Zenaida Arroyo

02
Jun
2023

Fit Five Friday and June 2023 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to the May edition of the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah. It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by My First 5K and More, Running with Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me!

Now, grab a mug of your favorite beverage, and let’s chat briefly!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that today is my last day of school. How many times have I mentioned that already? It will be an easy day today. However, I am running out of ideas with what to do with my students. After work, I have plans with my coworker to go out for drinks and dinner.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am happy that when I tried to sign up for a half marathon on Sunday, it was sold out. I have a graduation party on Saturday and know I will be up late. When that happens I struggle the next day. I need a full day just to recover. I will have little energy to run on Sunday. Well, maybe a few miles, but not 13.1 miles.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I paused my Peloton membership (effective 6/15). I was using it for running and not worth paying the membership monthly fee. I know, I know, I need to use the bike. Sigh. I have no reason as to why I am not using it. Hopefully, I will once I get my life together.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that it is so fun seeing all of the graduation pictures on Facebook. It is also fun remembering my high school and college graduations from way back in the 90s.

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you if you’re interested in running a half marathon in Fargo, ND with me next year. Let’s take advantage of the early bird special of $64 for the half marathon (regular is $99). I still need 8 more states to run in to finish my 50+1 state goal.

The topic for next week’s Fit Fit Friday – Your 5 favorite fitness power songs. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like. We hope you’ll link up with us!

30
May
2023

Tuesday Topics: May 2023 Review

categories: Monthly Review, Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic. Feel free to post any running-related blog post. Remember to link up with Kim and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!

May is almost over which means June is almost here. It also means 4 more days till the end of the school year. I have some fun events planned for my students – movie day with popcorn, crafts day, and awards ceremony. I also have a “pick your choice” so they can do whatever they want.

Let me tell you about how May went for me:

Mileage: While April was a great month, it wasn’t the same for May. I had a running streak going in April and then missed the 30th because I was up late the night before and then was exhausted the next day.

As of today, I’ve run 20.64 and walked 1.54 miles this month. Those running miles also include a 10k.

Current Book: I finished reading “Damnation Spring” and “Choosing to Run”. The former was long and I somewhat lost interest but was determined to finish it. I didn’t like the ending but I think a different one would have made the book a bit longer.

I enjoyed Desi’s book. It was a fast read and it was interesting to read what she did and felt before, during, and after winning the Boston Marathon. I remember crying tears of joy that day.

My goal is to read 12 books this year and I already finished book #8.

Current Shoes: Still running in the Brooks Ghost. Ha, I am tired of writing about these shoes. I’ve run nearly 290 miles, so I will soon retire them and then run in another pair. A better idea would be to just stop wearing them, right? 🤣 🤣

2023 Running Goal: My goal this year is to run 800 miles. It is about 67 miles per month. Total mileage to date is 261.21. It is about 32 percent of my goal leaving me with about 537.79 miles to go.

Injuries: None. The hip is better. It isn’t 100% better but not as bad as before. I still have plantar fasciitis but it isn’t as bad as before either.

Races: I ran one this month – Spring Trail Chase 10k. It was warm, but the best part was that I ran in shorts and no jacket!

School: I am still mentally exhausted and cannot wait to be done. Friday is my last day!

Health: The hot flashes continue. Other than that, I am feeling good. I continue to watch what I eat because of my high A1C. I have an appointment next month to have blood work done again and hopefully, that number will be lower.

I will be switching insurance plans for both medical and dental from HMO to PPO because just finding a dentist is a hassle. Plus, I need to see my chiropractor again, and hopefully, someone to talk to about my mental health. HMO is cheaper but it is like pulling teeth to get the OK to see a specialist.

May was sort of OK and hopefully June is better!

The topic for next week: How will you celebrate Global Running Day? Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

26
May
2023

Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the Spring Trail Chase 10K

categories: Fit Five Friday, Race Recap

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida so be sure to link up with us. For this week’s Fit Five Friday we don’t have a topic but instead, invite you to also join in Runfessions with Marcia.

Happy Friday! I am pleased about it because it is payday, I am off on Monday, and next Friday is my last day of school. I have one week off then will start Summer School. I will be doing a similar program that I did last year working with incoming kindergarten students. I enjoyed it last year and I hope it goes well this year too.

On Sunday I ran my 4th race of the year. I almost skipped it because I was not ready for it. I am glad I didn’t because I enjoyed it and it went better than I expected.

Here are some fun things about the race:

🍃 It was my 1st time running this race. It was also a new to me location – The Forge: Lemont Quarries. I had never heard of that place! I got lost driving there. I should have followed the directions sent by CARA but instead chose to use Google Maps. The funny thing is that when I made a right turn that supposedly would take me to the race location, there were about 5 other cars behind me. That right turn led us to a no-trespassing area. We turned around and I ended up following another car. Whew!

Instead of a shirt, I got a pair of socks. I haven’t worn them yet but love the idea.

🍃 It was warm and the course was mostly shaded. It was great to run in shorts and a short sleeve top. Finally!

🍃I didn’t train for this race. I was doing really good in April with my running but then lost my motivation this month. Then it was chilly in the morning and I didn’t want to get up. I know, excuses, excuses. I knew I was not going to PR and ended up with a 1:13:49 finish time. The last time I ran a 10k was in 2018. I think this has been my fastest race this year.

🍃 The course was on a trail. Running on a trail means mosquitos. We were all ready because the race organizers provided insect repellant for us.

🍃 I used the run/walk method. I did really well and was proud of myself.

Will I do it again next year? Definitely! There are other races taking place at the same location that I am interested in doing. The Forge Fest Night Races looks like it will be fun!

The Forge: Lemont Quarries is an adventure park. There are a bunch of activities you can do such as zipline, archery, kayak/canoe, and axe throwing.

The topic for next week: Ultimate Coffee Date with Coco and Deborah. We hope you will link up.

23
May
2023

Tuesday Topics: Would You Rather-Summer edition

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic: Would You Rather? You can write about this topic or post any running-related blog post. Remember to link up with Kim and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!

I had so much fun writing this post last year so we are doing it again. However, the questions here are not running-related. They’re from a set I bought from TpT for my students. My students had a great time when we did this on Friday. Also, they’re in Spanish so I had to translate them.

Would you rather?

Have 20 mosquitos or 2 spiders follow you all day. I don’t like either of them but I would prefer to have 2 instead of 20 things following me.

Run on the grass or on the sand. On the sand.

Vacation on a beach full of people or on a deserted island. A deserted island. I would need my phone, a few books, and a TV.

Never watch TV or never eat sweets. Never eat sweets.

Live in a zoo or in a museum for one month. In a museum.

Play in the park or visit a museum. Visit a museum.

Go to the zoo or a water park. Water park.

Eat only cookies or ice cream all Summer. Ice cream. Chocolate with nuts and whipped cream, please.

Play a board game or watch a movie. Watch a movie.

Have a crab or a sea horse as a pet. A sea horse.

Play with bubbles outside or draw with chalk on the sidewalk. Play with bubbles.

Live in a boat or a tree house all Summer. A tree house.

Have sand in your hair or in your feet. My feet.

Eat watermelon or corn all Summer. Corn with all the toppings (mayonnaise, butter, lemon, cheese, and chile).

Have your body turn blue or your hair turn purple every time you get wet. Purple hair.

Be a mermaid or shark all Summer. A mermaid.

Eat a burnt hamburger or a burnt marshmallow. Burnt marshmallow.

Jump on a trampoline or ride in a canoe. Jump on a trampoline.

Play volleyball or play with water balloons. Play with water balloons.

Find a snake or a skunk in the woods. Oh boy! I am terrified of both but would rather find a snake.

Next week is a FREE topic. Feel free to write about any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

Tuesday Topics

19
May
2023

Fit Five Friday: 5 tips for Summer running/fitness

categories: Fit Five Friday

We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me for another Fit Five Friday link-up! This week’s topic is “5 tips for Summer running/fitness”. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like.

It is beginning to feel like Summer. It isn’t my favorite season but I do my best to deal with it. This year I am not looking forward to it because of my hot flashes. I am having a hard time with them already. Why do women have to deal with them?

Here are some Summer running tips that work for me.

☀️ Run early in the morning. I am a morning person and enjoy the quiet time in the morning. I remember years ago one Summer running in the middle of the day and it was in the high 80s. I’m not sure what I was thinking.

☀️ Wear protection for the face, body, eyes, etc. I wear sunblock on my face and body. Sometimes I wear a hat when it is sunny. I don’t wear sunglasses since I don’t wear my glasses when I run and can’t really see clearly with sunglasses.

☀️ Have fun. It will be warm or hot. There is no point in going too fast. If I have to walk more than usual then that is OK.

☀️ Use body glide in various parts of the body. Chafing is the worst. The combination of the skin rubbing and sweat will most likely cause you to chafe.

☀️ Hydrate. Being dehydrated is a horrible feeling. Depending on how long I am running depends on whether or not I take water with me. But no matter what, I always make sure to drink water all day.

The topic for next week: Runfessions with Marcia! We hope you’ll link up with us!