It's Been A Long Road...(4 Seasons Challenge is DONE!)

Well, you've been hearing about it since I signed up on October 1 of last year, so here it is: the FINAL phase of the Rochester 4 Seasons Challenge.  IT IS DONE!  And my leg didn't fall off!

4 Seasons mega medal!  The 4 squares are each medal I earned during the year, held together with the final piece in the middle.

For those that are just joining us, the 4SC is a challenge for runners in the Rochester area: to run the 4 Rochester half marathons in 1 calendar year.  January, April, July, and September.  All was well for me until right before the 3rd one (in July), when I started having some leg pain that ended up being a calf strain.  I was originally supposed to run the full marathon instead of the half this September, but because of the strain I pulled back to the 13.1 distance...but then still had to take almost 8 weeks off running to heal it.

Okay, you're all caught up!  The final race was the MVP Rochester half marathon yesterday (9/18).  Let's break this into 2 parts: recap, and lessons learned.

RECAP!
I went into the race having zero idea what to expect.  My husband was wondering when I might finish, and I gave him a range of 2:15 to 3:00.  When you haven't run for 8 weeks, it's real hard to guesstimate your time, even if you've run the distance many times before!

I ran 2 miles on Friday before the race, and that was the first time since the diagnosis that I had no pain while running, so fingers were crossed for a good race.

And guess what--NO PAIN!  I did the entire 13.1 miles with zero calf pain.  It was truly amazing.

Taken around mile 6.  No calf pain, but the struggle still got real there for a bit

So that was the good news, no calf pain.  The bad news is that everything else had it's own special brand of pain...haha.  Have you ever seen that running shirt that says "Everything Hurts and I'm Dying"?  Yes, that was my hamstrings/knees/right foot.  Again--I totally DO NOT recommend running 13.1 miles if you haven't run at all in 8 weeks!  But I was determined to complete this darn thing.

I started out feeling superhero-amazing (as one does at the start of a half), but around  mile 6 is when I felt how out of practice I was.  I started to get down on myself, and then mentally punched myself in the face.  Why am I getting upset about time??  I didn't even fully train for this race!!  Just have fun!  Stop worrying and enjoy yourself!

So that's what I did.  The Rochester half had a huge course change last year, so it was all new to me, and it's BEAUTIFUL!  It brings you through scenic parts of Rochester that I never even knew existed.  So it was easy to cruise through the race and enjoy the sights.  I stopped for pictures, took lots of selfies (texting my husband and friends along the way), walked when I needed to, high fived every little kid I could find.  It was a great time.

Selfie with a waterfall!  Totally necessary!

Favorite race story: this course is incredibly HILLY, and I decided early on to walk most of them, since I knew my lack of training would cause them to completely wipe me out.  However, while walking one I spotted a race photographer 3/4 of the way up the hill.  Crap, no one wants a race photo of themselves walking!  So I kicked myself into a run as best as I could.  As soon as I passed the photog, I walked and yelled, "I did that for you!  I hope you got it!"  He laughed and assured me he did.  Can't wait for that pic.  :)

My husband and kiddos were near the finish line, and when I got there, Small Fry jumped over to run the last .1 with me, which was the total highlight of the day.  I was so wrapped up in holding his hand across the finish that I didn't look at my time!  I found out later that it was 2:23:17, only 2 minutes slower than my slowest half (which was also my first, a total hot mess).  I'll take it!

Lessons Learned!
I was very excited for this 4 Seasons Challenge when I first signed up for it, but now that it's over, I have to say I took even more away from it than I originally expected.  I thought this would be a great way to test my running abilities and keep myself in shape all year long.  Yes, those things happened, but there was much more as well.

1. I learned what I want to do as a runner, vs what I think everyone else thinks I should do.
As I was training for the second race, I realized I hated the regimented speedwork and constant pace-pushing required to hit my then-goal time of under 2:00.  Furthermore, I realized I was only doing that because I felt like it was the next logical step for me--my PR is 2:05, shouldn't I break 2:00?  But then I thought, why?  If this doesn't make me happy, then why do it?  I started running more for the distance than the speed, and immediately started enjoying running more.  A simple but valuable lesson--if you love something, do it the way YOU want to, not the way you think others want you to!

2. I was forced to think of my fitness more holistically.
After getting so wrapped up in half marathon training the last few years, I think I lost sight of my larger fitness goals.  I was just running, running, running all the time.  And when that was taken away from me (with my injury), it was like I lost part of my identity.  I was totally depressed and had no idea what to do with myself.  Then I started trying new fitness areas: biking, swimming, group fitness classes, etc. and slowly realized that those were fun in their own ways too.  By the time the injury healed, I was thinking maybe...maybe?...I could do more than just run.  What a novel concept!  But a bright side of the injury is that it really forced me to look at my fitness goals beyond the next road race.

3. I'm tougher than I think.
My husband said to me after the race that he was so proud of me for completing 4SC, for a variety of reasons, but one was because I could have bowed out at any time when I hit obstacles to my training, but I never did, the whole year.  And he is right.  The opportunity to quit was always there, but I never took it.  I'm pretty proud of that, and those are exactly the sorts of lessons I hope my kids learn when they see me do stuff like this!

I could go on, but I think you probably want this post to end eventually.  The bottom line is that 4SC was an amazing experience for me.  Would I do it again?  Ummmm...get back to me about that.  But even if I move on to other challenges, I don't at all regret taking this one on!

It's time to Do Your Om Thing with Rebecca Pacheco

Title: Do Your Om Thing
Author: Rebecca Pacheco
Publisher: Harper Wave
Publication Date: March 3, 2015
Source: copy received for honest review through TLC Book Tours

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

In Do Your Om Thing, master yoga teacher and creator of the popular blog OmGal.com Rebecca Pacheco shows us that the true practice of yoga is about much more than achieving the perfect headstand or withstanding an hour-long class in a room heated to 100 degrees. "Yoga is not about performance," she tells us, "it's about practice, on your mat and in your life. If you want to get better at anything what should you do? Practice. Confidence, compassion, awareness, joy—if you want more of these—and who doesn't?—yoga offers the skills to practice them."

In her warm, personal, and often hilarious prose, Rebecca translates yogic philosophy for its twenty-first-century devotees, making ancient principles and philosophy feel accessible, relatable, and genuinely rooted in the world in which we live today. And by illuminating how the guiding principles of yoga apply to our modern lives, Rebecca shows us that the true power of a yoga practice is not physical transformation, but mental and spiritual liberation.

My Review:

Yogis, take note!  I loved this book, and I bet many other amateur yogis out there will too.  I read it at the perfect point in my yoga journey.  I've been practicing the physical aspect of yoga (asana) for almost a year now, and while that started as a way for me to cross-train with running and gain flexibility, I've now gotten to the point where I am interested in yoga in and of itself.  You hear bits and pieces about the background and philosophy of yoga in classes, but I have not yet had an instructor who really goes in-depth with any of it.  Plus, I'll be honest--some of it just sounded way too crunchy-granola for me, so I wasn't sure where to begin.

If you find you're in a similar spot with yoga, Do Your Om Thing is for you.  Pacheco leads you through all the ins and outs of yoga philosophy, with a down-to-earth voice that is totally NOT too crunchy-granola. :) The book is easy to follow, and she writes with such wisdom and clarity that I found myself wanting to head right to the mat and put my new knowledge to work.  I never thought I'd say this, but after reading the book, I'm even dying to try meditation (one part of yoga that I've always felt is beyond the abilities of my million-thoughts-at-once brain).  Honestly, there were parts of this book that felt meditative while reading them--I found Pacheco's writing to be thoughtful and calming, a perfect fit for this subject matter.

Do Your Om Thing is not strictly a yoga manual--Pacheco will make you think deeply about how you approach your self, your work, and your relationships within the framework of yoga tradition.  If you're a beginner yogi, I can't say enough good things about it!  If you're ready to learn more about yoga than how to get into Crow Pose, pick up this book ASAP.

As always, much thanks to Trish at TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour!

Want to find out more?  Check out the other blogs on this book tour HERE.  And connect with Rebecca Pacheco on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Last 2 Books of 2015!

My last 2 mini-reviews of the year!  I was able to squeeze these in right under the wire, bringing me up to 49 for the year.  Not bad!

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Little, Brown and Company, 2005
personal purchase

I put this book on my 30 Before 35 list because I've heard raves about it for the last 10 years, and have had a copy on my bookshelf for almost as long, but I kept pushing it off due to the fact that it's a pretty sizeable chunker (676 pages).  I finally picked it up on a whim, not even knowing what it was about, and was pleased to find that it's a historical fiction novel about the legend behind Dracula.  How fortuitous that I read Stoker's famous book just a few months ago!  However, reading Dracula before The Historian is certainly not a requirement, as this book provides more than enough background to keep you on top of things.

Quick synopsis: the narrator is a teenager in the 1970's, living with her father (a diplomat) in Amsterdam.  One day, she stumbles upon some old letters in her father's study, which turn out to be the beginnings of a rather epic mystery surrounding the legend of Lord Dracula.  When, in the midst of learning about this mystery, the narrator's father disappears, she begins her own journey to figure out where he went, what sort of discoveries he made in the past, and what really happened to her mother.

I only gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads, which feels underwhelming, but unless you are a serious fangirl/fanboy of medieval history, this book is surely going to drag in parts.  And I feel bad saying that, because this book is positively overflowing with lavish detail--a more elaborate story would be hard to find.  But that doesn't erase the fact that it's terribly drawn out, the frequent flashbacks making an already-detailed story even tougher to follow at times.  Even so, the mystery at the heart of the story is intriguing, and I enjoyed the little twist in the epilogue.  Thus, 3 stars is accurate for this middle-of-the-road novel.

Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon
Rodale Books, 2011 edition
received as a Christmas gift :)

What a surprise, right?  Haha.  Now that I am fairly certain I will be running my first marathon in late 2016, I figured it's time to start doing some reading.  I'm a huge fan of Higdon's race training plans (they have worked for me at both the 15K and half marathon distances), and I plan to use one of his novice marathon plans in the fall.  However, I also have a lot of questions about proper nutrition during training, hydration needs, tricks for staying in the game mentally, etc. and I thought this would be a good place to start.

I was correct in my thinking!  Higdon speaks equally to novice and more advanced runners in this book.  Some of the information was familiar to me after following his programs in the past, but some of it was new as well, and a LOT of it is going to be re-read as I dive into marathon training in the late spring.  In particular, I was very interested in the parts about the different varieties of speedwork (seriously, I still have a hard time telling a fartlek from a stride from intervals...), proper long run pacing, and pre-race nutrition.  Plus, I found this book to be a great motivator in general.  Reading about Higdon's formulas for success has left me feeling excited for the marathon journey ahead.

If you're a newbie marathoner looking for some solid advice starting out, or a more advanced marathoner who wants to shave time off of a PR, Hal Higdon's Marathon is an excellent read to help you get going in the right direction.

What's your last book of 2015?  Runners, any other good marathon training books I should look for?

The Well-Read Redhead's 2013 Resolutions

Happy 2013, readers!!  Here's hoping for a fun and exciting new year!

It's time to review my resolutions for 2012 and see how I did.  These were the resolutions that I posted on my old pre-book blog.  Many of them are not book-related, but hey, that just means you get to know me a little better.  Who doesn't want that, AMIRIGHT?

The Well-Read Redhead's 2012 Resolutions: Pass or Fail?

1. Read at least 50 books: PASS!
According to Goodreads, I hit 59 books this year (not including kid books).  Sa-weet.

2. Run a 5k and a 10k: PASS!
I ran a 5k (with my personal best time for the course at 28:10) in June, and a 10k (first time ever, time of 57:17) in September.

3. Keep up with Small Fry's baby scrapbook through his first birthday: mostly PASS!
When I'm not reading, I'm scrapbooking.  I created Small Fry's own first-year scrapbook, rather than buying a pre-printed one at the store.  I'm happy to report that I only have 5 pages left (out of like 40 pages, I am not joking, so this is a big deal).  I am hoping to finish them in January, which means I will have it done only 6 months after his 1st birthday.  **pats self on back**

4. Be a level-headed momma: semi-PASS?
On the spectrum of anxious people, I am somewhere between your mom and this SNL skit:

And motherhood is an easy place to ride the anxiety train, which is why I set this goal for myself.  I think I did just okay with this resolution.  Being a mom has its inevitable stressful times (OMG SMALL FRY, NO MORE FOOD ON THE WALL, FOR THE LOVE), and overall my crying-freak-out episodes were pretty spread out.  I think I managed so-so.  Could be better.  Will continue to work on this.

5. Do as many fun family activities as possible: PASS!
I am obsessed with finding fun activities for the three of us to do, especially because I am home with Small Fry 2 days a week in addition to the weekends.  I think I did pretty well with this.  We did a Music Together class, as well as swimming lessons.  We did a really fun family vacation to the Outer Banks, and lots of good weekend activities like apple picking, playing at the park, farm trips, playdates, library story time, etc.  Small Fry is at a fun age and I want to keep active with him as much as possible!

6. Attempt to complete the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home Challenge: mega FAIL!
Yeah, this sounded like a great idea last January.  Three weeks in, I had a clean pantry and junk drawer and I was DONE.  I should have seen that coming...52 weeks of organizing?  Was I insane?

And now...

The Well-Read Redhead's 2013 Resolutions

both book-related and not

1. Read at least 60 books, and complete the challenges I signed up for.
If I did 59 this year, I think this is an attainable goal.

2. Mix in some varied content with my book reviews.
I started this blog mainly for reviews, but I want to mix it up a little more this year.  Some discussion posts, interviews, etc.  Still mainly reviews, but with some fun stuff mixed in.  (Feel free to email me if there is something specific you'd like to see!)

3. Manage my computer/phone time better.
Ever since I started the blog, I've found it increasingly easy to check my email, sift through my Google Reader, edit a review, etc. at random times of day...yes, sometimes inadvertently cutting into family time.  Which I don't want.  So I'm going to be better about making specific computer/iPhone time, rather than doing it randomly throughout the day.  Damn you, technology, for being so accessible.

4. Eat (and cook) with more variety, and more healthfully.
I am a horrible cook.  Like, really horrible.  Which I know is weird, because I am a bit of a foodie and love reading about food.  I just can't make it myself.  My parents' favorite story is when I was 12 years old, and I called my mom at work to ask her what boiling water looked like.  (I was making mac n cheese and had literally no idea.)  Things have not gotten much better since then.
My husband's cooking skills have carried us up to this point, but I need to do better here.  Especially because Small Fry seems to be becoming a picky eater.  I really want to be able to make a wider variety of (healthy!) food for him, so that he isn't stuck eating the same things over and over.  This is going to be an insanely hard goal for me, but I'm going to try to both become a better cook, and add more variety to our diets.  Pray for me.

5. Print photobooks of our past family photos.
I used to print actual prints and put them in photo albums, but I haven't done that in years.  I would like to print photo books from 2009 on, but I haven't taken the time to sit down and choose the pictures.  Really want to make a dent in that this year.

6. Work on my upper body and ab strength.
Every past year, my workout goals have been about running.  But I'm in a good groove with running now, so my new goal is to focus on strength.  I just started 30 Day Shred, and it showed me how spaghetti-like my arms have become.  Plus, my abs never really recovered their strength after Small Fry was born.  So these are two areas I want to work on this year.

Okay, that's it!  You heard 'em here first.  Now, what are YOUR resolutions for 2013??