Weekend update

I had a very relaxing weekend. I woke up with my husband's alarm at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. He had to work this weekend. It felt so good to sleep past 3:25 or 4 a.m. My normal sleep pattern will return tomorrow. Boo.

Besides waking up later, I did finish reading The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. Even though it is a series for young adult readers, I really enjoyed it. I first heard about the book series on twitter. Many people that I follow mentioned how much they liked it. After reading more praise for the series, I decided to get the first book and read it. I read it in two days. I read Catching Fire in a day. I was surprised that I liked these science fiction books. Usually that is not my type of book that I like to read. I have already started reading the final book of the series, Mockingjay. It shouldn't take me long to finish that one either.

Besides reading, I did run over the weekend. I ran 26.2 miles Sunday morning. That was my longest run since April 11. I cut back my mileage to be ready for all of the races I had registered for. I have ten races left in 2011. I still have three half marathons, two 50Ks, two half marathons and 3 5Ks. The only times I will reduce my mileage again this year is the weeks of the half marathons and 50Ks. My weekly mileage will be above 100 miles the rest of the time. Besides training for the two 50Ks, next year I want to start running longer distances like a 50 miler and 100K. I just want to get prepared for those. I want to have as much time on my feet as possible.

After my running and reading, I spent time watching some sports on the television. The start of the Tour de France was Saturday. I have been thrilled with Versus channel's coverage of the tour. I have watched both stages so far and will end up watching them all. Either live or recorded on my DVR.

The other sport I've been watching is the FIFA Women's World Cup. I'm usually not a fan of soccer. I've been photographing soccer games for the paper I work at for 12 years and I still don't know the rules of the game. But when it is a major event, like the World Cup or National Championship, I will watch it. I enjoy the high level of play and teams. So far the United States is 2-0. They will play again on Wednesday against Sweden. If the US wins Wednesday, they will move on to the quarterfinals.

Photo Credit for US Soccer: Getty Images
Photo Credit for Chris Horner: Chris Clasen