Penny Thoughtful: All Things Books and Running

  • Relationship Building and Field Trips

    When this post goes live, I will be somewhere in the nation’s capital, guiding 29 seventh graders through history, opening their eyes, hopefully, to things they have never seen before. This trip marks the fifth field trip I have organized, led, or participated in this school year. Many teachers look at field trips as burdens…

  • Downhill at Dawn Half Marathon

    Race #168 Half Marathon #58 2019 Race #12 2019 Half Marathon #7 North Carolina Half Marathon #8 Downhill at Dawn Half Marathon #1 I registered for this race in early March, shortly after deciding to volunteer as a chaperone for the band and orchestra Carowinds trip rather than run the Mountains to Main Street Half…

  • Politics and Education

    Over the past couple years, a protest movement has spread across the country, driven primarily by classroom teachers. Some well-known protests and strikes took place in the following states and cities. In Oklahoma, teachers left the classroom in strike for over a week. Several other states, like West VIrginia, followed shortly thereafter. This past January,…

  • Thought Provoking History and Beauty

    When one mentions Utah, the hearer’s mind usually goes in one of two directions. The hearer either pictures the famous national parks in the south of the state or more likely, they think of Mormons and all associated with the religion. When one goes so far as to say that you have chosen Utah as…

  • Lessons Learned from a Spring Break Adventure

    Months ago, I decided that I wanted to run a marathon to start spring break and make a vacation out of it. Last year, I stayed home for break but after a year I started itching to travel again. I searched for marathons that fit the bill and found Salt Lake City. From there ,…

  • Hard Work Pays Off

    A few weeks ago, my students took their third quarter benchmark, a test covering all of the required state standards and intended to predict student results on the official state tests coming up in a little less than a month. I will not rehash my opinion on high stakes testing here. Rather, I want to…

  • King’s Mountain Half Marathon 2019

    Race #167 Half Marathon #57 2019 Race #11 2019 Half Marathon #6 South Carolina Half Marathon #43 King’s Mountain Half Marathon #1 Originally I thought about running a 5 miler that is part of a local trail series. However, I could never find where to register for this race. I have a thing for half…

  • Up in Flames

    Nearly eight years ago, I boarded the Eurostar headed to Paris. A long time Anglophile, I designated a single day for a quick tour of the most prominent Parisian landmarks such as the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame. At that time, I had little to no patience for lines.…

  • Reedy River 10k 2019 – Race Recap

    Race #166 10k #13 2019 Race #10 2019 10k #1 Reedy River 10k #6 When registering for this race and the Greenville News Run Downtown 5k – they come as a package deal for a discount – I decided to adjust my spring break vacation to make sure that I returned in time to run.…

  • Salt Lake City Half Marathon 2019 Race Recap

    Race #165 Half Marathon #56 2019 Race #9 2019 Half Marathon #5 State #4 Salt Lake City Half Marathon #1 So…I don’t normally take this long to get up race recaps but…this trip has been an amazing whirlwind and this is the first opportunity I have had to sit down and compose this post. We…

Got any book recommendations?