Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
After a rash of tech issues with the blog and some chaos around the house (kids’ school starting, but only for partial sessions), last week finally settled down a bit. The blog is running normally again (fingers crossed this continues!) and the kids finally had their first full week of school, which enabled me to get into a good reading groove.
My husband and I watched the first episode of Narcos…I enjoyed the history of how Pablo Escobar got started in the drug business, but the jury is still out on the show overall. There are lots of subtitles, which means no multi-tasking for me! But, we’re going to keep going for now. And, I participated in the Westchester Super Sprint Triathlon on Saturday…check out my race recap below.
I finished reading…
A Place We Knew Well by Susan Carol McCarthy (September 28, 2015)
I was intrigued by this novel’s premise of a family unraveling during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but I was so disappointed with how it played out and ended up skimming the last 30%.
Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg (September 8, 2015)
Oh. My. God. Run out and grab this book immediately! I’m having trouble articulating exactly why I loved it so much, but I did and it’s a contender for one of my favorite books of the year. Plus, it’s only the third book this year to give me a big, fat hangover…
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I’m currently reading…
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (April 7, 2015)
I’d planned to follow-up Did You Ever Have A Family with Girl Waits with Gun, but I realized I’d underestimated the level of recovery book I’d need following Family. The Royal We (a novel loosely based on Prince William and Kate Middleton’s courtship) was a $3.99 Kindle deal and started calling my name like a siren. So, here we are.
Next up are…
Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart (September 1, 2015)
I love fiction based on real people and I hear this one about “one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs” is a fun romp.
Speed Kings by Andy Bull (October 20, 2015)
The true story of the American bobsledding team as they tried to win gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics. This is technically one of my Nonfiction November books, but I’m starting early. Who says I can’t start Nonfiction November in September?!
Westchester Super Sprint Triathlon Race Recap
On Saturday, I competed in my second triathlon: the Westchester Super Sprint in Rye, NY. This Super Sprint race was a 300 yard open water swim, 6 mile bike ride, and a 1 mile run. I competed in my first triathlon in August (a Sprint distance, about triple the Super Sprint) and thought this short race would be a fun add-on before the season was over. I didn’t train much for it outside of my regular workouts and went in looking to have a good time.
The Kids Race was first and it was inspiring to see these little 7 year olds getting out there in the Long Island Sound on a cold day and giving it a go.
Swim (Split: [6:53] according to my Garmin, official splits didn’t calculate)
The swim was two laps around a line of buoys off the beach at Rye Playland (where the movie, Big, was filmed). The buoys were really close to shore and the tide was low, so there were some swimmers just walking! You see that gorgeous, calm water in pictures? Well, that was long gone by the time our heat got moving. The wind really picked up and we had waves to contend with. I got tangled in some traffic jams and my Garmin said I swam 526 yards instead of 300. UGH!! Need to be careful about swimming straight…even in chop! Rough swim as compared to the August triathlon.
Bike (Split: [19:59])
The bike was three laps around a flat course and felt like a breeze compared to the very hilly bike section of my August race. Yay!
Run (Split: [7:43])
Lesson learned: regardless of how short a distance the run leg of a triathlon is, it will be very painful! Just like in my Sprint Tri, I felt like I was going to throw up for most of the run, but was happy with my split.
Overall (Time: [38:17], 1st place in my division, 4th for overall females, 13th overall)
I ended up not reading at all yesterday, but am LOVING Did You Ever Have a Family… so, so,good!
Congrats on the tri!! What a great way to end the season. My daughter has never done the super sprint distance, but it sounds like you’ve come to the same realizations – the run will never be easy, regardless of distance! She employs some strategies for managing traffic on the swim (though I couldn’t tell you what they are) and sighting to keep on course. Are you planning next season’s races yet? 😉
Thanks so much! Glad to hear I’m not alone in the run being painful! I do sight while swimming and had no problem in my Aug race, this one was tougher with the waves and swimming parallel to shore..plus all the traffic!
I am planning another race next season..not sure which distance or which race yet though! Let me know if your daughter has any recommendations! I’d ideally do another sprint, but a diff one from this summer…on a flatter course 🙂
Too bad you didn’t like A Place We Knew Well, but I’m glad you found Did You Ever Have a Family amazing. Sounds like I have to put it on my reading list. Hopefully The Royal We will be a good cleanser before the next two. I’m looking forward to reading your reviews for all these goodies.
How great that you participated in one more triathlon before the end of the season, and with great result to top. Kudos to you!
Thanks so much! And – I definitely recommend adding Did You Ever Have A Family to your reading list 🙂
Glad u loved “Did You Ever Have a Family”, powerful stuff for sure.
Yep…just heart-wrenching. I remember just exhaling at one point and saying “oh god” aloud.
I just finished “The Martian” and it was so good! I feel like you in that it was such an amazing book that picking up another book to read seems strange as I know it won’t live up to what I just read!
I loved the Martian as well – glad you enjoyed it! And – yes, I’ve just learned to recognize the “book hangover” this year, but it’s really helped me to go for something light or really different next when it pops up!
Sounds like your race went great!
I loved Did You Ever Have a Family, too – such a good book. Hope The Royal We works as a palate cleanser!
It did – despite a bumpy swim, I was happy with it overall! And the short distance was fun! Love seeing all the biking pics from around Richmond…and it scares me seeing them all bunched so tightly. I have no idea how they don’t constantly wreck!
Royal We is working great so far…just what I needed!
A lot of folks have been commenting on DID YOU EVER HAVE A FAMILY.
Glad it was a wonderful read for you.
I admire you for being in race. Not for me. 🙂
Have a wonderful week.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My It’s Monday, What Are You Reading
I ran vicariously through you. 😉 I have a hold on Did You Ever Have a Family at the library and really hope my number comes up soon. I’m glad to hear it will be worth the wait. I need a good book hangover, desperately.
I hope it gets to you soon and gives you just as big of a hangover as it gave me! I hadn’t had one since A Little Life 🙂
Congratulations on your triathalon! What an amazing accomplishment!
Did You Ever Have a Family sounds great! I hadn’t heard of it before so thanks!
Enjoy your books this week –
Sue
Book By Book
Thanks! Family was SO good…I definitely recommend checking it out!
Dang! Those are some impressive tri stats—congratulations! 🙂
I think Family is going back to the library unread, which is a big fat boo. 🙁 Guess I’ll just have to wait until my hold number comes up again! It might be best to just wait until grad school app season is done. 😉
Whoa, speedy!!! What a race, Sarah; you did GREAT! I’m so excited for you and I’m glad you had another good triathlon experience; I’m doing well to run a mile at that pace under perfect conditions, but after a bike ride? Whew! That is quite an accomplishment and congratulations on winning your division. Okay, so I guess I’m going to have to read Did You Ever Have a Family now…
Thanks! And – I suspect that is also my “standalone mile under perfect conditions” pace as well! Just hope I wouldn’t feel like I was going to throw up every step of the way like I do running that pace at the end of a tri!
You must, must read Did You Ever Have A Family!! It’s in my top tier of contenders for Best Book of 2015!
I would totally do a run if I were allowed to…well, run. haha. I only heard about Do you have a family? earlier this morning. Now you’ve got me very very interested. Girl with a Gun is on my radar, too.