Random Thoughts Thursday 62

Random Thoughts Thursday

• I belong to a gym in which it isn’t allowed to talk on the phone while using the machines.  I was there on Monday and there was a guy two treadmills down from me talking on his phone.  I had headphones but could still hear him.  I was annoyed and wanted to say something to him.  Luckily he didn’t stay too long.  Would you have said something to him?

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• I started reading “Becoming” by Michelle Obama and so far it is a good book.  I love reading about her childhood and her experiences while in college and while working in Chicago.  I am at the part where she met Barack and has fallen in love with him.  Beautiful love story!

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• I saw this kiosk while on my way to REI.  I didn’t buy anything but was tempted.  Have you bought anything from there?

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• I had been curious about the movie “Roma” and decided to watch it.  Oh no.  I found it boring.  Watched about 30 minutes before I turned it off.  Actually I was running on the treadmill and there came a scene of a naked guy.  I almost fell off the treadmill because I was so shocked! 😬

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• Did you see these GU seafood inspired flavors?  Yuck!  Luckily it was a joke.  Can you imagine if these were for real?

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Tuesday Topics: My running wish list

I thought I had pretty much everything I needed for my running hobby.  I have a Garmin watch that I love.  I have great Oiselle gear for all of the crazy Chicago weather.  I also have beautiful and comfortable Brooks running shoes.  However, now that I think about it, there are a few more things I would like to have/get.

• A treadmill – I do have a gym membership but sometimes it is even too cold to go to the gym.  Remember the polar vortex we had last month?  Yesterday was another cold day and I did not want to go outside.  But I did go to the gym and ran 4 miles.

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• A Peloton bike – I have heard so many great things about it.  I know Kim and Deborah have one and I want one too.  Yeah, I would set that up next to the treadmill.

Peloton-1

• Race entries – I know many races are cheaper than others (I have paid about $40 for an ultramarathon) and then there are those that are just ridiculously expensive!  I have a few more half marathons to sign up for to finish my Race in the 50 states +1 goal (need GA, HI, ID, KS, NM, ND, SD, and WY). This year I signed up for 3 half marathons through BibRave and one that I signed up for as soon as registration was up on the website.  I paid $42 (not including fees).  Still a great price!

• To be a Brooks Run Happy Ambassador – I know I will never be picked as one but it is an ambassadorship that I really, really want.  I love their shoes and wear them on every run.  Currently I have 3 pairs in rotation and yesterday ordered the Glycerin 17.  Those are the shoes Desi Linden runs in so if they are good enough for her, then they are also good enough for me.

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Tuesday TopicsThis week’s Tuesday Topic:  What’s on your running wish list?  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: More cold weather and getting back to running

Hello there!  I am late to the party and had no idea that the weekly link up hosted by Holly and Wendy was retired, but excited that Kim and Deborah have decided to keep it going with hosting a “new” weekly link up!  I am hoping to post regularly here and read about everyone’s week.

Hello March 2019

I can’t believe that we’re already in March!  Glad that February is behind us and hopefully the nasty, cold weather we’ve been having here in the Midwest will go away.  I am actually pretty tired of it.  Unfortunately, the cold weather got to me and I missed so many runs because I didn’t want to deal with the cold weather.  I mean, I am sort of OK with running in cold weather (and actually wrote a post on my essentials) but it was just too much for me.

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I have a few races coming up and realized that I needed to get out of this funk and start running again.  I signed up to train again with Mary and am excited about it.  She is so patient with me and I love working with her.

In order to get ready for a new training cycle with Mary, I decided to start “new” with running shoes.  I had 4 new pairs of the Brooks Launch 5 and sent them back to Running Warehouse.  Currently I have a pair of the Brooks Ghost 11, a pair of the Launch 5, and recently received the Brooks Launch 6.  I am thinking of buying the Glycerin 17.  That is 4 pairs in rotation.  Too many or not enough?  🙂

This week was kind of blah for me.  Still no running (only ran 4 miles on Saturday) but kept busy at school.  I had parent/teacher conferences on Tuesday.  I have 21 students and was able to see 17 parents.  I rarely wear heels to work (I am more of a Tieks girl) but somehow decided to wear boots on Tuesday.  Big mistake.  My feet were hurting by the time I got to school and had to wear gym shoes when I wasn’t meeting with parents.  Not pretty but at least I was comfortable.

This Monday is the beginning of a RunBet hosted by Deborah.  Have you signed up?  My goal is not just to win money, but NOT to lose any money.  🙂  That means I need to run 4 times each week for the month of March.  If interested, sign up HERE.

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

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Random Thoughts Thursday 61

Random Thoughts Thursday

• I haven’t watched “A Star is Born” but I am obsessed with the song “Shallow”.  Wow!  I keep playing it on repeat every single day.

• Late to the party here regarding the Hamilton lottery.  Recently I downloaded the app and everyday have entered to win tickets.  Nothing so far.  Crossing my fingers that one day I can get tickets. 

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• Tuesday was parent/teacher conferences.  I have 21 students and was able to meet with 17 parents.  Not too bad.  It was a long day too (11:30am-7pm) with a break at 3pm for lunch.

• Lola cracks me up.  I finish eating and then she jumps on the chair for her meal.  She never eats at the table since her bowl is on the kitchen floor.  Maybe I should move it to the table?

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• Aren’t Girl Scout cookies the best?  I can eat these every single day, but I don’t.  Which one is your favorite?

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Tuesday Topics: I walked 610,966 steps in the StepBet Challenge!

StepBet-1I first heard about StepBet from Kim in this post.  But it wasn’t till later on when she wrote about her experience that I actually signed up.  I asked myself “How hard can it be?”  Well, it wasn’t easy but it wasn’t hard either.  🙂

What is StepBet?
“StepBet is a fitness game that motivates you to be more active.  Players “bet” on themselves to meet their personalized step goals during every week of the game, and win money if they do.  The cash prize, accountability, and community support help you build a more active lifestyle.”

Each game is $40.  If you win, you automatically get it back.  Depending on the number of players and the money in the pot, you can also win more money.  I cannot remember how many players and money was at the beginning of the game, but when it was over, there were 365 players and $21,680 in the pot.  StepBet retains 15% of the gross pot to pay referees, transaction fees, game hosts, and administrative support.  For this game I received $50.49.  Overall, I made $10.49!!!  🙂

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How does it work?
Your weekly goals are calculated based on previous data from your FitBit, Apple Watch, Garmin, Apple Health, Google Fit, or Samsung Health.  You will get an Active Day Goal and a Power Day Goal.  You need to hit your “active” steps at least four days a week and “power day” steps at least 2 days per week.  You also get one free day per week.  My step goals were 15,310 for an an active day and 18,511 steps for a power day.  The first week is a warm-up week to get you used to the game.  You do not have to meet any of the goals.  The next 5 weeks are the interesting and challenging ones.  

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Thoughts
• I enjoyed the accountability and support.  When you sign up for the challenge, you are in a group (similar to a Facebook group) where you can post and “talk” to other members.

• It got me walking more than usual.  As a teacher I do walk a lot.  However, there were days in which I left school with less than 10,000 steps.  I would then walk for about 1-2 hours to meet my daily goal.  Luckily the weather was decent and nice enough to walk outside.

• Is it worth it?  Yes!  I didn’t do it for the money.  Well, maybe just a little since I didn’t want to lose my $40.  There were days that I was exhausted (especially the day of and after a power day) but I didn’t want to quit.  I am glad we had one free day to rest or simply not worry about meeting the daily goal.

• Will I do it again?  Maybe.  For now I am taking a break from my FitBit (haven’t worn it since January 1st) but might start wearing it again in the upcoming months.

I’ve been wanting to do a RunBet and signed up for one hosted by Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner.  It is a 4 week challenge where you’ll need to run 4 days each week for at least 30 minutes.  Interested?  Sign up HERE.  The challenge starts Monday, March 4th.

• People get injured and couldn’t participate anymore.  They would submit a doctor’s note and would get back their $40.  With this the money in the pot would decrease and there is less money available for the winners.  I know this is wrong (and greedy) of me to say it, but I think that money should have been left in the pot.  More for the winners!  Or maybe half of it should have been refunded?

Tuesday TopicsThis week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic.  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!