Zenaida Arroyo

12
Aug
2025

Tuesday Topics: My running “why”

Happy Tuesday! Thank you for joining me and Jenn for another edition of Tuesday Topics. Remember to link up with us! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Don’t forget to come back for later linkers!

Yesterday was my first day back at work. It was a day full of meetings and minimal time in the classroom. Today is another meeting day. I am ready for this week. At least it is 3 days with the students.

I’ve written about how and why I started running. I remember I saw an older man running downtown and realized that if he could do it then so could I. This was in 2004 or 2005.

Fast forward many years later and I’ve run over 150 races. I am not running like I used to, but I am still doing it. So why do I run?

• To feel good about myself. I love knowing that by 6am, I am done with my run, and am ready to start my day. Many people are still sleeping at that time.

• Improve my health. I am not getting any younger. I want to still enjoy life for many more years. I see women in their 80s and 90s still walking and without a cane. I want to be that person! I want to continue taking care of myself – no one else is going to do it for me.

• Improve my energy levels. I get tired from running, but I also get a burst of energy to get through the day.

• For a specific goal. Whether it is for a race or a time, having a goal adds to the excitement for running. I am not training for a specific race, but want to see how many miles and different streets I run in this year.

• Gives me time to think and get ready for the day. While I run is my “ME” time. I love that time in the morning when I am in my own bubble/world. I think about how I am doing, how I am feeling, what I would like to do, etc.

The topic for next week – How are you transitioning to “Fall” running? Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

05
Aug
2025

Tuesday Topics: My Summer in photos

categories: Tuesday Topics

Happy Tuesday! Thank you for joining me and Jenn for another edition of Tuesday Topics. Remember to link up with us! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Don’t forget to come back for later linkers!

How is this Summer going by fast? Yesterday, I went to my classroom to set it up and I was exhausted by 3pm. My first day is next Monday. I am going to do what I can this week to get my room ready. The rest will have to wait. I can put a movie while I finish setting it up.

This Summer I watched TV, read a few books, did some running, relaxed, and spent time with my cats. The most important thing I did was to have my basement ready for my sister to move in. It came out really nice!

Here are some photos of those fun things I did!

• I had my basement remodeled. It took almost 3 months but it was worth it. I also added up what I spent. Wow! It was a lot of money. Below are photos of the two bedrooms along and the small living room. My cats love going down there.

• I “discovered” again “CityStrides” and began running in different neighborhoods. It’s been fun exploring these new to me areas.

• Spent time with my cats. They are going to miss me when I go back to work.

• I spent hours watching TV. No regrets. However, I don’t think I will doing this too much when I go back to work. I want to spend more time reading books.

• I relaxed. Whenever it would cool down, I would go outside to read my book.

That was my Summer. I know, not very exciting, but those were the main things I wanted to do this Summer. Also, you know it was a rough school year for me. One that I couldn’t wait for it to end. I knew I wanted to be home and am glad I did.

The topic for next week – Talk about your running “why”. Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

01
Aug
2025

Fit Five Friday and August 2025 Ultimate Coffee Date

categories: Fit Five Friday, Ultimate Coffee Date

Welcome to the July edition of the Ultimate Coffee Date hosted by Coco and Deborah. It’s also time for another edition of Fit Five Friday hosted by My First 5K and More, Running with Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and me!

Now, grab a mug of your favorite beverage, and let’s chat!

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you about something that I haven’t talked to anyone about and am not sure what to do. For the past couple of years, I’ve been going with two friends to a concert for a Mexican group we like. There will be another concert in September. I reached out to them about going again this year. One girl responded that they bought tickets months ago and forgot to reach out to me. I have so many feelings about this. Obviously I am hurt and angry. At the same time I think I understand because I see these girls once a year but sometimes keep in touch via text. I have known them for over 20 years. But again, going to this concert is something we’ve been doing for the past few years. How could they forget?

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I went to see “Beauty and the Beast” and LOVED it. I should have taken the train to the theatre, but chose instead to park in the lot. It was one of those parking lots where you have to drive upward to find a spot—not only that, but there were turns along the way, too. Well, in one of those turns, I drove too close to something that was there and damaged my car. Afterwards, I took it to the shop to get an estimate. It was several thousands in damage! I thought it would be a couple hundred and I was willing to pay for it. Once home I filed a claim with my insurance company. My car has been in the shop for a week and will be ready on Tuesday.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that I am having lots of fun using CityStrides to track where I run/walk in the city. The photo below is from a few weeks ago.

This photo is from this week. Looks similar but not the same. It is a big city and I cannot wait to see more purples lines on the map.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you we are already starting off on the wrong foot with my school district. On Tuesday, August 12th, we have an all day meeting at the junior high school. The meeting starts at 8am. Our contract start time is also at 8am. The District has offered to pick us up at our school at 7:15am. I don’t have to take the bus and can drive to the junior high, but there is limited parking there. In the past, we’ve been picked up at the school at our contractual start time. Then the meeting would start about 45 minutes later.

I know I should pick my battles, but this is the kind of thing that teachers deal with all of the time. I know this is minor but the District takes advantage of us. I think I’ve mentioned how we are expected to be ready for the first day of school with the students, BUT we are not given time to set up our classroom.

If we were having coffee…
I’d tell you that we had a lot of rain last Friday. The street in front of my house was flooded. I was terrified that my basement would get flooded too. Thankfully nothing happened. However, if I were to buy a house again, I wouldn’t pick one with a basement. I knew the risks of having a basement but obviously forgot about it when I signed the contract. My next house will not have a basement. And if it does have a basement, it wouldn’t be a finished basement.

I hope August is a wonderful month for everyone!

The topic for next week’s Fit Fit Friday – Five reasons to buy (or not) the race photos. Feel free to write about this or any fitness topic you’d like. We hope you’ll link up with us!

29
Jul
2025

Tuesday Topics: July 2025 in Review

categories: Monthly Review, Tuesday Topics

Happy Tuesday! This week’s Tuesday Topic is a FREE topic. Feel free to post any running-related blog post. Remember to link up with Jenn and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!

Let me tell you how July is going for me:

Mileage: I have been consistent in my running. So far this month I run 58.40 and walked 26.56 miles. I am proud of myself! July is my highest mileage month.

Run the Year 2025: I signed up to run and walk 2,025 miles this year. I checked my stats and I am still behind. To date I’ve run and walked 169 miles. I won’t meet my goal, but it will be interesting to see how many miles I complete this year.

Current Book: I finished reading “Groundskeeping”, “The Paris Apartment”, and “Sister Stardust”. Currently, I am reading “The Soulmate Equation”. It will be book #16 of my goal. I am sure I will meet my goal of reading 25 books this year.

I liked all of the books, but wow, Sister Stardust. I knew the 60s were wild and that book has interesting stories about that era.

Injuries: None.

Races: I ran the Elmhurst 4 on the 4th on July 4th.

Health: For the most part I am feeling OK. Same problem with the hot flashes. The weight goes up and down between 1-2 pounds, but I need to lose about 10 pounds.

School: I am still on Summer Break. I go back to work on August 11th and the students start on the 13th. As of now I have 24 students in my class. I am crossing my fingers I don’t get more students.

What I am looking forward to next month: Hmm, maybe the beginning of the school year. I like new beginnings. This will be my 17th year as a teacher.

The topic for next week – Your Summer in photos. Share with us! Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!

15
Jul
2025

Tuesday Topics: Protecting my hair and skin during Summer running

categories: Tuesday Topics

Happy Tuesday! Thank you for joining me and Jenn for another edition of Tuesday Topics. Remember to link up with us! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Don’t forget to come back for later linkers!

I like Summer. But, I like it when it isn’t 90 degrees. I also dislike the humidity. I prefer 70s weather. At my age, the hot weather affects me a lot more. Sometimes I prefer running in the Summer than in the Winter.

During the Summer I protect my hair and skin to reduce the risk of damage. Some of these things I also do in the Winter.

• I run early in the day. The earlier the better. The sun isn’t as strong during the wee hours of the day. I like to be out by 6am and sometimes even at that time it is already too hot.

• I use sun protection. I admit that I didn’t always use sun protection. I was lazy about it. Now I won’t go out without it. I use a spray bottle for my legs and arms and a stick for my face.

• I wear moisture wicking clothes. I sweat a lot when I run. I want to be comfortable and not feel wet. Moisture wicking clothes keep moisture away from the skin and dry quickly. This also helps with not chafing. Chafing is the worst!

• I wear a hat. As you can see from the photo above, I didn’t always wear a hat. Now I make sure to always wear one on my runs.

• I use a deep conditioner on my hair. I don’t do this all of the time, but once or twice a week I put deep conditioner or leave-in conditioner on my hair. I don’t wash my hair everyday and doing this feels like I am still washing it and removing the sweat from my hair.

The topic for next week – Do you enjoy racecations or running locally? Feel free to write about this or any running-related topic. We hope you’ll link up with us!