Zenaida Arroyo

18
Aug
2020

Tuesday Topics: My strength training plan

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Topics! Thank you again for join me and Kim each Tuesday to share your tips, advice, support, and experiences. It is a difficult time right now for everyone but we are trying to make the best of it. I hope everyone is staying safe and doing well.

Tuesday Topics-57.jpg

This week’s Tuesday Topic: What kind of strength training do you do? 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 understand the importance of strength training and for years stubbornly did not do it. I would read various blogs from runners talking about it. For years my form of exercise was “just” running.

Fast forward a few years and I have a Peloton bike and an assortment of classes thanks to the Peloton app. A few weeks ago I did the Pelothon 2020 Challenge and did a variety of classes (strength, stretching, walking, and meditation). To be honest, they’re classes I wouldn’t have thought of taking since I was mainly focused on the cycling classes.

I am so glad I did the challenge! Debora, Kim, and Coco have talked about the various classes they take. I am sure you’ve read all about them. 🙂

My strength workouts are mainly the lower body and upper body classes. I love that there are many options. You can select the length, class type, instructor, music, and level of difficulty.

I don’t care too much about the music for these workouts so I select them based on the length and class type.

I am loving Matty’s 10 minute classes. So many squats and thankfully I don’t get sore anymore.

Mateo-45

I know I can do more but for now it is a start. Baby steps. 🙂

16
Aug
2020

Weekly Run Down: Halfway through August

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Mileage-68.jpg

Before I start talking about my runs, let me tell you about the news I received on Monday. I found out that I will be moving to another classroom. I still cannot believe it. In a way I am happy that I am not going to another school leaving behind a lot of wonderful coworkers. I am upset that I will be separated from two other 2nd grade teachers. They are both AMAZING! We’ve shared so many wonderful moments along with learning experiences that have helped us improve. My room is on the 1st floor and I will be moving to the 2nd floor. I will also have to pack ALL OF MY stuff in boxes. Do you have any idea how much stuff I have in my classroom? The idea of packing everything AGAIN is giving me anxiety. No, I am not happy at all.

Another good week for me. I felt good with no pain at all. I did several Glutes & Legs Strength workouts with Matty. I also did Arms & Strength with Matty too. Each is 10 minutes but I think soon I will increase it to 20 minutes. I also took the 30 mini Prince Ride and it was AWESOME!!! No picture because I left my phone in my room, but it still happened. Wow, it was so good that I would like to take it again. Ally and Emma looked so cute in their purple outfits.

My best run was on Thursday. I did 1 mile warmup and cooldown with a few strides along with intervals of 3:30/75. This week it was only 1 set instead of 2. Almost negative splits and I ran each interval without stopping at all. It was a wonderful feeling!

Yesterday I did my longest run since March. I did not go to the lakefront but instead ran the 9 miles by my house. I didn’t want to drive and I wanted to be close to see if there were more houses for sale. There was none. 🙁 I felt tired and it was hot. I didn’t care about pace (and sometimes ignored the high HR alerts) because I wanted to be done.

Workout-219

I had a great week and am pleased with my runs and mileage. I am happy that I am also including more cycling and strength workouts. I have big goals for next year and all of this is going to help me achieve them.

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

Weekly Run Down.jpg

13
Aug
2020

Random Thoughts Thursday 137

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

• Who else finds it annoying when people “Reply All” to an email instead of replying to the sender? I’ve seen it happen quite a few times. What is even more annoying is when someone replies all asking people to just reply to the sender and then someone else replies all apologizing for replying to everyone in the first place. 🤦‍♀️

Reply and Reply All.jpg

• How is it that we are almost halfway through August? I am not ready for Summer Break to be over. I need a few more weeks before going back. My first day with the students is the 31st but my first day is the 26th.

Bored Teachers-6.jpg

• I am catching up on Grey’s Anatomy and have seen some very interesting episodes. “Flowers Grow Out of My Grave” talks about Day of the Dead. We see a few of Meredith’s loved ones (Lexie, Ellis, Derrick, Mark, and George) make a quick appearance on the show. We also hear the song “Chasing Cars” in Spanish. The best one is “Silent All These Years” where Jo not only meets her birth mother but finds out her mother had been raped. There is also a very powerful scene where the hospital hallway is lined with only female employees. A rape victim needs to have surgery but does not want to go because she said that she sees the face of her attacker in every man’s face.

• I use Google Meet for school and am excited about the new features. Out of all of them, I think #4 and #5 are the ones that will be more beneficial for me. But I am excited about all of them.

Google Meet-1.jpg

• About a week ago something felt weird in my ear. It felt like there was some pressure and a dull feeling. Plus, I could not hear very well. I didn’t do anything about it and thought it would get better. It didn’t. I finally went to Target and bought this earwax removal kit. I’ve been using it since Sunday and so far it is so much better. Earwax building rarely happens to me but still it is not a pleasant feeling.

11
Aug
2020

Tuesday Topics: Running with a celebrity

categories: Tuesday Topics

Happy Tuesday! It’s time for another edition of Tuesday Topics. This week we have a fun topic for you!

Tuesday Topics-56.jpg

This week’s Tuesday Topic: If you could go on a run with any celebrity, who would you go with? 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’ve written before that I am a HUGE fan of Des Linden. I would love to run with her. I’ve met her a few times and recently saw her compete in The Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. I was so close to her that I could have held out my hand and touched her. I didn’t.

There are a few other celebrities I would love to run with one day. Let me tell you all about them. I don’t know if any of them are runners so then going out for a walk will do.

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama
I really wished Obama could run again to guide and protect this country. Would he want to? I know he can’t. There is so much going on right now and it is heart breaking. Yesterday morning I saw the news about the looting that happened in downtown Chicago. Michelle seems like a down to earth person. I’ve read her book and watch the documentary on Netflix.

Dwayne Johnson
What is there not to like about him? There is just something about him but his smile is what does it for me. Did you see him perform in Lip Sync Battle? Watch it now. 🙂

Cody Rigsby and Matty Maggiacomo
They are my favorite Peloton instructors. Cody does mainly meditation and cycling classes. The latter are so much fun! He is funny and has so much energy. I think that I have laughed in each of his classes. The first running workout class I took was from Matty. I was not impressed because I was annoyed that he talked so much. 🙂 Now he is my favorite one. The talking doesn’t bother me as much because many times he has interesting things (Fun Facts) to say. I also like his music

09
Aug
2020

Weekly Run Down: Fall weather and running 7 days this week

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

Weekly Mileage-67.jpg

This week’s weather was PERFECT. It was in the 60s and I even turned the AC off. We had the windows open at night and it felt so good. It was nice to have a couple of days like that because the hot weather is back.

I had some really great runs this week. On Tuesday I ran 3.10 and my pace was so much faster. I even stayed in HR zones 1-3 like I am supposed to. Last Friday I did the same distance and finished in 39:02, but on Tuesday my finish time was 36:19. That is about 1 minute faster for each mile and they were all under 12:00!! As you know, I am not at all a “fast” runner so seeing these numbers sure made me happy.

Workout-217

Thursday’s run also went well. I did 2 sets of 3:15/80. The last time I did this workout was July 16 with an average pace of 12:19. On Thursday it was 12:05. What was exciting about it is that I ran without stopping the first two intervals of each set and actually felt really good. It was a big confidence booster and makes me even more excited for the next couple of months.

Workout-215

Saturday’s run was 8.01 miles along the lakefront. During the week I had calculated my total mileage and it would have been 26.99 miles. Now you know why I had to run that extra .01 to get an even 27 miles.

I also did 3 Glutes and Legs Strength workouts. The first one I did was on Tuesday. I was very sore for about 2 days. Let’s just say that it was hard to sit down to use the toilet. I did another one on Friday but wasn’t sore afterwards. Today I did the same workout that I did on Tuesday and so far am feeling OK. Next week I want to add include Arms Toning workouts. Peloton Workouts-1.jpg

I posted this in Instagram but it makes me laugh so much so I will share it here. It is from this morning during my workout. I’ve mentioned that Mateo is a very dramatic cat.

School update: We got an email from the Superintendent that our first day of school is August 26 (it was supposed to be the 24th) and the students’ first day is the 31st. We will have 3 days of Teacher Institute to give us time to collaborate and plan with our colleagues. Some school districts are allowing teachers to go in the classroom to do their remote learning. I am hoping our District does the same (at least 1 or 2 days per week). Crossing my fingers!

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

Weekly Run Down.jpg