Zenaida Arroyo

13
Jun
2013

Three Things Thursday, June 13, 2013

1. Since I am such a crazy runner, I signed up for the Glass Slipper Challenge, February 22-23, 2014. It is not as goofy as the Goofy Challenge. This one is a 10K on Saturday followed by a half marathon on Sunday. Yikes! But it should be fun too! It looks like next year I will complete all of the RunDisney races except TinkerBell Half Marathon because that is the weekend after the Goofy Challenge. Or is it possible to be even more crazy and do both?

2. I am finally on summer break and one of my projects is to organize my medals. Somehow I ended up on PavementRunner‘s blog and he has a post on a DIY medal and bib holder. I am going to try to make something similar so I went to Michael’s and bought a few supplies. My nephew went with me and is going to help me out. It will give him something to do since he is out on summer break too. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Yesterday I got another medal from Rock ‘n’ Roll. I need a medal holder just for these medals.

3. I received my first StrideBox! Love what it says on the outside box!

Included in the box are:

Foot Rubz Massage Ball
Lock Laces
Anti-Chafe Cream with Tea Tree Oil
PowerICE (not pictured because they’re in the freezer)
PocketFuel
Electro Delytes
Skratch Exercise Hydration Mix

I am so excited to try all of these products. Each box is $15 and I think it is a GREAT deal because you get the chance to try some neat running products. Plus can you think of the thousands of uses for that cute box?

11
Jun
2013

Fort 2 Base Race

categories: Running

Have you ever ran 10 nautical miles? Neither have I. It is actually 11.5 miles and this distance fascinates me. I LOVE half marathons and have ran quite a few of them. On August 25th I will be running the 3rd annual Fort2Base Race (11.5 miles). The race will start in Fort Sheridan and end at Naval Station Great Lakes. There is also a 3 nautical miles (3.45) race for those that want to run a race similar to a 5K.

Why should you register for this race?

You are guaranteed a personal best if you have never participated in a 10 nautical mile or 3 nautical mile race before
It is the only event open to the public on Naval Station Great Lakes this year
Lots of food, music, and entertainment for the whole family
Finisher medals for both events handed to you by an officer in the military
Brand new course for both distances
Lots of FREE parking

So what are you waiting for? Sign up today and join me to run along scenic and beautiful North Shore. It will be a fun race and you won’t be disappointed!

Just Keep Running!

09
Jun
2013

Weekly Workouts, June 3-9, 2013

categories: Half Marathon Training

Workouts this week:

Tuesday – 400, 600, 800, 1200, 800, 800, 400 (90 sec RI)
I was tired and did not complete all of the workouts. I managed to only run 3.56 miles.

Thursday – 2 miles easy, 3 miles @ short tempo, 1 mile easy
I was determined to run but when I got to the gym I realized I did not have a running bra. So instead of going home to get the bra and return to the gym, I went to Target instead. I know. Excuses. Shame on me.

Saturday – 8 miles at HMP, 10 minutes walking
I did not run on Saturday morning because I went to Evanston to volunteer at Exchange 35 for the Madison to Chicago Ragnar Relay. It was fun but also tiring. I was responsible for directing runners and vans to the exchange area. Once I was done, I headed home to eat and take a nap because I had a birthday/baptism party at 4pm. It was definitely a LONG day for me.

Since I did not run on Saturday I had to run on Sunday. It was a gorgeous morning for a run. However, I was kind of tired and struggled to run 9.01 miles. Yes, I am adding the .01 because that’s what it shows in my Garmin.

Total miles ran this week is 18.48.I am hoping this week I do a better job with my workouts and runs. My next race isn’t till June 22nd in Seattle and I am so glad about it because it is tiring to travel and race three races back to back to back.

07
Jun
2013

Three Things Thursday, June 6, 2013

categories: Three Things Thursday

1. Tomorrow is the last day of school! Can you tell I’m excited? I have been waiting for this day since my first day back from Spring Break in April. My students will be in class for one hour and then I can leave 20 minutes later. Except, I won’t go home. I need to help tally some survey results for our teacher contract. Then I will head out to pick up my nephew, Ivan, whose last day of school is also on Friday. We have so many exciting things to do this summer. Our first one is Six Flags Great America on Monday. Also, one of my goals this summer is to organize my medals. Do I have enough or what?

2. Last year I participated in my first Ragnar and had a blast! Unfortunately, this year I cannot participate because of school. See #1 above. I am truly jealous of those running it this year. I will be volunteering for it. I am looking forward to being “behind the scenes” and to see the runners in action. I will be at Exchange 35 (Northwestern University) from 6:30 am – 12:45 pm. Not sure what I was thinking in signing up for a shift that early. Oh well.

3. Yesterday was National Running Day and so I ran one mile with my nephew. He is such a cute little kid. He told me no jogging. He did not jog. What did he do? He ran fast, got tired, and had to walk. That was OK. We still had fun. A few years back he did a few small races but now has retired. I am hoping he gets that running bug again.

Just Keep Running!

05
Jun
2013

Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Half Marathon

categories: Race all 50 states, Race Recap, Rock 'n' Roll Race, Running

Done, state #20.

I arrived in San Diego late Friday night because my flight was delayed. I went straight up to my room and met my roommate, Rebecca from Run Like a Girl, and Mean It! She is a sweet person! We talked for a little bit and then went to sleep.

The next morning I met another runner, Kim, and Rebecca’s mom and aunt. I also ran 2.2 miles for this challenge. It was such a beautiful morning in San Diego.

After my run I went to the expo. Again, RNR expos do not disappoint. I bought two pairs of Pro Compression Socks and two running shirts. Plus, I made a video for Team Refuel. I’ll find out July 5th if my video was selected for one of the top 10 and then voting begins to be selected to be on the team.

Race day I was up at 4am. Yes, ridiculously early. We got ready and went downstairs for the shuttle bus to take us to the start line. It wasn’t a bus but a limo bus.

Once we arrived we had plenty of time to find the gear drop off area, start line, and go to the bathroom. I was the only one that went to the bathroom. Before we knew it more people had arrived and the bathroom lines were getting longer. Rebecca was the only one running the full marathon (6:15 am start time) and Kim and I were running the half marathon (6:45 am). We got in line to go to the bathroom one more time and I am not kidding but we waited about 30 minutes. Whew, definitely felt better afterwards.

Kim and I got in our corral and we were ready to tackle the race!

It was humid! I was sweating within the first mile. Here are my splits:

Miles 1 through 4 – 9:22, 10:44, 10:24, 11:23
Miles 5 through 8 – 10:30, 11:07, 10:53, 10:41
Miles 9 through 12 – 11:33, 11:01, 11:34, 9:35
Mile 13 – 11:13

The course had its ups and down. There were so many turns. I got annoyed and did not like them at all and had to take a few walking breaks. We did run through some nice neighborhoods and there were so many people cheering for us. My favorite part was mile 12 because it was mostly downhill. Actually, it was about a half mile going downhill and it felt really good.

My finish time is 2:22:06. According to my Garmin I ran 13.26 miles in 2:22:08. Doesn’t really make sense right? The winner of the half marathon was Bernard Koech from Kenya with a finish time of 58:41. That is a 4:29 pace per mile!!!