Book Review: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

Hello readers!

I've decided to do a bit different format for the blog from now on than how I used to do it. To be honest, my life is kind of boring and if I were to stumble onto the blog and read a few posts, I'd probably quickly click off. I figure if I get bored writing about it, you all probably get bored reading about it. Although, this format may be just as boring, but we'll see. 

If you remember back for my New Year's resolution, one of my goals was to read 40 books this year. I'm already eight books in but I thought it would be kind of fun to pass on suggestions of what I've read by doing a book review every time I finish a book (there will still be a little bit about my life if interesting stuff happens, don't worry). I figure people are always asking for suggestions on books so why not give them an honest review of ones I read.

The first book to hit this list is Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.

It probably helps that I am in a running phase right now but even if I wasn't, this book is really motivational. It took a lot of time, and a little research, to convince myself that this isn't a fiction book. It's based around a tribe called the Tarahumara who live in Mexico's Copper Canyons but also talks about other ultra running events that led up to a group of Americans racing the Tarahumara over 100 miles in the canyon. The Tarahumara pretty much live to run, they'll run for hundreds of miles just for the fun of it and one of the big things in the book was that they don't suffer injuries, even though they only run in sandal-like shoes.

One of the major things I took from this book (other than the motivation to try and figure out how people can get in shape to run 100 miles over "ultra" hard trails) is the science behind the gear modern day humans use for so many things and how it can also be hurting us. Lastly, the author took a look back at our caveman days and found that after the ice age, we were built to be marathoners. While I don't think I'll ever be able to run 100 miles in a few days (or even want to for that matter), it amazes me that there are people fit enough out there to go that far and motivates me to continue with my jogging even though I'm slowly working my way over humps that aren't making motivation easy.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I will read it again at some point and couldn't put it down when I was reading it. Even if you aren't into running or even science, this book is an awesome story that you can definitely think of as a fictional tale. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a book to read.

In life news:
Like I said before, not much is going on. My life has massively settled down since the beginning of the month and that's a welcome sight. I am currently writing stories catching up with the Derby winners from the past 20 years that you can see on followhorseracing.com but that's about all I have for you right now.

Have a great day everyone. 
-Mel

Looking Forward Instead of Back

Two days ago when I started this blog, I was going to make it into a pity party. As that is not me, I decided to step back and wait for my emotions to calm down and I'm glad I did. All that I will say is that it has been a very bad few weeks and I have everything crossed that it is over. 

But today I made the decision that it just isn't worth it to have a pity party anymore. I can't change what happened and that's that. Instead, I focused on the positive and made some more decisions. For the positive, I have an awesome job and can afford to live in a place that not many people can (or are willing to try for that matter). I have a support team behind me and even though my personal life isn't exactly where I want it at this moment, that's something that I can solve if I put my mind to it.

Farther down the list, I have also decided that it's time to get ready to return to the part that got me into the equestrian world. I've set a goal of having a horse here by this summer and I intend to see it through. Horses are my sanity and even though I've been able to play with some of the top horses in the industry in past weeks (see below), I haven't been able to get on one or have goals for one in months.

Spending as much time as I want with PG has been a dream

I'll admit I wasn't a Brownie fan when he was racing but he's growing on me ...

This of course means cutting back on other things to afford not only to board a horse here but to possibly ship one here. Although, the possibility that the second part may not be as easy as it sounds has crossed my mind and I'm going to cross that bridge when I get there. While my student loans are also coming due soon, I have planned that as well.

First, I've cut out nearly all fast food from my diet (I do have a Subway addiction that I'm not willing to break but I've cut that back dramatically too) and it's amazing not only how much better I'm feeling only 5 days after my "last meal" but it's also been nice not to touch any plastic cards and see the money leaving my bank account with every bite. I still don't cook much but the meals I did buy when I went grocery shopping the other day are healthier than any meal I can get from Dairy Queen or Sonic and are leaving me with more energy and I'm not feeling bloated like I used to. Plus, as I am well behind on my 5k training, it's also making me more optimistic that I may be able to pull something off in three weeks.

Second, I've paid more money in the short term to save in the long term. When I started my job at Paulick Report, I bought a portable modem that let me have internet on the go. Since I was splitting bills with two other people at the time, the $50 a month wasn't a big deal. However, with my own apartment, that $50 was adding to the $45 I also paid for my apartment internet. It cost me a cancelling fee in the short term but that $50 will be nice in my bank account moving forward. I'm also working on cutting back on electricity to lower another bill but that is a work in progress.

Finally for the student loans... I am currently working on an application to consolidate all of them into one. If I get that, it will cut that payment down and make my life much easier. And easier is always better.

I'm a very goal driven person so hopefully all my solutions will work and I can reach this one... if not, there may be more bad weeks in my future.

Until next time,
Mel