Monday, August 04, 2008

Dub Crawl 4-Miler

So I did the Dub Crawl 4-Miler last Thursday night with JT instead of going to WW. It didn't really go as planned. I hardly jogged any of it. I walked probably 3/4 of the race. I started out fine, too fast, but fine, and then I hit the hill. Between mile marker 1 and 2, it was uphill. And after that, there were rolling hills the rest of the way (or it seemed like that anyway). I was not prepared for hills.

Actually, I wasn't prepared at all for the race. I had been jogging semi-regularly (at least 2x per week) for the month of July and doing between 3 and 4 miles each time I jogged, so I thought I would be fine for the race. I wasn't expecting to break any speed records or anything, but I thought I would at least be able to jog/walk the entire 4 miles. But no. I ended up jog/walking the first 2 miles and walking the last 2 miles. I still managed to finish in just over an hour - 1:02 - which wasn't too bad. I had hoped to finish in just under an hour. But, whatever, it works for me. At least I was out doing something instead of sitting around on my ass.

I have realized, after doing this race and walking it, that I will definitely need to train for the New Albany Walking Classic 10K if I hope to finish in a reasonable time. Sustaining a 15 min./mile pace walking was an effort for the Dub Crawl. I don't know that I could've kept on going for another 2.2 miles required for a 10K. I need to keep that in mind.

Friday, August 01, 2008

Book Review: Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann

I think I hated it. Well, I didn't really hate it. I was extremely dissatisfied with the ending. I like happy endings and the book definitely did not have a happy ending. I was mad at one of the main characters for giving up on her life in the end. She got screwed over by people who were supposed to care for her and just took it. I wanted her to kick them to curb and return to feisty girl who left her hometown to move to NYC because she wanted more than a husband, kids and house with a white picket fence and didn't want to settle. But in the end, that's what she did. She gave up and settled. It really irritated me (clearly).

In any case, it was a good read despite my dissatisfaction with the ending, if that makes sense. I would recommend the book to anyone who hasn't read it. I got absorbed in it and had a hard time putting it down. I needed to know how the book ended.

For those who have never heard of this book, it's about three women who move to NYC and get involved in show business in the late '40s. The book follows their rises and falls throughout their lives as they become friends and rivals and move from Broadway to Hollywood. Dolls = pills, green, yellow and red. Apparently, it was a very popular book back in the day when our moms were in high school and was made into a movie (which doesn't really follow the book from what I hear). I had never heard of it.

If anyone is wondering why I decided to post a book review, it's because I've joined a book club. So far, it's been a lot of fun. Most of the people in the book club are girls I went to law school with, but then there are also several girls who are friends of the girls I went to law school with. It's a good group. We meet about every 4-6 weeks at a different person's house. The hostess gets to choose the book and I think it has to be fiction.

Valley of the Dolls was my second book club. Our next book is Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I don't know much about the book yet, except that the book/movie "The Hours" was inspired by it. If you look to the right, I'm keeping a list of the books that I'm reading for book club. If you click on the pictures, it will take you to a synopsis of the book. Middlesex was my first book, but I haven't finished yet which is why it's still on the list.