Let's start with Reading:
So far I've read 25 books this year, not bad! I didn't set a goal for 2016, but I've read a LOT of great books in that group of 25, and as such the reading has been easy. It's nice when you don't feel like you're getting hung up on a lot of slow reads or DNFs.
It's hard for me to pick favorites, but a few contenders for the "best so far" of this year would be What Alice Forgot , Everyone Brave is Forgiven , and Alice & Oliver.
Running:
I went back in my Nike+ history and found that I've run 426.5 miles this year so far--woohoo! I have never kept track of my yearly mileage or set a monthly/yearly mileage goal, but I went further back to 2015 and found that I ran 364.2 miles in the first 6 months of that year. I think this Four Seasons Challenge is definitely helping me stay motivated! Last year whenever I finished a big race, my 70-100 mile/month frequency would plummet down to 25-40 miles/month if I had nothing to train for. Now that there's always a race on the horizon, I'm getting out there more often and am feeling more consistently race-ready.
Two of the Four Seasons races are done...the next is in just a few weeks (Shoreline Half on July 16), though I'm using it as a training run for the September Rochester Marathon. Marathon training is going REALLY well, but the July training schedule amps up the mileage quite a bit, so check in with me again in August to see if I'm still so enthusiastic. ;)
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Me at the 19K finish line back in May...yeah, hoping I can look like that at the marathon finish too! |
My most significant news of late is that I am going back to school. Yup, again! A bachelors and a masters didn't seem like enough, so I decided to add an associates degree (haha). This fall, I'll be starting classes to get my degree in Fitness and Recreation Management (with a concentration in Personal Training). The eventual goal is to get a job as a personal trainer once Tater Tot is in school full-time. That's not for several more years, so it gives me time to spread out the coursework. You can get a personal trainer certification without going to college for it, but doing it that way does not require any hands-on experience, which I would like to get before heading into the workforce. The degree requires an internship, so I'm pretty stoked about the opportunity to gain experience in the field before I (hopefully) get a job!
This is a huge career change for me (you may remember I was in higher ed administration before), but one that I am extremely excited about!
That's where I'm at these days. I know I post less frequently, but I do so love my blog and all my bloggy friends--I hope that, as always, you'll stick with me through this new busy season in my life! :) While I know I'll have to trade some pleasure reading time for textbook reading time this fall, I have such a long list of excellent TBR books that I know I won't be ignoring it completely!
How's your 2016 going so far??