Running...a long way!

2 weeks till my next half marathon!  I'm very excited about this one because I have been involved with a training group.  We've been doing speed workouts once a week, and I can truly tell that I'm getting faster and have more endurance!  Our trainer, Kyle, predicted that I would shave off about 10 - 12 minutes from my PR for a half marathon!  EXCITING!!

We had our long run last Saturday - 12 miles! Really?  12 miles  -  to train for a 13.1 mile run?  That was different for me.  I've never run that close to the final mileage.  I think the farthest that I've run for training before a 1/2 marathon is 10 or 11 miles.

It was a good run - nice slow pace.  I ran with Running Buddy 2- we always seem to have a good conversation.  She was heading to a Kentucky Derby Party - I hope she wore a good hat!

So, here's a question for you:  How many miles do you train up to for a half-marathon?  I've also been thinking about running a marathon in the next year.  I was always concerned about getting up there in the mileage.  I'm not sure how often I'd have to run 20+ miles. 

So, here's another question for all you marathoners out there (I bow down to you)...How many miles do you train up to for a marathon?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Running with Random Thoughts!

My random thoughts today are not totally random...let me explain.  I received an e-mail from the Wine Gurus - remember that they are retired and have unfilled hours every day in which to read and forward emails (just kidding WGs).  The email they sent me was filled with observations that I have totally thought at some point in my life - some of them made me really crack up because they are so true!  So, read my random list and let me know...you've had these same thoughts...haven't you?!

Random Thought #1  Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong. (It's happened!)

Random Thought #2  You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day. (This was me last Friday!)

Random Thought #3  How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said? (Again, this happened just a couple weeks ago!)

Random Thought #4  I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!  (I've been here!)

Thanks for stopping by today!  Happy Thursday!

 

Running and reading!

Books - I just love them!  I had a week off  recently for Spring break and got to finish  a couple books that I had started.  It's funny, I either read 1 chapter at a time, or read for 3 hours straight!  I need to find some balance here!

I'm not so much into non-fiction, but this first book was a surprise hit with me.  It's called Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. 

 

 

 Laura Hillenbrand wrote this true story - she also wrote Seabiscuit - I never read that book, but loved the movie!  Louie Zamperini is the main character in this story.  He grows up a rebellious kid who discovers running (love that part of it), he competes in the 1938 Olympics and joins the Air Corp during WWII.  He gets shot down in the Pacific Ocean, and survives at sea for over 50 days, but then gets captured by the Japanese.  The book mostly takes place in the Japanese POW camps.

 
I found the accounts of life in the POW camps very interesting, and a totally different perspective than the majority of WWII stories that I have read, which mostly concentrated on the German concentration camps.
 
It was a great read, and the book ends with Louis participating in the 1998 Nagano Olympic torch relay - oops, I inadvertently told you that he survived the POW camps - it's really a fascinating book!
 
The other book that I finished was Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. 

 

This was an Oprah Book Club selection.  I read The Corrections several years ago.  It was quirky, but enjoyable.  But Freedom?  Kinda whiny, and the ending was just a little too "let's wrap this up with a pretty bow".  I didn't feel like the end was authentic to where the story led.  It seemed to me that the author said, "Well, this is what the readers will want, so here you go."  A little disappointing.  Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this one.

 
Finally, in light of recent world events concerning Osama Bin Laden, and the focus on the World Trade Center, I have a book to recommend that was amazing.  I read it a few years ago - 102 Minutes:  the Untold story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers, by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn.  

 

This story was just amazing, heart breaking, insightful, and emotional!  It tells the story of so many of the people trapped in the tower, and the rescue workers.  It wrenchingly describes many of the problems the rescuers faced with the building design, and the 102 minutes from the time the first plane crashed to the time when the towers collapsed.  It was a wonderful book that I highly recommend!   

 

So what have you been reading lately?  Anyone reading on a Kindle?  I'm still struggling with loving my Kindle and loving the feel of a book in my hand.  And the struggle with loving a book, but not being able to share it with a friend because it's on my Kindle!

 

Thanks for stopping by today!