Zenaida Arroyo

14
Jul
2020

Tuesday Topics: My favorite running views/places

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Topics!

Tuesday Topics-52

This week’s Tuesday Topic: What are your favorite running views/places? 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 live and run in Chicago. There are so many places to run in the city, but yet I haven’t really ventured out that much. I like to keep it easy and simple. There are a few times where I will drive to a different location but haven’t done so in the past couple of months because of Covid. Now I am just comfortable with my routine. Maybe next year I will get out there.

In no specific order I am going to list a few of my favorite places:

✔️ The Lakefront. From one end to the other it is 18 miles. I’ve run 18 miles a few times while training with CARA for the Chicago Marathon. The actual program is 20 miles so 2 miles are added somewhere at the start (and maybe the end). I used to go there more often but then stopped since I started running more by my house. Then it was closed and it recently opened up again a few weeks ago. Plus the views are great!

✔️ By my house. So easy and convenient. I’ve been doing the same route for a few years but sometimes I go the opposite direction for some variety. My usual route can take me to Midway Airport which is about 1.5 miles from my house. This is perfect for a warm-up. Running around the airport is about 3.25-3.5 miles. There is an area that is closed off so you either have to turn around or use the side streets which would then take you away from the airport. Still it is a great place for running where you’ll get 3 or 6 miles or uninterrupted running (no stop lights). I like to see the planes and think about there the people are coming from or going to.

✔️ The Morton Arboretum. It is located in Lisle, IL and it take me about 45 minutes to get there. You need to be a member in order to get in. The first time I was there was last year during a field trip during summer school. I think I purchased a membership a few months later. I enjoy going there but hate to drive that long. I know, I know. It should not be an excuse. I like that it is very different from my normal route but it has HILLS. Wow!

✔️ Waterfall Glen. It is located in Darien and it is about 30 minutes from my house. I don’t think it is as hilly as the Arboretum but there are some hills. I love going there during the Fall or after it rains. There is a dirt smell that I like. It is weird but I find that smell very comforting.

12
Jul
2020

Weekly Run Down: HR training and Patience

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

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Ran 5 days for a total of 24 miles. When my coach told me last week that I was going to run that many miles this week, I almost did not believe him. I knew it was going to be another hot week. Luckily it cooled down beginning on Friday but this coming week it is supposed to get hot again.

This week I started training based on my HR zones. Or is it just based on HR? I admit that I rarely paid attention to my heart rate and just ran by feel. I thought my easy pace was easy but based on my heart rate, it isn’t. Looks like I was running my easy runs too fast.

These are the numbers I plugged in my watch Tuesday night.

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Oh my! Talk about patience. I knew the heat and humidity would be a factor but my heart rate was high. I set up an alert and it was constantly going off which annoyed me. I understand the reason why that happened but it is something I am not used to.

I ran 5 miles on Tuesday and it was rough. Hot and humid too. My average HR was 142 and the highest was 186. I must have been dehydrated too because I had a headache halfway through my run and I did not feel well the rest of the day. When I got home I drank about 6 cups of water (and Nuun) and I did not go to the bathroom till later in the afternoon.

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This is from Wednesday’s run (4 miles with 3×30 second surges and 1 minute recovery). Actually did good. What a difference from Tuesday once I paid attention to the HR.

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I ran 7 miles on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. I thought I was patient person but these two runs drove me crazy. Overall pace was much slower because I had to walk a lot to bring down my heart rate. I know I shouldn’t care about my pace but part of me does.

I like my routine of running by my house during the week and doing my long run on Saturday on the lakefront.

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This kept happening on Sunday. I finished this run in 1:11:26 which is an average pace of 14:16. That is about 2 minutes slower than my run on Tuesday (also 5 miles). I know, patience.

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On Friday I cleaned up the office/cats’ room. I also cleaned out my metal file cabinet where I still had paystubs, bank statements, and credit card statements from 6 years ago. Those will be recycled. Now I need to clean out my bedroom, the living room, kitchen, and the hall closet. So much stuff in this apartment!

Finished reading this book. So good. I am not happy with the ending and I have so many questions. Have you read this book? I know Wendy has.

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

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09
Jul
2020

Random Thoughts Thursday 132

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

• I went to Target and saw that they were already setting up for school supplies. I quickly moved away from that area because it was depressing to see all that. I am afraid that schools will be open in the Fall due to political reasons instead of the right ones.

• This weather forecast for the next couple of days. Hello Summer!

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• This week I’ve been more tired than usual. The weather? Maybe. On Monday I was even more tired than usual. It could have been because I ran 5 miles that morning and was dehydrated. I came home with a headache and drank so much water and still could not go to the bathroom.

• I’m annoyed that my some of my stars from Starbucks have expired. Should I be penalized for not wanting to leave my house to get something from Starbucks? You bet I am going to send them an email.

• I will admit that everything being said about opening schools again in the Fall does make me nervous. I have so many questions. Part of me does want to go back to the classroom because I am bored with remote learning. I am sure the students are too. However, do I want to risk it?

07
Jul
2020

Tuesday Topics: My 2020 Mid Year Review

categories: Tuesday Topics

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Tuesday Topics! Thank you to everyone that links up with us. I want you to know that I do read everyone’s post and also leave a comment. Sometimes I do it on Tuesday, or Wednesday, etc., and as late as Saturday. It is the same for Sunday’s posts. A little late but I do get it done. 🙂

Tuesday Topics-51

This week’s Tuesday Topic: Your 2020 mid year review. 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 many people have mentioned, this year is NOT going how we expected it to go. It is a good thing we are halfway through the year because, frankly, I am just plain tired of how it is going. I am trying to stay positive, but sometimes it is just hard to do.

Raise your hand

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So let’s review on how 2020 is going so far. I remember on December 31st being excited about the new year (I also had a cold). 2020 sounded so cool! What could go wrong?

January-February

✳️ I was training for the Atlanta Publix Half Marathon. I was looking forward to the race as it would be state #43 for me. Plus, the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials was taking place the day before.

✳️ I got sick and once I felt better, I went out for a run and I fell. That brought a fear of running outside and I had to do my training on the treadmill.

✳️ Made plans to race in Kansas and then go to Boston to spectate the Boston Marathon.

✳️ Ran 20.50 miles in January.

✳️ On Super Bowl Sunday my cousins and I got together to watch the game, eat, and have a great time. It was so much fun and that would be the last time we would get together.

✳️ Ran 37.05 miles in February.

March-April

✳️ Spectated the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. A very exciting day!

✳️ Ran the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon. A very hilly and tough course!

✳️ Due to COVID-19 I cancelled my trip to Mexico. My mom and I were excited and looking forward to this trip. 🙁

✳️ March 13 was my last day in the classroom. My kids went home with packets of work to do along with instructions on how to log in Google Classroom. I had NO idea that would be the last day I would see my students.

✳️ Stressed out and working overtime to figure out how to do Remote Learning. Working from home is not easy. I had no idea how to do it. Learned to make a schedule and stick to it.

✳️ Ran 35.10 miles in March.

✳️ The rest of my races were cancelled (Shamrock Shuffle, Garmin Oz Half Marathon, and Fargo Half Marathon).

✳️ Signed up for the Un-Canceled Project. I didn’t do all of the races but I was able to get out and run.

✳️ The Governor announced that schools would be closed till April 30th. Excited to know there was a chance we would be going back to school but deep down inside I knew that was not going to happen.

✳️ The Governor announced that schools were closed for the rest of the year.

✳️ My uncle, my mom’s brother, passed away due to Covid.

✳️ Ran 41.16 miles in April.

May-June

✳️ Began working with a new coach. I was in and out of a funky mood and reached out to my friend, Juan, to help me get out of it. 🙂 Have been working with him since then and am loving my workouts!

✳️ Still no races so I signed up for the Un-Canceled Project 2.

✳️ Signed up for a RunBet Challenge and won. 🙂

✳️ Signed up for The Great Run Across Illinois with Marcia. The goal was to run 210 miles (105 each).

✳️ Signed up for the California Coast 500 Virtual Challenge. The goal is to run 250 miles by Labor Day.

✳️ Ran 72.05 miles in May.

✳️ School ended. Had a week off and began Summer School.

✳️ The Chicago Lakefront is open for running. I’ve been there twice on a Saturday.

✳️ Ran 84.91 miles in June. Highest mileage to date.

05
Jul
2020

Weekly Run Down: A hot week and winning a RunBet Challenge

categories: Running, Weekly Recap, Weekly Run Down

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Another great week again! Ran 6 days for a total of 20.81 miles. Running 6 days does make me tired but it is manageable. Good thing Summer School is not too hectic so I can relax and take it easy.

Due to the weather I’ve been getting outside between 6-6:30am. Most days I finish my run dripping with sweat. I like to sit down on the steps to cool down before going inside to shower. As you can see most of my photos are of me on those steps.

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I ended the month with almost 85 miles. My goal was to run 100 miles. So close. Well, I am determined to get it in July.

Another great workout on Thursday. It was similar to the one I’ve done for the past 2 weeks. This time it was one set of intervals but each one was 15 seconds longer with a shorter recovery (80 seconds instead of 90 seconds). Prior to that I did 3 surges of 15 seconds each with 30 seconds recovery. I liked this workout even more because it was one set of intervals instead of two. 🙂

I finished Deborah’s Run Bet Challenge and “won”. I say that I won because I got the money back that I put into the bet. Happy when that happens.

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Wednesday was Mateo’s birthday. He is one year old!!! He is so dramatic but I love him. Ask Lola and she’ll tell you something different. Umm, she hisses whenever he is near her.

Saturday morning was another run on the Lakefront. It wasn’t as humid as the week before but it was still a tough one. Not sure why I am struggling with my Saturday runs. I had to run 6 miles with the last 2 being my fastest ones (around a 10:00 pace). Ha, not even close but not horrible either.

And in non running news, our District sent a survey asking teachers for our thoughts and concerns regarding going back to school in the Fall. I cannot imagine being an Administrator and having to make these decisions. Many things were brought up such as sick pay, procedures for when a child gets sick, quarantine steps, who will teach music, art, PE, and cleaning/sanitizing steps. My main concern is is it safe to go back to the classroom? Do I want to risk getting sick? There is NO way to social distance with that many students in the classroom. I had 18 last year and it isn’t possible. What if I do get sick? What happens then? How long will I be out? Who will stay with my students?

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

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