New addition.

Happy days in Happy Runner-ville!

My brother and sister-in-law had their second child this week. A beautiful little girl. We couldn't be happier for them!

Here I am with my boys and new niece:

Yay for new babies! Always an exciting time.

Hope you're enjoying an exciting week, too!

Quality miles.

Last week, I continued to bounce back. I ran six times, easing into the week with two very short, easy runs that were meant simply to keep my blood flowing and my muscles moving.

On Wednesday, I ran my speedwork and felt like I was flying. This run rocked for two reasons: First, I actually got it together to run in the morning and, second, I ran my fast repeats at just under 5K pace, 6:48/mi. Sure, they were short repeats but there were 14 of them and I ran strong. Quality miles.

After a rest day on Thursday, I came back on Friday (morning, again!) with a 5.6 mile that included two miles at goal half-marathon pace. Saturday was my long run. It was windy and my route was hilly but I banged out 9.12 miles at a 9:13 pace. Yesterday was straight-up recovery with a quick, easy 3.6 miles.

In total, 28 miles for the week. Quality miles.

Ah, yes. Quality miles. I'm following this good advice:

And I'm finally starting to get excited for April's half marathon! It's about time.

I hope you all had a great weekend ~ and a good week ahead!

A Good American (review).

A Good American, by Alex George, is a sweeping story of the Meisenheimer family in America.

Told by James Meisenheimer, the book begins in Germany with the story of how Jette and Frederick -- James' grandparents -- met and fell in love. It follows the young couple on their journey out of Germany and to America, finally settling in Missouri in 1904. And that is where the bulk of the story takes place: the farming town of Beatrice, Missouri.

James tells the story of Jette and Frederick settling in Beatrice and having their first child, Joseph (James' father), and then their second, Rosa. They work hard and establish themselves in the town, slowly becoming more American. Just as they change, so does the world -- we see them deal with WWI, prohibition, racism, WWII, floods, and lots and lots of death.

Family members die, as happens in life. Since James is telling the story of his family from his vantage point of an elderly man, it makes sense that he tells of all those who die along the way. You might think the book would be sad with all this death but it isn't. A Good American is not an in-depth character study by any means. So we don't really get to know characters well enough to be saddened by their deaths. Even the two deaths that the most tragic weren't all that sad.

I thought the story of the Meisenheimer family and the immigrant experience in mid-western America was an interesting one and really did enjoy the book. Alex George is a good storyteller and that storytelling made me want to keep reading. Overall, I give this book a thumbs-up and recommend it!

Have you read A Good American? 

Have a great weekend!

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.

Running in the morning?

During the week I am an afternoon runner. Ideally, I'd run in the early evening, outside, but that doesn't happen. So, I run in the afternoon, on the treadmill. And I'm fine with that. It works.

Today, though, I shook things up. Like some sort of efficient running person.

I ran in the morning.

Intervals, no less.

Yup. That was me, sipping a quick pre-run smoothie, going straight from robe to running gear, warming up and then dropping down to run speedy intervals.

I wasn't sure how it was going to work out -- I hadn't even had a cup of coffee! -- but it worked out well. I ran a nice and easy mile or so and then ran one of my favorite speed workouts.

14  x 2 minute repeats that looked like this:

• 30 seconds @ 6:48 pace
• 60 seconds slow
• 30 seconds speeding back up to pace

I cooled down for a half mile or so and basked in my success.

But not for too long because I had to hurry up and get clean and dressed before our first playdate of the day arrived. I know, tough life. Hey, it's vacation week and my boys have a busy social schedule -- keeps them active and that keeps me happy.

Let me tell you: Getting a good, slightly tough workout in before starting the day was quite the feeling. I usually don't have that feeling until the weekends when I often run in the morning. So today it was a nice treat. I may have to try this more often!

Do you run in the morning? 

What workouts do you prefer to do in the morning rather than later in the day?

Thanks for stopping by!