Penny Thoughtful: All Things Books and Running

  • Puzzlin’ Part 2

    Puzzlin’ Part 2

    Today I want to talk a little about why I enjoy puzzles and why I selected the puzzles I mentioned in part 1. Having started on one of the puzzles, I think some of this post will take on a little more nuance than if I had dived in right after writing the first part.…

  • The Home Gym

    The Home Gym

    For just over 11 years, I was a member of Pivotal Fitness. I have described before how the act of joining this gym back when I first started teaching played an instrumental role in starting my transformation as a runner. Over those 11 years, my habits at the gym changed but I still made enough…

  • Mountains to Main Street Half Marathon 2021 – Race Recap

    Mountains to Main Street Half Marathon 2021 – Race Recap

    Race #186Half Marathon #682021 Race #22021 Half Marathon #2South Carolina Half Marathon #49Mountains to Main Street Half Marathon #3 Originally I had planned to make this a sub-1:50 half marathon, as close to 1:45 as I could as a step towards a half marathon PR. After a month off from dedicated training thanks to Covid…

  • A Daily Streak – One Year In

    A Daily Streak – One Year In

    Yesterday, on a day full of so much stress and chaos, marked the completion of a year of running a minimum of at least one mile every day; most days I easily surpassed that. I never thought that I would join the ranks of those runners yet now I cannot see myself as any other…

  • Puzzlin’ – Part 1

    Puzzlin’ – Part 1

    Back during the initial lockdown phase of the pandemic, jigsaw puzzles experienced a resurgence in popularity. I even spent a little money purchasing a couple puzzles, one for my dad as a birthday gift and one for myself because I have always had a soft spot for jigsaw puzzles. I wanted to buy more but…

  • Chicago Again

    Chicago Again

    For a while I did not know whether I would run a marathon this year, mainly due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic and human response. (I know that because of that fall marathons may still change formats.) At the beginning of this year I stated my goal of chasing my half marathon PR>…

  • Avoiding Burnout

    Avoiding Burnout

    A few months ago I wrote this post. Amongst several unfinished, handwritten entries, this one fell through the cracks so I am bringing it back now. Back in early February, I reached an unfamiliar point. I woke up on a Thursday morning, utterly drained, emerging from a dream, a nightmare, that left me worse off…

  • Thoughts About a Run

    Thoughts About a Run

    On the last Friday in March I set out on a run, only 4 miles. Nothing special. I did not have high hopes for the run since South Carolina decided to bring mid 80s temperatures with plenty of humidity on the fifth day of Spring. I also wondered about my choice to run what I…

  • Just Before Sleep Thoughts

    Just Before Sleep Thoughts

    Most nights my mind swarms with thoughts about a wide variety of topics. Lately, those thoughts have drifted to Spring Break and the desire to go somewhere other than my house. After spending a week and a inside going nowhere and seeing no one thanks to Covid, another week of “staycation” did not sound appealing.…

  • Developing Patience

    Developing Patience

    As a child and young adult, I would never have used the word “patient” to describe myself, far from it. I had a low tolerance for others who struggled to finish things at the pace I considered normal. Obviously, this sort of mindset works detrimentally in my chosen profession and perhaps contributed to my struggles…

Got any book recommendations?