Summing up 2014

This post is brought to you by the letter B and the number 2014.

Best run?

I'm not sure I'm running often or regularly enough to be able to recall a "best" run...
Except.
Wait.
Yes there is one...

My first post-baby run. In the rain!

Oh wait, that was 2013?
Shucks.

Run-commuting, which is all I seem to have the time or energy for lately, just isn't that glamorous.

But there was that one run...

I got together with a group of co-workers and ran the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms!

Image cropped to protect the innocent

Touristy?
Oh hell, yes!
But it was a picture-perfect day for a run.


If you could sum up your year in a word, what would it be?

EXHAUSTION.
But also laughter.
And puke.
(My kid's. Not mine...)


Best read

Despite the exhaustion (or maybe because of it) I have done an incredible amount of reading this year... Amazon claims I downloaded nearly 3 dozen e-books, and I can attest to having read almost all of them. And the range is quite wide. I read through almost all of the Number One Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. I read cooking and travel books. I read (and quit reading) parenting books. I read management theory books...

Of that melange, some of my favorite reads, in no particular order, were:

• The Milk Memos: How Real Moms Learned to Mix Business with Babies-and How You Can, Too
• Lonesome Dove: A Novel
• A Fork In The Road: Tales of Food, Pleasure and Discovery On The Road (Lonely Planet Travel Literature)
• And I just started Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover: The Fourth Rule of Scoundrels (Rules of Scoundrels Book 4)

But if I had to pick one favorite of the bunch, it would be The Goldfinch: A Novel. Donna Tartt's new book was so compelling that I stayed up late at night to read "just one more page," even when I was bleary-eyed with sleep deprivation.



Best "in my kitchen" recipe

My whole cooking style has had to adjust to a new schedule and set of demands. So I have a many new favorite week-night recipes, and I've taken to roasting lots of vegetables on the weekend so there's less work to do during the week. (I especially love Yotam Ottolenghi's cauliflower with saffron and olives.)

But I've posted few of those new gems. So, by default, this year's winner is apple cake.

Best race experience?

I only ran one race this year... and I hated it.

Even the Independence Day 5k tradition, which survived the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, fell victim to new parent exhaustion and stroller unfriendly race rules.

But I did find an incredible new running group, and got some speed back!


Most popular post?

Quality clearly trumps quantity.

Despite my anemic post record this year, the blog continues to be popular.

DIY Halloween Running Costumes and Random Acts of Kindness generated enough traffic to land them in the top 10 posts ever on this blog!




Thank you all for sticking around in 2014.

Happy Running!!!!!

Weekend reading

With no runs on the schedule, I've done more reading this weekend than usual (which is saying something given that I devour about a book a week).

In an attempt to "do the right thing" in treating my plantar fasciitis, I swapped this morning's planned 12 mile run for almost 2 hours on the stationary bike.

(Have we talked about how boring it is to spend 2 hours on a stationary bike? No? Well. It's boring. By the time I was done, doing laundry sounded like an exciting change of pace.)

Fortunately I had a stack of good books in easy reach. The one (only?) benefit of equipment-based workouts over being outdoors is that I can catch up on my reading. Balancing a book while running would elicit funny looks from my neighbors. Plus, I'm not coordinated enough to pull off reading-and-running. I'd trip and break something.

But I'd have to be awfully drunk to fall off a stationary bike. Even while reading a book.*

So here's what I've been working on while pedaling away this weekend:

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time is my book club's next book. I am not sure I would have picked this up otherwise, but I'm halfway through and so far I really enjoy both the science and the storytelling.


I just finished Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity. This was definitely not a beach-reading book. The issues are complex, and the book is beautifully and compellingly written, even when it chronicles tragedy and loss. Fortunately my stationary bike is in my living room, so no one but Peanut notices when I make shocked faces/noises about my reading or my eyes well up with tears... If I were in a gym I'd just pretend it was sweat.


Also, last month author Liana Chin contacted me to let me know that her book Mom's First 5k would be available (for a limited time) on Amazon for free. I downloaded a copy, and finally started reading it this weekend. While I'm no longer in the beginner ranks, I recall some of the struggles Chin talks about. (I will post a full and detailed review once I finish.)

And last, but not least, I thought I knew most of the craziest Olympic history stories. But there are a few I missed...

*PS - Hardcore HIIT devotees will probably roll their eyes at my reading-while-working-out. I figure weekends are for long slow distance (running) so that translates to long slow (boring) biking for me right now. A variety of paces, distances, and intensities is key to a well-rounded training program.

Do you ever read while you work out?
What type of reader are you: one-at-a-time or multiple books going at once?
Any reading recommendations to share?

Recommended reading

This week's recommended reading theme: good deeds

• Science proves that happiness comes from giving to others.
• One man has taken on that challenge by giving away wads of cash to strangers. Lest you think this is just a publicity stunt, the random philanthropist remains completely anonymous.
• For ideas on how to practice more random acts of kindness every day, read Lifehack's list or learn how to be an angel.
• Last month, at an Ohio high school track meet, a Meghan Vogel saw another runner collapse. Rather than speed past, Vogel stopped to help the fallen runner across the finish line.

Source: dispatch.com via Beth on Pinterest

What good deed have you read about or witnessed lately?

For more book reviews and other recommended reading, see Book Reviews on the Run.