Tuesday, January 21, 2014

My "3 R's" and a "W"

You know what always bugged me? Being the grammar nut I am, the "3 R's" drive me nuts. Two of the three words don't even start with R, and the one of them doesn't even really have the R sound...you have to butcher it into some weird slangy version of itself to make it work!

But of course, when something sticks, it sticks. Here are my "3 R's" lately.

Reading:
I've gotten through quite a few books so far this school year...I'm well on my way to my 30-book goal. The next on my list is Hollow City, which is Ransom Riggs's followup to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, which I adored.

I'm pretty annoyed with American Psycho. As much as I enjoyed it as social commentary, I'm baffled by its purposeful ambiguity. I get it, we don't really know if Bateman is a serial killer or not. But I just wish there were some more solid clues to go by!


After picking-up-and-putting-down The Book Thief a few times, I finally finished it over winter break and truly enjoyed it. Death's perspective and way with words was immensely distracting at first, which is why I abandoned the book a few times, but eventually the florid language settled down and I was able to get into the story.

Writing:
Most bloggers are writers; that's why we're drawn to blogging. I'm sad to admit I haven't finished an actual manuscript in years (I've spent the last two editing the last one I finished), but I'm finally taking some steps to find an agent and maybe get published. Sometimes we need to face our fears and put our guts on display.
It's time to buckle down, put first things first, and get back into writing more consistently.
Running:
I hit a milestone this week! It's the first time I've ever had a bruised toenail! I'm so proud!
Can you tell?! (It's the little purple dot on my second toe!)
If I'm being honest, I must admit all my runs have been tough lately. My pace has slowed down significantly. When I was doing the summer run streak, I took 40-60 seconds off my pace; now I'm back up almost 90 seconds, despite doing speed-work and cross-training! I know adding distance and running on fatigued legs is probably the cause, but I'm pretty discouraged at how slow (for me) I feel lately.
MLK run...6.5 miles of lead-legs.
All I can do is keep chugging away. I know the tides will turn again.

Weekend:
We spent the long weekend enjoying the weather. Matt had a SUP race and three of our friends also paddled! Sean came to paddle straight from the half marathon some of my Ragnar teammates ran!
Super happy for them!
I was impressed. Everyone placed, which was awesome, and Matt came in first overall!

Tell me about your "3 R's"!
Did you have a long weekend in honor of MLK?

ABK

24 comments:

  1. I don't read (other than blogs) as much as I would like - mostly just at night when I can't sleep.
    Running as actually been going pretty well these days - good since I have some super long runs coming up.
    We did have a 3-day weekend and it was awesome!

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    1. At school we have a daily reading challenge, so I get 15 minutes every day to read quietly. It has definitely saved my reading habit!

      I'm glad running is going well!

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  2. Congrats on bruising your toenail ;) Mine fell off a while ago - I think I kicked a wall?

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    1. Isn't it funny that runners can congratulate each other over a bruised toenail?!

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  3. Mine are Reading, Running, and Relaxing. :-)

    Your pace will turn around again...we all hit the slumps....never fear girl!!!

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    1. Ooh relaxing...that's a good R to spend time on!!

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  4. Ohhh a manuscript!! I hope you'll share some of the details on the blog :)

    I read for at least 30 minutes every night before bed, but I haven't read any new books lately. Whenever I'm a little bit stressed I always go right back to my old favorites.

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    1. My reluctance to let anyone know what I write/read what I write is what has kept me from trying too hard to find a market for myself. Ah. Stupid complex.

      There are few books I can actually reread all the way through...but you and I both know HP is one such series of them! lol

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  5. I really wish I could send you a virtual fist pump right now on that bruised toe. ;) My first one was also on my second toe after a steep downhill half marathon. Funny enough I don't get them after full marathons?!?!?

    My Three R's: Running, Resting & Recipes!!! :D

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    1. Haha, you are fantastic!! Why do black toenails make me so happy all of a sudden?! I'm not sure what caused mine. It just sprung up randomly!

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  6. I watched American Psycho for the first time a few weeks ago. I had to go to imdb.com to figure out what the heck it was about and to understand it. I was so confused. My first mistake though, was not knowing it wasn't going to be a straight forward movie. I was taking everything so LITERALLY, and I was getting very incredulous... So yeah, I had to actually read about what the movie was about after I watched it! NICE JOB on the toenail!!!

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    1. I haven't seen the movie in so long (even though I own it) that I don't actually remember how it was structured. I plan to re-watch it this weekend while Matt is out of town (he hates gore/horror). The book is super disturbing. I can't really recommend it haha.

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  7. Oh my gosh! You don't even want to see my toes. They are disgusting. Congratulations on your first discolored toenail! ;-)

    Good luck on your manuscript! I can't wait to read about how it turns out. I've finished two books so far this year and I am almost done with a third.

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    1. I always was so skeptical of runners' feet until now! Now I believe gross feet really exist!

      Nice job on your books! 3 so far this year...that's something to be proud of!

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  8. I got my first black toenail back in November. I'm pretty sure that it was from running in old, worn running shoes, because I wasn't even putting on that much mileage at the time.
    My three r's: reading, running and riding (as in horseback). I am a writer, too, but you're right, that one doesn't count. :-)

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    1. It's funny how even the most seasoned of runners sometimes avoid the black toenails we hear so much about! But yeah, I wasn't doing anything different/harder/longer, so I'm not sure where mine came from!

      I love riding horses! That's a great R!

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  9. I am starting to build my reading list back up. I was such a slacker last year! The Book Thief is next on my list!!! How did you like the Cuckoo's Calling? I want to read that as well!
    Yay for a manuscript! I would love to read it! I have a high school friend who is working on one. She let me read it and I was so impressed. I told her she would be famous one day!! It's amazing how creative we can be!!!

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    1. Cuckoo's Calling was good! I loved the writing style; the mystery itself was intriguing. I'm not a huge fan of mysteries usually, but it kept my engaged and I finished it quickly!

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  10. I got my first bruised nail during my half marathon back in November. The shoe guy at my local running store said two things cause bruised nails - your shoes are too small (mine weren't) or the downhills killed ya (yes! this was it for me, there were a lot of hills on that run). He said the nail would eventually fall off or at least a layer of it would. But, I'm almost 2 months out from the race now and it looks about the same (at least it doesn't hurt anymore). I thought it was a badge of honor too but now I'm tired of it. I hope it goes back to normal eventually!

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    1. It's weird because I purposely wear my shoes a half size bigger for running, so they're nice and roomy, and I haven't been doing any more downhill stuff than usual! So it seems like it came out of nowhere! I don't think it's bad enough to make me lose the nail...we'll see! Yours is sure to grow out eventually!

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  11. My baby toenail is about to fall off from running. I feel like I earned my badge too. I've been reading a personal finance book, running when I can, and hmmmm, relaxing by getting back into yoga. :)

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    1. Congrats on that baby toenail! Ugly runners' feet for the win!

      Mm yoga...that sounds lovely!

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  12. You should see my hubby's 2 big toes...it looks like he choose to paint just those 2 purple...ouch

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    1. Oy! I'm glad mine wasn't as serious as that!

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