Reading, running, reindeer, etc.

These are the books I submitted for consideration for our book club to read next year: "Breathing Lessons," by Anne Tyler; "Fair and Tender Ladies," by Lee Smith; "The Stone Diaries," by Carol Shields; "Ellen Foster," by Kaye Gibbons; "Olive Kitteridge," by Elizabeth Strout; "Gilead," by Marilynne Robinson; and "Angela's Ashes," by Frank McCourt. "Angela's Ashes" is a great book and one I think would be a good fit for our club, but it's not really one of my favorites, as the others are. I have read them multiple times, I buy them at thrift stores and force them on friends, and I try to track down everything else their authors have written (only Kaye Gibbons has never disappointed). Rationally, I know that everyone has different tastes in books, but irrationally, it's hard for me to believe not everyone would love these as much as I do.

Amanda and I ran the Reindeer Fun Run on Saturday. It was a cold morning, a hilly course and I was quite unrested from a week of croupy Kirby kids, but it was a really fun event. I ran the 10k and by the 2-mile mark I knew my best miles were behind me. I also knew there were a lot of women ahead of me and I had no chance of winning anything. That let me chill out and more or less enjoy the rest of the run, even though my competitiveness always creeps in during races. I got a second wind around mile 4.5, as we wound through a cemetery, of all things, but it didn't last. Thank goodness the last half-mile was downhill. Unfortunately, the stroller-pushers and dog-walkers were finishing their 5k just as the 10k runners came in, so we had to weave our way through the crowd. I sprinted the last, like, three seconds to pass three women, on the off chance I was in the running for an age-group award (I wasn't), and almost bulldozed some people who had finished the race and then just stopped moving. The finish-line photos should be interesting. I finished in 46:33, a 7:30 pace. It felt disappointing at first, but in retrospect there's no reason I should have done better, so I'm satisfied.

I don't think I had started this blog when Kate and I ran the first Reindeer Fun Run, in 2007. A lot has changed in its five years -- it's in Aberdeen now, includes a 5k and a 10k, and had more than 2,000 participants this year. I never did get my T-shirt for that first race. I was not in good shape and when I tried to kick it to the finish, I misjudged the amount of steam I had left and nearly vomited my way down Broad Street. Kate beat me, but we were in separate age groups so I think we both won our age groups (at least I know I did because the medal was a Christmas tree ornament that I can see from where I'm sitting).

This finish-line photo of someone else from the 2007 Reindeer Fun Run makes me laugh because it shows me dry heaving in the background. I did that for the last half-mile.