Category: Giveaway

Tuesday Topics: Hello and a birthday giveaway!

This week’s Tuesday Topic is:  What did you learn from your worst race?  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!

I am deviating from today’s topic to say “Hello”.  I took some time off from blogging to get my life together.  😊 While this school year has been a lot better than last year, it’s still been very challenging.  Two new curriculums is kicking my you know what.  I have 22 students but many are below grade level (a few are nonreaders).  We are expected to teach the curriculum as if it were a “normal” year.  Umm, no.  Nothing is normal about this year.  Everything is so hard for the students.  Doing simple things is challenging.  I’ve had to teach them to line up quietly, walk, etc.   They eat breakfast in my room and many make a mess and do not even know how to clean up.  They were home all freakin’ year!  What the heck did they do?!?!?!?

Many of my students have been absent because they’re either sick or quarantined.  For the latter it is because they’ve shown covid symptoms.  They can come back to school after 10 days or with a negative test result.  There was a time in which  7 students were quarantined.  Right now I have 2 in quarantine.  One has been absent for 2 weeks.  His brother is in a classroom in which a few students tested positive and the whole class was quarantined.  I feel like the guidelines are not clear nor consistent.  There are many siblings in our school.  One may be sent home to quarantine but yet the other siblings can still go to school.  

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Last week were parent/teacher conferences.  I was expecting to meet with 21 parents (one student came into my room at the beginning of October but was absent for about 3 weeks due to health requirements).  Only 12 made an appointment and I met with 8 of them.  It wasn’t even in person conference..it was virtual!!!!  Ugh, I was even more annoyed because I had to be in school till 7pm.

I had mentioned I want to run a 50k next year.  I haven’t written about my training but have been posting on Instagram stories.  I like that they’re easy and fast to do.  The race I want to do is the Chicago Lakefront 50k.  Still no exact date but it usually takes place end of March/beginning of April.  So far running is going well.  I’ve had some great and bad runs.  Don’t we all?  I remember in the beginning I had a good week and then a bad week.  And by bad I mean that I felt very tired and didn’t want to run.  Then around the 3rd week I got the booster shot and flu shot and felt very tired after my 5 mile run (I also had a headache that day).  Then the rest of the week and the week after that I was fine but woke up exhausted on Saturday.  I didn’t want to get up and stayed in bed till about 11am.  It could have been both shots and/or work.  Who knows.

I began this training cycle with 3 pairs of Brooks shoes.  Recently I purchased the NYC Edition and then added the November/Thanksgiving Edition.  I got them from Zappos so I have close to a year to decide if I want to keep them.  There was a time in which the Launch was my favorite running shoe but now I am leaning more towards the Ghost.

To date I’ve run 800 miles (80% of my goal).  It looks like I might be able to make my goal of running 1,000 miles this year or at least very close to it!  Glad I changed my goal from 1,200 miles.

My mother is doing well.  I see her on the weekends when she comes to stay with me.  She is getting older and has different doctor appointments every few months.  My nephew, Ivan, came home from California for a few weeks.  It was a surprise!  It was great to see him and to hug him.  He left again last week and I don’t know when he’ll be home again.

Mateo and Lola are doing well.  They still fight but sometimes they have their good days.  The photo of Mateo cracks me up.  What do you think he is thinking?

Enough about me for now.  I am hanging in there.  It could definitely be worse.  I am taking it day by day and trying not to worry or stress too much.  I have some pain in my right hand/wrist.  It might be a pinched nerve or carpal tunnel.  For now I am wearing a wrist brace to help with the pain.  If it doesn’t feel better soon, I will go to the doctor.  

Now let’s talk about the giveaway.  My birthday is Saturday.  There will be one prize for a $49 gift card to one of the following stores: Zappos, Dunkin’ Donuts, Running Warehouse, Amazon, or Starbucks.

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  This giveaway will run until November 21st at 11:59 pm.  The winner will be selected on November 22nd. The giveaway is open to US residents only.  All entries are verified, so please be sure to complete them or a new, random winner will be selected.  GOOD LUCK!!!

Tuesday Topics
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Tuesday Topics: My favorite running brands and a birthday giveaway!

 

This week’s Tuesday Topic is:  What are some of your favorite running brands?  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!

This is a fun topics to write about!  Sometimes I like to try new brands but for the most part am very loyal and stick to the brands I like and trust.  Here is a list of my favorite running brands.

🟣 BrooksBy now you all know my love for my Brooks shoes.  Yep, that is all I wear for running.  Currently I am running in the Ghost 12 and have a few new pairs in boxes along with the Launch.  Based on the boxes I have I am estimating that I have enough pairs to wear in 2021.  

🟣 Oiselle – All of my running clothes except my sports bra and socks are from Oiselle.  I will admit they’re not cheap but there have been some sales take place where I take advantage and buy what I want or want.  :-). I am a huge fan of the long roga shorts and the lightening layer.

🟣 Smartwool, Balega, and Lily Trotters – These are the socks I wear for running and even during the day.  I also like to wear Lily Trotters with shorts.  

🟣 Koala Clip – I’ve been using this for over a year on every single run to carry my phone.  Sometimes I add my keys in there when there are no pockets in the tights I am wearing.  Check out Kim’s post for a review.  

🟣 Garmin – I have the 225 and get data such as heart rate, average pace, distance, pace, and time.  That is all I need.  Lately I feel like it isn’t correctly properly anymore and yesterday I ordered the 235.  It should arrive on Wednesday and I am excited about it.  The photo below is from 2015.  Check out that pace!

 I also had the 305.  Ha!  I think I still have it somewhere.

🟣 Headsweats – I first heard about them from Marcia.  Thanks, friend!  I wear these hats a lot during the Summer.  They keep the sun and sweat out of my eyes and I love the fun and variety designs.

Now let’s talk about the giveaway.  My birthday is Friday.  There will be one prize for a $48 gift card to one of the following stores: Zappos, Dunkin’ Donuts, Running Warehouse, Amazon, or Starbucks.

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  This giveaway will run until November 24 at 11:59 pm.  The winner will be selected on November 25th. The giveaway is open to US residents only.  All entries are verified, so please be sure to complete them or a new, random winner will be selected.  GOOD LUCK!!!

Tuesday Topics

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Tuesday Topics: My Winter weather running tips and a birthday giveaway!

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Kim and I want to thank everyone again for linking up with us every week!  We love reading your posts and comments.  We love learning more about you and from you with each post.  We may not respond right away (I finished reading Tuesday’s posts on Saturday and replied to comments on Sunday), but life happens and adulting is hard.  🙂

This week’s Tuesday Topic: What are your Winter weather running tips?  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!

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I will start off by mentioning that Wendy wrote a GREAT post on this topic.  Read hers first.  🙂

It is not officially winter yet but last week we got snow and the weather dropped down to freezing cold.  I ran one day and did not want to venture out the other days mostly because of the ice.  Yes, I could have run at the gym but the thought of running on the treadmill, left me with NO desire to run at all.  It is so weird how one summer I did almost all of my runs on the treadmill.

I know Winter will be officially here in a few weeks and I want to share some of my tips for Winter weather running:

• Layering with the right clothes.  All of my running clothes are from Oiselle.  Depending on how cold it is, I wear a short sleeve or tank followed by a long sleeve shirt and a jacket.  I also love the wazzie wool top.  Don’t overdress because even though you feel cold in the beginning, eventually you will warm up. 

• The right gear.  Definitely a hat and gloves (I like Super Puff Mittens and Power On Gloves).  I also wear a gaiter to protect me from the wind.

• Hydrate.  Just because it is cold does not mean you should not be drinking water while out on a run.  <<That’s what I used to think.  You can still dehydrate just like you would in the summer.  

• Warm up.  I wrote in this post that I never do any kind of warm up.  I started working with a new coach and he told me I have to warm up before every single run.  Now, I really have no choice.  🙂  Today I did a few dynamic workouts and I was hot before I went outside.  

• If it is really cold out and/or icy, then run indoors.  It isn’t worth falling (that is my fear).  But if you “must”, then listen to your body and go indoors or home if needed.

• Skip the run.  There is nothing wrong with staying home to catch up on a TV show or read a book.  Maybe even take a nap?

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Now let’s talk about the giveaway.  My birthday is tomorrow.  There will be one prize for a $47 gift card to one of the following online stores: Zappos, Dunkin’ Donuts, Running Warehouse, Amazon, or Starbucks.

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.  This giveaway will run until November 26 at 11:59 pm.  The winner will be selected on November 27th.  The giveaway is open to US residents only.  All entries are verified, so please be sure to complete them or a new, random winner will be selected.  GOOD LUCK!!!

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Tuesday Topics

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Tuesday Topics: What I’m looking forward to this year

Welcome to the first Tuesday Topics Linkup!  Kookyrunner (Kim) and I are taking over the previous Tuesdays on the Run hosted by Patty, Erika, and Marcia.  We have some fun topics to write about this year so hopefully you’ll join us every Tuesday.  For the list of topics and some guidelines, click HERE.  We also have a giveaway so make sure to enter!

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Another year full of exciting new things waiting to happen.  I went back to work yesterday and while it was nice to be off, I did miss my kids and look forward to my routine.  Remind me of this when I complain about how tired I am and cannot wait for school to be over.  🙂

During my time off I thought about a few things that I am excited about and looking forward to this year.  Last year I wrote a similar post and realized that a few of them are included in this year’s post.  Here they are in no specific order or importance.

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1. The Lion King.  This is my FAVORITE Disney movie and I CANNOT WAIT.

2. This new linkup.  I am happy to be doing this with Kim.  I am also excited to get to know many of you better and follow along on your personal, running, and other journeys and experiences.

3. Move to a house.  For sure I will move this year.  My landlord is waiting for me to leave so he can remodel the apartment and possibly rent it out for more money.  This house is a bit old and the inside is outdated.  I have an idea of the kind of house I want and the area but still it is hard to find one that isn’t too expensive and/or that doesn’t require any work to be done to it.

4. Run a couple half marathons in new states.  Currently I’ve completed 39 half marathons in different states.  I am signed up for SC and MT.  Planning to also add MI and DE.  

5.  Washer and dryer.  With the new house I will also have a washer and dryer.  I don’t have one in the apartment building so my sister and I go to the laundromat.  It isn’t that bad and it is about 1/2 mile away.  But I do miss the convenience of going down to the basement to do laundry.

6. Trips to TX, WA, and Mexico.  I have two nephews that graduate in June and my niece in August.  One nephew lives in San Antonio and the other one in Seattle.  Luckily the graduations take place on two separate weekends so we’ll have a chance to attend both of them.  I am excited for my mother to go to Seattle.  She’s been to San Antonio but never to Seattle.  I am sure she’ll be happy to see another grandson graduate from a university.  Last year she went to San Francisco!

Now let’s talk about the giveaway.  There will be two prizes: 1) A pair of Lily Trotter Compression Socks and pair of Lock Laces and 2) 2019 Journal.

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.   This giveaway will run until January 11th at 11:59 pm.  The winner will be selected on January 12th.  The giveaway is open to US residents only.  All entries are verified, so please be sure to complete them or a new, random winner will be selected.


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Tuesday Topics

This week’s writing prompt:  What are you looking forward to this year?  Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier!  Remember to come back for later linkers!


Halfway through 2017 and a Giveaway

Disclaimer: None of these items are sponsored by the companies but are items I purchased with my own money.

Thanks to everyone that commented on Sunday’s post while I was a guest host for Tricia and Holly’s Weekly Wrap Up!

1. Wow, June is over and we are halfway through 2017.  Summer break is going great!  I’ve been able to sleep in, rest, spend time with Lola, and run.

2. This month I ran 115.75 miles compared to last month (115.45 miles).  I’ve been doing longer miles but I’ve been running 5 days instead of 6. Along with my marathon training, I’ve been taking swimming lessons and working with a personal trainer. 

June 2017 Miles

3. In a few weeks I will be heading to Seattle and then to Alaska.  I am happy and excited about it.  Cannot wait!!

RoadtoBQ504. My first day back to work is Monday, August 21.  I will be setting up my new room the week before and know it will be a long process.  I moved classrooms and will have to set up everything again.

5. Now it is time for a giveaway.  I love coffee.  And I love Starbucks.  I am not a big fan of their hot coffee but do LOVE, LOVE their iced and cold brew coffee.  I also love my Lock Laces and have them in all of my running shoes.  I’ve been using them for a few years now and make sure to always have extra sets for a giveaway or to give to friends.

Now let’s talk about the giveaway. The winner will receive a $10 Starbucks Giftcard and a pair of Lock Laces in blue.

Starbucks and Lock Laces

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter.   This giveaway will run until July 7th at 11:59 pm).  The winner will be selected on July 8th.  The giveaway is open to US residents only.  All entries are verified, so please be sure to complete them or a new, random winner will be selected.

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

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