Zenaida Arroyo

05
Aug
2017

The Great Alaskan Running Cruise: Hubbard Glacier

categories: Adventure, Fun, Running, Travel

You can read about my day in Seward HERE.

The ship left Seward Friday evening and was at sea till Sunday morning when we docked in Juneau.

On Saturday morning we had a HOT breakfast and a training workshop and motivation session led by John and Jenny. Let me tell you that there was a delicious and hot breakfast for us waiting each time we met in the morning before a race. 🙂

Finally got a picture with Elizabeth.

Enjoying the sunshine and the view.

A group picture.

Then the most spectacular views of Hubbard Glacier. It was beyond anything else I’ve seen. It was breathtaking!! Cold too.

04
Aug
2017

Friday Five 2.0-5 Favorite Races

categories: Friday Five 2.0, Friday Randomness, Race all 50 states, Race Recap, Running

To date I’ve run over 150 races. Most of them I’ve run in Chicago or nearby but more than half of my half marathons have been in other states. Recently I ran a half marathon in Alaska. I don’t have a recap yet but have written a few posts about my trip and you can read about them HERE.

So you bet it was kind of hard to pick and write about my favorite races. Well, I thought about it hard and here are my 5 favorite races.

Chicago Marathon. Definitely the best marathon ever! I am kind of bummed that I am not running it this year but am excited to spectate and cheer for my friends. I’ve run this race 5 times and am always amazed at how well organized it is as well as the support and encouragement I get along the way. Plus, it is a BEAUTIFUL course!

This is from my first Chicago Marathon in 2006. Check out the iPod!

Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. The race marks the beginning of the running season in Chicago. I’ve done this race since 2006 and have missed it a few times due to weather and being out of town. This race starts and ends on the same course as the Chicago Marathon and there are also many spectators along the way. I remember the first time I ran this race, I was so happy because I had run the whole race and only stopped ONCE to get water. That was a huge accomplishment back in 2007 when I was still kinda new to running.

Elmhurst 4 on the 4th. I love the distance and there aren’t too many 4 mile races. While I enjoy taking the train and running a race in the city, I also like getting in a car and driving to a different race location. There is plenty of parking, cheap ($25-$30), and good crowd support. Plus, I like the variety of running on small hills – different from running in flat land in Chicago.

In 2014 and a 39:39 PR.

Soldier Field 10 Mile. What’s not to like about running 10 miles? It’s weird how when running a half marathon, I start feeling like crap past 10 miles. That won’t happen when running this race. I love that it starts and ends near Soldier Field. This year the start line was inside the stadium which was kind of cool and much more organized. It is cheap if you register early (around $55) but then can go up to $90 in April.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. I ran this race in 2014 and it was my last race of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. I enjoyed running on the Strip at night and checking out the view. I ran for fun because when will I ever get the chance to run on the Strip and not have to worry about pedestrians and cars?

The best part of the experience was my VIP status. I didn’t sign up for it but got it because I signed up to run 15 RnR races that year. I ended up running a total of 14 races because last minute I decided to skip Denver.

Would I do this again? Absolutely! A few bloggers are heading out there in November and I am tempted to go but do not want to pay the ridiculous price for the race. I could just go and hang out with them, right?

I’m linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 2.0.

03
Aug
2017

The Great Alaskan Running Cruise: Seward

categories: Adventure, Fun, Running, Travel

You can read about my day in Anchorage HERE.

Warning: There are lots of photos in this post.

Now it is on to Seward and to board the ship. Seward is a few hours away from Anchorage and instead of taking a bus like the rest of the runners on the ship, Meghann and I decided to take the the train. Let me tell you that if you decide to go on this cruise, MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE TRAIN (Coastal Classic) via Alaska Railroad. And make sure to upgrade to the Gold Star Service. It isn’t cheap but worth every penny.

Our hotel was about 5 minutes from the train station so Meghann and I walked. We got our tickets (I purchased ours in January and got row 3 so it must have helped that I booked them early), left our luggage with the porter, got some coffee and then 5 minutes later boarded the train.

That’s our hotel in the background in the picture on the left.

Now I am going to tell you why you have to upgrade to Gold Star Service:

Breakfast is included. And not just a snack bag but a full sit down breakfast.
Unlimited beverages (non-alcoholic)
2 adult beverages
Domed car so you can enjoy the beautiful and amazing views along the way
Comfortable seats that recline
Unique outdoor viewing platform to get some fresh air, mingle with other passenger, and take in the views along the way

Since we were seated in the front, we got to eat about 10 minutes after leaving Seward.

And now enjoy these pictures taken along the way.

Along the way I saw a black bear, a moose, and a few eagles.

These last two photos are my favorite!!

Finally we arrived in Seward and we walked to the ship.

Inside the Radiance of the Seas.

Our room.

02
Aug
2017

The Great Alaskan Running Cruise: Anchorage

categories: Adventure, Fun, Running, Travel

You can read about my day in Seattle HERE.

The next day Meghann and I took another flight to Anchorage. It was my first time flying Alaska Airlines (I travel mostly via Southwest).

I love that they offer this free chat option. I also love that they offer free movies to watch. I wanted to watch The Peanuts Movie but needed the Gogo Entertainment app but also needed Wifi to download the app. No bueno. I wished I had known that before getting on the plane. It was my own fault because I am sure the airline sent me that information prior to my trip and I just did not pay attention to it. Spoiler alert: I did not learn my lesson as something similar happened to me on my United flight from Vancouver to Chicago.

Upon arriving in Anchorage, I found a Starbucks and got a mug. So pretty.

We got in a cab and went to our hotel. Meghann did a much better job and got us a room at the Hilton. It was nicer, bigger, and looked cleaner than our room in Seattle. 🙂

We left our bags and went to get something to eat at 49th State Brewing Company. I ordered a burger and a flight of beer. I love Meghann’s beer glass!

We then took a quick nap and then got ready to pick up our welcome packet at the Skinny Raven Sports and to run our first 5k. The race was not timed and the view was beautiful. I ran for fun and ended up running negative splits! <<12:10/11:42/10:56

Prior to the race, we met heard from John (and I think Jenny too) and took a group picture.

Can you find me in the picture below?

On our way to Tony Knowles Coastal Trail to run.

On the course.

Done and time to eat and drink.

But first a picture of a bear. We saw lots of bears on this trip. 🙂

We went back to the Skinny Raven for pizza and beer. I also met Elizabeth and her husband, Greg. If you don’t know, Elizabeth wrote the book Boston Bound and you can read my review HERE. I guess in my excitement I forgot to take a picture with her.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel but also explored the town a bit.

It was another long and fun day. We were exhausted and went to bed early because we had another trip the next day to Seward. Nope, not another plane but this time it was a train. SO MUCH FUN!!!

This was the view at 9pm where it was bright and sunny.

31
Jul
2017

July 2017 in Review

categories: Monthly Review, Running, Tuesdays on the Run

I say this after every month but I cannot believe July is over. We are halfway through the year!

Miles Ran/Last Month: 122.12/115.79. I did 19 runs this month for a total of 24 hours, 32 minutes, and 13 seconds.

July2017mileage

Last year I ran 186.27 miles in July which has been the most I’ve run in a month.

2016ChicagoMarathonRecap45

Highest Mileage Week: 38.09. This was during the end of June and beginning of July and it took me 7 hours, 52 minutes, and 58 seconds.

Races Planned/Completed: 2/2. I ran the Rock “n” Roll Chicago Half Marathon on July 16 after winning an entry from Erica. Then I went to Alaska for The Great Alaskan Running Cruise where I ran a half marathon. It was so much fun! I got back Saturday afternoon and am still getting used to being back. I have created a page specifically for this cruise and will be updating/adding posts about the trip soon. <<I already wrote about my trip in Seattle.

Current Ache/Pain: Still my knees. Well more sore on the inside than the outside. A few months ago I was diagnosed with knee bursitis. I need to do a better job of doing my exercises to strengthen my glutes, legs, etc.

Current Challenge: None.

Current Book: I am a big fan of John Grisham. I made a list of his books and would like to read all of them (I’ve already read a few of them). I was reading The King of Torts but had to return it to the library because it was due and I couldn’t renew it, but I am hoping to resume reading it again.

The king of torts — Source: http://www.jgrisham.com/books/the-king-of-torts/

Current Song: Despacito. I remember that at first I did not like the song, but the more I heard it, the more I began to like it. And yes I do like it with Justin Bieber. 🙂

Current Treat: Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Coffee.

Next Race(s): Lake Michigan Marathon on September 3. I have not signed up for this race because I wanted to wait and see how I felt during my training. Well, I missed about a week and a half when I was in Alaska so now I am going to get back to it. Yesterday I had to run 12 miles and could only manage 4. Today I did 5 and it was HARD!

Current Excitement: I am sort of excited to go back to work. School starts in 3 weeks (August 21) and the students start on August 23. I plan to go the week before to start organizing and setting up my classroom. This year I’m in a new room but teaching the same grade. This is good because I get to set it up again differently than my previous classroom. It should be interesting because my new room is a bit smaller than my previous one.

teacher back to work

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

TuesdaysOnTheRun