Roundup

If you're interested, or a glutton for punishment and can't get enough of my drivel, I posted a roundup review on my book blog of a bunch of books I've read this past few months that I didn't like enough for them to merit their own posts.

On to more excitement.  Another roundup of sorts.

I. Running--I'm still running again.  :)

**I ran 7.7 pretty lackluster miles on Saturday.  It was a gorgeous day, great for running, I was really looking forward to the run...but it was kind of meh.  I never really got a groove going.  My knee did OK, feet were hurting some (I'm thinking I'm right about to the point where I'm starting to need new shoes...shoe fairy...where ARE you?).  I took Powerade in a water bottle, and it was total froth by the time I was halfway done.  Ew.  I'll stick with water.  My dog ran along with me, but he ran about 8.2 miles with all of the times we went diving back and forth across the bike path after spotting a squirrel.  I was really not his biggest fan by the time we got back.  I didn't worry about my pace, which was a good thing, because it was something like 10:44 min miles. 

**I'm training for a 10 mile run Thanksgiving weekend.  I don't really need to add mileage to what I was running to train for the half marathon, but I bumped up my miles per week on the training plan in preparation for when I start training for the marathon in May (LaCrosse, WI, marathon wins.  Maybe I'll do the Go! St. Louis half in April...we'll see).  Anyway, I was really questioning that decision (increasing the mileage) Monday morning when I had to run 5 miles instead of 2. 

I kind of laid there after the alarm went off.  Really?  Get up?  At 4:45?  Maybe I'll run later.  After J's party.  Sure...  Luckily, I decided to turn on my phone and look at facebook, and right about then I got a text from a friend: "Off for a run!" and that decided it for me.  After all that, though, I only had time for 3.5 miles.  I was still mad at the dog for Saturday, but I don't like running in the dark alone, so he got to come along.  This run felt much better than Saturday's.  My target pace was 10:24; I just took it nice and easy and ended up with a 10:08 pace.  Go figure. 

What's the difference between the two runs?  I couldn't tell you. 

II. School

I always usually love my job, but yesterday was one of those days when I really loved my job.  Every day, I read a section of a chapter book to my class.  I love to read.  I loved to read to my boys.  I love books.  I want, more than anything, for my students to develop a love of reading.  The first book we read was The Swiss Family Robinson.  They loved it.  Lots of adventure.  Every year, I also read The Indian in the Cupboard. 

I read them the books that I read to my boys, but this year I also wanted to read them some of the books that I loved as a girl.  So after The Swiss Family Robinson, we moved on to Little House in the Big Woods.  The first chapter or so, I was wondering what the heck I'd been thinking.  It was kind of slow.  Not much happened.  But then I started to see some great connections we could talk about between the family marooned on a previously uninhabited island and the family living alone in the middle of Wisconsin with no one around.  And the kids really have taken to the book.  Yesterday, as I was ending for the day (I always try to leave off right as something is about to happen), the kids were saying, "No!  Can't you just read a little more?"  (Love it!)

"No," I told them.  "We have to do math."

"Ohhh," said E.  "I hope this book never gets over.  I love it!"

I don't need any kind of award or recognition for the rest of my life: that was enough right there. :)