Random Thoughts Thursday 65

Random Thoughts Thursday

• Tomorrow is my last day before Spring Break.  I am definitely excited!  My plan is to walk out the door with my kids (dismissal is at 2:50) so I can leave at 3:00.

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• Why Netflix?  I love you but why again the price increase?  Didn’t they just raise it like 2 years ago?  But even with the price increase, I know I will continue to pay.

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• I love that I have zenaida.net and remember wanting to buy zenaida.com but it was too much money.  I checked the price again and holy frijoles!

• Tried these chips and they’re yummy!  Add some hot sauce and they’re even better.

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• A photo of Lola just because she is cute.  🙂  

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Tuesday Topics: 2019 Shamrock Shuffle Race Recap

Disclaimer:  I received a free entry to the Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 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!  

This week’s topic is “What are your favorite non-running or non-fitness hobbies?”  I ran a race on Sunday so I am going a different route and writing my race recap.  I hope I don’t don’t bore you!

On Sunday I ran one of my favorite races!  Love, love this race!  This was also my first race of the year.  This year was also the 40th Anniversary.

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I’ve been running this race since 2006, but missed it in 2009, 2012, and 2013.  

I picked up my bib on Saturday morning along with my race shirt and a bright green hat just like last year.

The forecast on Saturday morning was that it was supposed to rain.  I was debating between shorts or tights.  I also had a jacket for the rain.

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I woke up Sunday morning at 6am and quickly checked the weather.  No rain!  I got up, drank coffee while eating a Clif Bar, and got ready.  I left my house at 6:45 and drove to the train station.  Luckily I didn’t have to wait too long for the train.  When I arrived downtown I stopped at the Congress Hotel to use the restroom and then went to drop off my gear.

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I had planned to meet up with a few BibRave friends and as I was running towards Buckingham Fountain, I heard my name and saw Wendy.  Then I realized Marcia was also with her and Stephanie (Wendy’s friend).  We chatted for a bit and also took a picture.

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I then saw my BibRave friends!  We chatted for a bit and then went to our corrals.  We were in Wave 1 and had to be there by 8:20 to start at 8:30.

My goal was to have fun and finish in under an hour.  I had my watch on manual lap because I knew the building always mess up the satellite signal.  I also set my watch to just see the current time because I didn’t want to stress out about my splits.

Time to run!

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I took my time with this race.  I stopped at the water stations and also walked.  I soaked it all in because I rarely go downtown anymore and it was nice to be there.  Also, I did get tired, not sure why but my legs just wouldn’t run faster.  🙂  I did warm up a bit but then would also cool down and warm up again.  Still it was much better than being too cold or too hot.  And definitely better that it wasn’t raining.

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I was surprised to see my time for my 1st mile because I didn’t realize I was going that fast (I also had to stop before mile 1 because one of the shoelaces came untied).  I then just made an effort to slow down because I knew it was going to bite me later on.  Yep, it did.  I ended up with positive splits.  🙂

This race starts and ends in the same place as the Chicago Marathon.  While the crowd support isn’t like the marathon, there is plenty to cheer and support you.  

Once done I had planned to meet up again with my BibRave friends at Buckingham Fountain, but as I was walking towards gear check, I saw Stephanie and Wendy again.  Then I saw Marcia.  We wanted a picture of our medal with The Bean.  It took us a while to get there because some streets were still closed and we had to find an alternate route.  Anyway, by then I was hungry and cold and then decided to head home after the picture.

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In case you didn’t know, I love this race.  My plan is to keep running it every year unless there is a reason that I cannot do it.

Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic:  What are your favorite non-running or non-fitness hobbies?  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!


Weekly Run Down: Spring and my first race

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I am trying something new to post my weekly mileage.  I got the idea from Melissa at I Crashed the Web.  I asked her about it and she told me she uses Canva.  I also have used it for my blog posts and love the different options that are available.  What do you think?  Too bright?  Too dark?

Anyway, this was a long and hectic week at work.  Nothing specific but I was very tired and was very happy when it was finally Friday.  Almost winter break!

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This week again consisted of 3 easy runs and 1 speed workout.  I had to do my speed workout on Tuesday (did it on Wednesday).  I woke up on time and got ready.  However, something didn’t feel right and I went back to sleep.  An hour later I felt much better!

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My speed workout was 15 minutes warm up and cool down, 4×2 minutes with 1 1/2 minutes recovery, and then 3x 1 1/2 minutes intervals with 2 minutes recovery.  I did pretty good, but somehow I messed up on the last one.

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Wore some colorful tights for the 1st day of Spring!

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We did a fun Spring activity with the kids. Yep, all 4 classes which was over 90 students. Pretty cool, right?  Our next one will be next month for Easter.

Here is the link if you want to make it with your kids.

Gorgeous 3D Paper Tulip Flower Craft

I went to the expo Saturday morning to get my bib.  I wasn’t there too long but did run into a few friends.  I did buy 3 Sparkly Soul headbands and a few Nuun tubes.

Saturday night I laid out my stuff for the next morning.  I was debating between shorts and compression socks OR tights since it was supposed to rain in the morning.  I ended up with the shorts with compression socks because it did not rain.

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I met up with a few friends before and after the race.  My goal was simply to finish under an hour and to have fun.  It was my first race of the year and I wanted to enjoy it.  I definitely did.  It didn’t rain.  I finished in less than an hour. I had fun.  🙂  I will have a race recap on Tuesday. 

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Later today I will go to my mom’s (she came back from Mexico yesterday) because my cousins are coming over to eat some mole. << A popular and delicious Mexican food.

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

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Random Thoughts Thursday 64

Random Thoughts Thursday

• Typos is one of my pet peeves.  It really drives me crazy when I see them on  Instagram or Facebook.  Sometimes I feel like correcting that person, but will that make me a b$#ch? 

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• Is this a typo too?  I don’t understand why a word cannot be spelled out.  Are we that lazy?  I also HATE it when I see “fav” instead of “favorite”.

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• I don’t know why I didn’t do this before, but I finally changed my car insurance coverage.  I used to pay for full coverage and recently changed it to only liability.  Now I am paying half of what I used to pay.  I am mad at myself because I could have saved so much money if I would have changed it before.

• Always, always coffee.  🙂 

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• I love math and wished my kids loved it as much as I do.  I am having trouble with them understanding subtraction problems.  We were working on a story problem and one student told me the equation was “20-36=”.  I wrote it on the board and asked for answers.  They told me 10, 24, and 0.  I had a fit!  Ugh!  Finally, a student did tell me that the equation was wrong because you couldn’t subtract 36 from 20 because there wasn’t enough.  Now I know I could have told them from the beginning that the equation was wrong, but I wanted THEM to tell me that and the reason.

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Tuesday Topics: What I bring along on my run

Last week I mentioned that I was a morning runner.  I am a morning person.  I like the feeling of knowing that I am done with my workout and don’t have to “worry” about it later.

Besides a watch, there are a few things I bring along with me on my run.  I may add a thing or two (depending on the run) such as money, energy gel, or water.

• Oiselle Lightning Layer – I know I have mentioned it here in other posts, but it is one of my favorite items from Oiselle.  I can wear it over another top or a sports bra.  I love how bright it is to make sure drivers see me when it is dark.

Black Diamond Headlamp – I bought this last year and love how bright it is. 

SABRE Pink Pepper Spray – I understand why I have to carry it with me but I still hate that I “have” to.  Luckily I have not had to use it.  However, once I was testing it, and accidentally sprayed it in the bathroom.  Boy, that stuff is strong!

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Fitletic Running Belt – I love their running belts.  I have a few other ones that I use for races or longer runs (one has two water bottles).  These belts are water resistant, do not bounce at all, chafe, or ride up while running.  The one I use for races also has toggles for my bib.  No more pins or holes on my shirt!

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Wrist ID – There are so many to choose from, but the one I have is the silicone stretch.  Simple and stylish, right?  🙂  I feel better knowing that in case of an emergency, my sisters will be notified.  I also purchased one for my mother, because well, my mother is in her 70s and we want to be notified right away in case something happens to her.

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Tuesday Topics

This week’s Tuesday Topic:  What do you bring along on a run?  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!