Zenaida Arroyo

04
Apr
2021

Weekly Run Down: Spring Break and windy days

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

What a week it was! I relaxed, watched TV, and read a new book. Lola followed me almost everywhere I went. She is so sweet!

On Monday I did not leave the house until about noon because I was reading and watching TV. And the only reason I left the house is because I had to go to the post office and do laundry. I should have done those things on Saturday but I felt lazy that day. I also did my run in the afternoon. It was windy all day (23 mpg).

This was on Tuesday.

I ended March with 78.22 miles. I was really hoping it would have been closer to 100 miles but I am still pleased with how I did. I remember the month started off well but then I had days when I was just too tired and did not want to do my workouts. Plus, there were many windy days and I just did not want to fight it.

Wednesday was Lola’s birthday. No big celebration but she spent the day hanging out with me.

This book is so good! Thanks Wendy for the suggestion. I am kind of obsessed with Kara. I’ve learned so much about the Gouchers from reading the book.

Yesterday I had to run 5 miles. I really had no desire to run that long. That sounds funny because 5 miles isn’t really that long. I started off with 30 minutes and was feeling really good so I kept going. However, my last mile felt hard because it was all headwind and I was tired. Took it easy and walked as needed.

Today’s run was GREAT! No wind and it was sunny. I did overdress and I should have worn shorts. It was the first time doing an All For One Run. It was so good and perfect for a Sunday run. This is one that I will definitely do again. Check out that playlist!

Anyone else watched “Law and Order: Organized Crime”? I watched parts of it because my mother was here and I was helping getting her ready for bed. However, I watched it the next day on Hulu. It was so good. I cried. Now I am watching “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” from the beginning. I never watched it from the beginning and would randomly watch it on Saturdays since it is on all day.

Overall, it was a great week. I left the house a few times to do errands while taking it easy. I would have liked to have traveled, but definitely enjoyed being at home.

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

02
Apr
2021

Fit Five Friday and April Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Hello April! Like Jenn mentioned in her post, we are 1/4 through the year. Wow! These past few months were a blur, well, except for February with that awful weather. 🙂

I am still on Spring Break, but today is my last day. However, I am also off on Monday and then Tuesday is a Remote Planning Institute Day (I can work from home). This week also went by fast. No complaints. So, grab your favorite drink and let’s chat.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I want to go on vacation. I just want to go somewhere and get away. I have my good days and bad days and I am itching for some time alone. Is that bad? I know the pandemic has affected everyone but like everyone else I am just so tired of it. I want to travel to NYC and to Washington, DC.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I want to buy anther Garmin watch (245) just because of the walking feature. My 235 does not have it. Do I really need a new watch? No. But I do want to have the feature when I do go out for a walk. There’s been a few times when it’s been so windy and I’ve had no desire to deal with it while running, that I’d just go for a 20 minute walk. You will then tell me that I don’t like to walk. You are right. However, lately, I don’t mind it. I usually do a Peloton class or listen to a podcast. You will be shocked because I don’t like podcasts either.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I find this whole virtual Boston Marathon thing a bit crazy and silly. I get it that it’s been tough on the running industry but they are taking advantage of people wanting to supposedly race a Boston Marathon and get a unicorn medal. It isn’t even on the actual course. Plus, $125 is a lot of money for a virtual race. So am I a hypocrite if I tell you that, since I will never qualify for it, if I were given an entry to it, I will take it?

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you “What do you do about all of the ads on Instagram?” This past week I spent some time going through quite a few of them and hiding them and either selecting “It’s irrelevant” or “I see it too often”. I’d ask you if I just wasted my time by doing that.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I know you are tired of hearing about me wanting to buy a house. While I am excited about it, I am also nervous. I know the interest rates are low. Actually, they’ve gone up a little bit. House now are still so expensive. More than they were last year. I live on the south side of Chicago where it isn’t that expensive but seeing prices for a 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $250,000-$300,000 scares me. I remember years ago when I started looking I did not want to spend more than $225K (I thought it was too much). Now I have no choice.

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 Running with Perseverance and Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

29
Mar
2021

Tuesday Topics: My daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals

categories: Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic is: Do you set a weekly goal? Monthly? Yearly? 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!

Hello there! How is everyone doing today? Today is day 2 of Spring Break. Yesterday was glorious…loving Spring Break. I will write more about it in Sunday’s post. For now let’s talk about goals. I have daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. I am happy to say that this is the first time I’ve actually written them down. 🙂

Yearly
➡️ At the beginning of the year, I set my goal to run 1,200 miles. As you know, February was not a good month for me due to the weather (34.26 miles). March has been better (74.71 miles) but still my mileage is not what I wanted it to be. That is OK. I might have to change that yearly goal. Maybe 1,000 miles?

Monthly
➡️ In order to meet my goal of running 1,200 miles this year, my monthly goal is 100 miles. I may need to adjust it.

➡️ Buy coffee 4-5 days per month. I have both a coffee maker and a Keurig so there is really no reason for me to stop at Starbucks of Dunkin Donuts for a coffee. I do like their coffee though but know it is expensive.

Weekly
➡️ No specific mileage but just do the workouts assigned by my coach. I do my best but sometimes a run doesn’t happen or is cut short due to the weather or not feeling it.

➡️ Do 2-3 bike classes on the Peloton. I mean that is the reason I bought the bike.

➡️ Take my lunch to work 4 days a week and order out one day. I work hard. I treat myself. Sometimes I even have leftovers and that is dinner for me.

Daily
➡️ Not bring any work to do at home. Sometimes I don’t get to finish all of my work and I end up finishing it over the weekend. I remember a few years ago I would bring work home almost every day. Now it is just maybe an hour or two to finish my lesson plans.

➡️ Leave work at 3pm. We do have a staff meeting on Wednesday and on those days I leave at 4pm.

➡️ Drink 8 cups of water. I have a 32 oz water bottle that I take to work. I like to finish it before leaving work. Then at home I refill it again and try to finish it before I go to bed. There are days when I don’t finish the bottle and there are days when I refill it 3 or 4 times. Balance, right?

Tuesday Topics

How about you? Do yo make daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals?

28
Mar
2021

Weekly Run Down: Afternoon runner and kids in the classroom

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Hello there! Tomorrow is my first day of Spring Break! I’ve been waiting for this week for weeks! Haha! I have no traveling plans but want to finish up a couple of things for school, read a few books, and watch TV. Relax, right? I am excited for Thursday to watch Law and Order! Anyone else?

As you know I prefer to run in the morning. But this week was all about running in the afternoon. I could not wake up in time to run and then get to work. It is weird how years ago I would wake up around 4:30-5:00 to run, get ready for work, and get to work around 7am. I am thinking that something is wrong with me. I’ve just been more tired than usual.

I ran in a few new Oiselle items that I bought. New gear makes me happy. Right, Shathiso?

This week I celebrated my 150th run with Matty. No shoutout from him but he did make one for a friend of mine that lives in Chicago. I had no idea she was doing the same run until she posted it on Instagram. But during the run I did not hear the actual shout (it was towards the end and I was tired of battling with the wind) so then I went back to listen again. Gonna try again for my 200th run!

After a year of teaching online and not having any students in the classroom, I had two students on Tuesday and Wednesday. I had so many emotions that day. I was nervous, scared, and excited. After Spring Break, there will be 3 students on Tuesday/Wednesday and 2 students on Thursday/Friday. While I do like having them in the room, the most difficult thing is wearing a mask. We all have to wear one. It is hard to breathe and talk. I found myself talking louder so my students that are at home could hear me. Oh and we had a fire drill on Tuesday!! 😀

On Saturday I stayed in pajamas pretty much all day. I finished reading “The Vanishing Half” and then went out to run around 5:30pm. The book is so good! Wow! I had to run 5 miles but instead ran 1.5 miles (Sunday’s workout). That night I did not sleep well then woke up on Sunday hungry and with a headache. The plan was to run 5 miles (Saturday’s workout). Nope. It was WINDY and cold. Could not do it.

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

26
Mar
2021

Fit Five Friday and March 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?!

Today is the last day of work before Spring Break. It is also the last Friday in March so it is time for Runfessions. This month was just blah. I was happy, sad, and angry. I smiled but also cried. My Runfessions for this month are all over the place. Actually some of more complaints. 😬 Thank you all in advance for listening.

I runfess…
That I am still learning something new about this whole menstrual cycle thing. We can talk about this, right? I’ve been tracking it on the Garmin Connect app. A few years ago my period would last about 4-5 days. Now for the past year or so, it’s been longer than 5 days. I don’t like it one bit. For this month, my first day was the 15th and it ended on the 24th. That is 10 days. That is long. Should I be concerned?

I runfess…
That 5 months after buying my car, I learned that it has a remote starter. That would have come in handy in February when we had those really cold days. A few weeks ago I had to take my car to the dealer for something else and I felt so stupid asking the technician about it. Not only did they confirm the remote starter, but they also showed me how it works. And why did I take my car there in the first place? For some weird reason the windows would go down and the sunroof would open. I thought it was something electrical. No, it turns out that somehow when the keys are in my pocket or purse, something would press on the “open” button (for longer than necessary) causing those things to happen. Apparently, it has happened to many of their customers. Sigh, while I do like my new car, I also miss my old one.

I runfess…
That I’ve noticed more gray hair and I don’t like it one bit. A few I’ve been able to pluck out with tweezers but then they come back or more show up days later. Thanks Orgain Collagen Peptides! I know it is part of life but I am just not ready for them now.

I runfess…
That all of the Reels on Instagram are starting to annoy me. Yes, I know I don’t have to watch them. But I do wonder what is the point of them. The ones I’ve been seeing a lot are of people dancing and/or singing. Is there more to it? Am I missing something here? Is it just me?

I runfess…
That I really want to know what an influencer is supposed to do. Lately I’ve been seeing more of them on Instagram. Maybe I shouldn’t use Instagram anymore? It seems like more and more of them will just post about a “great” or “fabulous” item just to get paid. It makes me wonder if they really like all of the items they’re promoting. Well, let me tell you that I skim through them while also rolling my eyes. 🙄 🙄

Again, thanks for listening!!

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.