Friday, July 1, 2016

A Midpoint Check-In for 2016

Hello, reader/runner friends!  Today marks the first day of the second half of 2016, so I thought it would be fun to check in with how I'm doing on the reading and running fronts so far this year.  I have also been admittedly absent around here lately, so it serves as a way for me to let you know what's going on in my little corner of the world these days.

Let's start with Reading:

So far I've read 25 books this year, not bad!  I didn't set a goal for 2016, but I've read a LOT of great books in that group of 25, and as such the reading has been easy.  It's nice when you don't feel like you're getting hung up on a lot of slow reads or DNFs.

It's hard for me to pick favorites, but a few contenders for the "best so far" of this year would be What Alice Forgot, Everyone Brave is Forgiven, and Alice & Oliver.


Running:

I went back in my Nike+ history and found that I've run 426.5 miles this year so far--woohoo!  I have never kept track of my yearly mileage or set a monthly/yearly mileage goal, but I went further back to 2015 and found that I ran 364.2 miles in the first 6 months of that year.  I think this Four Seasons Challenge is definitely helping me stay motivated!  Last year whenever I finished a big race, my 70-100 mile/month frequency would plummet down to 25-40 miles/month if I had nothing to train for.  Now that there's always a race on the horizon, I'm getting out there more often and am feeling more consistently race-ready.

Two of the Four Seasons races are done...the next is in just a few weeks (Shoreline Half on July 16), though I'm using it as a training run for the September Rochester Marathon.  Marathon training is going REALLY well, but the July training schedule amps up the mileage quite a bit, so check in with me again in August to see if I'm still so enthusiastic.  ;)
Me at the 19K finish line back in May...yeah, hoping I can look like that at the marathon finish too!
Personally:

My most significant news of late is that I am going back to school.  Yup, again!  A bachelors and a masters didn't seem like enough, so I decided to add an associates degree (haha).  This fall, I'll be starting classes to get my degree in Fitness and Recreation Management (with a concentration in Personal Training).  The eventual goal is to get a job as a personal trainer once Tater Tot is in school full-time.  That's not for several more years, so it gives me time to spread out the coursework.  You can get a personal trainer certification without going to college for it, but doing it that way does not require any hands-on experience, which I would like to get before heading into the workforce.  The degree requires an internship, so I'm pretty stoked about the opportunity to gain experience in the field before I (hopefully) get a job!

This is a huge career change for me (you may remember I was in higher ed administration before), but one that I am extremely excited about!

That's where I'm at these days.  I know I post less frequently, but I do so love my blog and all my bloggy friends--I hope that, as always, you'll stick with me through this new busy season in my life!  :)  While I know I'll have to trade some pleasure reading time for textbook reading time this fall, I have such a long list of excellent TBR books that I know I won't be ignoring it completely!

How's your 2016 going so far??

8 comments:

  1. Wow - awesome change! You sound really excited about going back to school - and doing something you love to do :-)

    Tanya Patrice
    Girlxoxo.com

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    1. Thanks! Yes, it's exciting, and a little scary, but mostly exciting :) It feels weird to be 32 and starting over, career-wise. But if the circumstances allow for it, now's the time!

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  2. I'm currently reading Everyone Brave is Forgiven and I need to finish it this weekend! I've got to start my book club book. So many books, so little time...

    I'm like you--even with a bachelors and masters degree, there's always more learning. I'm seriously considering yoga teacher training. My husband won't even respond when I mention it...

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    1. Yes, always more learning to do! My husband is supportive, mostly because he just spent 7 years finishing his PhD, so now it's my turn. :)

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  3. Good luck with going back to uni, Kelly! :) That's so exciting.

    Also, seriously impressed by your running. My parents are both big runners, and I'm always impressed by them and anyone else who does it because I cannot run even 100 yards, I'm useless. ;)

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    1. Thanks Rinn! I used to be a horrendous runner, really. It took a long time for me to get to this point! :)

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  4. Best of luck with going back to school! It sounds like this could be a great opportunity for you.

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    1. Thank you! I can't wait to see what this field has in store for me.

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