Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and are ready to kick some butt this week! I just recently finished Deena Kastor's Book Let Your Mind Run and it was incredible. I think it took me maybe 2 weeks to read it (that's what happens when you aren't running so much)! Not only was it a fast read, but I also didn't want it to end! 

Deena is an incredible storyteller and she recounts not only how she got into running, but also how she built up her mental toughness. She does such a great job making it seem like something us "everyday" runners can do (become mentally tough) rather than just "glossing over" it (and saying something like "then one day I decided to become stronger in my mental game"). She highlights her struggles through training and also how she used those moments to define herself. 

I so badly wanted to go out every morning after reading her book the night before and try to crush some crazy speed workout. That's how motivated I was. I loved how she also describes meeting and training with Meb and other elite runners. You can really see how her passion for the sport and belief in herself (and her training) really shines through. 

She intertwines how she met her husband and both his and her coaches roles were so significant in her successes (which I think is so important to succeeding in general).  I found myself staying up much later than my bedtime to read this book and this is one of the few that I will definitely be re-reading again and again! 

My biggest take-away from this book --> Defining myself. NOT putting limits on what I want to become or where I came from limits me. Continuing to shift my mind/ thoughts/ situation from negative to positive. I want to continue to work on this and build every situation from something not-so-ideal to how can I GROW from it (as well as improve myself). I also started becoming more GRATEFUL for everything I have in my life (noticing the small things that I really enjoy --> drinking coffee first thing in the morning cuddled with the cats or the opportunity we have to be living in such a beautiful area). 

What book are you currently reading?

Favorite book that you last read? 

I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to read next, but thinking Shoe Dawg may be next (it's been checked out at the library for quite some time so hopefully it's returned by now)!

How do you DEFINE yourself?