Weekly Reads: Falling into Place

Falling into Place is the debut novel by writer Amy Zhang. I received an e-ARC of the book to review as a librarian and the YA title received some strong buzz, so I was excited to tear in to it.

The story is told in a unique way. We find out about Liz's attempted suicide on page one, and then spend the rest of the book uncovering all the moments in her life leading up to that moment. It's also told from an interesting perspective. It was a fairly quick read, and I wanted to find out how it ended, but I didn't really connect with any of the characters, which was perhaps the intention? I'm not sure. I was floored to finish the book and read the author's note that it was written by a high school student in Wisconsin. Impressive.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from goodreads:

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road. 

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High’s most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force—Liz didn’t understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn’t understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect? Amy Zhang’s haunting and universal story will appeal to fans of Lauren Oliver, Gayle Forman, and Jay Asher.

Kansas City Weekend

We took off for Kansas City to visit Kyle's BFF and wife as soon as I was done working on Friday night. We got in way past my bedtime, so after some hellos, the girls left the besties to catch up. We woke up and headed off to Bass Pro Shop to make Kyle happy. :)

After what felt like hours there, Liz was done working, so we headed to Weston for the Brewery Tour.

It was roughly a trillion degrees out, and the tour wasn't for another hour and a half, so we checked out some of the adorable shops, and stopped for some pizza.

And beer. Obviously. 

The tour was awesome. There was so much history in the building. We toured down in the cellars and sampled our beers in an underground bar. 

After Weston we headed back to KC for IRISHFEST!! Unfortunately it was still a trillion degrees out, so I sweated like a beast.

Me and Liz waiting for the boys. The theme of the weekend.

I probably need this fountain in my everyday life. #teamgreen

I spent all of Irishfest trying to get Kyle to try on a kilt because he'd look great. Him in this dress was as close as I could get.

After Irishfest we went out for dinner and I had the greatest salmon sliders of my life. 

Sunday was spent lamenting the drive back to South Dakota. We did make our way downtown to have some amazing buffalo chicken pizza at Minsky's. YUM. We also checked out another little town outside of the city, which I'm currently blanking on. And then it was time to make the 5.5 hour drive home in severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings and threats of hail. Let's just say I was a really fun travel partner. :P

Sioux Falls Half Marathon Goals

Immediately following the GoFar Woman Half Marathon, I wanted redemption. And when I saw the extended forecast for the Sioux Falls Half Marathon, I thought that would be my redemption. As the week went on, and my legs took FOR-EV-ER to recover, I realized that to attempt a half redemption race, I would be shorting myself at least 4 days of quality marathon training during my peak training.

Knowing that the Sioux Falls course is a more difficult course, and much harder on my legs than Fargo was, I decided not to race it. *sob* It's smart but it's a bummer. If only Bemidji was just ONE more week away, I could swing both of them!

I still want to get a quality training run out of the day, so the current game plan is to run the first six miles at long run pace, four miles at goal marathon pace, and then race the last 5k if my legs are still feeling good.

By my calculations, this could still have me at one of my fastest half marathons for 2014!

Here's to my tenth consecutive Sioux Falls Half Marathon!

August in Review + Goals

August in Review

Total Miles:  67.8 miles, down from 121.6  last month.  Down from 143 last August. Two races, (and subsequently recovering FOREVER from both of those races) had me missing way too many runs.

Total Time:  11:48:27 down from 20:49:54 last month. 

Total Runs:  10 for an average of 6.78 miles each run.

Highest weekly mileage: 8/18-8/24 22.5

Favorite run: Mile repeats in crazy humidity, still hitting my paces. 

Most hardcore run: The GoFar Woman Half Marathon. Anytime you're trying to run *hard* in 100% humidity is going to get a stamp of hardcore from me. hashtag gross.

Favorite race: USF 3k XC race.

Bike Miles: 27 miles, 1 ride.

Favorite Jam: Currently obsessed with Sia's Chandelier.

August Goals

• Run enough miles to have my 4th or 5th highest mileage month.
• Run two long runs as scheduled.
• Run all three speed sessions as scheduled. 2/3
• Run one of my fastest half marathons in Fargo (please be cool weather, please be cool weather)
• Watch 2 Oscar Best Picture Nominees.
• Every other day core work, hip stretches, and drills.
• 1 buddy run or ride a week. My running buddy is injured! Waaaah! We did get in one ride together!
• 2 20+ mile bike rides. (1/2)
• Make 2 new meals using my veggie box ingredients.
• Get 3-5 pounds closer to my racing weight. After being out of town for Labor Day weekend, I'm pretty sure I derailed any of my previous work. Whoops. KC has good beer, did you know that??

Weekly Reads: 100 Sideways Miles

100 Sideways Miles is the newest book by Andrew Smith. I'm somewhat convinced this man is a robot with the frequency he's churning out amazing YA books. You keep writing 'em, I'll keep devouring 'em, Andrew. Cool? Cool. This book had me laughing out loud more and cringing less than his most recent Grasshopper Jungle (a truly unique book like none I've ever read before--my review here). I loved Finn's perspective on the world, and his passage of time though distance traveled through space instead of minutes and hours on the clock. I loved the random ideas his best friend Cade had for his birthmark :|: throughout the book. Most of which made me laugh out loud (like I've already said). There are some weird/great twists and turns which I've come to expect from Smith's writing style, and overall I loved it (which you could probably gather from my over usage of the word "love" throughout this review, but whatever).

My rating: 4 stars

Summary from goodreads:

Finn Easton sees the world through miles instead of minutes. It’s how he makes sense of the world, and how he tries to convince himself that he’s a real boy and not just a character in his father’s bestselling cult-classic book. Finn has two things going for him: his best friend, the possibly-insane-but-definitely-excellent Cade Hernandez, and Julia Bishop, the first girl he’s ever loved.

Then Julia moves away, and Finn is heartbroken. Feeling restless and trapped in the book, Finn embarks on a road trip with Cade to visit their college of choice in Oklahoma. When an unexpected accident happens and the boys become unlikely heroes, they take an eye-opening detour away from everything they thought they had planned—and learn how to write their own destiny.

Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Training Recap Week 11

After running the GoFar half, my legs felt terrible. As in, the worst they've ever felt after a non-marathon race. In looking at the photos my mom took of me, my form went to hell the second half of the race. I hydrated like crazy Sunday and foam rolled 2-3 times a day. Finally by Wednesday my legs were ready to go. Luckily this was a recovery week, but I hadn't planned to take four days of complete race on a month where my mileage just hasn't been where I wanted it to be.

Since I had rested so much, I jumped right into my planned run for Wednesday and ran 9 miles after work. My legs felt pretty awesome until the halfway point, and then it was just a struggle. I realized that my form was suffering majorly, so I tried to engage my glutes and the pain in my knee disappeared and my average pace dropped ~40 seconds per mile. Well ok, then.

Of course then my legs felt terrible on Thursday and Friday morning was spent packing to go out of town. One run for the week! Uff. 

I have a huge week on deck for Week 12, so my legs should be recovered and ready to rumble!

September Goals

September Goals

• Run my highest or 2nd highest mileage month ever.
• Run three long runs as scheduled.
• Run all three speed sessions as scheduled. 
• Run one a strong half at the Sioux Falls Half Marathon.
• Every other day core work, hip stretches, and drills.
• 1 buddy run or ride a week.
• Attend a group run!
• 2 20+ mile bike rides.
• Make 2 new meals using my veggie box ingredients.
• Get 3-5 pounds closer to my racing weight. 
• Food as fuel!