Month: July 2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 29

Random Thoughts Thursday

• I mentioned that I have several credit cards but ended up closing most of them.  One of those cards is a Sam’s Club credit card.  I rarely use it.  I use it as a membership card.  One time I used it at the gas station but must have forgotten to use another one to pay.  A few weeks later I closed my account.  Last week I received an email letting me know that payment was due.  I was surprised because I did not know I had a balance.  Well, imagine my surprise when I logged in my account and not only did I owe $23.48 for gas but I also owed a late fee and interest charges (total almost $50).  I did a quick chat session with an agent and he was able to waive the late fee and interest charges.  My balance was was again $23.48 and you bet I paid right away.  Whew!

• I am a big fan of Amazon and think it is funny how much the prices go up and down for some items.  On Thursday I ordered a pair of the Oiselle Women Moto Lesley Tights for $9.32.  These are great for running in the winter.  I know, I know, it is still summer but that is a good price for those tights.  I cancelled the order (stupid reason and now regret it).  The next day the same tights were $88.  Damn! I was mad at myself for cancelling the order.

• Recently I signed up for Billie, Women Shave Club.  It is $9 for the starter kit.  You get a Billie handle, the mag(net)ic holder and two 5-blade razor cartridges.  So far I’ve used it once and like it.  I am going to use it a few more times before writing a review.

Billie Shave Club-2

• IHOP recently celebrated their 60th Anniversary.  To celebrate, they were offering 3 short stacks for 60 cents.  My family and I got there around 9am and it was very crowded.  We were there for about 2 hours and when we left, not only was it still crowded, but there were a lot of people waiting in line.

IHOP-1

• Which door would you choose?  I would choose #2.

Which door

• Finished reading this book and loved it.  It will help me understand my students a lot better.

ZOOMA Half Marathon Training Recap, Week 7

ZOOMA Half Marathon-1

I am excited to be training for the ZOOMA Half Marathon on September 15.  I am also excited to share that I will train using the Hansons Half Marathon Method.  In a nutshell, this training is based on the concept of cumulative fatigue.  You train your body to run often so that you are frequently running on tired legs.  The idea is to run this way so that during the last miles of a race you are prepared to push through the final miles. 

Week #7, July 9-15

M Did not run
T OFF
W Ran 2.00 miles
TH Ran 4.00 miles
Ran 4.00 miles
Ran 4.00 miles
S Did not run

This week did not go well for training.  I was in a funky mood and had no desire to run.  I missed my run on Monday and Sunday.  I also missed my long run last Sunday too during week 6.  I don’t remember feeling like this last year so I am not sure what is going on.  

Wednesday morning I wasn’t hungry early in the morning like I usually am.  I did some errands but by 11 am I had to eat and stopped a restaurant close to my house.  I had a pepper and egg sandwich with hash browns.  It was yummy!

ZOOMA Half Marathon-28

That evening I decided to head out for a run.  I wanted to do 3 but ended up with 2 miles.  As I was turning a corner, another car also turned, and then stopped not too far from where I was.  That freaked me out.  I stopped too waiting for the car to keep going.  It didn’t.  Other cars were behind it and also stopped.  It still didn’t move.  The cars went around it.  Still didn’t move.  The driver finally turned on the blinkers.  I then turned around and went back home.  I don’t know if there was car problem or the driver was waiting for me.  

ZOOMA Half Marathon-29

Saw this the next morning on my run.  Yes, we have a problem around here.

ZOOMA Half Marathon-30

Ran faster than I wanted to and almost managed negative splits.

ZOOMA Half Marathon-31.jpg

Friday and Saturday were easy runs too.  It rained a little on Saturday but it felt so good to be out there.

ZOOMA Half Marathon-32

I want some fall weather!  That is my favorite season for running.  Hopefully next week will be better.  I need to figure out how to not miss/skip my long runs on Sunday.  I am thinking of moving them to Saturday to run with friends and hopefully that will motivate me to run.

Total mileage for the week: 14.00 miles
Total mileage for this training cycle:  146.73 miles
Total mileage for the year: 598.11 miles 

Here’s how training has gone so far:
Week 1 and 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Random Thoughts Thursday 28

Random Thoughts Thursday

• A nice evening last week enjoying a sunset.  Simply beautiful, right?

Sunset-1

• Saw this on the counter at Starbucks.  Umm, OK.  Shouldn’t that be common sense?

Starbucks-1

I was inspired by Kim’s post on her Be The Match experience.  I signed up at the Illinois Marathon expo but then received a voice mail message letting me know that I would have to sign up again and pay $100 for the cheek swabs.  Well, I decided to try again.  I am very annoyed that because of my age I would have to pay $100 to join the registry.  Part of me wants to pay but then I get annoyed again that I have to pay.

Be The Match-1

• Saw this mug at Gloria Jean’s Coffees.  Hilarious!  It was tempting to get it but I have so many mugs at home.

Funny Coffee Mug-1.jpg

• I bought my car on June 6, 2006 and it finally reached 100,000 miles.  I love my car.  It isn’t fancy like the ones now but it is just perfect for me.

Car Mileage-1.jpg

• Grease turns 40?  How is that possible?  I think I’ve watched it 2 or 3 times?

Grease-1

Elmhurst 4 on the 4th Race Recap

On Wednesday I ran one of my favorite races in the Chicago area – Elmhurst 4 on the 4th.  I’ve run this race since 2013 and have always had a great time.  I like the price, the distance, and the location.  It is very easy to get there and I always find parking..FREE parking.

I left later than usual and even thought I didn’t park in my usual spot, I still managed to park close to the start line.  Then I got my bib and met the Oiselle girls for a picture.

4 on the 4th-1

Let’s go back to my bib.  I gave the volunteer my name and she found it on the roster.  I remember hearing the number 24 or something like that.  Once I got my bib, I didn’t look at it and just went to meet up with the Oiselle girls.  I have a Fitletic belt and use the toggles for my bib.  Again, I did not look at it.

I talked to Heather and Kathleen for a few minutes and then we lined up.  It was already sunny and HOT.

4 on the 4th-2

This race is not a big race but there are a few people cheering for you.  There is just something about running in a small town for a race.  I knew I wasn’t going to get a PR.  I started off too fast and then paid for it at the end.  Still, I don’t think it was too bad.

4 on the 4th-3

I did walk a few times because I also got too hot.  I didn’t have a visor with me because that morning I checked the weather report and it was supposed to be overcast.  Luckily there was some shade and that helped.

This course has a few hills.  Not too many but the worst one is right before the finish line.  I know this but I curse every single time.  🙂

At the finish line, I got a water bottle and an ice cold washcloth to cool me down.  I was sweating a lot.

4 on the 4th-4.jpg

.I walked for a bit to cool down before going home.

In my car is when I had a feeling that something was wrong with my bib number.  I remember hearing the number 24 but not 25.  I just wanted to get home to shower and eat.  I knew there was nothing I could do about it so I decided to handle it at home.

Yep, I got the wrong bib.  Once the results were available on Athlinks,  I couldn’t find my name but did find my results with the bib number I used to run the race.

4 on the 4th-7

I emailed the race director right away and explained the situation.  After a few emails back and forth, the problem was resolved.  

4 on the 4th-8

I also checked Kim’s name and she was given a new bib number to run.  Glad that worked out too.

I highly recommend this race to everyone.  It is always fun and the perfect way to start off the holiday.

Linking up with MarciaPatti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

TuesdaysOnTheRun

ZOOMA Half Marathon Training Recap, Week 6

ZOOMA Half Marathon-1

I am excited to be training for the ZOOMA Half Marathon on September 15.  I am also excited to share that I will train using the Hansons Half Marathon Method.  In a nutshell, this training is based on the concept of cumulative fatigue.  You train your body to run often so that you are frequently running on tired legs.  The idea is to run this way so that during the last miles of a race you are prepared to push through the final miles. 

Week #6, July 2-8

M Ran 4.00 miles
T OFF
W Ran 4.04 miles
TH Ran 4.00 miles
Ran 4.00 miles
Ran 4.00 miles
S Did not run

I am loving the “easy” runs.  Sometimes I can get negatives splits and sometimes I don’t.  

ZOOMA Half Marathon-23

On Wednesday I ran the Elmhurst 4 on the 4th and had so much fun!  I’ve done this race since 2013 and will continue to do so as long as I am in town.  It is one of my favorite races in the Chicago area.  I just realized I don’t have  recap yet and plan to have it this week.

On Friday I ran 4 miles again but Strava only recorded 3.7 miles.  How is that possible?  I use my Garmin for all of my runs and then those sync to Strava. 

Friday was also my last day of summer school.  I cannot believe 4 weeks went by already.  Now I can enjoy my summer break!  🙂

Sunday morning I woke up with a tight calf.  Lola and I make sure to always use correctly the yoga mat.  Using a tennis ball to foam roll hurts but always feels good.  My leg felt so much better afterwards.

Another week of training!  This week went well except that I skipped Sunday’s run.  Again, woke up later than usual and it was just too hot to run outside.  I was hoping that it would be cooler in the evening but it was still warm and sunny.  I didn’t want to deal with it.  How many months till fall?

Total mileage for the week: 20.04 miles
Total mileage for this training cycle:  132.73 miles
Total mileage for the year: 584.11 miles 

Here’s how training has gone so far:
Week 1 and 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5