Zenaida Arroyo

25
Aug
2020

Tuesday Topics: California Coast 500 Virtual Challenge Part 2

categories: Ambassador, BibRave Pro, Tuesday Topics

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the California Coast 500 Virtual Challenge as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

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This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic. 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!

Back in June I wrote about the California Coast 500 Virtual Challenge. It was 3 months into the quarantine life. I was looking for something motivating and exciting to do while in quarantine and this looked like the perfect challenge!

This challenge was to run 100, 250, 400 or 500 virtual miles from LA’s Santa Monica Pier to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge along California’s idyllic Highway One. It began June 8th and ends September 7th. I signed up for 250 miles which is about 84 miles each month.

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So, as you know from Sunday’s post, I am not running. Since I began this challenge, I was on track to complete it last week. My last run was August 15 in which I had run 223.6 miles. Most likely I won’t complete the challenge. I have a doctor appointment on Friday (for my yearly exam) and I will double check with her (she told me it was OK to see her). I want to do the right thing but I am also itching to run outside.

The California Coast 500 Virtual Challenge is a fun and great virtual race. Let me tell you why:

✅ Weekly email from the race organizers. Each email came with digital badges and mini challenges to win prizes (i.e. log 24 total miles from Monday 6/29 to Sunday 7/5 or log 50 miles during Week 9 of the California Coast 500). I didn’t win but it was still fun to enter to win a prize.

✅ Motivation from my BibRave Pro friends! I am in awe of those that selected to run 500 miles and finished weeks ago. There are 6 of us on the team and my coach, Juan, and I are the only ones that close the 250 mile challenge. I am close to San Luis Obispo.

✅ Thanks to the team at PWR Lab, there was an interactive map to keep track of the mileage. It was fun seeing how far along everyone was on the route.

✅ Support from Run Local.

California Coast 500 Virtual Race-10 This was from an email I received on June 24. KK Fischer finished in about 2 weeks. Wow!

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While I am sad that I won’t complete it, I am glad I signed up for it. I was motivated to get out there and run. On the days I did not want to run, I reminded myself of this challenge and knew that every mile helped (or .10, .18, etc). I am not sure what I will do once this is over. I’m having a great training session with my coach and hope to continue, but don’t think I will sign up for virtual races or challenges.

23
Aug
2020

Weekly Run Down: Covid Edition 1

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

There was no running for this week. I’ve been in quarantine. My mother was with me for a few days and someone she had been in contact with tested positive. We went to get tested and my mother tested positive. I am negative. Another sibling tested positive too. My mother is now with her. I keep hearing different versions of what to do and what not to do. I don’t have any symptoms and feel fine.

Mateo must have known something was wrong. He was all cuddly with my mother.

I don’t have a treadmill, but can I go outside to run? I run by my house and don’t see many people and when I do I simply move over to the street. Now I regret not buying one years ago.

How could this happen? We were careful. I know that without a vaccine sooner or later we would get infected. Is that really true? So many questions.

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I am behind on reading blog posts and haven’t even read all of the ones from Tuesday’s Linkup. I will. I promise.

This past week I was angry, sad, and confused. I feel helpless. I finally broke down and cried on Thursday. I was holding it in and trying to show a brave face but then simply lost it. I was checking work email and saw one that I had questions about. I replied to the sender. I guess I wasn’t supposed to do that because minutes later I received a phone call from my Principal. That person told on me instead of responding to my email. I should have asked the questions to my administrators instead of responding to the person that sent the email. I was so angry. Childish, right? No, not me. The person that told on me.

With no running I did the next best thing – Peloton! I took a cycling class each day and man were they hard! I did a few of the Epic Sing along and those were fun. Check out this playlist. So far this is the best one. I could have sworn that Jenn mentioned someone in the class was taking their 4,100th class?

I did one upper body strength class with Matty and then on the other days did wall pushups and kettlebell swings. Sometimes I am not motivated at all.

With all of my Peloton workouts I have lots of stinky workout clothes. I don’t have access to a washing machine so I’ve had to hand wash my clothes. It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. At least it isn’t work clothes. 🙂

wear your mask

So that’s my week. Obviously very different from the other ones. I am trying to stay positive but I am just tired of all of this..I know many of you are too!

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

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18
Aug
2020

Tuesday Topics: My strength training plan

categories: Tuesday Topics

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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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. 🤦‍♀️

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.