Zenaida Arroyo

03
Aug
2021

Tuesday Topics: My home gym

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Share your home gym. 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!

OK, so I don’t really have a home gym. The only exercise equipment I have in my living room is my Peloton bike. It isn’t a big room and I know it is a little messy and crowded. My nephew was in town and that is why I have a mattress in the living room. He left on Sunday but the mattress is still there. I know. I know. I need to move it and I will. 🙂

However, let me tell what my ideal gym would be like. Besides the Peloton bike I would add the following:

🟣 Peloton Tread-I know I can get a different treadmill but I really want this one. Not sure exactly which one from the two. Thoughts?

🟣 Yoga mat

🟣 Dumbbells

🟣 Rowing machine-This one is not a must have but would be nice.

🟣 Kettlebell

🟣 Jump rope–I bought this one after Wendy mentioned it in a post.

🟣 Medicine ball

What else do I need? One of the first things I will do when I buy a house is to set up a home gym. Cannot wait!

Tuesday Topics

01
Aug
2021

Weekly Run Down: 98.07 miles and almost done with my run streak

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Hello there! Happy 1st day of August! While I am excited for a new month, this month means that I go back to work. I have 3 weeks left but I know one of those weeks will be dedicated to setting up my room. I am nervous that with the rise of cases going on, we will not go back to school. While I understand the safety factor, I simply cannot and do not want to do another year of remote learning.

This week I hit my 300th run milestone and added a new pair of shoes to my rotation. I bought these last year and now am finally running in them.

I spent time outside with the cats in the balcony. I am almost done reading the book “The Soul of a Woman” and saw a great quote. I am sure I have seen it before but now I love it!

It was another good week of running. I am pleased with my runs and am actually surprised with the mileage this week. I ended July with 98.07 miles. I had to run 7 miles on Saturday and did half of it. Ha, if I would have run them all then for sure July would have been over 100 miles.

During Saturday’s run I realized that I did not want to run 7 miles. Well, does anyone actually do? I also realized I am feeling burned out. I don’t want to follow a plan anymore. I am not training for anything anyway. I had a conversation with my coach and once I have reached 1 year in my run streak, I plan to stop. For this month I am going to run whatever I want. I want to pick a 20, 30, 45 , or 60 minute Peloton run and do that.

The calendar below is from last year. I was doing good for half of August but then stopped running because on Saturday (after my run) I found out that I needed to get a Covid test. I went on Tuesday. How different it is now. I had to make an appointment (and wait) instead of just going in for a test. It was negative but still decided to quarantine. Not a big deal now but should I have quarantined? If I hadn’t quarantined then I would have been done with my run streak on the 29th. 😀

With no actual plan for this week, we’ll see how I do. I told my coach that I will do the hill/ramp workouts on Mondays but who knows how I will feel tomorrow. I may just do one mile or 2.

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.

30
Jul
2021

Fit Five Friday and July 2021 Runfessions

categories: Fit Five Friday, Runfessions

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional! It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by Darlene, Renée, Jenn, Michelle, and me! Let’s get started, shall we?!

I runfess…
That I am a sucker for Teachers pay Teachers (TpT). It is a place where I can purchase (some are free too) resources created by other teachers that are ready to use in the classroom. The best thing is that I’ve been able to find great resources in Spanish! There is a giveaway going on right now for 5 gift cards of $250 each and you bet I entered. There are quite a few teachers that organized this giveaway and in total my entries came to 132. Wow, I have never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway with that many entries. It took me about 45 minutes because I had to check Instagram, Facebook, TpT, and blog posts to submit my entries. Crossing my fingers I win!

I runfess…
That I get really annoyed and irritated when people (mostly men) stare at me while I am out running. Sometimes I ignore them but lately I stop and also stare at them and raise my shoulders and hands like saying “What? What are you looking at?” Most of the time they turn away and I continue on my run.

I runfess…
That I am a teeny tiny bit excited about going back to school. Please remind me saying this when I am complaining about it during the school year. I am not so much excited about the politics, BS, and some of the work but am looking forward to being again in a classroom with students. As much as I am enjoying my time off, I want to start setting up my classroom because I know it will take me a long time to get it ready.

I runfess…
That while I am happy and proud of myself for doing a run streak this long, I don’t think I will continue once I get to one year. I started it because I asked myself “Why not”? I wanted to see if I could do it. Plus I was inspired by others doing one too. Running in the morning is one thing I look forward to and let’t not forget how it has been these past months. While I enjoy running, I feel that running everyday is in the way of me doing other activities (cross training and strength). Or maybe it is me and I don’t know how to schedule all of my activities to get them done?

I runfess…
That I order many things from Amazon. I like the flexibility and convenience. I love that I can get many items in 2 days and can return them for free if I don’t like them. The other day I ordered a small whiteboard for my classwork. What I failed to notice is just exactly how small it is. I laughed when I saw the box and wondered what the heck I would use it for. I decided to return it but then noticed on the website that the item is nonreturnable. Oh well. I am sure I could use it for something in the classroom. Oh and next time I will pay closer attention to see if items are returnable.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week! We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites! Join hosts My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday! Please add your link below. I am also linking up with Marcia for Runfessions.

27
Jul
2021

Tuesday Topics: Benefits of running solo

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Benefits of running solo. 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!

As most of you know I am a solo runner. I have been doing it for a few years and am used to it. Just like there are benefits of running with a group, there are also benefits of running solo. Reading along to find out those benefits.

🏃🏽‍♀️ No one is waiting for you. Running late? No problem. Want to skip the workout? No problem either.

🏃🏽‍♀️Time alone. I know I am an introvert but also enjoy being in a group. However, just like some runners want that time to talk and catch up with others, I look forward to that time alone. I like starting my day with a run. During this time I am lost in my own thoughts. I think about my life, the things that I have to do, things that are going on, etc. Or sometimes I listen to music. Last year with everything that was going on, I looked forward to this time alone.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Your own workout/pace. I have a coach and have specific workouts/paces for them. Even without a coach, you decide how far to run, how fast, when to stop, route, etc.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Just get up and run. There is no need to make plans to meet someone at a specific time and location. I love being able to get out and start my run. Again, best way to start the day!

Tuesday Topics

25
Jul
2021

Weekly Run Down: Busy week and lots of good food

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

This week went by fast. Two nephews were in town visiting us which was fun. I had not seen them in over 2 hours. There was also a lot of driving done this week. During the school year I drive 6 miles to work so about 12 mile each day. One of my nephews stayed with my sister and mother so I went almost everyday to their condo to visit or to pick him up to go eat, etc. By Saturday I was exhausted from the week’s activities.

My runs went well. However, my easy/recovery runs felt hard. It could have been that I was tired from the previous day’s workout, the weather, or just plain tired. I ran them slow and that was OK with me.

There are no hills close to me so my hill workout is to go up a ramp by the expressway. I could drive to other locations for a real hill but for now this will do. The ramp is .23 miles and it feels like an eternity. I don’t know the exact elevation but it is quite a workout for me. On Monday I ran up 3 times and was really tired by the last one. Splits were 10:26, 10:27, and 10:07.

On Saturday morning I took one of my nephews to the airport. He had been out late the night before and I was also up late too so I could open the door for him. By the time I dropped him off and was home, it was hot and I had no desire to run. I stayed in bed pretty much all day. I did get out around 5:45 but by then it was hot and humid (it had rained earlier). It was awful. I was supposed to run 7 miles but a short run is better than no run.

Sunday morning I slept in till 7 and it felt wonderful. I drank coffee while checking email and waited for it to work its magic. 😉 By the time I got out it was almost 8 and it was already hot and sunny. My 2 miles felt tough but I got it done.

We had some great food this week! On Monday we had Home Run Inn Pizza and on Tuesday we had pozole. On Thursday my nephews and I went to Tzuco. The chef is from Guerrero, Mexico and that was mainly the reason we went there. The place is nice and the food was good. Even the bathrooms were nice! They have this fancy hand soap, Aesop, and now I want to get a bottle. We are planning to go again on Tuesday because another nephew will be visiting and wants to go there too. Then on Friday we went to Little Village to eat gorditas at Aguascalientes. << I forgot to take pictures.

Remember a few weeks ago I mentioned how there was a nest in our balcony? It was because of that reason that we could not go out there. Well, the pigeons finally left. I cleaned the area and bought some new chairs. The cats were happy to finally be out there!

Linking up with Kim and Deborah for the Weekly Run Down.