Zenaida Arroyo

This week’s Tuesday Topic is:  What’s one fun running related thing you did over the holidays?  You can write about this topic or 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!

Yesterday was my first day back at work after being off for 2 1/2 weeks.  It was great to be off but I was looking forward to being back at work.  Weird, right?  In December I wrote about the 5 things I was looking forward to during Winter Break.  I will update you on that and then tell you other fun things I did during that time.

☃️ Not be out running in the dark.  I ran one week and then didn’t run last week because of the weather.  

☃️ Not drive to school or anywhere else.  I drove once to the gym, to the store, and to take my mother to the doctor.  That’s it.

☃️ Watch TV.  Yep, every single day.  I finished watching “Castle”.  I was sad to see it end but was happy with how it ended.

☃️ Read.  Started reading “Such a quiet place” but haven’t finished it.  Luckily the library renews it automatically for me and no one else has requested it.  I did not watch “A Star is Born” because I couldn’t get the DVD player to work.  I am not sure why since I bought last year.

☃️ Teach a Winter Break Boot Camp to my students.  It was actually fun.  My students enjoyed it too.  Glad I did it.

Other things I did:

✔️ Spent a lot of time with my cats.  Lola followed me everywhere.  For some reason I cannot upload a recent photo of my cats.  Below is one from a few weeks ago.

✔️ Made mole with my mother for Christmas.  That was the 3rd time I made it.  I see now it isn’t that complicated.  I like cooking with her and learning how to make traditional Mexican food.  I am getting good at it.  Now she just observes and supervises me.  😀

✔️ Upgraded to the iPhone 13.  I had to wait about 45 minutes for an agent and then the whole upgrade took about 3 hours.  I haven’t noticed that much difference from the iPhone X.  The T-Mobile agent told me I needed a different charger which prompted me to go to Target to buy new ones for my house, school, and my car (it had to be plugged in the cigarette lighter and in my new car I had no idea where it was).  It turns out that I could still use iPhone X phone charger.  

✔️ Ran 1,000 miles.  What a great day!

✔️ Began using the Peloton bike again.  No running so the bike it is.  I LOVE Camila.  Yesterday I took a 30 minute class and almost got a PR.  I missed it by 6 points.  Tonight I am planning to take her live class at 7pm.  I am looking forward to it.

Topic for next week – What’s your plan to achieve your 2022 goals?  Feel free to write about this or any running related topic.  We hope you’ll link up with us!

Welcome to the first edition of Tuesday Topics for 2022!  Kim and I have lots of fun topics for this year and are excited for you to join us every week.  We decided that the last Tuesday of every month will be a FREE Topic.  Also, we’re looking for cool, new topics to highlight for the rest of 2022.  If you have any topics that you would like to add, please let me know in the comments section!

This week’s Tuesday Topic is:  Your word for 2022.  You can write about this topic or 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!

Last year my word was “Joy”.  It wasn’t easy but I did find joy last year.  I am working on a post and will have it ready by the end of the month.  For 2022 I decided my word to be “Patience”.  I started it working on it last year (well, all of the time but more last year) but want to do better this year.

Patience: : the ability to remain calm and not become annoyed when dealing with problems or with difficult people.

1: Patience for my mother
I have said before and I will say it again but she is an amazing and wonderful woman.  It’s been rough these past couple of years but at the same time I’ve had a great time with her.  She is older and requires extra help.  As stressful as it is, I am glad to be one of her daughters taking care of her.  I’d rather do that than have her be in a nursing home.

2: Patience for my students
No matter what they say or do or don’t do, they’re kids.  They wear me out and leave me exhausted at the end of the day.  However, I still love seeing them laugh and smile.  They make me smile too.  It’s been a rough time for us but we are doing the best we can.  Yesterday during the winter break boot camp a few students told me that they’re ready to go back to school.  

3: Patience for my students’ parent
I am not a parent so I don’t know what it is like to be one.  However, it drives me crazy when they don’t do more or not enough for their child.  I don’t think they realize that I also want the best for them but we have to work together.  Yes, they spend 5-6 hours with me each day but they’re their first teacher.

4: Patience for others
I am not perfect.  No one is.  I pick my battles and some things are just not worth getting upset about.  Well, maybe I do for a little bit and then move on. 

5: Patience for myself
I also need to take care of myself.  I have to take it easy and slow down.  Life is short.  I have to enjoy it now while I can.  Plus I work but and am still human.  I will make mistakes and not everything will go as planned.

Topic for next week – What’s one fun related thing you did over the holidays?  Feel free to write about this or any running related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

This week’s Tuesday Topic is:  What are your goals for 2022?  You can write about this topic or 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!

I can’t believe 2021 is almost over.  Wow, time to start thinking about next year.  Last year I wrote my goals for 2021 and, unfortunately, did not reach all of them.  I will be including them again in this post for next year.  

✅ Stay injury free.  This year I had a minor calf strain and plantar fasciitis in the Summer but it wasn’t serious that I had to stop running for weeks or months.  I try to use everyday my massage gun and my mother’s foot and calf massager.

✅ Buy a house.  Yep, still on my list.  Still looking.  I am giving myself till the Summer to move.  I don’t want to move in the middle of the year (especially while training for my race), but if I have to then I will.

✅ Travel.  This year I traveled to work, to the laundromat, and to the store.  Hopefully next year I will at least leave the state.  At least I did leave the city.  🤣

✅ Continue to be patient at work and at home.  I noticed a change towards the end of the year.  I wasn’t as angry as I would usually get.  At work I pick my battles and mainly focused on the things that I can control (mainly in my classroom).  I do need to work on being more patient with parents.  Ugh, sometimes they drive me crazy with the things they do and/or don’t do for their child.

✅ PR in my 50k.  My PR is 6:20:55 from 2012.  That is a 12:14 pace.  😮

✅ Run 1,200 miles.  I was planning to run that this year but unfortunately had to change it to 1,000 miles.  

✅ Complete 300 Peloton rides.  I’ve been slacking with my bike.  Running has been taking a lot of my time, but I know that if I plan it correctly, I can fit in a bike ride after work.