Zenaida Arroyo

30
May
2021

Weekly Run Down: A few days off and cats on my runs

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

What a week! It started off hot then it was cold. Yesterday and today it warmed up again but I still have the heat on. So weird how last week I wrote that it was very hot and the AC was not working.

After 3 days of not sleeping well because of a broken AC, I slept very well on Sunday night. I ran 5 miles with 4-45 second surges on Monday morning. Splits were 8:24, 8:15, 7:54, and 7:40. Yay! My run on Wednesday was great too. I ran 5 x 1/3 intervals and managed to get negative splits again (11:11, 10:56, 10:53, 10:32, and 9:55).

sleeping

It was cold and raining on Friday. Nope, didn’t not get out till the evening for 1 mile.

It was much better on Saturday and I went out for 7 miles. It felt good being out there. It was definitely warmer than the day before but I still wore tights and a jacket. I did 2 Peloton runs and it was just the right mix of music to make me smile.

I saw lots of cats while out on a run! I see them here and there but they all run away from me. This time I stopped to take a picture and then I looked over to my left and there were more cats relaxing on the front steps of the house. But darn I was so happy to see them that I did not take a picture of all of them. Instead I will post pictures of my cats.

Saw these too! Aren’t they adorable?

I took 4 days off from work. Let me tell you that I definitely needed those days off but I am sure you knew that already. So what did I do? I RELAXED. I did take my mother to the doctor on Wednesday morning. I also watched LOTS of TV. I am hooked on the show “Rizzoli and Isles”. Anyone else watch it? It felt so good to be off that now I am really tempted to take off the rest of the school year. But if I’ve made it this far, then what is 7 more days? I can do this!

Here are the photos of my fur babies.

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

28
May
2021

Fit Five Friday and May 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 so glad this month is almost over. It was long. It was hectic. So many emotions (happy, sad, angry, etc) and it wasn’t easy dealing with them. I like starting a new month cause I feel like I am starting over with everything. I am just tired of so many things.

sad emoji balloons

I runfess…
That yesterday I got my assignment for Summer School. I will be teaching 1st grade bilingual in the classroom with 13 students. While I am happy I will have kids in the room, part of me is still nervous. I haven’t had 13 students in a classroom in more than one year. While I know it is necessary, I am not happy that I have to wear a mask while I teach. I know I shouldn’t be complaining about the mask since I know doctors, nurses, and other workers have to wear them for long hours each day. June 14th is the first day of Summer School and it is only for 4 weeks so I will still have a few weeks off this Summer.

I runfess…
Last week I was miserable because my AC was not working in the apartment. Thankfully it was fixed a few days later and it felt wonderful to have it on these past few days when it was hot. However, yesterday morning it was 55 degrees outside. It felt like Fall. It was wonderful and pleasant to run outside. This morning it was raining with high winds and it felt cold so I turned on the heat. I haven’t done my run yet but I am planning to wear tights and a jacket. This weather is just so weird!

I runfess…
That I am an ambassador for two companies but haven’t really done much for them. I’ve been thinking about letting them know that I do not plan to continue as an ambassador. I still use the products but do not post anything about them on social media. What would you do? Stay or leave?

I runfess…
That I find it so rude when people do not respond to emails. I understand that everyone is busy. I don’t get a lot of work emails but always make some time to respond to them. I’ve written some emails to an assistant superintendent asking some questions and she never responded to them. Someone else said the same thing. I sent another email to another assistant superintendent and instead of her answering my question, she told me to ask my Principal. Many times I feel like they think they are better than us and have no time for us. And they wonder why sometimes we don’t like them?!

I just realized that none of these are running related. 😀 🤷🏻‍♀️ Thanks again for listening to me!

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.

25
May
2021

Tuesday Topics: How I stay mentally motivated during a long run

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: How do you stay mentally motivated during a long run? 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!

Wow, long runs. During marathon training a long run would be a run between 12-20 miles (to me). I am not training for a marathon. Thank goodness because I don’ think I want to run that long anyway. Right now my long runs have been between 5-7 miles and those are long enough for me. I did run a couple of 9 milers last year.

So how do I stay motivated during these runs? Let me tell you what woks for me.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Break up the miles. If I am running 8 miles I like to break them up in 2 milers. When I am done with 4 miles then I remind myself that I am 50% done. If that doesn’t work then I take it one mile at a time.

🏃🏽‍♀️ I get to run! No one is making me do this. It is my decision. I know I’ve said this before but I am fortunate that I can run, walk, etc. I hope I am still doing this for many more years.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Have a good playlist. I like to run with music but have also run without it. I am a huge fan of 80s and 90s pop/dance music. Matty from Peloton is my favorite to listen to during my long runs. He always has something exciting to say about him, the song, the artist, etc.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Enjoy it and take it easy. For me it wasn’t easy to run “slow” during my long runs (I wasn’t running that fast anyway). I think it was last year that I learned to let it go and run slower. No one is chasing me and I am not competing with anyone else. My paces are usually between 12:00-13:00 minute miles and that is OK with it.

🏃🏽‍♀️ Change my routine. I used to run by the lake and around the airport but haven’t been there in months. I run close to where I live but vary the route depending on my mood. Right now I like to do this to find houses that are for sale. 😀

🏃🏽‍♀️ Reward myself. It could be the tamales and coffee waiting for me at home. It could also be the shower that I will take when I am done. It could also be the nap that I will take after eating and the shower.

Running long miles isn’t easy but it isn’t impossible either. The key is finding the necessary tools to start, continue, and finish the run.

Tuesday Topics

23
May
2021

Weekly Run Down: Hot in the city and some tough runs

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Remember how a few months ago I was complaining about the cold weather? I knew it would warm up again and it came in full force this week. I was not ready for it.

The week started off with a 4 mile progression run on Monday. The runs we don’t want to do are the ones that surprise us. I was tired in the evening and didn’t want to run. Now I cannot remember why I didn’t run in the morning.

Tuesday was 5 miles with 2 miles at a faster pace. Those two miles felt hard. Not sure I like the mile repeats. Mateo knew exactly how I was feeling.

I have no idea how I ran 5 miles on Friday because I did not sleep well the night before. In this run I also did 4-45 second surges. I also did a fun 90s Dance Run which I enjoyed. The best part was at the end when Rebecca thanked the teachers. It felt so good to hear that since right now I am burned out. Only 12 days to go!

Another rough night and I struggled Saturday morning. I had to run 6 miles and could not do it. I did run 1 mile for my run streak.

As I mentioned earlier, we got some hot weather. On Thursday I came home and turned on the AC. It turned on but there was no cold air. I had my cousin check it out thinking that it would be something simple. Nope. I told the landlord. Fast forward to today, Sunday, and someone came before noon to check it out. Yep, 3 days with no AC. I know many people don’t have it either and it is just awful. I am grateful he is here and hoping he can fix it today. Update: It is fixed!!! I will sleep so much better tonight.

Even my cats are feeling the heat!

My runs this week weren’t that horrible. I know these past few weeks ago they were all great and this week some were challenging. That is OK since I know not all runs will be great. Can’t wait to see what my coach will have me this this week!

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

21
May
2021

Fit Five Friday: 5 pictures from this week

categories: Fit Five Friday

Happy Friday! This has been a LONG week for me. It warmed up yesterday and when I turned on the AC, it didn’t work. Well, it did turn on but no cold air came out. I told the landlord so hopefully he’ll send someone to fix it. It is supposed to be hot this weekend and cold air will be greatly appreciated.

Let’s take a look at my pictures from this week.

📷 The photo of Mateo cracks me up! He is giving me an evil look. Every evening before going to bed, he meows because he wants a snack. He won’t stop until I get up. I love my little guy so much.

📷 I decided to organize my pens, pencils, highlighters, markers, etc. Wow! I didn’t realize I had so many. These are what I had in my classroom and at home. I definitely do not need more.

📷 Not exactly a photo but a meme. I think Kim had it in one of her posts. I had already saved it in my camera because I am planning to do something similar after Summer School. This Summer I plan to relax and rest.

📷 I did not want to do my run on Monday but did it anyway. My run was 4 miles with each mile faster than the previous one. I ran in the evening and was already tired. It wasn’t as fast as I would have wanted, but I did get negative splits. Made me feel good when I saw the numbers!

📷 My students are revising and editing paragraphs. Not as easy as I thought it was going to be to teach them. However, a few have surprised me and have been able to do it correctly. The challenging part now is writing it on paper. Many have not written on paper in over a year and it’s been interesting seeing their handwriting. 😬

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.