Monday, July 28, 2014

Marathon Monday: Day 1 of my 12 Week Half Marathon Training Schedule


I've officially completed my 12 week 5K training program and 4 weeks worth of a 10K training program.

I am now 12 weeks away from race day for the Columbus Half Marathon.  I have another 5K scheduled for later this week, a quarter marathon in August, a 4 miler in September, and the Half Marathon on October 19th.

Below is what I have to look forward to.  On the plus side, today is an off day :)


Week Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat  Sun
July 28 - Aug 3 Off Fartlek (4M) 4M 4M Off 3M 6M
Aug 4 - 10 Off Fartlek (4M) 5M 3M Off 3M 7M
Aug 11 - 17 Off 4-5 Hills 5M 3M Off 3M 6M
5K-10K pace
Aug 18 - 24 Off 3-4 Long Hills 3M 4M Off 3M 8M
5K-10K pace
Aug 25 - 31 Off 5-6 Hills 3M 4M Off 3M 7M
5K-10K pace
Sept 1 - 7 Off 3 x Mile 4M 6M Off 5M 9M
5K-10K pace
Sept 8 - 14 Off 3 x Mile 3M 5M Off 3M 7M
5K-10K pace
Sept 15 - 21 Off 6 x 880s 5M 6M Off 5M 10M
5K-10K pace
Sept 22 - 28 Off 6 x 880s 4M 7M Off 3M 10K Race
5K-10K pace
Sept 29 - Oct 5 Off 4 x Mile 6M 7M Off 6M 12M
5K-10K pace
Oct 6 - 12 Off 5M 5M 8M Off 3M 8M
Oct 13 - 19 Off 5M 5M 8M Off 3M RACE DAY

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Review: The Promise of Amazing by Robin Constantine

The Promise of Amazing

Wren is a sixteen year old girl who attends a private all girls school.  She has two best friends, Jazz and Maddie, and works part time at her family's catering hall, the Camelot.  She is the quiet, studious type that never gets into trouble.  Immediately this was something I could relate to.  I also went to an all girls school and primarily hung out with two girls with similar personalities.

Grayson (Gray) was recently expelled from the all boy's school, St. Gabe's, for writing and selling term papers to other students.  He is smart, popular, and was the star of the varsity lacrosse team.  Attending the public school without his friends or a lacrosse team is a wake up call for him.  He no longer wants to be involved in the illegal activities his private school friends were involved in, but they will not let him walk away.  

One of the running jokes within the catering operation is who gets to serve the mini hot dogs.  While working a wedding, Wren landed this undesirable tray and went about her job of distributing them to the guest.  This is where she meets Grayson.  He is hanging out with a group of friends and proceeds to make fun of the "weenie girl".  It was all fun and games until Gray choked on one of the weenies and Wren had to give him the Heimlich maneuver.  From this point on there is an undeniable attraction between the two, but their road to happiness is not an easy one.  

I do not want to give away any spoilers, so I will leave the description at that.  Overall, I enjoyed the story.  I loved both of the main characters, but I found Gray's old friends to be extremely frustrating.    Luke is a self centered bully and Andy is a spineless pothead.  Every time they worked themselves into the story, I had to stop reading.  I understand that conflict is needed within a story, but Luke caused WAY more than his fair share.  

I ended up giving this book 3 out of 5 stars.  I think a few more date nights and a little less of Luke would have helped to balance out my frustration level.


Monday, July 21, 2014

Music Monday: Toad the Wet Sprocket and Counting Crows Columbus, OH


Last Tuesday, July 15th, I attended the Toad the Wet Sprocket and Counting Crows concert at the LC Pavilion in Columbus, OH.  I'm a Toad fan, so I didn't stay long once their set was over.  I recognized the first CC song, but the rest were completely new to me.  Many of the songs were from a new album that was released at the beginning of the month, but to be honest, I only had one of their albums and haven't listed to it since college.

Here is Dean's crowd picture of the night.  



Toad was AWESOME as usual, but I wish they could have played longer.  I went to a show last November when it was just them and an opening act.  They performed for over two hours that night and their setlist included all of their old hits and many of the songs on their new album.  At this week's show, they played a good mix of both their old and new music, but they only played for about an hour.  I understand why since there were two headlining bands, but it was still sad to see them leave so early.

Here are a few of my pictures from the Columbus show.

Glen Phillips
Dean Dinning
Randy Guss
I desperately wanted to meet Glen after the Cincinnati show last November, but it was already 11:00 P.M.  My brother and sister-in-law were kind enough to watch my son for us on a work night, so we really couldn't stay any later.

I was NOT going to let that opportunity pass again, so here I am with Glen! 


Now I need to figure out how I can talk my husband into going to another show that is just Toad.  For the most part they are all on the west coast, but I may be in luck.  His best friend lives in San Diego and he has been trying to talk me into visiting for years.  Now that my son is old enough to enjoy Sea World, Disney, etc. and can travel without incident, this could be the perfect time.  

Preston is also a Toad fan.  (Yes, he has been brainwashed with all of his Mom's favorite music).  He can sing along with just about every song including the new album.  He was very disappointed that he was out of town the night of this show or I definitely would have taken him.

I can see a trip to California in my future, so I felt it was appropriate to end this post with an acoustic version of California Wasted.  This is one of the songs on their latest album New Constellation.



Friday, July 18, 2014

Review: Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella


I needed an audio book  for a road trip, so I looked on the library's site to see what was available.  I LOVED I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella and decided to give another one of her books a try.

This book was just okay for me.  If I were reading a print copy, I may not have finished it. Since I was stranded in the car for 12 hours each way to and from Vermont with nothing better to do, I kept listening.

Laura Lington is a twenty some year old girl from London.  (The narrator had a British accent, which was a bonus.)  When we first meet her she is getting ready for her Great Aunt Sadie's funeral.  Sadie died at the age of 105 in a nursing home where she had been living for many years.  Her remaining family never really knew her, but Laura's Dad and his brother Bill agreed to hold a funeral.  During the service Laura is approached by Sadie's ghost demanding that they stop the service.  She simply can't leave this world without her dragonfly necklace.  Laura is the only person who can see Sadie, but she proceeds to stop the service by declaring Sadie was murdered and there needs to be an investigation.

Laura has been under a lot of stress lately and thinks she is finally going crazy.  What other explanation could there be for seeing and hearing a ghost?  Sadie appears to be close to Laura's age in her ghostly state and loved the twenties.  Not only does she want Laura to find the necklace, but she plans on living life to the fullest while she is still here.  She talks Laura into asking an American business man named Ed out on a date and wants her to dress in vintage 20's clothing and makeup.  She agrees to go along with the ridiculous plan because she wants to do something nice for Sadie.  She didn't really know her while she was living, but she is determined to make it up to her now.  

Throughout the story Laura and Sadie develop a real friendship and begin to use their talents to help one another.  They are a great team and with Sadie's help, Laura is finally able to get her personal and professional life back on track.  It was a nice story with some surprising twist at the end, but I was never engaged to the point in which I couldn't stop listening.  

I really enjoyed the portion of the book where Laura takes Ed on a tour of London.  I went to London last September and visited all of the same locations, so I could totally relate.  I just wish there had been more interactions with Ed.  Those were definitely the high points of this story.

I've heard great things about all of Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic books, so I will probably read the first book in that series the next time I want a Kinsella book.  Unless this is the ONLY Sophie book you haven't read, I would probably select one of her others before starting this one.


Monday, July 7, 2014

Marathon Monday: Fourth of July 5K - Bristol, VT


 My 9 year-old son and I ran a 5K in Bristol, VT on the Fourth of July.  I finished the first mile in 8:49, which was my fastest mile ever.  I was trying to keep up with Preston, but decided I couldn't keep up that pace if I wanted to finish without walking.  I slowed down a little and was sure he would eventually run out of gas.  Of course, that didn't happen.

I had a personal record for my 5K with a time of 28:46, but Preston finished in 27:58.  Now he wants me to sign him up for the 4 miler I'm running in September so he can school me again.  Clearly he takes after his Dad who finishes a full marathon in under three hours.  I'm just trying to finish my half marathon in less than 2:15:00.  Jay and Preston are all about trying to win.  I have more of a slow and steady approach and just try to improve with each race.