Comfort Books

I'm a big fan of the Scottish writer, Alexander McCall Smith, who pens both the No. 1 Ladies Detective and Isabel Dalhousie series. It's not exactly high art or great literature, but it typically fills the reader up with "warm and fuzzy" good feelings - a type of "comfort read for the soul". The Miracle at Speedy Motors, the latest in the No. 1 Ladies Detective series, will be released on April 15. However, my dear friend Mary, who lives in the London and Glasgow, presented me with the U.K. version of the latest title when a group of us had lunch at the Isabel Stewart Gardner museum (which could be referred to as a "comfort museum for the soul").

Here is the book jacket of the UK edition:
I actually prefer the Random House book jacket designs they will use for the U.S. edition:


Mr. Smith will also be speaking at the Harvard Bookstore on Wednesday, April 16. And I am hoping to FINALLY have the opportunity to hear him speak. (I am very drawn to the Scottish culture/history plus I like men in kilts!). Of course it would be a thrill to meet the man (who inspired me to travel to Scotland and run the Edinburgh marathon) but I can only imagine that there will be hundreds of people at the event.

I love his description of the "Old Botswana ways...where people looked for and valued those invisible links that connected people, that made for belonging. We were all cousins, even if remote ones, of somebody'; we were all friends of friends , joined together by bonds that you might never se, but were there, sometimes every bit as strong as hoops of steel".

"Mr. Smith reveals with all his brilliant storytelling skill that there are very few troubles that cannot be solved with kindness, and very few dry seasons that do not end with welcome rain.

Okay, Jeff, it's not exactly Moby Dick, but it is VERY sweet! And sweet, simple and real works for me.

FINAL LONG RUN FOR BOSTON

At the Boston Marathon Start (Hopkinton) with Suburban Strider, Michelle, and DFMCers Mary and Lynn.

Celebrating our 21.4 mile FINAL LONG RUN at Dunkin Donuts. Mary was fortunate enough to be offered a lay at the Children's Hospital Cheering Section.

Followed by another type of run: A run to the dump (at least I was able to take a quick shower before the "reminder" to attend to this chore )

Good Luck to the rest of the DFMC Team on their long run tomorrow! I hope you are able to avoid heavy trash lifting after your workout.

"Have a Holly, Jolly Taper...It's the best time of the year"

Reality

Yep...looks as if the event is really happening and I'm signed up to do it:

1. The official 2008 marathon banners are posted around town


2. My official bib number and packet arrived in the mail today.

My 2008 bib number is 6066 - take out the "0" and I'm a running devil!

TREK New England

I'll try and give myself a break from running (4-5 days) right after the Boston Marathon. The timing is great as it allows me to spend quality time limping my way through family adventures during April vacation. However, after the short break I'll be bumping up the milage again as I have yet another fundraising/running adventure in May: 2008 TREK New England

The 2008 TREK USA Charity Relay for Kids is a 10-day running adventure through the six New England states from May 9 to May 18th, starting and ending in Boston, MA. The purpose of the annual TREK event is to raise money for The DMSE Children’s Fitness Foundation (DCFF), which supports non profit programs that use running as a primary vehicle to promote physical fitness in children.

There are four team levels (Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze) for TREK 2008 ranging from 3 days to 10 days. As in years past, each runner will be hand-picked and committed to running an average of 15 miles a day. In addition to the mileage commitment, each runner is required to raise a respective dollar amount depending on his or her team member status. All TREK team members will receive an online account through Active.com to assist in fundraising efforts.

We are not expected to run 15 miles all at once, but rather 3 small runs of approx. 5 miles each day. So it's kind of like 10 days of Reach the Beach (or in my case 5 days of Reach The Beach as I'm only doing half of the event). DFMC runner, Judith Forman, is a veteran treker who ran down the East Coast (Boston to Palm Beach) in 2007.

The REALLY exciting part is that Fit Girls has been selected to receive matching funds through the TREK USA Matching Funds Program. All this fundraising gets a bit tricky, but in this case I will be looking for local business and corporate support and not friends and family who have been so generous to my DFMC run (grand total is now over $7,000!)

It should be an interesting adventure!

And Life Goes On

I've been running and training for too many marathons over the years to expect any sort of special treatment from the family after my long runs. After 13 years of weekly long runs, the minute I step in to the house it's back to business of living in a busy home with three kids. I didn't do the group run with the rest of the DFMC gang in Waltham which would have required at least one hour of commuting time. That is precious time as I've got a grocery store trip and Easter Bunny duties on my list of chores today. So I ended up running two loops of 8 miles around my home in Medfield, allowing me to swing back home for a couple water breaks. Upon my return there were no high fives on yet another solid run, but instead a request to take the garbage to the dump. Great - can I at least take a few minutes to stretch and grab a gatorade! (Of course I'm VERY careful to keep those little gripes to myself!)

This reminded me of last November when I collected my running bag after finishing the New York City Marathon. I was soaking in the accomplishment with some of the other finishers wrapped in mylar blankets when my cell phone rang. When I picked it up the first order of business was, "Do you know where the top of the crock pot is?"

I finished New York in 3:12. And my children had beef stew for dinner.

Do Unto Otters

Ah...the first day of spring. A time to let go of old baggage and negative patterns and start fresh.

And as our family prepares to celebrate Easter, I've been thinking about changes I can make to improve my personal health and well-being - physically, emotionally and socially - with the well-being of my family, friends and community.

I think it all comes down to at least trying to live by the GOLDEN RULE. Quirky author and illustrator, Laurie Keller, wrote a hilarious book featuring the Golden Rule with the title, Do Unto Otters (ha!)

In her story Mr. Rabbit is concerned about his new neighbors, the Otter Family, who recently moved into town and he just doesn't know ANYTHING about these strange animals. Mr. Owl advises him to just "Do unto otters as you would have otters do unto you". This includes the saying please and thank you, sharing, being honest and "co-otter-ating". This book would be a great addition to child's Easter basket. (And there are a fair share of adults who need a reminder about the golden rule too!).

And here is Keller's list of "office otter-quette":

Charlotte Bronte runs Boston

There are so many far-fetched Austen/Bronte related titles out there that maybe some day I will pen a novel about Charlotte travelling through time to run the Boston Marathon (raising funds for DMFC, of course).

The Secret Adventure of Charlotte Bronte is the latest title for Bronte obsessed fans to add to their collection . Here is the review from Book Sense:

Laura Joh Rowland's newest book may be a departure from her San Ichiro mysteries, but this ripping good story is sure to delight her steadfast fans and win her legions more. In this fun and fast-paced story, the author of Jane Eyre tackles a mystery, which includes a charge of plagiarism and murder." -- Karen Keyte, Books Etc., Portland, ME

I love the idea of Charlotte romping around with Anne and Emily trying to solve mysteries PLUS an exciting romance with a Mr. Rochester type of guy. Silly, yes... but Reader, I'm buying it!