Friday Favorites: Books made into Movies/TV shows

Happy Friday! Thank goodness it is finally almost the weekend. Tomorrow I have a nice 9 mile run planned, followed by my regular Pilates class. 

Once again this week I have a Friday Favorite for you that is not about running!  Some of you may be familiar with the show Dexter on Showtime?  Well I had heard about it from friends but I had never watched it because we don't have the Showtime channel.  I just happened to be at the library a few weeks ago and a book caught my eye.  It was on the "Hot Book" shelf with many other popular books. 

It was the latest novel in the Dexter series by Jeff Lindsay and I was quite intrigued so I went to the regular book shelves and looked for the first book in the series.  Happily my library had all the books, so I checked out the first two books.

In general I have always tried to follow the rule of reading the book, before seeing the movie and in this case I felt no different.  I wanted to read these books before seeing the TV shows.  I flew through the first book and could not put it down! I was actually reading this right after I ran the marathon and this book kept me up late a few nights which was not really conducive to a good marathon recovery. 

Currently I am more than half way through the second book and I already know I need to hit up the library soon to get the next few books of the series.  I always love a good mystery book and these do not disappoint.  Plus I can't wait to watch the Dexter TV series to see how they compare (or differ)!  I have heard that the first season of Dexter follows the first book very closely but after, the remaining seasons differ greatly from the books. 

I think it is kind of cool to read a book before seeing the movie - I go into the movie knowing that it wont be the same as the book and I am ok with that.  I like to see the different perspectives that the movie producer had compared to what the author was thinking/writing.  Plus I also like to compare it to my perceptions and ideas from when I was reading the book.


Fun Fact: Jeff Lindsay (the author) is the pen name of Jeffrey P. Freundlich.  And his wife is the niece of Ernest Hemingway!


Do you like to read books before they are made into a movie or TV show??

Shoes and Books

Yesterday was Tempo at the Track Tuesday

2 mile warm up
1.5 mile @ easy
3x 5 minutes at Tempo with 2 mins recovery jog
2 mile cool down

The goal tempo pace was 7:15 min/mile but I exceeded that and averaged a 7 min/mile pace. The second set was my fastest where I almost made it three laps around the track in 5 minutes. The final set was the toughest where my legs felt dead but I didn't drop off the pace too much which was a first. Every time I would pass the coach on my recovery jog, he would pull me aside and talk to me about something - form, training, XC running. I am not sure how I feel about XC running - I swore I would never do it again after completing a XC race called Tour de Pain in the summer of 2005!


Second pair of new shoes bought and this time they actually made it out of the box and onto my feet. The guy at the running store suggested Saucony shoes for both Brian and I. He said that they have a wider toe box and more heel support. Brian ran in his during the race last weekend and loved them.


I did a quick 2 miles this morning with the new shoes (ProGrid Triumph 7) and felt intense IT band pain. Of course this could have been caused because I was running just 10 short hours after completing the track workout. Or it could be the shoes. I plan to test them out again Friday and see what happens.


I finally broke down and paid the 50 cents my library required to place a hold on a book in order to request Run Faster by Brad Hudson. This book has a ton of good stuff in it! It is like a mini running gold mine! The one thing I found the most important out of everything was the concept of hill sprints.


"...These brief, maximal-intensity efforts against gravity offer two key benefits. First, they strengthen all of the running muscles, making you much less injury-prone. They also increase the power and efficiency of your stride, enabling you to cover more ground with each stride with less energy in races..." (Full article from RunningTimes HERE thanks to the Running Laminator)

The key is to do start small, doing 1-2 hill sprints (on a hill of 6-8% grade) of 8-10 seconds after a regularly scheduled easy run. Seems pretty simple - might be worth giving it a try and I know I have plenty of hills around me so that shouldn't be a problem!

I also checked out American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield which is supposed to be a fictionalized account of the life of Former First Lady Laura Bush. The whole time I was reading the book, I just couldn't relate the main character of Alice to Laura. For a great book review, click HERE. I really enjoyed reading this book, even though it was 558 pages long!

Happy reading and running!!

Book Club

Last night I attended my first meeting of the Alumnae Book Club put on by my high school!  Of course I was anxious to see what it would be like, what the other women would be like but I was going with my best friend Kaylie (whom I have known since 7th grade)!

We met at a local Starbucks and walked in to find that we were the youngest members by at least 40 years!  We even met someone who had gone to school and graduated with Kaylie's Grandmother in 1947!!  Once the ladies had calmed down, introductions were made and we began to talk about the June book selection - A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger.

The conversation flowed easily and before I knew it we were off the topic of the book and onto other things!  I felt so included and connected with this group of women even though many of them were grandmothers and had lived in a whole different generation than Kaylie and I. 

When we did actual talk about the book, it was interesting to hear the others perceptive because they had all lived through the events of the Boston Strangler, while Kaylie and I hadn't even been born yet!  I did enjoy reading this book, although I thought that Junger's style of writing was a bit choppy.

Next months book is Flushed by W. Hodding Carter and it is about the evolution of the toilet and plumbing!  I will definitely being going back - it was so much fun!

 
*Tuesday Running = Easy 3 miles in 26:28

**Anyone reading any good books?  I am going to the Library today after work and need some suggestions!

Literary Wednesday

Many of you asked about the book I am reading for my new, real life book club.  Well, for June we are reading A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger (the author of The Perfect Storm).

I just started reading it a few days ago and I not that far into the book, but basically it is a non fiction piece about the Boston Strangler (full review by The New York Times).  Not exactly your most appealing book out there.  Why the club picked a book about a strangler to read is beyond me, when there are so many other good, fun, non scary books out there!  That being said I am going to give it a chance and hopefully I wont get too scared.

The book club meeting isn't until early June so I have some time.  I mentioned before that this book club was organized by my high school alumnae association, where my high school was an all girls catholic school.  I can just picture the scene I am going to walk into in a couple of weeks.  Hopefully it wont be a bunch of crazy old women. 

Let's hope that next months book will be better.

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The weather this week has been steamy with temps in the mid 80s and mornings have been around 60F!  Yesterday I did a hill workout just to mix things up.  I chose a steep hill and did 7 repeats before heading home.  This morning I woke up with sore hips - I guess I need to work on my hip strength!  This mornings run was 1 mile easy, 2 miles fast, 1 mile easy.

Now that the weather is so nice, there are so many walkers and runners out.  Every morning I pass an older woman walking and I always say Good morning.  Well she never says anything back and I  thought that she was just being rude and ignoring me but this morning when I saw her I realized she is wearing headphones.  She obviously can't here me and that is why she hasn't replied.  I guess I should have paid closer attention!

Hope you are having a great week and getting some good runs in! Happy Wednesday!

Literary Wednesday

This weeks book is brought to you thanks to The Many Thoughts of a Reader!

I signed up to participate in a Book Tour and read a book then pass it on to the next reader!  The book I read was Spooky Little Girl by Laurie Notaro!

As soon as I received the package in the mail with the book inside, I was super excited because I had kind of forgotten that I was getting the book.  I quickly took the book out of the package and started reading that night.  I was hooked within the first sentence and couldn't put it down! I wanted to bring it to work and read but I restrained myself!  Here's a little teaser:

Meet Lucy Fisher - a fun loving, easy going woman who comes home from a vacation with her girlfriends to find all her clothes and belongings tossed out on the loan, the doors locked and her fiance no where to be found!  To make matters worse, she loses her job!  She decides to start fresh and move in with her sister and nephew!  Just when you think that Lucy is going to get her life back on track, she has a very unfortunate run in with a bus.  She then wakes up to find her self not in heaven but in ghost school where she has to learn how to be a good ghost in order to fulfill her ghostly assignment and get in to heaven!

I enjoyed reading this book and I am interested to read other books by Laurie Notaro to compare.  If you have the opportunity to pick up this book, I definitely recommend it!

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Thanks for all the comments on my 5k race!  Monday afternoon at work I was struck with extreme stomach cramps.  I think I may have had a 24 hour virus of some sort and I am not sure if that played any part in the race on Sunday.  I am taking it easy because I haven't been able to eat much.  Tomorrow is looking like it will shape up to be a beauitful day and I am going to get outside for a run!

Happy Reading and Running!

Literary Wednesday

I dragged myself out of bed this morning for my run. I had my standard 3 mile loop planned and I felt pretty good the whole way - even while running up the hill that never ends! There is this very steep hill in the housing development next to my apartment and I try to avoid it at all costs. But this morning, in my half asleep brain I thought running up that hill would be better than running up the slow incline hill for a mile. I may have a bad case of sleep running...

Anyway, on to the important stuff. This week for Literary Wednesday I have TWO books!

Over the weekend I finished Snow Angel by Jamie Carrie and I loved it. It was very well written and a quick read. It's about a young woman named Elizabeth who has gold fever in the late 1800's. She heads to Alaska in search of gold and gets caught in a snow storm. Somehow she makes it to the porch of Noah Wesley and with her last ounce of strength knocks on the door. Miraculously Noah opens the door to find Elizabeth half frozen and unconscious. Noah rescues Elizabeth and discovers a fierce yet fragile young woman who holds many secrets that not even Noah can unlock. If this quick preview sounds enticing I suggest you pick up this book!

I just started reading my second book, The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella but I can tell that it is going to be good. Since there was such a outpouring of comments after my coffee post I feel many of my viewers will like this one as well! It is all about how one cup of coffee changed one mans life forever! And that is all I am going to say!!


Doesn't that book cover just make you want to read it! I am at work enjoying my coffee! Happy Wednesday!!

Why do I run? (and some books to read)

This post has been along time coming. I decided to post it because I read Amanda's post yesterday on reasons to run.

When you don't run for 3 months straight, you begin to ponder why you were even running in the first place. Strange thoughts would creep into my head while I drove home from a tough day at work, "Do I even miss running at all?"

At first the knee pain was so great that running was a horrible experience. And honestly I did not miss running. But once the pain faded and I still didn't have this urge to get out on the road, I wondered why didn't I miss running? It had been my favorite source of fitness for almost 5+ years, so what went wrong?

Slowly I began to remember why I love to run. It started when I came across this post by Amy and it really hit home with me. I hadn't had the same experience as her, but I understood.

A week or so later I came across this video with Kara Goucher on The Laminators Blog and it reminded me of why I love to run.

Then I saw this article on Runners World about staying in decent shape all year round. After reading it, I knew that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to just run - run for fun and enjoy every minute of it but be able to race if I felt like it.

And I know that many of you already do this but this whole summer and fall has been a transition for me. I always was preparing for some race or season and now my life is wide open with no deadlines.

So I think that the reason I love to run is because of the way I feel while running - its not totally about the racing or competition. Its about getting up when everyone is asleep and being out on the roads alone with my thoughts. Its about finding new routes and exploring new places.

I want to have fun when I run and so I am not sure that I will be following a training schedule anytime soon. When I trained for basketball in college I would just run each morning and decide the distance and pace depending on how my body felt. I would listen to my heart and just know what would be good for that day.

So....why do you run?

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Switching gears now - it is Wednesday and I have been slacking on my Literary Wednesday! I was able to get to the Library on Saturday for some new books! I got caught in the 'C' area of the fiction section and grabbed four books.

Snow Angel by Jamie Carrie
The Chocolate Snowman Murders by Joanna Carl
Sarah by Orson Scott Card
The Various Flavors of Coffee by Anthony Capella

I have only started the first one so far but I thought it was fun to get books all by authors with last names starting with 'C'. I totally judge books by their covers and titles so hopefully these ones will turn out to be good!

Happy Wednesday!!

Fabulous Friday

I am very excited from all the comments that I got about wanting to do a relay team race and/or the actual Wild West Relay. I don't think that the relay will happen this summer (the Wild West relay is in August) but I am totally up for this relay race in 2010! More on this to come later!!

Also another random tid bit...I was reading the magazine Real Simple yesterday and came across websites for book exchanges. Check out the websites here, here and here. If you haven't checked out that magazine, I highly recommend it...it actually has a lot really cool stuff in it every month, like tips on saving money and the best products to use!

An now on to Photo Friday. This is my 18 year old cat, Itsy. She has a very strong personality!! It was hard just to get her to look at the camera! Happy Friday! And have a fabulous weekend!!!

Literary Wednesday!

I think this is the third week that I have been doing Literary Wednesday, thanks to the TFH for the genius idea! This weeks book I am currently reading so I am not sure if the whole book is good, but its good so far. This book was made into the movie "Shooter" with Mark Wahlberg (Love him!!). I recently have been watching movies and in the beginning during the opening credits there will be a little portion that reads:

"Based on a book by...."

and so since I happen to like the movie, I then go and look up the book! This seems to be my new fetish because if I liked the movie then wont the book be even better? Logically!! So this week I am recommending Point of Impact By Stephen Hunter or any other book that happened to inspire a good movie for that matter!!

Now I have a question for all of you. As I mentioned before I am heading to Florida for vacation on Saturday and I want to bring along some books to read on the beach! Please comment and leave your ideas for some good books to read!

Yesterday was my tempo run and it was sucky. I think something is up with the way I breathe when I run because I keep getting a cramp under my right lung when I get to about 3 miles on a tempo (or race) run. It is extremely painful and yesterday I had to stop - it feels like I can't even breathe!

After the run I went with my mom for pedicures! I haven't had one since last summer when I went to a wedding! Now my feet look pretty and not so ugly from track running! I always go to the same place and the ladies there are so funny and nice to talk to! It was a nice mother-daughter bonding!

From our toes do we look like we are related?? My mom got the french pedicure and I got the pinky/red toes!

Thoughts and LW

Well things have been hectic and stressful and such but my school work is pretty much all done!! I still have to pack all my track stuff and we leave at 6pm tonight!!

I woke up with a horrible headache this morning and now I sit at my computer with my water bottle on one side and a chocolate raspberry coffee (yum!) on the other.

Yesterday was my last track practice. And I am not sad about it at all. It has been a great experience and this is the best possible way for me to end my college athletic career! I am very excited for this "last" track meet!! The parents are traveling to see my compete as well which is an added boost!

Yesterday I got the keys to my new apartment. While driving there I saw that there were sidewalks on pretty much every street which will be great for running!! (I also saw a drive threw for a dunkin donuts! This will obviously feed my coffee addiction!)

Ok on to Literary Wednesday! I have a word document that has a list of all the books I have read since high school (We actually had to start this document my senior year for a portfolio project). I opened that file up and picked out a book that I really enjoyed.

One of my very good friends and also running buddy Winkly recommended this book to me a while ago. It is a young adult book but the story is really touching. I found this description online:

"It's a captivating, heartbreaking and illuminating tale of what happens after we die. Liz Hall, the narrator, is a well-spoken, emotionally intense 15-year-old. She was primed for adolescence: boyfriends, driving, her first bra. And then she was killed in an accident, after which she ends up in heaven looking down as those who loved her go on with their lives. After the accident, Liz ends up in a heaven called Elsewhere, an extraordinarily organized place where the dead go to await rebirth. In Elsewhere, the dead are not dead in the traditional sense. They have lives. They work. They eat and play and have relationships. They explore life as we do. They succeed and they stumble as we do. Most important, they age -- but backward, from the age they were at the moment of their arrival to infancy, at which time they're transported back to earth for a new life."

I definitely recommend checking this book out! It was a quick read and I really enjoyed it!

Happy Wednesday (and Thursday and Friday!) Tomorrow is Day 1 of Heptathlon and then day 2 is Friday! I am not as nervous this time, I am just hoping to beat all my previous times and distances!

Seeking Inspiration

I am going to jump on TFH's bandwagon and participate in Literary Wednesday! Since I got back from my "week of track meets" and finally settled into my regular routine I have been seeking inspiration to inspire me to compete in my final track meet (next week).

My mom suggested this book - Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and I have only just started it but it is really interesting. Some of you may have heard about Luttrell and his story is one of determination and heroism.

Speaking of determination - once I picked up this book I started on a Navy SEAL kick where I looked up all the information about them. I was able to find videos about the first three weeks of training they go through to become a SEAL. It was very similar to the movie G.I. Jane but I have always been fascinated with the amount of perseverance and determination it takes to complete the training. Seeing those men push through pain and continue on really helped to motivate me to continue working to be the best in my track events.

Speaking of motivation - I usually don't watch the Biggest Loser but last night I just happened to tune in and I was sure glad that I did. I don't mean to spoil it for anyone but watching those four contestants run/walk a marathon was very inspiring and brought me to tears. It is amazing how much they have accomplished on that show!

As for workouts this week, I still have my cold and I still feel really run down from last week. Practices have been fairly light but I still have been feeling sluggish and slow. I guess it is taking me a lot longer to get back to normal than I thought.

It is a beautiful day out today! Happy Wednesday!

Annoying Roommate, Running in Groups and Books

It's a Wednesday morning and I am already annoyed with my roommate. We don't technically share a room, just the bathroom, kitchen and living room but this girl is the most inconsiderate person I have ever lived with.

She has class at 10am but every morning she wakes up at about 7am and proceeds to bang around the apartment waking me up. She takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get ready and always leaves a mess behind. I am trying not to be passive aggressive but it is really hard. Currently if she leaves something out in a place where it doesn't belong I proceed to hide it! I can't wait for April Fools day - this is going to be good!

Now that I got my rant out of the way, on to running - Current workouts have included lots of running!

Monday -
warm up 1/2 mile
1x350m FAST (58 seconds)
2x200m FAST ( 30-32 seconds each)
cool down 1 mile

Tuesday -
warm up 1/2 mile
8x400m at 70% (about 90 seconds for each 400m with 3 minutes rest)
cool down 1/2 mile

The hip flexor was tender after yesterdays 400s, so I am going to go light today.

So I promised to talk about my running experience with a group yesterday but I got side tracked so here it is today.

Recently I have been trying to coordinate with my coach a way to train for Heptathlon. It is really difficult trying to fit in 7 different events. I was feeling discouraged as my coach told me that I would have to do the running workouts on my own. I never want to go back to doing sprint workouts with a group or partner. The decrease of intensity that results from running alone is very discouraging. (Thankfully my coach and I worked things out so I can still run with the sprinter girls).

This is why I have been contemplating joining a local running/track club after I graduate. The guy who runs the club is a neighbor of my parents and I am really looking forward to having people to run with. I even considered coming back to my college next year just to run with Abby and Jill and Alison (my track teammates). I am not sure exactly what the future holds but I cannot say enough about running with a group. Not only is there a social aspect and great friends to be made but having others to run with for track workouts helps to keep me honest and to push me to become a better runner.

I really could go on and on about this but I have to get ready for school. Happy Running!


Current Book I am reading -
For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
A friend recommended this book and so far it is pretty interesting -

From amazon.com -
What’s going on in a man’s mind? From their early days, every woman has struggled to understand why males behave the way they do. Even long-married women who think they understand men have only scratched the surface. Beneath a man’s rugged exterior is an even more rugged, unmapped terrain. What bestselling author Shaunti Feldhahn’s research reveals about the inner lives of men will open women’s eyes to what the men in their life—boyfriends, brothers, husbands, and sons—are really thinking and feeling. Men want to be understood, but they’re afraid to “freak out” the women they love by confessing what is happening inside their heads. This book will guide women in how to provide the loving support that modern men want and need.

(they also have a For Men Only book too!!)

Monday Madness

Usually Mondays are 400m repeats but this week things got switched up. Warmed up like usual then did 7x200m repeats - there is less recovery time between each of these so I was fighting to keep my running form on the last two sprints.

We cooled down and then we were supposed to watch the tape from the meet but once again (just like last week) no one taped the 4x400m relay! I am never able to see how I look during these runs - maybe I wouldn't want to see myself since I am sure all the pain I was feeling was probably smeared across my face!

After lifting weights, I jumped into the Cold tub with Abby and Alison. The tub was 48 degrees and the trainers just kept pouring in buckets of ice water!! Brrrr!! But it is so worth it when my legs are not sore the next day!

On a NON-Running note:

I have finished another book (Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer; which was really good!) BUT now I don't know what to read. I took two books out of the library last week and both just didn't appeal to me! Any suggestions?? It can be fiction or non-fiction, a running book, a novel, ANYTHING!! If you have a book that you have read and you LOVED it then please let me know!! Thanks for the help!!

Another typical day at the Track

I came, I ran, I lifted, I am now useless!

Warmed up with Abby and then got started on the workout!

6x400m at 65% pace with 2 laps recovery jog after each (times = 92, 95, 91, 90, 90, 90 seconds)

It was nice to run with Abby again, it really has been awhile since we did a hard 400m workout. As I was rounding the last turn into the straightaway I felt this sickening feeling creeping in my stomach and thought

"Is this what it feels like when you are about to throw up from running hard??"

But I didn't throw up, just felt a little funny but after the recovery jog I was all good.

And now I am sitting here, worn out and tired. My homework is hard and I can't figure it out and I just want to get back to my book, Breaking Dawn By Stephenie Meyer. I have about 175 pages left and it is due back to the library tomorrow!!!

Tomorrows goal plan - work hard on all work and get something accomplished!! Maybe I should have made my new years resolution to procrastinate less!

Monday Wrap Up

Just a quick post here as I am on my way out to the mall to get my charm bracelet I got for Christmas from my dad fitted and put all together!

I ran this morning again, it was a lovely sunny 40 degrees out! I did a 1.6 mile warm up then 6x100m sprints and finished with a 1 mile cool down run back to my house. All my speed workouts/interval runs have been done solo this week as I am still on break until the 5th.

I am still keeping up with all my reading and right now I am have checked out A Race Like No Other By Liz Robbins. I am finding that it is a very quick read, the words just flow and it makes it easy to just sit down and pick up where I had left off. As I was finishing a chapter last night I found this quote - from Ecclesiastes 9:11, "The race is not won by the swift nor the strong, but to he who endures to the end". This obviously is a modern interpretation but I think it is great; Life is a marathon not a track meet!

I am hoping to post a review of the 2008 year plus some goals for 2009 (although since Ill be in track till May my road racing goals really wont materialize until then). B-Rabbit is in lovely Florida for swimming and has been bragging about the 80 degree weather!! Totally not fair!

Other than that, life is pretty lazy around here. I don't have any plans for New Years and I feel like I will be going to bed at 1030pm just like I did last year (except last year I had bball practice at 10am on New Years Day!) I know I am a bum!!

Track Practice

Well I am back into the swing of things. Yesterdays practice went well but I really pushed myself too hard and felt that familiar achy pain in the back of my knees. We did a super long warm up after the Coaches talked to us about expectations for the season. Then we did 2x (120m and 150m sprints at 80%) with a 200m walk for recovery after both sprints then 200m sprint at 60% with 200m walk recovery then 100m sprint and a cool down. I felt like I was going almost 100% just to keep up with Abby - Not my best idea. My legs did feel great though for most of it because I had taken the time to rest over the break.

We then went and lifted upper body and I plan to max out once again probably later this week. I am hopeful that I will be able to get over 100lbs. Also I am looking for team warm ups - we want ones that are warm and kind of like the nike or brooks zip up tops and bottoms. Any suggestions on a good website to look at? Otherwise I am hoping my Coach has some connections!

In the theme of December and Christmas, I started reading The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder last night. It is a very cute Christmas book that has one chapter for each day starting Dec. 1st and going to Dec 24th. I suggest picking it up - its good for children and adults and definitely gets you into the Christmas spirit!

I am headed off to Day 2 of practice soon! Have a great day!

Book Review

Now many of you know my personal feelings about marathons but that doesn't mean I don't love to read the race reports or stories. A few weeks ago I picked up First Marathons: Personal Encounters with the 26.2-Mile Monster by Gail Kislevitz. It contains 37 personal stories describing the experience of running a first marathon. Some famous runners are included but mostly this book concentrates on the everyday runner. Each account is no longer than 10 pages so it is easy to just grab this book and fit in a short story during a break, lunch time, or right before bed. Check out the website here for even more personal stories of first marathons or to even submit your own!!

I especially enjoyed reading this book because it contained stories (on two different occasions) from a husband and wife. I liked the different point of views on the same marathon from one couple and also how one woman was inspired by her husband to run her first marathon.

A common theme seemed to radiate through most of the stories told by women - Running a marathon was an adventure of a lifetime and it rated right up there with childbirth! One particular woman talked about "fitting it all in" with family and children. She said that she found a group of other women with children and they each would take turns watching the children while the others ran which I thought was a very creative idea! Another story is about a Nun who started running and became very successful. These are just a few of the stories that fill the pages.

The story that impacted me the most was of Nina Kuscsik, the first official woman to win the Boston Marathon (in 1972) as well as an advocate for women's running. Her story is truly inspiring and shows how far women have come in sports. Along with this I didn't know much about many of the early pioneer runners but reading about some of the elite runners and their personal experiences really opened my eyes and informed me about life before running a marathon was a common thing.

Reading all the experiences of running in different places has made me want to travel even more and experience the landscapes and scenery while running. I highly recommend this book as an easy, relaxing read which will motivate you to get out there and run!


It is a beautiful day here this morning - warm and in the 50s. It is supposed to get up to the 60s this afternoon! It is weird going to work when it's light out! Have a good day!!