Zenaida Arroyo

01
Nov
2014

Princeton, New Jersey

Today I made my way to Princeton. For some weird reason I had set my alarm for 5:15 pm. I woke up a little before 6 am when I got a message from the cab company letting me know that the driver was on his way. I cancelled the request and took a quick shower. I was out the door at 6:30 and took the train to the airport. Check in and security were a breeze.

The clouds always relax me. I imagine myself floating in them.

I arrived in Newark before 11:30. I had instructions to take the AirTrain (monorail) to the rail connection for the NJ Transit and then take the Northeast Corridor train to Princeton Junction. Luckily I had no trouble and made it on time to get on the train that was supposed to arrive in 9 minutes. The ride was smooth and comfortable.

Once in Princeton I called the hotel to find out the best way to get there. They only had shuttle buses working during the weekday so they kindly requested a car for me. I checked in and inquired on how to get to the running store downtown to pick up my packet. I was told I had to take a cab. I got annoyed. So that was twice that I had to pay cab fare. I was also annoyed with myself because I should have done more researched on the race and I would have found out that my best option was to rent a car.

Packet pickup was a breeze. I bought a pair of the Saucony Ride 7. And yes I will break the “Don’t try anything new on race day” rule and wear them tomorrow.

Afterwards I had lunch at Panera and I searched for various car rental companies in the hopes of getting a car to use for the rest of the day and tomorrow. I realized I had to pay for a cab to get back to the hotel, get to the race on Sunday, get back to the hotel after the race, and then head back to the train station for the airport. No luck in getting a car. Definitely big fail in my part. I realized I had the Uber app on my phone and decided to use that service to get back. But before doing that I walked around Princeton University.

Now I want to see again the Transformers movie.

I enjoyed the Albert Einstein mini museum.

Wow, it is such a gorgeous campus. I loved seeing the beautiful fall colors.

I got excited when I saw this sign!

I love the shirt! It fits perfect. Also, I love my bib number.

Oh and for the ride back to the hotel I used Uber and ended up paying half as much as what I had paid earlier that day. I will definitely be using them tomorrow.

20
Oct
2014

IMT Des Moines Half Marathon

categories: Race all 50 states, Race Recap, Running, Running Gear

On Sunday I ran the IMT Des Moines Half Marathon with my friend Jaime. I can honestly say it was a great race!

My last race was the Disneyland Half Marathon in August. It was that week after the race that I decided not to run anymore the Chicago Marathon. Since then my running/training went downhill. I went back to work and was staying there till 6pm and honestly the last thing I wanted to do was go out for a run. I ran a couple of Saturdays with Lety but I wasn’t exactly training for a half marathon.

I began to panic as the race day got closer and almost backed out because I didn’t feel ready. I then decided to just go for it. I am so glad I did.

The race began at 8am. It was 39 degrees at 7am and I decided to wear shorts, compression socks, and a long sleeve shirt underneath my Oiselle singlet. Jaime and I left the hotel at 7:30am and headed over to the start line. It was chilly but the walking warmed me up a little bit. Once we got there, we took a few pictures, and waited for the race to begin. My favorite part of the beginning of a race is the National Anthem.

Finally it was time to run. I had no time goal. I wore my watch but set it to only show the distance. I also wore my iPod. I don’t remember the last time I wore them during a race and it felt good to hear some good tunes while running.

The first couple of miles went by fast. There were a few hills but nothing too horrible. It was gorgeous outside and I was warming up with the sun. I wasn’t uncomfortable hot but just warm.

We ran through two parks. That was my favorite part of the course. It was beautiful plus it was flat. Very peaceful too. It was after running through the second park that my left side began to hurt..from the glutes to the calf. I would run, walk, and repeat.

I had passed the 10 mile marker when two male marathon runners passed me up. Wow, they were speedy!

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The last two miles were back to downtown Des Moines. Luckily it was not as hilly as the beginning of the race.

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Four more marathon runners passed me up. I hurried on determined not to let the female marathon winner passed me up too. But I just couldn’t with that darn pain. Then I heard a siren and knew the female winner was behind me. And she passed me up. I knew I was close to the finish line but just could not see it. There were so many people cheering for her but I pretended that it was all for me. Finally I saw the finish line and ran for it. Finish time is 2:31:56 and yes I am very happy with it.

The best part was the post-party. There was food and more food. It was neverending. There was water, gatorade, chocolate milk, pizza, cookies, protein bars, chips with nacho cheese, and sandwiches. Jaime and I talked about how we’ve never seen this much food at other races. Hmm, not even at the very expensive Disney or Rock ‘n’ Roll races.

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I love the long sleeve shirt we got. I am definitely keeping this one.

Overall it was a great race. I enjoyed the course and the weather was gorgeous. There were plenty of water stations and two Gu stations. The spectators and volunteers were wonderful. And let’s not forget all of the food after the race. The medal was OK.

As for my glutes and calf? I foam rolled at the hotel after the race and am feeling much better. The pain could have been caused from the lacking of training/running or from wearing a new pair of Superfeet insoles. Who knows? All I know is that it doesn’t hurt anymore.

Next race is Princeton Half Marathon on November 2nd. Can’t wait!

13
Oct
2014

Chicago Marathon Weekend Part 3

categories: Chicago Marathon

Yesterday was the Chicago Marathon. I’ve ran this race before and have also been a spectator. It is definitely much more fun to be a spectator. 🙂 I had very high hopes of seeing all of my friends but unfortunately that did not happen.

The day began with breakfast at Cafe Jumping Bean. Great place for coffee and food.

With my running buddy, Lety. Lately I’ve been running with her on Saturdays.

Here they come.

I saw The Cat in the Hat.

The smooth runner Doctor Dribble.

A pleasure seeing Graham Elliot.

Overall, great day for a marathon and a fun day for spectating too. I had so much fun cheering for the runners. I did get a little emotional because I was supposed to be out there too. But then I realized that I made the right choice in not running the marathon.

12
Oct
2014

Chicago Marathon Weekend Part 2

categories: Chicago Marathon, Running

Saturday morning was a Shake Out run with Bart Yasso and Deena Kastor. It was seriously a gorgeous day for a run. Bart is such a cool guy.

I saw Josh Cox again. I first met him last year at the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon. Well, I didn’t meet him at the race but the day before the race at another shakeout run.

Deena is a speedy woman! I could not keep up with her.

The first 50 people that arrived got a free gift from Asics. I was number 45. The gift was a cool backpack, an October copy of Runner’s World Magazine (happy about it because I don’t have that issue), a pair of Asics socks (so soft but I gave them to my mom), and a bib holder by FuelBelt.

I stuck around for a little bit and then made my way back to my car. It was about a mile back so I walked slowly while enjoying the sunshine and seeing all of the runners possibly enjoying one last run before the race. And then I saw Joan Benoit Samuelson. I said “No way” because I was surprised that I saw her at that exact moment. However, she was running so fast and my slow legs seriously could not keep up with her. I couldn’t even get a picture of her. But at least I did see her. So even though I don’t have a picture it still counts right?

11
Oct
2014

Chicago Marathon Weekend Part 1

categories: Chicago Marathon, Running

Friday after work I went to the Chicago Marathon expo. I am no longer running the marathon so why did I go? Just to check it out.

Interesting race Maraton Ciudad de Mexico.

This made me smile. Such a huge bra.

Look at those tiny feet!

I want to be Mebnificent. I tweeted this photo to Meb and he favorited it.

Of course I had a few beer samples and purchased a bottle opener.

Cool medal for The Gasparilla Distance Classic in February. It is on my to do list.

I met Scott Jurek and he signed my bib. I said so many nice things to him and he just smiled. Such a humble guy.

And seriously the ugliest shirt ever! I know I never keep any of my race shirts but don’t think I would have even thought of keeping it.

At the end of the expo I walked out with a pair of Superfeet insoles and two Sparkly Soul headbands. So proud of myself for not spending more money. I thought it was a good expo but feel like compared to previous years it was much smaller. Or maybe in previous years I’ve purchased more stuff and felt like there were so many vendors. This time I quickly checked them out because there wasn’t anything that I needed.