Zenaida Arroyo

16
Apr
2019

Tuesday Topics: My favorite recovery tools

categories: Tuesday Topics

Who watched the Boston Marathon yesterday? Wasn’t it awesome!!! The best was the men’s race!!!

I was rooting for Desi to win again and was bummed she came in 5th place. However, whether it is 1st or 5th or 10th place, she is still AMAZING!!!

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So far most of my runs have been less than 6 miles. I do not miss marathon training AT ALL. I had a chance to sign up for the NYC Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, and/or the Chicago Marathon through BibRave and was tempted for a bit, but at the end decided not to. Right now I want to focus on finishing up my Race in the 50 States +1 Goal. In a few weeks I will run in my 40th state.

Since almost all of my runs are in the morning before work, after each run I recover by drinking lots of water with Nuun or UCAN Hydrate (Watermelon is my favorite). I make coffee and drink that on my way to work. Once I am at work I eat overnight oats or chia seeds with Orgain Protein Powder (chocolate is my favorite), Moringa, and almond milk.

On the weekends I will eat whatever I can find at home (not the best strategy) or sometimes I will make a smoothie or drink an Orgain shake. If I am really tired (whether from running or work), I will spend the day on the couch watching TV. Sometimes I will also take a nap. Lola and I love to nap.

After a longer run or a race, I crave a burger and beer. 🙂

I have a few recovery tools but rarely use them. I know I should. 🙁 Once in a while I will use my foam roller but that’s it. However, I prefer to use The Stick.

This week’s Tuesday Topic: What are your favorite recovery tools? 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!

14
Apr
2019

Weekly Run Down: A STEAM Family Night and a 5K

categories: Running, Weekly Run Down

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On Wednesday our school had our STEAM Family Night. A coworker and I planned most of it and it was A LOT of work! All of our work paid off because we had a great turnout that night. We had about 20 stations/activities and they were managed by some of our students and from the junior high school.

On Saturday I ran a 5K presented by the Illinois Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (IALAS). I heard about this race from one the administrators and got two of my coworkers to sign up (one couldn’t make it on race day). It was a small but fun race! Proceeds from this race went towards the IALAS Scholarship Program.

It was a very casual race with no chip time. I started right at the front but then many people passed me up. 🙂 5Ks can be fun but are also tough. I never know how to pace myself. The best part of this race is that my coworker won Overall Female!

2019 ALAS 5K-9

I always complain about race swag but this time I actually like what was in the bag!

I didn’t do good with my runs this week. I had a great run on Monday and happily ran in shorts and a short sleeve top. Then Mother Nature had one of her moods and brought back the cold weather. Even though it did warm up a bit in the afternoon/evening, I had no desire to deal with the colder weather in the morning and definitely did not want to run after school.

Today we got more snow! UGH!!

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

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11
Apr
2019

Random Thoughts Thursday 67

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

Random Thoughts Thursday

• Happy that tomorrow is Friday. It is almost the weekend. Going back to work on Monday was tough, but overall it wasn’t too bad. The students did pretty good (maybe they were still tired) and the days did go by quickly. Yesterday was our STEAM Family Night at school and we had a decent turnout. I was EXHAUSTED at the end of the evening.

• We had some great weather at the beginning of the week and now we are back to cold weather. I ran in shorts and short sleeve top on Monday morning. Also, I slept in shorts on Tuesday night but had to wear pants and a sweatshirt on Wednesday because I was so cold. It is supposed to warm up (again) and hopefully it will stay that way.

• I rarely buy anything from the vending machine. I saw that there is an option to pay with a credit card or Apply Pay. Love the convenience because I rarely have cash with me since I’d rather pay for everything with my credit card.

• It always irks me when I cannot find parking in front of my house. My street has lots of two flats so there are many families with multiple cars that live on my street. That means sometimes it is hard to find parking. Well maybe that isn’t entirely true. There are some spots but that requires me to walk more than I want to. 🙂 It makes me smile when I can find a spot almost in front of where I live. What makes it even better is that sometimes I can find a spot at night!

• I always struggle with the desk setup for my students. There is always going to be someone that doesn’t get along with others or requires more attention than others. I saw this on Facebook and want to use it in my room but do not know which option to use. Something else I need to remember is that I have 35 days left of school. Should I change my setup or leave it the way it is? 🙂

09
Apr
2019

Tuesday Topics: My favorite cross training activity

categories: BibRave Pro, Tuesday Topics

Disclaimer: I am promoting the Ravenswood 5K 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!

I will confess that I am bad when it comes to cross training. Thanks to my insurance I got a great deal on my gym membership, but have not taken advantage of it. I think I’ve been to the gym less than 5 times since I joined back in January.

Right now I am a member of Planet Fitness and LA Fitness. I am aware that the latter has awesome classes such as zumba, spinning, and boot camp. I know, I know. It is a waste of money if I am not going to take advantage of the memberships.

However, I do enjoy walking. Well, not too long of a time because then I get bored. 🙂 How is it that I can run for an hour but easily get bored when I walk for an hour. But throw in some money incentive and I could walk for hours. Remember the step challenge I did a few months ago?

Some benefits of walking include:
• Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
• Lowers stress and improves mood
• Supports your joints and strengthen muscles
• Can lead to weight loss
• Improves sleep

Right now most of the walking I do is in my classroom. Now that Spring is here and a bit warmer, I am hoping that I can get out more often for a walk. Did I tell you that Target is about 1/2 mile away from my house? It is good but also dangerous.

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For those in the Chicago area, make sure to sign up for a fun 5K on April 28th. Unfortunately I won’t be in town for this race since I will be in Wilmington for the Delaware Half Marathon. It is my first half marathon this year and I am excited (but nervous) about it.

Check out the cool blue shirts for all registrations. Aren’t they lovely? Make sure to use code “RAVENSBR” for a FREE stainless steel water bottle! Pretty cool, right? Even I want one. 🙂

Proceeds from this race help support the Ravenswood Community Services Food Pantry at All Saints Episcopal Church and the student health centers at Lakeview and Amundsen High Schools.

Here is a short clip from the race:

This week’s Tuesday Topic: What’s your favorite cross training activity? 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!

07
Apr
2019

Weekly Run Down: A baby shower and a haircut

categories: Running, Weekly Run Down

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No, the baby shower wasn’t for me. My niece (my brother’s daughter) is expecting her first child in July. We had a small baby shower for her on Saturday. I was in charge of the games and I was quite nervous because I was afraid that the guests wouldn’t like them. 🙂

We only had 1.5 hours for games which actually did not leave that much time (the shower was from 2:30-6:30 pm with dinner being at 4pm). That was OK. There were 5 games/activites and it seemed like everyone had fun.

She doesn’t have a name yet but we helped her out with some suggestions!

Baby Shower-1
This week was also my twice a year haircut! My hair is flat straight and there isn’t much I can do with it. I will confess that sometimes I am lazy about getting a haircut. I think one time I waited almost a year for a haircut! My hair was really long. This time I just wanted to cut 3 inches off. The stylist asked me if I wanted layers. At first I wasn’t sure but then told her to go ahead. I was nervous but I was pleased with the results. I do like it!

This week’s run were great! Since I am on Spring Break, I loved not having to be out there very early in the morning. I was able to run once the sun was out and didn’t need any reflective gear. The weather has been OK but I want it to be warm enough to wear shorts and a tank top.

Sunday’s run felt tough. The workout was 3 miles warmup and 3 miles at 10:43 pace. The last time I ran 6 miles or more was on February 3rd. I am surprised that I did pretty good. I will admit that I did have to stop a few times because the pace felt hard. I remember years ago when it was “easier” to run a 10:30 pace and now I am struggling. I have a half marathon on the 28th and my goal is just to finish it and complete a half in another state.

Spring Break is over and it is back to work tomorrow. No, I am not ready to go back. One more day please.

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

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