It’s early on Tuesday morning, the last day of Summer, I have a massive training day ahead of me, and although I wrote a healthy chunk of my blog yesterday, it’s not great, or maybe it’s too GREAT (in girth and depth) for a weekly splash into my world, and will be better served in my next book after having time to simmer. Therefore, in this post I am going to share a few of my hot tips/favorite things/meaningful musings I've absorbed recently.
Here we GO!
I aim to read fifty books per year, this ravishing read was number forty-nine (it’s safe to assume I will bump up the count beyond fifty by New Year's Eve), and my favorite so far:
The topic is fascinating and useful for ALL of us, but what I truly enjoyed was the writing. James Nestor is a seasoned journalist, but instead of banging his wit and knowledge over the reader’s heads, he invited us along with him on his curious adventure through the simple and mystical powers of breath.
An excellent pairing to this book is an interview he did with Gabby Reece on her podcast, The Gabby Reece Show. CLICK HERE:
On the podcast front, I listen to about three to four episodes a day, and I promise that ANY episode from my following favorites are worth a listen:
The Ironwomen Podcast
The Triathlete Hour
The Greg Bennett Show
Smartless
The World’s First Podcast
The Dave Chang Show
How I Built This
Dear Chelsea
HypochondriActor
Finding Mastery
The Rich Roll Podcast
The Gabby Reece Show
Screen left, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crudup, and Reese Witherspoon.
As I noted a few weeks ago, I finally jumped onto the Apple + train, and not only LOVE Ted Lasso, but The Morning Show is fantastic, too! The second season just started streaming last Friday, so if you are late to the party like me, now is a good time to watch the first season, and get goin’ on the second. The writing, acting, and production value is outstanding, but the stand out performances (in my opinion) are from Jennifer Aniston and Billy Crudup. Amazing.
Also, if you haven’t watched WandaVision yet on Disney+, I recommend that, too. I am slightly biased because my husband, Marion, worked on the VFX for that show starting in December, 2019, through ALL of 2020, and the first nibble of 2021. Moreover, since he was working from home the entire time… I lopped off a pound of flesh myself working on that show as his producer (uncredited, of course), and although it was a taxing experience, the show is incredible; different, but cool.
A still from a day on set when Marion supervised the exterior shoot in LA. *I hope this okay to post, please don't sue us, Marvel.*
On the amateur content tip, I wanted to share an awesome video recounting the Women’s 70.3 World Champion, Lucy Charles-Barclay, and her lead-up to her WIN in St. George on Saturday. Lucy’s performance was inspiring, and a well-deserved win, BUT what I appreciate most about this video is that it was made by Lucy’s sister, Holly Charles, one of the rare female videographers working in the endurance space.
Finally, I wanted to update all of you that my post Surf City marathon legs withstood a marvelous week of Ironman Cali training last week, including some celebratory weighted stairs on my birthday (not wise mid-IM build, but a gift to myself too shiny to pass up), a 120-mile bike ride last Saturday, and some quick/comfy TEMPO run efforts on Sunday.
Standing among the 376 steps in the middle of Calabasas last Friday, 9/17.
Speaking of my birthday, THANK YOU to all of you who reached out to wish me a “Happy Birthday”, it was indeed a fantastic day to honor my first forty-two years on earth.
Oh, one more hot tip, I gave myself the new HOKA Rocket X running shoes for my birthday, HOKA’s version of “Super” shoes, and after a couple of runs (header photo above) I can confidently say they are closer to “Super-Duper.”
The song and video choice this week is a beautifully shot video, and gorgeous song by James Arthur, “Falling Like The Stars.” Enjoy.:)