Running & Reading #3

Hiatus time!  Not from my blog -- just from racing. I love running schedule-free!  This break will be short-lived, though, as the RTO is in 2 short months.  I'm proud to be a Tahoe Trail Babe again this year and need to step up the intensity soon.   

On the reading front, I read Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins with my book club this month.  It was great!  Not quite as twisted as Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, but in the same genre.  Now we are reading The Magician's Lies by Greer Macallister -- another thrilling murder mystery!  I'm looking forward to lots of reading time by the pool when we're in Phoenix next week! 
 
                                        

Must Have Been the Marionberry Pie!

I set a new PR at the Napa Valley Marathon today!  While I wish it was as easy as eating a slice of pie, I think I can attribute knocking a few more minutes of my previous best time (at the NYC marathon) to racing wisely.  It certainly wasn't due to my stellar training plan as there wasn't any "training" for this race!  Anyway -- after 11 previous attempts, I finally applied what I know about running a smart marathon.  I didn't go out at lightning speed (thanks, Megs & Joanna!), and I managed to choke down a Gu about every 5 miles or so.  These little details made a big difference in the last few miles.  For once my quads didn't feel as if they were being ripped to shreds with every struggling step toward the finish line.  I am recovering much better too!  As good as I feel right now you'd think I'd be making plans for my next marathon.  I think I'm going to hold off for a while and do some shorter stuff.  Shorter races work better with my crazy schedule right now.

Running & Reading #2

Speaking of my schedule ... I only got around to finishing one book last month.  Free time becomes basically non-existent once the semester gets under way.  Anyway -- I read Bomb: The Race to Build -- and Steal -- the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Shiekin.  This nonfiction story takes readers on a behind the scenes adventure of what was happening politically during World War II while also telling of the invention of the atomic bomb.  I loved it!