Mini Book Reviews: October 2023

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received an ARC of Resilient from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. 

Sometimes my book choices are dictated by what lands in my library inbox. Other times, I might get a NetGalley prerelease to review that I really want to read. Such was the case this month. My favorite read of the month was the eye-opening autobiography How to Say Babylon. If you've read Educated, The Sound of Gravel, or The Glass Castle, you'll find similarities in the telling of a tale of growing up in a dysfunctional and authoritarian household. It's been a while since I've read these books, yet they have stuck with me. I find it amazing how these authors have emerged from their childhoods as productive adults. 

Hopefully you will find something here to interest you!

Dancing in the Dark

My busy fall is finally winding down as I'm home for the first weekend in about a month. In the meantime, the days have gotten shorter, the leaves more colorful, and Halloween is just around the corner! I've been really active and after tomorrow, should wind up with just under 100 miles for the month. I'm always so grateful for what my body lets me do!

Hello, My Pretty!

Disclaimer: As a member of the Brooks Run Happy Team, I received a complimentary pair of the Brooks Ghost Max in exchange for social shares. I really do love them!

So much prettiness again this week! My sister and I wrapped up our trip to Banff and headed home on Monday. Luckily, we had decent weather in Chicago, which helped ease the landing. Work was insane, but I was still riding the wave of a nice trip with my sister. Even better, our fall colors are peeking right now, so there's plenty of beauty right here at home. We headed up to the lake on Saturday where the colors are spectacular. There was a little bit of sunshine, but the clouds blew in and kind of dimmed the glow. It was still pretty for my run!

Wrapping up the Week in Banff

Buckle up, pour yourself a drink, get a snack, because I'm recapping not only my experience spectating the Chicago Marathon, but also the first part of my weekend in Banff. My sister and I traveled to Canada for our 11th annual sister trip. It's hard to keep topping our previous trips, but our long weekend in Banff may have been our best trip yet. I have so many photos and it was hard to pick just a few to share here. Oh, and I had a big run on the Ice Age Trail in there too! And did I mention I met Des Linden?

What a week!

Big Weekend

It's marathon weekend in Chicago and even though I'm not running the marathon, it's still a big weekend! So many RHT members are running Chicago this year as well as a lot of local friends. I've got my marathon tracking app loaded up and I don't remember ever having as many runners listed as in years past. It's so much fun! I ran the 5k on Saturday--see below--and on Monday, I'm going to a meet and greet with Des Linden. My friend Kristin came to town to spectate with me! 

Mini Book Reviews: September 2023

 Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received a copy of Penelope in Retrograde from Amazon First Reads in exchange for my honest review.

It's been a busy month for me, as I shared in my Weekly Rundown, but I always find time to read! I read an interesting variety of books, but my hands-down favorite was Shark Heart. I think this would be such a good book club book--the story is unusual and there's a lot to think about. I also loved Mile Marker Zero--having visited Key West in the 1980s before big money and tourism changed the island vibe-- and it kind of made me sad to see it lose its free-spirited feeling.

So Many Miles, So Little Time

I runfess...oops, I apologize that I haven't been runfessing or linking up for coffee lately. Life has gotten busy and with the exception of the Weekly Rundown, blogging has taken a back seat. Since returning home from Brooks Hype Fest, Brooks has been keeping us RHT members busy. We've been sharing lots of photos from that weekend. We've also been posting about our latest gear drop and are awaiting some new exciting shoes that are coming out soon. The Chicago Marathon is next weekend, and those of us RHT members who aren't running are planning some meet-ups and a cheer station. It's a good kind of busy and it's really injected some good energy into running for me!

In addition to running related commitments, I've been asked to participate in a big project at work, a Zero Suicide initiative for my large healthcare system, which will include developing policies and protocols to help guide providers to prevent suicides in patients and intervene when there is the threat of suicide. It's a daunting task, but a worthwhile one. 

On the health front, I am definitely feeling better and weaning the steroids slowly. I don't want the flare to flare up again. I have to admit that I haven't minded the steroids at all. In fact, since starting them, I feel like I am 10 years younger. I wish I felt like this all the time! And speaking of steroids, Cocoa and I road tripped to Madison this week to see the dermatologist at the UW vet clinic. In the doggy world, the derms manage skin, allergies, and ears. I was so impressed with the plan the dermatologist came up with. Fingers crossed we can avoid surgery. 

Finally, I'm thrilled to wrap up September with decent mileage. October looks to be another high mileage month as I'm kicking off the Mammoth Challenge today.