Zenaida Arroyo

13
Nov
2018

So many cities and so little time!

categories: Race all 50 states, Rock 'n' Roll Race, Running, Tuesdays on the Run

I have been running for over 10 years. However, it was 6 years ago that I decided to make it a goal to run a half marathon in each state. By then I had already run in 5 states (two being a marathon and I went back to run a half) so I knew I had a long way to go.

One of the best things I did was purchase a Rock ‘n’ Roll TourPass in 2013. This pass allowed me to register for as many Rock ‘n’ Roll races as I wanted to in a year. And that is what I did. That year I ran 14 Rock ‘n’ Roll races. While it was exhausting, it was also fun and I made the best of it.

I may be biased but I love running in Chicago. I love running along the lakefront. Although for almost a year I have been running by my house. I live 1.5 miles from Midway Airport and sometimes run loops around it (4 miles each loop). It is just perfect for me. I also love running in Chicago because it is flat. Although that didn’t help when I ran in other hilly cities like Nashville, TN; Little Rock, AR; Tulsa, OK; and Jackson, MS.

Besided Chicago, I have enjoyed running races in other cities as well. They’re listed below in no particular order.

• Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. What’s not to like running down The Strip at night? It is fun to see The Strip at night without any cars. The best part of this race was that I got VIP status. First and last time!

• Princeton Half Marathon. Getting there was a bit of a hassle but I enjoyed running through Princeton University. Even though there were hills, there were so many trees and the colors were just beautiful. The campus is lovely and it was fun learning about Albert Einstein.

• Boston’s Run to Remember Half Marathon. This race was after the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Security was very tight and I remember feeling a bit nervous but also sad. The course was mostly flat and the turnaround point was Harvard University. I also enjoyed running through Beacon Hill and Boston Common.

• Glacier Half Marathon. Running in Alaska was also so much fun! I ran a half marathon, two 5Ks, and did a running scavenger hunt. I ran these as part of the The Great Alaskan Running Cruise. You can read all about my great adventures HERE.

Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

Random Thoughts Thursday 45

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

• Did you get your free red cup from Starbucks? I didn’t. I did go to Starbucks (earlier I placed an order on my phone) to pick up my Trenta coffee. The red cup is not available in Trenta. I will admit that I was bummed a little but then kind of glad because I really don’t need another cup in my kitchen.

• November is my birthday month!

• Any House of Cards fans? I am excited about it and cannot wait!!

• Did you watch the NYC Marathon? It was truly amazing. While I am happy for the winners, I am bummed about Desi. I was excited when she was in the lead and was hoping that would have continued. The men’s race was exciting too. I was really annoyed with ESPN and their coverage. They didn’t show too much of the race because they were showing lots of commercials.

• Tuesday was Parent/Teacher Conferences. I was exhausted at the end of the day. I have 21 students and 5 students and their parents didn’t show up. Earlier I in the morning I ran for an hour and then met up a friend for breakfast.

06
Nov
2018

Goodbye October and Hello November!

categories: Running, Tuesdays on the Run

• How is it already November? I like this month not only because it is my birthday month, but because of Thanksgiving and the couple of days we have. Work is better but still struggling with the million and one extra things I need to do. There are definitely not enough hours in the day to catch up. Heck, I don’t think I will ever catch up with my work! One thing that I started doing is not bring any work home. Yep, I grade what I can in school and if I don’t finish then I get back to it the next day. So far it has been working really well and I’ve actually been enjoying my evenings so much more.

• Brooks Launch and Ghost Last month I wrote about the Ricochet. I ended up returning them because they felt too stiff. Very different from the Levitate. I bought another pair of the Launch at RnR Denver. Cannot wait to wear them. I also bought the Ghost 11 NYC Marathon edition. I’ve run in them a few times for my easy runs and love them. I ended up buying another pair. 🙂

• Ran 110.31 miles. Pleased with running over 100 miles. I did every single run and I am even happier about that. As of November 6th, I am now 80% done of my yearly goal. There are 55 days left in 2018 and I still need to run 229.74 miles to achieve my goal. Now for sure I know that I will not make that goal but I know I will be very close to it.

• Total time running was 22:09:32.

• I had some fun but tough workouts. There were easy runs but also faster workouts. I did intervals that were 1 minute and 2 minutes. Definitely hard but also fun!

• 22 days of running. I am loving running 5 days a week.

• I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Half Marathon. It was my 39th state in my goal to run a half marathon in each state. You can read my recap HERE. This race was tough!

• Final Thoughts: Pleased with how this month turned out. I did every single run and on almost all of them did better than expected. It is such a GREAT feeling . It hasn’t been easy to wake up very early in the morning to do my runs. I am actually enjoying them because it is my ME time. I think about my plans for the day or just simply listen to my music.

So how did October go for you?

Linking up with Marcia, Patti, and Erika for Tuesdays on the Run.

01
Nov
2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 44

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

• Another interesting Halloween in my classroom. Kids were excited as usual. Minimal work was done so it was all about having fun.

• I have no idea how this happened. I don’t remember signing up. And no I didn’t go to the store to claim my reward.

• I didn’t realize I had so many pairs of Pro Compression socks. I used to wear them before but now wear Lily Trotters.

• Excited to see some “new” records in this training cycle with Mary. If will be fun to see when I break these records.

• So true

25
Oct
2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 43

categories: Random Thoughts Thursday

• It was a tough day for Lola.

Lola-9

• The time is now to do what you want to do. Do not wait till tomorrow or for that special day.

• For the most part I love Southwest. I love it even more because I live very close to Midway Airport and can be there in less than 10 minutes. On my way back from Denver, my flight was supposed to leave at 1:30 but there were mechanical problems and so it was delayed. The problem was that the agents didn’t know how long it was delayed. I didn’t receive any email notifications about it till 1:26 letting me know that my flight would leave at 2pm. It didn’t. My flight finally left at 3pm.

• Brooks Ghost 11 NYC Style! Aren’t these awesome? I don’t think I will ever run the NYC Marathon but I think these are adorable.