Zenaida Arroyo

09
Feb
2013

Rock ‘n’ Roll St. Petersburg Expo

categories: Running

What a beautiful day in St. Petersburg! I arrived about 11:30 am, called SuperShuttle, and was on my way to St. Pete before I could blink!

Unfortunately, my good luck did not last long. I arrived at the hotel and was told that my room reservation was cancelled. What!?!? I did not understand. Apparently, when I made my reservation back in December I did not guarantee it with a credit card number. Supposedly, the hotel called me in January and left several messages. Since I did not call back they took the liberty of canceling the reservation. Did they notify me? Absolutely not!! Well, I was so upset that I just started to cry. Long story short, the hotel was able to get me a room for the night. A suite! For the same price as a two bed room.

My room was not ready so I went out to lunch and had some delicious sushi. There was a special for $5 bloody marys and mimosas. I almost ordered a mimosa but the waitress talked me out of it because I am taking antibiotics for some teeth issues.

After lunch I walked to the expo. It was sunny and warm and I was sweating by the time I got there. I thought it was so cool that it was taking place at a stadium. Most of the expos I’ve been to have been at a convention center or hotel. If you’ve been to a Rock ‘n’ Roll expo before then you know what to expect. It is a GREAT expo. This one was a bit smaller than the one in Phoenix and Chicago. I bought another pair of headphones because I do not like the last pair I bought (same company but different style) and a Zipfizz sampler. The vendors and customers convinced me to buy it. Let me just say that the fruit punch, orange, and grape flavors are delicious!!

I was disappointed that ProCompression was not there because I was planning to buy a pair of their marathon lime socks to match the letters in my half fanatics shirt I plan to run in tomorrow. Well, at least my red socks will match my headband. Hopefully, this time it won’t fall off like it did in Phoenix.

I am excited about tomorrow’s race. Great city and awesome weather!

Just Keep Running!

03
Feb
2013

Weekly Workouts, January 28-February 3, 2013

categories: Half Marathon Training, Running, Running Gear

Workouts this week: January 28-February 3, 2013

Tuesday – 400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400 (90 sec RI)
Done.

Thursday – 1 mile easy, 5 miles @ mid tempo, 1 mile easy
Only ran 3.63. It was one of those days. I took several breaks before deciding to go home. I was not happy with myself but I could not keep going.

Saturday – 10 miles at HMP, 10 minutes walking
Done. The day started with a 5:30 am wake up call. I stayed in bed for about half an hour then my sister told me the carbon monoxide detector went off. I called the fire department and they were here within 3 minutes. Luckily, it was just a faulty detector.

Total ran this week was 18.42.

I wore a Brooks Women’s Glycerin Skort during my long run yesterday. Oh my goodness! Love, love that skirt!!! So cute and it felt so comfortable. The shorts underneath did not ride up. I really like it and will be buying more of them in various colors. I’m thinking of getting another black one, a purple, and a light blue. Perfect for spring and summer. They’re on sale for $29 on the Brooks website so what’s not to like?

01
Feb
2013

January 2013 in Review

categories: Monthly Review

This month I ran 90.01 miles compared to 81.62 last month.

I ran two half marathons in January: Mississippi Blues Half Marathon and Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon. Both races were very different course wise and weather. I enjoyed both of them and was very pleased with my finish times.

Next month I only have one race on February 10th in St. Petersburg. It should be warm and sunny and I am looking forward to it.

I love that my training plan only includes three runs each week. However, I am so bad with the cross training. I just don’t like it. I find it boring. On the days that I have to cross train, I find an excuse not to do it such as “I’m too tired”.

This is my new friend. I love how this makes my legs feel after a run. Don’t get me wrong, it does hurt when I use it but it still feels good.

27
Jan
2013

Weekly Workouts, January 21-27, 2013

categories: Half Marathon Training

Workouts this week:

Tuesday – 12 x 400 (90 sec RI)
Done.

Thursday – 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ mid tempo, 1 mile easy, 2 miles @ mid tempo, 1 mile easy

Done.

Saturday -9 miles at HMP, 10 minutes walking

Done.

Total ran this week was 22.80.

I just love my speed workouts! This week I alternated speeds of 7.0, 7.1, and 7.2. My goal is to eventually do all of them at 7.2. Next week’s workouts should be interesting: 400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 600, 400 (90 sec RI)

Do you like or dislike speed workouts?

Just Keep Running!

23
Jan
2013

Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon

categories: Race all 50 states, Race Recap, Rock 'n' Roll Race, Running

Done, state #12 and my second race of 2013. This is the first of many Rock ‘n’ Roll races I will be doing this year.

I arrived in Phoenix on Saturday morning and took the light rail to meet up with my friend L at the motel. From there we went to the expo. I love, love the expo!! As mentioned in a previous post, I bought lots of goodies.

Race morning came and I was up at 5:30 am. I got dressed, made coffee, and ate a Clif Bar. I was still hungry so I also ate a waffle. Doesn’t it look delicious?

It was dark when I arrived at the start line. I got in line to use the port-a-potty and then checked my bag. I was cold. But ready or not, I was going to rock ‘n’ roll!! It was such a beautiful morning once the sun was out.

My goal was to set a PR (2:20:00). I got a little ambitious and decided to run with the 2:15 pace group. See, I even had a cute wristband to help me stay on pace. I was doing good until about mile 4.25 when I stopped to eat a Gu. I then tried to keep up with them but they were about 15 seconds ahead of me. Do the pace leaders ever stop to drink water or gatorade or eat a Gu? I ate another Gu at mile 8 but by then my legs felt like lead so I decided to take a walk break.

See the cute Bondi Band headband? It fell off at mile 6. Yeah, I was disappointed. I felt it slide down and then turned around to pick it up but by then there were other runners coming towards me and I was not about to cause an accident there. On the website it is advertised as “no slip”. Hmm, that was not the case here because it did slip. Oh well, I think for next time I will secure it with bobby pins.

The course was flat and I was very happy about that. There was a slight and long incline around mile 8 but I hardly felt it. The sun was shining but it wasn’t hot at all. I don’t remember much about the course except that it was flat. I wish I had taken more pictures but I guess I was focused on staying on pace.

Did I PR? Nope. My finish time was 2:20:49. I missed it by less than a minute. I am disappointed but yet happy at the same time. However, I did run faster than the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon. I know that I ran strong and I will PR this year in another race.

Overall, it was a great race with perfect weather. Flat course which is always a plus! The volunteers did a great job and the crowd support was AMAZING! I am not a big fan of RnR races because of their prices but I purchased a TourPass which gives me “free registration” for their races this year. Next race is in St. Petersburg and it is advertised as “flat and fast”. Looking forward to it!

Just Keep Running!