Hello there!  This week went by fast again.  That’s what happens when one of the workdays is an Institute Day.  I have mixed feelings about Institute Days.  Some of the PD is useful and some is not.  There was an emphasis on self-care.  Umm, OK.

One year ago yesterday was the last day that I taught in a room full of students.  I was instructed to make packets for my students but obviously had NO idea that I wouldn’t see them again.  Below are two pictures I took at Target on the 12th and then in my classroom on the 13th.

This week I had some good and bad runs.  On Monday I ran 3.14 miles for Kim’s Week of Pi.  It was fun!  

Last week there was hardly any wind but Wednesday and Thursday it was just awful.  It did not help that I was exhausted.  I was very tired and I did not do the workouts assigned by my coach.  But I still ran and wore shorts on Wednesday.  🙂 I did feel much better on Friday and could have kept running but ran out of time.

Saturday morning was a gorgeous day for running!  Didn’t I say I was not going to do another of Becs’ running class?  Well, I did another one.  The playlist was AMAZING but the chit chat was not.  There is just something about her voice.  Is it just me?  I was pleased to have run close to 6 miles.  December was the last time I did a “long” run (6 and 7 miles).

You would think that I would have done more Peloton bike classes, but I am currently on my 99th ride.  Isn’t that the reason I bought the Peloton?  🤔 🤦🏻‍♀️ I want my 100th to be with Cody and it will either be on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Very excited!

Tomorrow I have parent/teacher conferences.  Is it too early to runfess?  Well, I have NO desire for them tomorrow.  I don’t mean it in a bad way, but what could I possibly say to parents that I haven’t said all these past months?  I am not meeting with all parents (those students that are doing well in class, have turned in assignments, have participated, etc).  I know it’s been hard for everyone but we’ve been doing virtual learning for ONE YEAR!  I have communicated with all parents about missing assignments, log in information, etc.  They know it already, but I will have to repeat it again.  We’ll see how it goes.  

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

Hello there!  Happy Sunday!  With it being a short work week for me, this week went by fast.  No complaints at all.  The sooner the days go by, the sooner we are much closer to Summer Break.  Three more months to go!

This week went really well.  I began working with my coach again and enjoyed my runs.  Much of the snow has melted and it is slightly warmer.  There were some days where even if it was 20-30 degrees, there was no wind or little wind.  I ran everyday (no surprise there) and also took a short bike class (too much?). 

I finally used the stack feature for the bike classes and like it.  However, I wished you could do that on the app.  To stack running classes you can only do that on the website, but it will be so much easier to do it on the app too. 

Some of the fun classes I took are below.  I am not a huge fan of Shakira but there were some good songs and, of course, Matty is always great.

I took this one on Saturday and did not like it at all.  The music and her constant talking really annoyed me.  I could have sworn I took a similar one by Robin but now cannot find it.  I actually enjoyed that class.

I also took a Feel Good Ride with Ally and nope did not feel good.  🙂 The music is a HUGE factor for me as well as the instructor.  I think that is why I love Cody.  He always makes me laugh and smile.  

On Monday I took my mom to get her second vaccine.  Last time I mentioned about the long walk to the actual vaccination room.  Someone was nice enough to take her in a wheelchair but she had to walk back.  This time someone took her in a wheelchair, waited for her, and then brought her back to the lobby of the hospital.  She didn’t have to walk too much.  Oh, but then we got off on the wrong floor of the parking lot and we ended up walking one level up.  Yes, we could have waited again for the elevator but only one was working.  She was not happy about it.  🙂  Throughout the week I checked in on her.  She said she was fine.  No effects.

On Tuesday I went to get my second vaccine.  They were running behind a bit so I was there longer than when I went for my first one.  I felt fine afterwards.  The next day is when I felt awful.  After my workouts, I got home and felt so tired.  Not the usual tired from working out but a different kind of tired.  Throughout the day it got worse.  My students knew about the vaccine and I told them how I was feeling.  I also told them that in case I had to log off, they had work to do that was posted on Google Classroom.  I managed to hang on with them, but once class was over, I logged off and went to bed.  I knew I had to sleep and took a melatonin.  I also did a Calming Meditation class.  I had chills, my body ached, and I had a slight headache, but no fever.  I felt better about 24 hours later.  It is interesting how the vaccine affected people in different ways.

On Friday I mentioned how in a few weeks I will have a new work schedule.  With this new schedule (hybrid) I will still be teaching online but there will be students in my classroom.  I know I will have 2 students two days a week and beginning on April 7th I will have 3 more students.  There are two groups, Group A and Group B.  Monday will be a remote day for everyone.  Group A will go to school on Tuesday and Wednesday and Group B will then go on Thursday and Friday.  Even though I will have students in my room, they will still be learning virtually.  I will still be teaching everyone online just like I am doing now.  Everyone will be wearing a mask.  If students that are in the room have questions, they will need to ask me on the computer just like they do now.  While I am happy that I will have a new schedule, I really do not like this arrangement.  I’d rather teach everyone in the room or everyone online, but not do both.  Is this ideal?  Probably not but I do know that no matter what schedule or plan is put together by the District, not everyone will be happy about it.  3 more months!  3 more months!  Oh, and two weeks till Spring Break.

Whew, those are long paragraphs.  Yikes.  🙃 

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

Well, even with the weather, I managed to run 34.26 miles this month.  I’m on day #184 of my running streak.  There were days when I did want to quit.  But I didn’t.  Nothing wrong with wanting to quit either.  I knew that if I could run on the coldest day and the day with the most snow, then I could survive the rest of the days.  And I did.  

Monday morning there was so much sleet and I decided to run after work.  I went to throw out the garbage and it was so slippery.  The view after work was much better!  I just noticed it is the same picture from above.  🙂

The next day was better but there was a patch of ice that I somehow missed while running but saw it as I was walking.  Glad I did not fall.  However, I was not so lucky on Friday.  I did a 20 minute Peloton run and was walking home.  I was feeling good because it was sunny and the snow was melting.  Remember, I was walking.  Then in slow motion I saw myself falling again.  Luckily, I did not land on my face like last time.  I only scraped my knee.  Someone saw me and helped me get up.  It was not a bad fall which I am grateful.  However, I was more pissed and annoyed that I fell again and on ice.  Did I tell you that I was walking?  I had been very careful this month.  It seems like I fall once a year.  Is it safe to say that I am done for the year?

I am excited to start working with my coach again.  This month was a no-no because of the weather.  Michelle asked me if I will return to the 10k training.  I hadn’t given it much thought until she asked me.  I think I will skip the 10k and go straight to a half marathon.  Maybe by the time I am ready, I will be able to run a live race.  He already posted my runs on Final Surge.  Most are easy runs and I am happy about it.

This week I took 6 classes with Cody.  Love him!  Just out of curiosity I checked to see how many classes I have not taken with him.  Recently I found out about that new feature.  It is a lot but I am not planning to take all of them.  For now I have bookmarked the 15, 20, and 30 minute classes.  Not ready for 45 minutes.  Oh and I picked classes with 80s, 90s, and 90s pop music.

So that is for February.  I already ripped out the page from my calendar and ready for a new month!

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

What a week!  Even with no school on Monday and half day on Wednesday, I was EXHAUSTED on Friday.  I came home from school and took a nap.

Are you all tired of seeing all of my snow pictures?  I will stop at the end of the month.  It is supposed to warm up this week and hopefully most or all of the snow will melt.  🙂

I renewed my Peloton membership and got on my bike again!  I told Kim about this class and if you have not taken it, please do.  It is one of the best ones (or THE best one) I’ve taken so far.  This is one class I will definitely take again.

I checked my profile and the last time I was on the bike was in August when I was in quarantine.  Then I used the app mostly for running.  Then I got bored with it and paused my membership.  Cody is always fun but I also like Robin. 

I had been away for so long that now I had to name my bike?  Is that something new?  I don’t remember having to do it when I first got the bike.

So here in Chicago after a snowstorm, some people like to clean up an area in front of their house and claim it as their parking spot.  I don’t think I’ve ever had to do it.  The last time we had a major storm in 2011, I parked in the garage, so there was no need for it.  This time I actually went out and shoveled and claimed an area.  Well, someone decided to take my spot anyway.  Didn’t they see the items I had left?  Luckily, I found parking in front of that car.  The next day my neighbor took my spot because someone else had taken her spot.  ¡Caramba!  Hopefully soon this will not be an issue anymore.

An agreement was finally reached with the Union and the School District.  There is a Board Meeting tomorrow in which all agreements will be officially signed.  Here are the main things that were decided: Teachers will return to work on March 15 (meaning all teachers will report to their school building on said date) but we also have the option to work from home until March 15.  Hybrid students will return on March 22nd.  Those teachers that defied the initial order to go back to the building and as a result disciplinary actions were taken against them, all of those disciplinary actions will be rescinded.  Looks like those that stayed home are laughing at me!

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

What a week!  More snow and more cold weather.  I know Winter is associated with cold weather and snow, but this is just awful.  Even in other parts of the country is colder than normal.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Saturday:

Sunday:

This morning I woke up with a headache.  I usually get them when I don’t get enough sleep or when I am hungry.  Sometimes I get one if I don’t wear my mouth night guard.  I never eat before running but felt a little hungry this morning so I drank coffee and ate a cinnamon bagel.  Then after my run and shower, I ate again.  I still have a slight headache and am still feeling hungry.  I took a Tylenol and will finish reading blog posts from Friday.  I am so behind.  

The most exciting thing this week was taking my mother to the hospital for her first vaccine.  While I appreciate that there was a vaccine for her, I wished it would have been more convenient for those that need to go there.  It was quite a walk to get to the vaccination room (not sure what to call it).  Luckily someone took her in a wheelchair but on the way back she had to walk.  Now, I don’t mind it, but a 70 year old woman should not have to walk that much.  Well, enough ranting about it because as I mentioned earlier, I am happy she can get a vaccine since I know others cannot get it.  We go back on March 1st for her second vaccine and I go March 2nd (I am going to a different location).  

On Tuesday I went to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few bottles of wine for a virtual wine tasting.  I didn’t realize there were so many options!!  Wow, and the price was decent.  I ended up buying 5 bottles and so far have opened 2.  The red one is really good.

Nothing exciting with school except that the District and School Union have not come to an agreement about this whole going back to school thing.  They’ve had to get the courts involved.  They’re like two big and stubborn babies.  We all want what is best for the students and the teachers.  Someone has to give in.  It’s been one month since teachers have been back in the school building BUT not everyone is doing that.  They are working from home.  Do you know how it makes me feel?  I am going in.  I am dealing with the weather and traffic.  Others are working from the comfort of their own home.  Instead of uniting all teachers, it is dividing us and creating a feeling of annoyance and resentment.  The next court date is sometime this week so you know I will keep you posted.

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