4 Books.

I love books. I've always been a reader, and I love escaping into new stories or learning new information. One day I will need a bookshelf like this in my house to hold all of my books (I'm not a believer in electronic books, I'm old-fashioned, and I guess that means I'm mean to trees too).

It was really difficult for me to pick only four books for this day of the challenge, but here's a good cross-section on some of my favorites:

1. The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir. In the last ~5 years or so, I've become fascinated by Elizabeth I - one of the first females to rule England alone. I've since read every book about her (and many of her family members) that we have in our library, but this one is my favorite, so I even own my own copy. Elizabeth is arguably the best, most successful monarch that England has ever had to date and made differences during her reign that have affected Europe since. The church that Elizabeth established in England remains in place today. She was a formidable ruler and extremely intelligent, and through her reign, she changed history for women worldwide. 

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. An amazing story that I've been in love with since I was 12 (when I first saw the new movie and when I discovered it was a book, knew there couldn't be anything better). I love Jane Austen's style and wit in her writing, and this is my favorite book written by her. I love the story and how much attention she pays to each character, making them each have their own personality, whether or good or bad. Pride and Prejudice is a "laugh out loud" read - the Benet family is hysterical. I wish that more people would give the book a chance... I enjoy re-reading it at least once a year.

3. Harry Potter by JK Rowling. If you know me at all, you knew this would be on the list! I think the Harry Potter series is genius - no other author of a series has ever had that much success. JK Rowling wrote the books simultaneously, and wove details from the first book into the last book and so on and so forth. The manner in which the books are written and the details that are included blow my mind every time I re-read the books (which is often). The fact that she created a complete world with everything thought out down to the last detail is pure genius.

4. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I was first introduced to this book in one of my psychology courses at Miami. Even though the book is about science and psychology, it's presented in such a fascinating, well-written manner that you could easily sit down and finish this book in a single sitting! In this book, Gladwell researches the adaptive unconscious and how our mental processes work so quickly off of very little information - for example : stereotypes. One thing I love about the book is the section that he wrote with marital relationship expert and psychologist John Gottman. After listening to a married couple have a conversation for an hour, Gottman can predict with 95% accuracy whether that couple will still be married in 15 years. It's amazing! I hope that one day I become that expert in the field of psychology that I pursue. Gladwell explores the fact that when Gottman listens to couples for no more than 15 minutes, his judgements/predictions of the couple's longevity diminishes to 90% (which reflects Gladwell's ideas about unconscious impressions). I definitely recommend this book!

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Well, I am SORE from actual rowing yesterday! Even though we only rowed for ~1 hour my lats got quite the workout! I'm surprised that made me more sore than any of the erging that I've done all week but that just goes to show... ergs do NOT float.

After my easy run yesterday, I decided to put in some effort today and did a 4-mile "tempo" run. Most of my runs are easy-paced so I did 3 hard miles and 1 cool-down mile. It was definitely an "effort" workout in this heat - already 79 degrees when I went running! Made sure to stretch out and drink chocolate milk afterwards. Chocolate milk has the best 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio, which is very important to take in 15 minutes post-workout. This ratio helps prevent too much muscle breakdown, and stimulates protein synthesis. Chocolate milk may not sound appetizing after a workout, but surprisingly a nice cold glass of it is GREAT. It also has a good ratio of sugars and even electrolytes (like salt). I usually don't do well with dairy and use chocolate almond milk, but am slowly reintroducing regular chocolate milk for post-workout refueling. I know it will be important as I prepare for my marathon and bike race over the summer. So far, so good!

After running I did 8-minute abs and 8-minute arms. I finally got a second 5-lb weight which is making 8-minute arms a lot more efficient!

I gave Alex this hat over the holidays but he couldn't bring it with him this summer so he's letting me give it some attention for him :) Really hope to be at that 15k this year!

Also, this has been my fave accompaniment to a book on a hot afternoon. So good.

See ya tomorrow!!!