Category: Fit Five Friday

Fit Five Friday and August 2022 Ultimate Coffee Date


Wow, how is it already August?  This Summer Break sure is going by fast.  Just a few more weeks and it is back to work.  My first day is the 18th and then the students start on the 22nd.  I’m starting off the weekend with a little catch-up over the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah.  So grab a mug of your favorite beverage and let’s chat for a bit!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that school starting in a few weeks makes me nervous and excited.  What’s not to like about a new school year, new school, new coworkers, and a new boss?  It is making it through those first few weeks/months that worry me.  The unpacking will take me a long time too.  But I have done it before and will get it done, right?  I know I have my blogger friends to listen to me complain and to give me advice.  Remember how two years ago when I was so tired one day that I ate mashed potatoes and wine for dinner?

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that next week my coworker and I will be going to Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago.  I’ve been there once with my mom but this time time it will be a different experience.  My coworker is a Starbucks Rewards Member (she has almost 10,000 points!) and we will actually have a tour guide and other surprises.  The little things that make me excited!

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you which shampoo you use.  I have straight hair but still the humidity is not my friend.  Actually, humidity has no friends at all.  I’ve tried Prose, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Monat, etc.  I used to wash my hair everyday but now do it 3 times a week.  I rinse it when I do not wash it.  The thought of sweaty hair grosses me out.  Did you know that I used to have curly hair when I was a kid?  The left photo is from my passport and the one on the right is from 1st grade.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that my dentist left me.  He retired sometime in March.  I’ve been going to him since about 1997/1998.  I remember I found him through 1-800-DENTIST.  One of the reasons I went with him is because of his evening hours.  This was before I was a teacher and would get off work really late so I needed someone that would accommodate me.  He was a great dentist and while I am happy for him, I will miss him.  He left his clients to another dentist that was in the same building (which I never noticed, can you believe it?) and have an appointment on Tuesday.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I bought my first Lululemon item!  Nope, not clothes but instead I bought a bag – Clean Lines Belt Bag.  Originally I wanted the Everywhere Belt Bag but it’s been sold out for a long time.  I love it so much that I want to get another bag.  I do not need it but still want it.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week!  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites!  Join hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugsand Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday!  Please add your link below.  I am also linking up with Running with Perseverance and Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Fit Five Friday and July 2022 Runfessions

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional!  It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by DarleneRenéeJennMichelle, and me!  Let’s get started, shall we?

I runfess…
That I was never a fan of Strava.  I do not like to use another app for my run data.  I get all of my information from Garmin Connect.  The only reason I opened an account (again) is because of the challenges.  Not so much to hit a certain number of miles or to compete against others.  I joined simply to “win”.  So far I’ve scored great discounts on Picky Bars and Maurten gels. 

I runfess…
I am going to wait till August 31st to sign up for my 50k.  It is $60.  I remember years ago paying $40 or $45.  Then the price goes up to $70 until 9/30 and then $80 until 10/27.  So far training has been going well.  I am not writing a weekly recap but instead have been posting on Instagram stories.  Would you rather pay more later with a higher guarantee that you’ll do the race or pay now and risk losing the money if for whatever reason you end up not running the race?  

I runfess…
That speaking of Instagram, I am getting really tired of all of the Reels.  One here and there is OK but there are just so many.  I want to delete the app from my phone but not everyone is posting Reels and I do like looking at people’s pictures.  Oh, and all of the Little Miss memes are getting on my nerves.  Maybe I should take a break from social media.  🤣 🤣

I runfess…
That I have unfollowed a lot of people on Instagram.  No worry blogger friends, I am still following all of you.  😀 I think it was last year that I began following a lot of educators simply to enter a giveaway for TpT.  I didn’t win.  And many of those teachers are posting more Reels.  ¡Adios!

I runfess…
That I am so tired of the catcalls.  I know I’ve mentioned this before, and other have talked about it as well, but what is wrong with these men?  It’s like they do not have a wife, sister, mother, etc., and they simply do not care.  But I am sure they would if someone did the same to them!

Thanks for linking up with us again this week!  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites!  Join hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugsand Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday!  Please add your link below.  I am also linking up with Marcia for Runfessions.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Fit Five Friday: 5 things about the 4 on the 4th Race

On Tuesday I ran my 2nd race of 2022.  I knew I wasn’t going to get a PR so my goal was to have fun and finish.  I did that and did better than expected.

This race is special to me because it takes place on July 4th.  To me it is more than Independence Day (and that is a WHOLE different conversation).  My family emigrated from Mexico to the US on July 4, 1978 – I was 5 years old.  I remember seeing the Sears Tower and Lake Michigan.  My father was already living here and finally he had his whole family together.

Here are some fun things about the race:

🇺🇸 I’ve been doing this race since 2013 – It was cancelled in 2020 and I skipped it in 2021.  Almost 10 years of running this race.  It is a fun race – there aren’t that many races that are 4 miles.  I realized I need to get more fun gear for this race.  Pictures below are from 2013 and 2014.  I don’t have any of that gear anymore.

🇺🇸 My PR is 39:39 from 2014 – The closest I’ve come to beating it was in 2015 with a finish time of 40:47.  This year my finish time was 45:46.  My coach had asked me to do a progressive run with the first mile being between 12:00-12:30.  I did it in 11:30.  My last mile was 11:02 with an uphill to the finish line.

🇺🇸 It is not a flat course – Chicago is flat which is nice.  I think this is the only race I do in the Chicago area that has hills.  The first photo is from the race and the one below is from a 3 mile run by my house.

🇺🇸 Well organized with great volunteers – I had the option to pick up my bib before the race or wait till race day.  I love that we have options!  The race started right on time.  There were a few water stops but I didn’t stop because I had my own bottle bottle.  After mile 3 one of the race volunteers told me that the last mile was the shortest mile.  I laughed.  I told him that to get from 3 to 4 is only 1.  He replied that it was all in my head.  

🇺🇸 It is a huge confident booster – Why is it that many times we don’t always believe in ourselves?  We are too hard on ourselves too.  I did get tired and walked a little but still I was smiling.  It helped me see that my training is going well and that makes me a bit more excited about my 50k.

Thanks for linking up with us again this week!  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites!  Join hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugsand Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday!  Please add your link below.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Fit Five Friday and July 2022 Ultimate Coffee Date


Hello July!  We are half way done with the year 2022.  And what a year it has been.  I’m starting off the weekend with a little catch-up over the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah.  So grab a mug of your favorite beverage and let’s chat for a bit!

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you to ask me how many gifts I received from my students are the end of the school year.  Now, I don’t do this job for the gifts but it is nice to get them.  Go ahead, ask me.  0.  NOLLA. ZERO. NULA.  NUL.  I have been teaching for 13 years and every year (except 2020 and we know why) I have received gifts from students.  I went out for drinks with my coworker that day and even she was shocked.  Her husband and other friend that joined us were also shocked.  I did receive a few thank you on Remind from parents, but still.  Update: Receiving gifts is not an expectation.  I was just surprised that is all.  I am not trying to sound ungrateful.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that Summer School went better than expected.  I started off with 22 students on my roster and ended up with 14.  We took one field trip to the Adler Planetarium.  They made me smile but no one made me cry.  Teaching in all English isn’t that bad.  

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that my yesterday my mom and I went to Walgreens to get our 2nd booster shot.  Crossing my fingers we don’t have any side effects from it.  Our first one was in October so it was time for this one.  

If we were having coffee…
I’d ask you if you rate a Peloton class based on the instructor’s playlist.  I know I can check out the playlist before deciding to take the class, but sometimes I forget and then wonder how the heck they picked that song or songs.  On Sunday I took a 90s Run and I only recognized the first two.  I was so annoyed towards the end and was glad it was only 20 minutes.  On Tuesday I took an 80s Run class.  I’ve listened to plenty of 80s songs but only recognized one.  🤔

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am noticing more gray hair.  They’re mostly baby hairs on the top right.  I know I am at that point when I will be seeing them more often.  I am just not ready for them.  

Thanks for linking up with us again this week!  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites!  Join hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugsand Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday!  Please add your link below.  I am also linking up with Running with Perseverance and Confessions of a Mother Runner for the Ultimate Coffee Date.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Fit Five Friday and June 2022 Runfessions

It’s the last Friday of the month which means Marcia has opened the Runfessional!  It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by DarleneRenéeJennMichelle, and me!  Let’s get started, shall we?!

I runfess…
That I thought Runfessions was next week.  Early this week I bought a new wall calendar.  I buy the academic July-June calendar though I prefer August-July but that is not the point.  😉 All week I kept looking at it since it is right above my computer monitor.  I was even staring at the June 30th box because that is the last day of Summer School.  And even with that I still didn’t realize today is the last Friday of the month.  ¡Caramba!  Am I working too hard?  Or am I truly relaxing this Summer and it truly slipped my mind?  

I runfess…
I tried to schedule blood work for my mother for September but the earliest appointment I could get was at 9:30am.  Umm, why?  She is diabetic and also has to fast and 9:30 is way too late for her to go without eating.  Plus, she takes medicine.  I was told that the technicians cannot draw blood unless there is a doctor in the clinic.  I knew that already and in the past have been able to take her at 8am.  The receptionist did tell me which doctor (and the days) goes in at 7:30.  The plan is to walk in and get it done.  

I runfess…
That after YEARS of taking my mother for blood work, I didn’t follow the same procedure for me.  My mother has to fast, but on my past two visits to Quest Diagnostics, I did not fast.  🤦🏾‍♀️ 🤦🏾‍♀️ Now I know why my glucose levels were high!  At least with the last results my HbA1c is lower so I must be doing something right.  Below are the instructions I got.  Check out the part about eating or drinking.  Isn’t it confusing?  How did you interpret it?  Well I am not making the same mistake again!  I already scheduled my next appointment for 7am in September.

I runfess…
That I got asked not once but TWICE to attend a PLC Conference for school.  The locations are Seattle, Detroit, and Orlando.  I was asked to go to Detroit and Orlando and both times I said no.  I don’t like those types of conferences and all that mumbo jumbo stuff for school.  Just let me do my job.  Would I have learned something interesting?  Probably.  Next year I will be on the School Improvement Team and a PLC Facilitator for my team so I am sure it would be have beneficial.  But no thanks.  However, I did get a bit jealous when I saw pictures from those in Orlando.  Yes, it was work but also a chance to get away.  And that is why I should have gone!  🤣 But I would have missed two paid days of Summer School.  Would you have gone?

I runfess…
That during my run this morning I had two additional items to add to this post (I wrote the first 3 before heading out).  Now that I am showered and ready for work, I cannot remember.  I knew I should have stopped and typed them on my phone so I wouldn’t forget.  I use Google Keep to keep my notes, ideas in one place.  Oh well.  At least I was able to add this runfession to my post.  I hope you have a great weekend!

Thanks for linking up with us again this week!  We’ve got FIVE incredible co-hosts, and we are ready to link up every Friday to share YOUR weekly fitness favorites!  Join hosts My First 5K and MoreRunning With AttitudeRun Laugh Eat PieRuns with Pugsand Zenaida every Friday for Fit Five Friday!  Please add your link below.  I am also linking up with Marcia for Runfessions.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter