Zenaida Arroyo

27
Aug
2024

Tuesday Topics: August 2024 Review

categories: Monthly Review, Tuesday Topics

Monthly Review-August 2024 This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic. Feel free to post any running-related blog post. Remember to link up with Jenn and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!

I went back to work and let me tell you that I am EXHAUSTED already. I have 24 students and 6 boys and 2 girls with behavior issues. The boys are the worst. Every single day I come mentally tired. It takes me about 5-10 minutes to line up to leave the classroom (bathroom, lunch, dismissal) because they are constantly talking, touching, etc. I have separated the boys and put their desk in the back of the classroom (one is next to mine), I have given positive and negative behavior points, and have talked to parents. Oh, one student cannot write his name and about 6 students CANNOT read. One mom even told me earlier in the week that her son didn’t learn to read last year in first grade. I looked at her and wanted to say “So why didn’t you teach him?”

I am doing a lot of work to prepare my Reading and Foundational Skills lessons. Our reading curriculum from last year is OK but we were never trained. I got by last year but told myself that this year I would do better. So far it is going well. The students are engaged with the stories we’ve read (The Fisherman and His Wife, The Emperor’s New Clothes, Beauty and the Beast, and Paul Bunyan). The good thing is that I alternate between an English and a Spanish lesson. Skills I have to teach in English and in Spanish. I have the English slides that I bought from TpT but need to do my Spanish slides.

I decided not to run the Chicago Marathon. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. I couldn’t finish my long runs. Running during the week wasn’t happening either. The main reason was that I was tired. I would wake up with my alarm and then turn it off. I am still doing my daily running and/or walking so at least I am doing something for myself. However, I am enjoying my walks more than my runs even if my runs are shorter runs.

Let me tell you MORE about how August went for me:

Mileage: To date I’ve run 32.25 and walked 39.50 miles. Interesting that I have logged more walking miles than running.

Run the Year 2024: I signed up to run and walk 2,024 miles this year. So far I have completed 369.51 miles (per the RTE Tracker) and have 1654 miles to go. I know I will not reach this goal. I would need to run/walk 13.8703 miles per day to reach my goal in time.

Current Book: I read “The Bright Side Running Club” and am currently reading “What Could Be Saved”. I loved The Bright Side Running Club. That is my 15th book I read this year so I am on target to reach my goal of reading 24 books this year.

Injuries: I am still dealing with plantar fasciitis. It is worse in my right foot but I think I have it in my left foot. I have no one else to blame but myself because I am not doing anything to make this go away. I have some discomfort/pain in my left knee too. Sigh.

Races: None.

Health: I am still dealing struggling with hot flashes. The number on the scale isn’t going up so I am happy about it. Now I just need to lose the weight!

School: See my paragraphs above. 🙂

What I am looking forward to next month: A day off for Labor Day.

The topic for next week: Tell us how your running journey began. Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

09
Aug
2024

Fit Five Friday: Five Friday Prompts, Part 1

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!

I am going to deviate from today’s topic to write about 5 prompts that are in the Jetpack app. Ready?

• You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike? I would go by car with a friend. It will be a fun drive and trip. I read “The Lincoln Highway” and would love to take that route – from NYC to San Francisco.

• What tattoo do you want and where would you put it? I already have 3 so I don’t really need another one. 🙂 I have a purple panther, a butterfly, and a sun. I would like to get something that is running related. Ha, if I were an Olympian, I would get the Olympic rings. I like the one below.

• How has technology changed your job? When I began teaching job, I used a TV with a VCR to show a movie and an overhead projector to project things on a screen. None of those things are used now. This Summer I received a new Promethean Board and a document camera.

One of the benefits of remote learning during that awful year of 2020-2021, was that I learned how to teach my classes with a camera, a computer, and Google Classroom. We no longer have snow days to make up at the end of the school year. If the weather is bad, we all work from home.

• Describe something you learned in high school. One of the best things I learned is how to type. I remember my counselor suggested I take a typing class. She told me it will help me in the future. She was right! I enjoyed the class and did well.

• What’s the oldest thing you own? The first thing that comes to my mind is my Keurig. I’ve had it since 2012. My nephew was 10 years old and we were at Target. I told him that if his mom asked him, to tell him that Tia wants a Keurig. I was serious but also kidding. Imagine my surprise when I opened my box. He was excited too!

The topic for next week – 5 finish line songs. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like. We hope you’ll link up with us!

06
Aug
2024

Tuesday Topics: My focus this month

categories: Tuesday Topics

Happy Tuesday! Thank you for joining me and Jenn for another edition of Tuesday Topics. Remember to link up with us! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Don’t forget to come back for later linkers!

It is August! To me that means the end of Summer Break and back to work. I know it will be busy the first couple of weeks. This will be my 16th year working as a teacher and it doesn’t get easier.

Here are a few things I plan to focus on this month:

• Self care. I come first. I have to take care of myself. I am making sure to run and/or walk in the morning, get plenty of sleep, read, drink water, eat “healthy”, etc.

• Settle into work. This week I am planning to go to school to set up for a few days. I start on Monday and the students start on Wednesday. I am not planning to stay late this week. Once school starts I will do what I can during the day and work a few hours at home. In addition, I plan to leave at 3:30 pm unless I have a meeting after school. Work will always be there. I will never catch up so why stress about it.

• Marathon training. My long runs have sucked big time. I need to figure out why. I’ve done these runs before so I know I can do them again. Sometimes I wonder if it is because I am older. It could also be because of the weather. I ran my last marathon in 2016 using the Hansons Marathon Method. I cannot believe I was running 6 days a week!!!!

• Patience. I know this is throughout the year, but I need to continue to have patience. One reason is for work. It will be easier for me and for my students. Second is at home. I’ve mentioned it before that I help take care of my mom. I also live with my sister that has a mental illness. Those two sometimes take a toll on me. There are times in which I just want to be alone.

• To listen. I listen but do I really listen? Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes I find myself listening to the other person talk but in my head I am already thinking of a response. I want to stop doing that. I want to hear what the person has to say. I owe it to that person.

The topic for next week – Share your race fueling plan. Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

New Tuesday Topics

04
Aug
2024

2024 Chicago Marathon Training Week #6

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Chicago Marathon Weekly Recap-1 Happy Sunday everyone! I am on Team TCS Teachers and training to run the Chicago Marathon on October 13. This will be my 9th marathon and my 6th Chicago Marathon.

Here is how my week went:

Week #6, July 29-August 4

Monday: Walked 2.35 miles and 25 minutes on the Peloton.

Tuesday: Ran 3.52 and walked 1.53 miles. Today’s run was an easy run with some hill strides. This is one of my favorite workouts!

Wednesday: Walked 1.12 miles. I didn’t run in the morning because I took my mom the hospital for a carpal tunnel release surgery. We woke up at 4:30 am and were at the hospital by 5:30 am. The surgery went well and we left the hospital around 11:30 am. It was a busy morning. In keeping up with my run/walk daily activity, I went walking close to 8pm. It felt good to walk but it was very warm.

Thursday: Ran 6.35 and walked .78 miles. Today was a 1.50 mile warmup, 3 miles @12:03 pace with a 3 minute recovery after each mile, and then a 1.50 mile cool down. I almost skipped this workout because it was very humid. I didn’t hit the 12:03 pace but managed to get negative splits (12:35, 12:13, 12:09). I am pleased with how I did and am glad I didn’t skip this workout.

Friday: Walked 2.50 miles. This was the perfect way to recover from Thursday’s run.

Saturday: Ran 2.65 and walked 1.14 miles. It was an 35 minute easy run but there was nothing easy about it.

Sunday: Ran 3.30 and walked 3.18 miles. I really, really wanted to run 13 miles. I woke up early, ate some pop tarts with my coffee, and went to the lakefront. I was doing 15 minutes running and 1 minute walking. I did OK for 3 miles and then stopped. I was not having a good run. I was doubting myself and wondering how the heck I was going to run 26.2 miles. Thinking this way is dangerous. Soon you start to believe it. I gave in too soon. I stopped my watch, turned around, and walked back to my car.

Do I still want to continue training for the marathon? I am not sure.

TOTAL:
Running: 15.82
Walking: 12.61
Cycling: 5.43

Here’s how training has gone so far:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

02
Aug
2024

Fit Five Friday and August 2024 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to the August 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 I am looking forward to the new school year. I know, I know. Soon I will be complaining about the school year. This year there are three 2nd grade teachers (last year there were 5) and I will be the only dual language teacher for my grade. It sucks because I will be “alone” but I can use it as an excuse when extra work needs to be done and I have no one else to work with.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you I am getting nervous and anxious about the Chicago Marathon. I am OK with the runs doing the week. The long runs are what scare me. They’re long and exhausting. I am doing 13 this weekend. The last time I ran this long was in March 2023. I know I can do it, I’ve run marathons before, but still they make me nervous.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I got the test results from my blood work. My A1C is fine but my proteins levels are low. Interesting that this has never been an issue. I knew I wasn’t getting enough protein but I didn’t realize that my levels were that low. More protein for me!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I had no one to take care of my cats during my trip to Minnesota. The few times I’ve been out of town, my sister has taken care of them. This time she went with us. I left my cats at the PetsHotel at Petsmart. It was one of the most difficult things to do but I had no choice. My cats weren’t eating for the first few days and were not adjusting well. I went straight to pick them up on the way home from Minnesota. I’m not sure who was more happy – me or them.

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you if you shop at Marshalls and/or Ross. I’ve bought a few kitchen items but that’s it. A few weeks ago I went to Ross but cannot remember why I looked in the shoe department. Imagine my surprise when I found a pair of the Brooks Launch in my size for $50. I then looked in several other stores and have purchased 2 more pairs of the Launch and one pair of the Ghost. I’ve gone back and have bought a few tops for work and 3 pairs of work shoes. I am a fan of those stores!

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