a coupon for 30% off from Kohls and took advantage of it to go shopping. I found a sweater on clearance for $10.80 and with the discount I ended up paying around $7.50. Great deal, right? I wanted more in different colors but couldn’t find them at the store. Instead I went online and ordered 9 additional sweaters. They were $14 but with the discount each one came out to about $10. Love it when stores have big sales like this one.

• Lately I’ve noticed that I’ve been drooling while I sleep. Of course I notice when I wake up (usually because I have to use the bathroom). I know, kind of gross. I don’t think that had ever happened to me before!

• Today we had a practice lockdown. My kids know exactly what to do. It is hard to keep 24 kids quiet in a room. Some talk and others giggle. I had to remind them to be quiet and to sit as comfortable as possible because we had no idea how long we would be in that position (we sit on the floor in a corner with the door locked and all of the lights off). A few minutes later I got very emotional. They did not see me cry. I know it was a practice drill but what if it was real? I know I would do anything to protect them from harm but this whole thing about how teachers should be armed is RIDICULOUS. Just now.

What are some of your random thoughts today?

20
Feb
2018

Dear Running: I do love you but sometimes I don’t!

categories: Running, Tuesdays on the Run

Last week I wrote about why I love running. But it isn’t always unicorns and roses. As much as I love it, there are a few things I don’t like about running. Let me tell you about it.

• Chafing all over. Oh boy, that is definitely the worst. Throughout the years I’ve had my share of chafing in my inner thighs, in the bra area, and the inside of my arms. I make sure to always use body glide but I guess sometimes I don’t use enough. It is much worse in the summer when I am sweaty or when running in the rain. I remember I chafed so bad during the 2015 Chicago Marathon that I could hardly walk. It took a few days for it to heal and for me to walk like a normal person again.

• Blisters on feet. Those suckers are just as painful as chafing. They’re less painful when I pop them and drain the fluid. I know I’m not supposed to do that but to me it definitely feels better. I remember I got a blood blister in my toe from running Goofy in 2014. I didn’t leave it alone and drained the fluid and that helped with the pain. I also got a couple from running the 2015 Chicago Marathon (same year as chafing). << The next time I ran the Chicago Marathon there was no chafing nor blisters.

• The weather. This one isn’t really running’s “fault”. This winter has been a mixture of very cold weather and a lot of snow. Luckily I’ve been able to do most of my runs outside but it hasn’t been easy. I’ve tried to be positive and make the best of each run. Sometimes it works and sometimes I wonder why the heck I am training for a marathon. I know I will complain again when it is summer. Why is it so darn HOT outside?!?!?! That is why for me the best running weather is during the Fall.

• Being tired. When I was training using the Hansons Method, I was tired all of the time. That program is intense but at the same time I enjoyed running 6 days a week. Currently I am training with a coach and I am running 4-5 times a week. Not as hectic as before but there are some days that I am so exhausted and don’t want to get up in the morning and go to work. I actually look forward to my rest days. 🙂

• An achy body or injuries. Long runs and speed workouts take a toll on your body. But it is those runs along with easy/recovery runs that make us better and faster runners to help us achieve our goal. But that also comes with a price. Our body aches. We are sore. A good kind of soreness. But we wake up the next day and run again. Let’s not forget about injuries. Those suck! I’ve been injured a few times and it isn’t fun at all. Not being able to run drove me crazy. But it took time, patient, and rest for me to get better and start running again.

What don’t you like about running?

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

TuesdaysOnTheRun