Tara at Running N Reading hosts a Weekend Update Link-Up where people can share their weekend fun and successes with each other, as well as introduce each other to new things: races, workouts, books, food, gear, etc.
Since running and reading are my two favorite “try to retain some semblance of myself” while being a stay-at-home Mom activities, I was excited to recently come across Tara’s blog and to participate in this link-up!
Current Reading
I’m currently reading The Secret Place, the fifth installment of Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, about a murder at an exclusive all-girls school. I’m finding it OK, but just OK. I had a bit of trouble getting into the flow of the writing (maybe because of the Irish slang?), but am moving past that now. I’ve read a lot of teen angst thrillers recently and I wonder if genre burn-out is affecting how much I like this book. Does that ever happen to anyone else?
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I’m STILL listening to (but finally almost finished with) Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. And, as I mentioned last week, I’m sort of doing this under duress. I thought the core story was worthwhile and interesting, but the amount of inane mommy politics that surrounded it was soul-crushing. It was painful to listen to these women go on and on about God knows what.
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“On Deck” Reading
Next up for me on the Kindle is The Summer of Long Knives by Jim Snowden, a historical fiction thriller set in Nazi Germany. I’ve always liked historical fiction from this period in history and I’m participating in an online tour for this one in October through TLC Book Tours.
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Next up for my ears is The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. I’ve seen lots of good blogger reviews for this Stockholm-syndrome type thriller. Fast paced thrillers have been working for me as running entertainment, so I’m going to stick with the genre for my training. This will probably be the book I listen to during my race, so I hope it’s good!
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Running
Week 8 of Hal Higdon’s Intermediate Half Marathon Training Program down…4 more to go! My long run this week was 10 miles and my pace was consistently between [9:00] and [10:00] minute miles. I felt pretty good and was happy with my splits ([9:45]-[9:55] for the first 6 miles, then [9:30] for miles 7-8, and [9:00] for miles 9-10). I’m trying really hard to negative split every long run, so I was happy with this one.
What have I learned from training so far?
- BodyGlide is working well for my sports bra chafing…thanks for the recommendations! I’ve also been changing up the style of sports bra that I’ve been wearing…trying not to wear the same style two days in a row.
- I’m starting to get a little burned out mentally with the long runs. This week, even though I was happy with my run, I was just so sick of that day’s workout taking close to two hours (including stretching). Right after the run, I just wished the race were right around the corner, not 4 weeks away. I have my brother’s wedding this coming weekend, so will be adapting my training schedule a bit this week. I’m still going to do my long run before I leave, but will get 3 days off from running. Though this probably isn’t great for me physically, I really think I need the mental break. Bottom line…I commend all the full marathoners out there. I CANNOT fathom your mental fortitude!
What did you get up to this weekend?
Thanks for sharing your update Sarah. Enjoy your brother’s wedding!
Good luck with the last few weeks of training. My daughter did the fall foliage half in Rhinebeck last year. Still not sure if she’ll be running this year, but we’ll definitely be there to cheer if she does!
Still hoping to get to Big Little Lies on my kindle before the library ebook disappears…
I’ve heard that one is hilly!! Good luck to her if she decides to run! I’m doing the one in White Plains in October.
So, I’m kind of bummed that you are not finding The Secret Place to be all that good; I’ve not read any of the others in the series (have you?), but this one has gotten a lot of press, so I’d considered reading it. Maybe not…Also, I’m super-excited that you are starting The Good Girl; I can’t wait to hear what you think! This is one that I am definitely interested in and I think it’s a great idea for a listen while you are running; I may have to steal this idea. 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up this week and congratulations on your 10-miler! That is quite an accomplishment.
So…I’ve turned a corner with Secret Place…just in last day or so. I’m completely into it now. Just took me awhile and I think part of it was that I’ve read so much of that particular genre lately.
Way to tackle that long run. 10 miles is seriously no joke! I felt that way while training for my first half and it definitely gets better after a few 10+ runs. Sometimes I like to recruit friends to run a few miles of it with me (either the beginning or end) and that helps mix it up for me. Or I try to find a new route to keep things interesting. Good luck with the end of your training!
So many things to say as I was reading your post – I hope I remember them all! First up – your books: I have yet to read The Secret Place but have read all of Tana French’s other books in the series (I should say listened to on audiobook. The narrators talk with the accent so it’s easier than reading through the slang I think.) And I’ve found that it takes me awhile to get into them and then about 1/2 through I need to know what is happening.
I also have Big Little Lies waiting for me on audiobook. I have enjoyed all of her other books but now I think I will feel similar to you about mommy politics. So not my thing!
Awesome job on the half marathon training. My second half marathon is on October 5. It looks like you are I run similar pace. It’s nice to see someone who is at the same place in training! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much for your comment! First off, I wanted to tell you that I’ve tried to leave comments on your blog a couple of times and for some reason they won’t post 🙁 Anyway – I love your blog!
I’m so glad to hear someone else has had trouble getting into Tana French…I’m now fully into it, but I feel like it took me longer than it should have.
Good luck with your half! I’ll keep up with your training on your blog!
Another fitness and reading blog!! I always like stumbling across these 🙂 especially as I haven’t heard of any of the books you’re reading so will need to have a look at those 🙂
I know exactly what you mean about the length of time training takes as well. I can only do it when I pick a nice route with views so it doesn’t just feel like a really long time spent exercising, but rather, time spent enjoying my surroundings and exploring!