After not finishing a single book two weeks ago, I’m back in the book-finishing saddle! While my hot streak has definitely cooled a bit, I still enjoyed last week’s books and am getting a head start with September releases.
I’m finished reading…
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (September 15, 2015)
After a VERY long and slow start, I loved it by the end. But, I’m still pondering how to look at it overall.
The Fall of Princes by Robert Goolrick (August 25, 2015)
Pretty decent, not fantastic. Really different than I expected. Mini review to come.
I’m currently reading…
Dryland by Sara Jaffe (September 1, 2015)
I’m enjoying the 1990’s nostalgia of this one, but I’m almost halfway through and wondering where it’s going.
Next up: a couple September debuts…
The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young (September 1, 2015)
A Southern Gothic debut starring a New York transplant who goes back to her Louisiana home. Family secrets, betrayal, you know the drill…
The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo (September 8, 2015)
I’m breaking my rule against books titled “The Art of…” for this one! The Harper rep at BEA’s Speed Dating event said this debut novel about family mysteries was her favorite of the upcoming releases.
West Point Sprint Triathlon Race Recap
Yesterday, I competed in my first triathlon: the West Point Triathlon at the United States Military Academy. This Sprint race was a half mile open water swim, 22K bike ride, and a 5K run. Going into the race, we’d had almost two solid weeks of beautiful weather and low humidity…but, the humidity shot up to 85% the day before the race! Thankfully, the heat/humidity ended up not feeling as bad as I expected!
This race had a really patriotic feel to it…you know, being held at the USMA and all. The race director told a few really moving stories during the pre-race briefing that actually had me tearing up a little…and kept me from thinking too much about the race ahead!
Swim (Split: [16:22])
The swim was in a lake (no sea lice in lakes!!) and, other than getting tangled up in some underwater plants a few times, it went really well. I won the swim for my Wave and was also the first female swimmer out of the water (and they announced it as I was exiting the swim, which was kind of cool)!
Bike (Split: [47:22])
The bike course was much hillier than anything I’d done in training and definitely hurt a bit. But, I think I did as well as I could possibly have done and was overall happy with it (my average mph was 17.3…faster than anything I’d done in training). But, you know what stinks about being a swimmer? You get passed right and left on the two remaining legs…and that definitely happened to me on the bike!
Run (Split: [27:26])
Oooh…the run was SO painful (and also hilly). I felt like I was going to throw up for most of it. I was actually pretty happy with my split, but I need to find a way to make this leg hurt less.
Overall (Time: [1:34], 4th place in my division, 25th for overall females)
I had a blast! And, I think triathlons are a better fit for me than long distance running. I learned that no matter what the name says, a Sprint Tri is actually not a sprint at all (I do not call a race that takes anywhere from 1.5-2 hours a sprint)! But, I’ll definitely do another Sprint distance…hopefully on a flatter course.
And, I’m considering entering the Westchester Super Sprint at the end of September: 300 meter swim, 6 mile bike, and a 1 mile run. This one would be for fun and I wouldn’t train too much for it…just go out and have a good time. Plus, it’s really close to home.
Way to kick butt at the triathlon, even if you were in pain for the last two-thirds! 🙂
Hills are basically impossible for me… I remember a friend asking me to ride bikes with him in Portland, and I was like, “Oh, sure! How hard could it be?” I was walking that bike like a champ.
Thanks! Hills are the worst! Do you know the only thing keeping me from jumping off that bike to walk a bit was the fact that my shoes were clipped into the pedals and walking in clips-ins is kind of annoying?!
I’m looking forward to this week’s reviews, as always. Too bad TFOP wasn’t fantastic, but decent read is still OK. I know you like Southern drama, so let’s hope you like the next two.
Awesome on your accomplishments on race day! I’m glad the swim was in a lake and you didn’t have all the problems you encountered on open water. I hope the next race you have a blast and you do well on top.
Thanks so much! The race was a lot of fun and a good challenge.
I’m actually still thinking about TFOP two books later, so that’s a good sign…it’s sticking with me.
SARAH! You killed it! I’m so excited for you!! I love your little transition station; you did great getting everything set up. I think it’s so neat; not neat enough for me to want to do one anytime soon, but pretty cool – ha! Congrats on your performance!! A hilly route for a tri has got to be super-tough; we have lots of those around here, so I hear about it from my triathlete friends and the hubby – ugh. He did a sprint tri over the weekend and it was hilly; he had a fun time, though. I thought I had a galley of Fates & Furies and do not; I’ll be interested to find out what you think. I do have The Art of Crash Landing on my list; I’m cracking up about your comment on the “rule” against titles that begin with “The Art of” – there must be a story!! Hope your legs are coming back to life!
Thanks so much! And – you are kind of doing one!! I could always tell the relay team members in my race because they were fresh as daisies on the run! I’d love to do a relay sometime…probably the swimming leg. Need to find some teammates! Hope J did well in his tri!!
Ha – my self-imposed ban on books titled “The Art of..” stems from getting burned a few times by books with that title (The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, for one) and then seeing some version of it literally everywhere annoyed me! It was like that song that gets totally overplayed on the radio!
Have a great week!
Congrats on your triathalon! I love hearing about your training and it seem to me like you did very, very well. Good for you!!
Thanks so much!
Wow, NICELY DONE!!! That is awesome, especially for your first one! Way to kick butt on the swim especially (though I gotta say, that 5K split is pretty darn great even without a swim and bike beforehand!). Can’t wait to hear about your future triathlon journeys!
You are a rockstar !!!!! Way to go Sarah … Being a strong swimmer is such a plus !
Thanks so much! Unfortunately swimming is the shortest leg and being a great swimmer doesn’t give you a huge advantage…better to be a great biker! But, I’ll take whatever small advantage I can get 🙂
Oooh The Gates of Evangeline… can’t wait to hear how that one goes! Great work in the triathlon! I’m not the least bit athletic, so am always in awe of people who can do this kind of stuff!
Thanks so much! Racing gives my workouts more purpose and keeps me from getting bored and slacking off…that’s pretty much why I do it. And, I’m really into Gates of Evangeline so far…it’s pretty much a plot driven family secrets book that reads easily, but that’s kind of what I need right now!
A friend of mine does triathlons and man, I am so impressed with people who can do that. Good for you!
Thank you 🙂
You are awesome! Congrats on the tri!
I’m off to look up the Gates of Evangeline – I’m definitely intrigued
Thanks so much! I’m really enjoying GOE so far…about 25% in. It’s a plot driven family secrets book that reads really easily…and exactly what I needed right now!
I’m glad you loved Fates & Furies by the end! I’m looking forward to your review.
Congrats on the triathlon!
I’m still trying to figure out my review – ha! The writing – especially at the end – is definitely sticking with me. It’s the beginning Im struggling with.
Thank you!
Congrats on your tri race! I used to do those and really had fun. Go for the next one.
Very cool! What was your distance?
To answer your question: when I was in my 20s after college, I used to do Olympic distance triathlons: 1.5 km swim, 25 mile bike, & 10k run which was considerable work but a rush as well. But later in life I started doing the Sprint distance ones, and like those ones as well. I haven’t done one for a long time but you might get me interested 🙂 again
You’re the inadvertent #30Authors queen. SOMEONE is recommending Fate and Furies 🙂
HA – it wouldn’t be my author, would it?!