5.06.2016

Looking Back: April

What's the saying about April? It it the one who goes in like a lion and out like a lamb? Or is it that April showers bring May flowers? The latter is probably more fitting, as it did rain a bit in April and now the days are sunny and bright and the tomatoes are starting to grow!

Running: April was a good month for running! I ended up doing a couple of really long weekend runs with some wicked elevation (one on Mt. Diablo was 25 miles with over 6,000 ft of gain) which helped achieve a total of 223.2 miles of running with 37,500 ft. of climbing. In addition, a couple of commutes plus riding around Brooklyn got me 39.6 miles of cycling with 1,300 ft of climbing. I also clocked one hike, which was 8.1 miles.

Reading: I feel like April was not a good reading month, probably due to the fact that I was often with people. However, once I checked I realized that I actually read 5 books, which is more than my goal of one per week! Here they are (starred ones are for the Read Harder Challenge):

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee -- 3 stars
The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel -- 3 stars
Finding Someplace by Denise Lewis Patrick* -- 3 stars
Spinster by Kate Bolick* -- 3 stars
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline* -- 4 stars

Travel: I actually did not travel that much in April, but I did have events each and every weekend. The first weekend I did some canning with a friend and some trail maintenance volunteer work in Pacifica. The weekend after that, I volunteered at a race, had dinner with my brother and friends in Santa Rosa, and then my parents came to visit and we had a nice dinner and a catch up. The weekend after that, I had breakfast with my grandma in Mill Valley and went to pace/cheer on a friend at a San Francisco race. Then I hosted Lisa and Phil and we had a great time gadding about the city, hiking, walking, going to a Giants game and just hanging out and chatting.

Marshall's Beach

View from Green Point


For the last part of the month I flew to New York and spent a couple of days in the office before heading over to Brooklyn to spend some time with friends. We rode bikes around the borough, drank beer, ran in the park and had lots of fun reliving the "good old days" when we were all traveling around Africa.

How was April for you? Did you travel? What book are you reading now?

5 comments:

  1. Wow, April was a jam-packed month for you! I am impressed you managed to read 5 books! Well done! April was a really busy month for me. I thought it would be quieter but it ended up being much busier. The highlight was definitely coming to SF to visit you! Phil and I had an awesome time! You are a wonderful host!!

    Besides traveling to visit you, I also traveled to NJ (and was there again this week). Right now I am reading "Winter of the World" which is the 2nd book in Ken Follett's century trilogy. It's really long but really good! I wish I had read it closer to when I read the first book as I know there are story lines that he picks up from the last book. But I'm still enjoying it and I will be sure to read the 3rd book soon so I can remember who the characters are as I am sure that will enhance the reading experience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow that's a lot of miles! and a lot of hills too :) I had a pretty good April - somewhat less miles and less books though ;) I'm currently trying to start Anne of Green Gables as I've been wanted to read it for some time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's March that comes in like a lion. But, whatever, April sounds like it was pretty awesome!

    ReplyDelete

  4. That's a lot of miles. You amaze me. Looks like it was a good, albeit jam-packed month though! ;) I don't know how you manage to also finish 5 books.

    My April was pretty good. A weekend trip to SoCal and otherwise more running. I am currently reading "The Ramblers'.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That's some crazy climbing/running you did in April! I didn't travel in April (unless you count flying back from Boston) because I had so much going on here with the end of the semester and marathon training. Hurrah for hosting Lisa and Phil!

    I'm just about to start Gold Fame Citrus. I'm on the waitlist for Ready Player One, which I'm even more excited about now that I see you have also rated it so highly.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! I love to respond to comments, so please check back soon for my reply!