Category Archives: Uncategorized

An Early-Morning Running Revival

Posted on October 26, 2010 | 12 comments

I meant to write this post yesterday in the morning, but I ran out of time. Before I get into my Monday recap, here’s another look back at this past blog year from Feb-May 2010.

February
Went to a great Ballet and enjoyed some Greek Food!
I worked from home for the first time ever…and liked it!?
I officially deemed myself a “Winter Runner.”
My 14-Mile Training Left Me Feeling Nervous about BQing.

March
Went to a Blogger Dinner at Caravan of Dreams
My 15-Mile Training Run left me in better spirits.
Went to a Blogger Brunch at Candle Cafe.
Went to some bridal shower and bachelorette fun!
Experienced a SUPER SPEEDY run that left me hopeful!
17-Mile Training Run Success!
Enjoyed some well-deserved “Choice Eats.”
Ran an awful “Worst Case Scenario” Run.

April
Ran my first 10k Super FAST!
I ran my first 20-miler in upstate NY all alone.
Dealt with some major BQ Doubts
Ran my second 20-miler in the pouring rain, but survived!

May
Time to taper and enjoying some wedding fun!
Ran my last longish training run before the marathon.
Enjoyed my 28th Birthday!
Ran the Pocono Run for the Red Marathon and BQed!!
I took a look back at “How I got my BQ.”

It’s actually really good for me to look back at all this stuff to remember how much hard work I put into training for the Pocono Marathon. It will help me to get myself ready for this next round coming up in December.

Even though my “official training” for Boston doesn’t start until December 13, I need to get myself back into shape. So I started moving in the right direction with an early-morning run with Kelly on Monday morning. I managed to get myself to bed by about 10:00 p.m. on Sunday night. Kelly and I live about two avenues from each other, so I started heading her way around 5:30 a.m. and then we took off for Central Park from her area. Here are our stats:

Mile 1 – 9:27
Mile 2 – 8:19
Mile 3 – 8:46
Mile 4 – 8:39
Mile 5 – 9:06
.89 – 8:30

Total – 5.89 miles in 52:50. Average pace – 8:58 minute miles

The run went by really quickly and then it was time to dash around to get ready for work.

Monday was long and exhausting. I first had a pounding headache all day and then that turned into a dull headache. Plus, they are blasting the heat now and that was really getting to me. Our office is either freezing or sweltering.

When I came home last night, I ate dinner and watched some Dancing with the Stars, but then I went to bed at 9:15. I was just too tired. I hope I’m not getting sick.

But I slept great last night and woke up this morning feeling much better. I guess maybe I just needed the quality rest.  And after 8+ hours of sleep, I would hope I’m feeling better! I think I might try getting that again tonight.

What is your bedtime? If you don’t get enough sleep, do you ever feel sick or run-down?

Alright – have a great Tuesday all!

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Posted in Bloggers, Running, Uncategorized

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One Year Blog Anniversary!

Posted on October 24, 2010 | 5 comments

October was certainly a month of milestones for me. It seems that every year, a new anniversary pops up in October. In 2008, Hubby and I were married in upstate NY on October 18th – an unforgettable and amazing day! That anniversary certainly trumps them all.

Then on October 11, 2009, I ran my very first marathon with my friend Lauren in just under 3 hours and 55 minutes.

And then about a week and a half later, I started my blog and wrote my very first blog post on October 23, 2009! Can it really have been a year already?

So here is a brief look back at some of the highlights of my past year in the blogosphere.

First Blog Year Highlights
I started my blog and right away I had some exciting things to write about, I went to a reading/talk by John Irving in October and listened to the “Legends of the Marathon” talk about marathoning right before the NYC Marathon last year.

In November, I admitted to the blog world that I had been bitten by the marathon bug and had even started thinking about the Holy Grail – qualifying for Boston.

I also went to Jonathan Safran Foer’s Book Reading for Eating Animals and left wondering if I should become a vegetarian. More excitement came when I attended my first blogger dinner and met a bunch of great bloggers and blog readers!

And finally, I ran the Troy Turkey Trot and enjoyed Thanksgiving up at Bill’s parent’s house in Utica.

In December, I met up with a fellow runner and blogger who happened to live right around the corner for a freezing cold run. Then Hubby and I headed to Utica for the Callahan Christmas Party – with lots of food and fun! Then on Christmas, we headed to my parent’s house and I was thrilled to unwrap a GARMIN!!! Wahhoo!

I started 2010 off right with an early January road race…and froze my butt off! A little while later, I made a big decision – to run a Spring 2010 Marathon. I signed up for the Pocono Run for the Red Marathon and created a training plan! And finally, I finished up January with a great half marathon race with my friend Lauren!

Phew – that took a while to go through all that. It’s really fun to look back, but can be a bit time-consuming. So I’ll wrap up the rest of my blog year in my next two posts.

For all the other bloggers out there, how long have you been blogging? Do you enjoy looking back at all the highlights? I love it! And am so happy that I have this catalogue of my life.

Have a great Sunday all!

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Boston Marathon X 4?

Posted on October 22, 2010 | 5 comments

Busy busy day here. I’ve got a work event tomorrow, so I’m just posting quickly on lunch. I wanted to see if anyone else out there who registered for the 2011 Boston Marathon, and faced registration issues, is showing multiple charges from the BAA? Right now, it’s showing pending charges for FOUR Boston Marathon registration fees of $130 each!


Source

I have to say that I was immensely disappointed in the BAA’s system and process for registration. The page wouldn’t send my completed form, then the link went dead and I had to start over. Then each time I filled out the form and hit submit, it went back to a blank form page. They’ve been doing this HOW MANY YEARS NOW? You’d think they would have it down to a science.

So my thinking is that if they show me registering four times, lord only knows how many other people have the same thing going on. Perhaps that’s why registration filled up in 8 hours, when each person was taking about 4-10 registration slots each?!

Oh my – what a mess that would be. Can you imagine it? Maybe they will re-open registration if that is indeed the issue.

Any other Boston Marathon runners out there seeing multiple pending charges from BAA?

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Thursday Reviews: Firenze and Sedaris

Posted on October 21, 2010 | 11 comments

Happy Thursday all! Having two days of training this week meant that the week has flown by, but I also have a ton of work piling up! Today should be a productive day. So today I have two reviews coming your way; a book review and a restaurant review.

Firenze
Hubby and I postponed our anniversary dinner until last night. We had to wait until the Yankee game was over to head to dinner, but once it wrapped up, we walked over to Firenze on 2nd Avenue between 82nd and 83rd.

It is a tiny place. I’ve walked by it a bunch of times in the past, but never really looked in. It’s small and if you’ve got a noisy group of drunken middle-aged parents behind you (which we did), it can get pretty loud.

The waiter seated us and promptly brought over some bread with what I think was marinara sauce on top, along with some olives, regular bread and cheese. (I apologize for no photos – Hubby doesn’t like it. And in this place, people would have gawked.) So then the waiter asked if we wanted to see a wine list. I said sure and was handed a 20-page book. I became overwhelmed and handed it to Hubby. And then finally we each had a single glass of wine.  (I had Chianti and Hubby had Cabernet.)

I started off with the insalata mista, which was good, but a little heavy on the dressing.  For my main dish, I had the Tagliolini Gamberi & Radicchio, which was fresh pasta with shrimp and radicchio in a light cream sauce. It was good, but I’m not sure if I liked the radicchio all that much. Hubby tried a bite and said the same thing. It would have been better with something else, maybe broccoli?

After dinner, they offered us a complimentary after-dinner drink, which was very nice. I declined, but Hubby had the amaretto and then we were talked into ordering the Tiramisu, which was delicious.

All in all, I enjoyed the meal and would come back. There were definitely other things on the menu that both Hubby and I wanted to try.

And now, how about a book review… 

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

By: David Sedaris

This was not my first go-round with David Sedaris. I read his “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” a few years ago and thought it was hysterical. Therefore, when my mom passed along this book, I took it more than willingly and moved it high up on my reading list. Although the front cover threw me a bit, I quickly reminded myself that it was simply Sedaris’s quirky style.

This book is a set of short stories that are taken from many different points of Sedaris’s life – both younger and older. I really can’t go much into plot, since each chapter is a brand new story with a new theme or focus. The common thread between them all is that they are laugh-out-loud funny. No seriously, the people next to me on the train (I was reading it during 3 train rides) must have thought I was a nut to be laughing so much at a book. Instead of thinking I was crazy, I told myself they were simply looking at my book jacket so they could jot down the title and buy the hysterical book for themselves.

Sedaris’s style and voice is so unique, quick and witty, that you can’t help but feel like you are good friends with him and he is confiding in you about these ridiculous stories. I also decided that I must meet him and am hoping he’ll release a new book and have a book signing in NYC soon. I want him to be my friend.

Simply put – read this book. And if you’re like me, you’ll probably end up wanting to buy or borrow all of his other books too. My only word of warning: this book is not for the modest or timid person. Sedaris lays it all out there, so expect the unexpected. And laugh it up!



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Ode to My Oven

Posted on October 19, 2010 | 6 comments

It’s Tuesday! I kind of wish it was Thursday though. Don’t you? I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty long and stressful week. I have two full days of training at work on Tues/Wed, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have to get my other work done. I have to figure out some way to do it all. Awesome.

I am feeling 100% after my “half mary” as Katie called it. 🙂 I like that nickname. So I am planning to run at the gym tonight, since out of nowhere it is getting dark soo early. Darn it! I’m still pretty excited about the fact that I’m all signed up for Boston (pending confirmation from BAA of course). And I found out yesterday that my younger cousin is running it as well! What’s also great, is that people are volunteering left and right to come spectate and cheer me on! That’s the great thing about a fun race like Boston, everyone actually enjoys hanging around for 4 hours waiting for you because there’s a huge party going on all around them (at least that’s what I hear anyway).

Another thing that made my day yesterday was receiving these…

I’ve never gotten flowers at work before and it totally brightened my day(and made my cubicle look totally inviting). Thanks Hubby for these gorgeous anniversary roses. 🙂

Hubby had tickets to the Yankees game three of the playoffs, so our anniversary dinner is going to be on Wednesday night.

So instead, I came home and threw together the following dinner:

I know – it’s the most random thing ever. Here we’ve got some leftover chicken noodle soup, courtesy of my mama. Cucumbers and grape tomatoes with balsamic vinegar. A piece of brown bread and apple cider.

Besides just having strange cravings, our gas in the building is STILL not working, which means outroven and stove don’t work at all. Let me tell you, when it is back on, there is going to be a flurry of cooking going on in our apartment. I am seriously missing my oven/stove. I even started composing an “Ode to my Oven” in my head in the shower this morning. We bought a hot plate, so it’s kind of like I have  stove, but it cooks things really unevenly and takes forever to heat up. 😦 I think I’m going to break out the crock pot on Thursday for some minor salvation.

Anyone have some good crock pot recipes to share?

Ok – that’s it for today. Hope you have a great Tuesday all! And remember to never take your oven for granted. 🙂 Bake something on my behalf.

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Half Marathon, Marathon & Anniversary

Posted on October 18, 2010 | 12 comments

Happy Monday. How were your weekends? Mine went by in a blur. I sort of feel like I didn’t even have a weekend.

So in immediate exciting news… I just registered for the 2011 Boston Marathon!!! Yippeee! I’m so0 excited and nervous at the same time. There were some issues with the registration page, but thankfully someone on twitter passed around a link that worked. Any other bloggers out there running Boston next April?!

Now on to some race recaps. Yesterday was the Sun Half Marathon and Bay State Marathon in Lowell, MA. I ran the half and my friend, Lauren ran the full in hopes of qualifying for Boston. I’ll start with my race first:

Sun Half Marathon
We drove the full marathon course the day before and I got a chance to see most of the half course as well. It looked pretty flat and not too intimidating. Lauren and I woke up on Sunday morning at 5 a.m. and began our prepping – eating our bananas and Larabars, drinking water and Gatorade. And rotating bathroom turns (sorry, but I’m being honest).

We picked up our other friend running the marathon, Gabby, and headed to the Tsongas Arena around 6:30 and had no problem parking. We waited inside the arena for as long as possible and then went to the start. I thought the half and full marathoners would start together, but they separated us out a bit. I was slightly behind and to the right of the marathon group. So I said goodbye and good luck to Lauren and Gabby and went to my half corral.

The race started and somehow the half marathoners got out ahead of the full marathoners. Lauren and Gabby waved to me as I passed. I started trotting forward at a slow, but comfortable 8:37 minute pace. The start of the race was extremely congested. Then about 2 minutes later I heard my name and turned to see Lauren flying towards me. I picked up the pace a bit to stick with her and we ran together for probably half a mile.

After a few minutes, I realized that Lauren was just moving way too fast for me. I had trained a little bit for this race, but I was nowhere near her speed, so I waved her on and wished her good luck. And I prayed that she would slow down a bit and save some of that energy.

All alone now, I kept chugging along. I was moving pretty fast and I had a feeling that my speed would not last. I also knew that I had two loops of the same course to look forward to… or rather not look forward to. I do not like repeating parts of a course. I like it when I don’t really know what’s coming next and we start at point A and end at point B with no repeating.

My first loop was pretty speedy. Here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:25
Mile 2 – 7:53
Mile 3 – 8:09
Mile 4 – 8:12
Mile 5 – 8:08
Mile 6 – 8:04

However, as we entered the loop again, I think I was feeling kind of down about the fact that I’d have to do it all over again. And my lack of training really started to show. I ran the second loop MUCH slower:

Mile 7 – 8:29
Mile 8 – 8:36
Mile 9 – 8:43
Mile 10 – 8:44
Mile 11 – 8:42
Mile 12 – 8:44
Mile 13 – 8:47
.13 – :56

Total mileage – 13.13 in 1:50:39. Average pace – 8:25 minute miles.

So yeah – as you can see, the second half was a rough one for me. But I was happy with my pace and time overall considering my lack of training. It’s actually my slowest half marathon time yet, but I’m not beating myself up about it.

After my race ended, I grabbed a few snacks and headed back to the car to change, clean myself up and put on some warmer clothes. Then I headed back to the finish area to wait for Lauren. Briefly, here’s how her marathon went…

Bay State Marathon – Lauren’s Race
As I mentioned, it was a crowded start and I think that really frustrated Lauren. She was in BQ mode and was flying past people, trying to weave around the slower runners. We met up during the first mile and then she took off just as we passed the first mile marker.

She told me that she then proceeded to run sub-8 minute miles for about the first 8-10 miles of the race. That is SUPER FAST! One of her splits was around 7:30!! Eekk.

And so can you maybe guess what happened? She used up all her energy and by the time she hit Mile 22 things started to go downhill. She became nauseous and dizzy and then she actually got sick. She tried to drink water and Gatorade and refuel, but to no avail. Her split between 22-23 was in the 11+ minute range and those last few miles felt unbearable.

I was waiting in the finish area watching as 3:40 passed and then I was just hoping that she was okay. I was so relieved when she ran into the finish area. She saw me and started apologizing for not coming in under 3:40 and all I wanted to do was hug her. Instead, I screamed that she was awesome, it was totally okay and that she needed to run her heart out to the finish. And she did.

She finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes. A personal record and a pretty freaking fantastic time if you ask me!! I know she was disappointed at first, but then she realized that now she’ll be able to watch me run Boston instead and cheer me on with my husband! She was also pretty relieved that she didn’t have to start training for another marathon in December. 🙂 I luv ya Lauren – you did awesome yesterday!!

Lastly, I do want to mention that the post-race food for the half and full was AMAZING! Soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and mini candy bars. It was the best I’ve had so far.

So that was our intense race weekend. We drove home from Lowell, MA and I arrived back at my parent’s house and ate a big bowl of homemade soup my mother had made.

Then Hubby arrived at my parent’s house and we packed up our things to head home. Before we left, we each had a piece of anniversary cake that my mom made for our two-year wedding anniversary!

Looks like a mini wedding cake, doesn’t it?! It was delicious. Thanks Momma!

Happy Anniversary Hubby – I love you and can’t wait for many, many more anniversaries to come!

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Posted in Races, Reviews, Running, Travel, Uncategorized

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My Realistic Half Marathon Plan

Posted on October 15, 2010 | 5 comments

I’m going to be completely honest on this one – I am not in the best shape for this half marathon. I made a training plan, but then really only ended up running 2-3 days a week. So I decided that I need to be realistic in my expectations for the Sun Half Marathon this Sunday in Lowell, MA.

Taking a look at my past two half marathons, I ran a 1:49:14 and a 1:46:00. That is about an 8:20 and 8:05 pace respectively. That’s simply not going to happen for this one. I am surmising that I might be able to run a consistent 8:30-8:35 pace (please note, even this could be too fast for me). So my goal time for this upcoming race is between 1:51 – 1:55. I’ll be using it more as a training run than anything else. I want to slowly work my way back into marathon training mode, so when I officially start training for Boston in December my body won’t be shocked.

Also, I wanted to share the pace band I created for Lauren.

I laminated the strip of paper and then you wrap it around your wrist and tape it. So while most of the time, you’ll be watching your Garmin or stop watch, you can then look quickly at the pace band to see where you are supposed to be and adjust accordingly. Like I said, I didn’t really use my band until around the 22 mile mark.

So – does anyone know someone else running the Baystate Marathon this weekend?

We are leaving tomorrow around 11-12:00 p.m. to head out that way, hit up the expo, drive the course, find the start and finish, and then have some pasta dinner. It’s time to get pumped up!! I’m not even running a marathon and I’m psyched!

Hope you all have a good weekend! And goodluck to any other marathoners out there running this weekend. 🙂

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Attacked By A Mosquito in October

Posted on October 14, 2010 | 6 comments

Good morning. Thank god it’s Thursday. At least I’ve got that going for me.  Today did not start off well at all. I was  woken abruptly at 5:45 this morning by a buzzing sound very near my ear. I freaked out and started swatting blindly around me. Of course, I completely missed what I have now determined to be a mosquito.

How do I know it was a mosquito? Because about 5 seconds later I noticed something funny going on with my lip. It felt strange. I laid in bed for 10 more minutes and then got up and headed to the bathroom. I was met in the mirror by a girl with a giant Angelina Jolie lip on only one half of her mouth.

Panick set in. I had to go to work. I looked hideous, deformed, grotesque. Panick rises. I wake Hubby up, screeching about mosquitoes and giant lips. He looks at me briefly through sleep-filled eyes and goes back to sleep. I ice my lip. I look in the mirror again. It looks bigger. And now I’ve noticed a second bite on my cheek.

I give up on the staring and hop in the shower. I decidedly avoid the mirror when I get out and simply apply some cortizone cream to the attacked areas. I eat and get dressed and then stare hard at my make-up bag. We had some serious work to do. Normally, I wear little-to-no make-up to work. Today I brought it all out: cover-up, powder, concealer, bronzer, and I went to town. Here is the result.

Not too shabby right. I almost look normal. But then here’s my lip up close…

See the difference up close? The left side (if you’re looking at it, it’s on the right facing you) is swollen and puffy. I asked one of my co-workers and she said she really could not tell, so I’m just going to keep re-covering up all day.

But this evening it’s on. I am tearing the house apart and vacuuming and cleaning that mosquito out! I will Lysol his little flying biting butt to death.

I should really be used to this by now. Mosquitos absolutely love me. For the record, I wasn’t wearing any perfume or lotion yesterday. There is just something in my skin or blood that draws them in. I’m like the Sooki Stackhouse to their mosquito vampirish ways.  I’m too delicious to pass up. If I sit by a camp fire for a mere 5 minutes without bug spray on, I will be devoured. Hubby can sit there all night and they won’t even throw him a passing glance.  And what makes it worse is that I have pretty severe reactions to their bites. Big giant welts that take forever to disappear. Fun times.

I apologize for this little rant, but you can’t imagine what a frustrating morning I’ve had. And then a little boy on the bus was staring at me and whispering to his mother and I thought for sure he was telling her he was afraid of the ogre-like woman with bloated lips sitting across from him. What a lesson in humility that was. Never again will I EVER look too long at someone with a birth mark or any other noticeable physical abnormality.

I guess it also made me think about what effect my physical appearance has on my confidence. And while I like to pretend that I don’t judge people based on their looks, I’m sure I do. I think I will make it a point to do less of that in the future. After all, they too could have been savagely attacked during a peaceful slumber.

I guess the upside (I’m really still struggling trying to find one) is that now I kind of know what I would look like with a collagen injection. And I think it’s pretty safe to say that collagen is not in my future.

Have a good Thursday all. Yours truly – “Angelina For a Day”

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Frustrating Four Miles & A Book Review on Hump Day

Posted on October 13, 2010 | 11 comments

Good morning all. Happy hump day. Here’s to hoping it flies right by.  I don’t know about you, but I am READY for the weekend. And to think that I have a half marathon coming up and I’m still pumped for it to get here.

Yesterday was a busy Tuesday. My only noteworthy eats were my leftovers from dinner on Monday night. I had a nice big tupperware of Stir Fry for lunch and it was yummy.

I also ran out on lunch and laminated a pace band for my friend Lauren for her marathon on Sunday. Are you sick of me talking about her marathon yet? I’m just so excited because if she qualifies for Boston during this marathon, then we get to run Boston together next April!! So anyway – about this pace band. It was a lifesaver for me in my last marathon when I BQed. I didn’t really pay attention to it all that much until about mile 22. At that point I assumed that I wasn’t on target to BQ, but happened to look at my pace band and see that I could still make it. Thank goodness for that little band or I might not have kicked it in enough to squeeze in under 3:40. I made my pace band over at www.marathonguide.com under Running and Training Calculators. They also have a list of the Biggest/Best Boston Qualifiers by year, showing the percentage of people that qualified in each race. Right now, my Pocono Marathon is ranked second for 2010, just under Boston.

Have you ever used a pace band? I’ve seen them as tattoos as well!

Frustrating Four
So as my title indicates I had an interesting four mile run last night. It started out all wrong right from the beginning when I went to put on my Garmin and found that my band had broken! 😦 Sadness.

I was able to wear it with half the band still working and I thought that would be the last of my issues. Next up was the creepy man on the bike who made lewd comments to the girl walking right in front of me. He proceeded to  continue to ride on for a bit and then turn around and head back her way. It was a high-traffic area, so I wasn’t too worried about her. But what a creepo!

I kept on trucking and then groaned with frustration when I saw a huge crowd of kids jog down the entrance-way just up ahead. I had to run alongside them for a few seconds…awkward! I finally passed them, but then had to worry about them coming back up and passing me. Embarrassing!

Finally, as I was finishing up the last 1.5 miles, a woman on a bike and her little dog rode up next to me. And stayed there. For a few minutes. If I thought that running next to the kids was awkward before, this took awkward to a whole new level. We trotted on side-by-side for a good 1-2 minutes, which doesn’t sound like a lot…but it felt like super slow-mo. And the little dog’s bell was jingly jangling the whole time. I finally managed to pull away and prayed to make it back home without any other strange encounters. I made it back unscathed, but a bit worse for the wear. And here are my stats:

Mile 1 – 8:43
Mile 2 – 8:43
Mile 3 – 8:31
Mile 4 – 8:43

Have you experienced any strange incidents on any of your runs?

And finally, I will leave you with another little book review. I read this one super quick and highly recommend it.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

By: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I’ll spell it out for your right upfront on this one – loved it! I wasn’t sure about this book when I first opened it up, what with the strange name and the fact that it appeared to be written as letters the entire time – I was skeptical. And you know how rarely I’m skeptical. J

But I pushed on into the letters and quickly found myself engrossed in the story and in love with the characters. I found myself wanting to live in their little society.

Oh yes, I should probably give some sort of plot overview. The book is narrated by a single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton who has recently written a more humorous book about the war. She receives a letter from Dawsey Adams who found her name in a used book he purchased. They begin writing back and forth and Juliet becomes interested in the “literary society” Dawsey and a few of his neighbors created during the war and German occupation of their Island, Guernsey. And from there Juliet’s next book idea is born and the other society members begin writing to her and sharing literary society stories.

Once I became accustomed to the letter style, I was hooked. However, I did have to remind myself to always look at who the letter was to and from, otherwise things could get confusing.

The story is very unique and the characters are immensely enjoyable. Their letters are quick-witted and, at times, hysterical without meaning to be so. This book tells about the war in a very different way and allows the reader to both enjoy the people and appreciate their difficult situations.

I think some people could read this book and consider it trite or transparent, but I think it’s the lighter approach that makes the book more engrossing and authentic. I enjoyed the tone and the approach.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. I hasten to say that I think it is probably tailored more to females, but who knows – anyone might enjoy it. It is definitely a quick read as well, so not too much of a time committment.

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A Weekend of Exhausting Fun!

Posted on October 12, 2010 | 3 comments

Good morning all. Happy Tuesday. How many of you had to work yesterday? I did and I felt like I was the only one! And there was even a fair happening in the street outside my office – talk about torture!

So I’ve been MIA for a bit because I’ve been so crazy busy. On Friday, I headed upstate for my friend Jess’s bridal shower and bachelorette activities.

On Saturday morning before all the events started, Lauren and I ran 8 miles together. Her last long run before the Baystate Marathon the 17th. I still felt like I was slowing her down a bit (don’t kill me for writing that Lauren – she gets so mad when I say it), but I at least felt better for this run and not so exhausted. Here are our stats:

Mile 1 – 8:55
Mile 2 – 8:54
Mile 3 – 8:46
Mile 4 – 8:36
Mile 5 – 8:28
Mile 6 – 8:23
Mile 7 – 8:48
Mile 8 – 8:54

Total mileage – 8.06 in 1:10:17. Average pace – 8:42 minute miles.

So I got some decent pacing into that run and felt pretty good afterwards. I haven’t trained as strictly as I would have liked for the half marathon I’m running in conjunction with Lauren’s full, but this run made me feel a little better.

After our run, we headed to our friend Jess’s bridal shower at Apertivo Bistro in Schenectady. She got a ton of great stuff and I really enjoyed their food. I chose the chicken maria for lunch.

It was very good. Others at the table had the personal pizza and that looked amazing as well.

After the shower, we all headed to our respective homes to freshen up and I might have taken a little nap. I had to be rested for the evening activities! And we had so much fun – good thing I napped.

Her MOH did such an amazing job with everything! Look at this spread:

And here are some of our girls with the bridey…

We danced the night away and finally called it quits at about 2 a.m. and headed back to our friend’s apartment for some snacks and bed.

On Sunday I headed back to NYC, feeling less than stellar and possibly like a cold was coming on. I think I’m wearing myself out. The month of October has been, and will continue to be, pure mayhem and my body feels like it’s revolting. I just need to make it through this Sunday though – I don’t feel like running a half marathon with a cold.

So that brings me to Monday. I went to work (and scowled at the people enjoying the street fair outside my office), and then forced myself to go for a run after work. I swear I don’t think it’s actually a cold – I think it might be allergies. But whatever it was, it was all located above my neck, no coughing or respiratory issues, so I felt it was okay to run.

And actually, running really helped last night. I think it cleared out some of the junk that was in my nose (sorry I know that’s really gross). My stats from Monday night’s run:

Mile 1 – 8:53
Mile 2 – 8:39
Mile 3 – 8:38
Mile 4 – 8:49

Total mileage – 4.03 miles in 35:12. Average pace – 8:44 minute miles.

Not too bad considering my stuffy head and runny nose. After my run, I made dinner (stir fry – yumm!), vacuumed, did the dishes and then promptly passed out fell asleep at 9:45. My body just gave out.

And now it’s Tuesday already. How was your weekend and your Monday off – if you had it off?

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