Friday Reflections // I'm a Princess (again)! ✨

 Hi, guys.

I feel like I always struggle to keep up when the academic year kicks off. September is always a challenge that I tend to underestimate for myself! I keep saying "next week will be easier!" but then the next week is just as jam packed as the last. It's been hard to find time to get all of my work done, cook and clean, take care of Snowy, and find time and energy for hobbies on top of all of that. It's a challenge! So in an effort to be kind to myself, I've just been doing what feels right every day and trying not to get frustrated with myself for not doing ALL THE THINGS (though sometimes it's a challenge!).

Right now I'm just trying to settle into some kind of a routine. Now that we're in the tail of September we're on the train into the holiday season so things are about to get even busier! I'm happy to have some things to look forward to, though. It'll be a great change of pace to have some kind of idea of what to expect out of the coming months, even if traditions look a little different this year!

I went back to the gym for the first time this week. With the daylight escaping us earlier and earlier, and me never being an enthusiastic morning runner, I decided to finally give the gym a shot so I could run on the treadmill. I was nervous to go back but I actually felt super comfortable the whole time I was there! The machines are all distanced a generous amount and everything is super clean. I only did my run while I was there, but I'm definitely going to incorporate some strength training back into my exercise routine now that I'm comfortable going back to the gym! 💪

If you're a runDisney fan, you'll know that this week the announcement was made about the WDW Marathon Weekend and the Princess Half Marathon Weekend going virtual in 2021. I know a lot of folks were so bummed about this decision as they wanted to have their magical race experience at Disney World this winter, and now will have to participate at home. Selfishly, I was kind of excited bout the decision because that meant that I could join in on the magic at home! My mom and I chatted and decided that we would be participating in the virtual 5K together, and I'm also signed up to do the Fairy Tale Challenge again! I am so excited for the princesses for this year as well - Ariel for the 5K (Mom's fave!), Rapunzel for the 10K, Belle for the Half (my fave!), and Tiana for the Fairy Tale Challenge! I'll definitely be running in costume for these races, and maybe even getting Snowy dressed up for the 5k! Stay tuned... 😊✨

Before I sign off of this post, I want to acknowledge the fact that it has been yet another hard week here in the United States. We learned of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing last Friday, and on Wednesday we were given the news about the lack of justice in the Breonna Taylor case. Being an American is extremely challenging right now, and I'm sure it will continue to be so in the forseeable future. There is so much injustice in our world and it's extremely disheartening, but it is important that we keep our heads down and working toward positive change while advocating for the marginalized communities in our country. I'll keep working hard toward justice, and I hope you will too. 💖

Race Review: Medford2Medford Run Across America

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Medford2Medford Virtual Run Across America to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Last week I finally finished up my Massachusetts2Medford Challenge, which is part of the larger Medford2Medford Virtual Run Across America sponored by DMSE Sports! As I mentioned in my initial blogpost, this challenge was celebrating Dave McGillivray's 1978 run across the United States from Medford, OR to Medford, MA. For the Massachusetts2Medford challenge, I had to run or walk 142 total virtual miles across the state to complete this goal. Finding the motivation to run this summer had been a huge challenge for me, so I'm glad that I had this challenge to keep me motivated!

Things I Loved About the M2M Challenge!

Great communication! The cool thing about the M2M was that the organizers sent weekly updates to congratulate folks on completing their challenge, regardless of what distance. They really knew how to keep the runners and teams motivated throughout the challenge and I always appreciate that. The updates also served as a great reminder to get out there and keep chipping away at the miles!

The personal map tracker! One really awesome thing about this challenge is that when you entered your miles, it would update your personal map so you could see where you were virtually along the route. It was so cool to be able to see where my little pin was after each logged run or walk and, because I'm so familiar with the state, I could totally visualize what area of MA I was "in". Here's an example of my completed map!

The medal! The medal for this virtual challenge was so cool. Each distance had it's own colored ribbon (the Masschusetts2Medford was blue) and featured a map of the continental United States with a sneaker that slides from one end of the medal to the other. The show also features the distance you ran! This is actually such a cool medal and I was so excited to finally earn it once I completed my last few miles.

The swag! I signed up for the Premiere Pack when I registered for the challenge, which gave me access to some additional swag items, including a neck gaiter, Dave McGillivray's picture book Running Across America, and the medal! I wore my neck gaiter on my August 29th run which was the commemorative end of the challenge as that was the same day Dave entered Medford, MA back in 1978. It helped me celebrate the moment!

View this post on Instagram

Snowy and I are celebrating the 42nd anniversary of @dmsedave’s arrival into Medford, MA after running for 80 days and 3,452 miles across the continental United States from Medford, OR! 🇺🇸 His 1978 journey is what inspired the @dmsesports #Medford2Medford challenge which I’ve been participating in since June! 🏃🏻‍♀️I ran a total of 5 miles tonight (First 3 solo, last 2 with Miss Snowy 🐕❄️). • Even though today is the ceremonial end to the journey, you can still track miles toward whichever challenge you’re signed up for until November 17th. I have about 35 miles left in my #Massachusetts2Medford challenge so hopefully I can wrap everything up in a week or so! • My goodie bag came in just in time to rock my #Medford2Medford buff on my run today! I also received the Running Across America picture book by @dmsedave and my finisher’s medal which I will show you once I finally finish my #Massachusetts2Medford challenge! 🏅 Swipe ➡️ to see a lil snapshot of my goodie bag! • #M2MBR #BibChat #BibRavePro #instarunners #runningwithdogs #snowythedirewolf

A post shared by Riley (@rmfickfack) on Aug 29, 2020 at 4:29pm PDT

Things I Would Improve

Clarity on the distance. One of the things that bummed me out was finally logging my last 10 miles to reach that 142 mile marker, and realizing that I wasn't officially done with the challenge until I logged ANOTHER 10 miles? The website does say that the Massachusetts2Medford challenge is 152 miles long, but as you can see on the medal, 142 miles is plastered all over it. I also went the entire challenge working off of the 142 number, so needless to say I was pretty disappointed when I thought I had finished the challenge and realized that I didn't finish it quite yet. This is a combination of my own error and the distance not being super clear, so I would have appreciated some clarity.

Pay more, get more. I'm never a huge fan of situations where you get more access if you have more money you are able to spend. The Premium Pack of swag is an additional $25, and while the swag that comes with it is definitely worth the price, I think it always feels kind of icky to get all of this cool stuff knowing that if I didn't have the financial means I wouldn't have access to it, especially when we're all putting in a ton of effort to complete the challenge! I may feel different if the finisher's medal was included in the base price (even if that base price went up a bit!), because the other swag items were truly "extra" in my eyes, but every challenge finisher deserves to celebrate their hard work with a medal, in my opinion!

Overall I had a really positive experience with the Medford2Medford Virtual Run Across America! This challenge kept me motivated to keep lacing and running this summer which is always so appreciated, and it was so great to know I was running with so many other people across the country and working toward this difficult goal together! I would definitely participate in this challenge next year, and maybe even team up with some folks to complete the longer TheMississippi2Medford challenge or the entire Medford2Medford and work my way across the entire country! 

Friday Reflections // Chained to my desk & Safe voting!

Happy Friday, folks! I missed last week's Friday Reflections because honestly I didn't realize what day it was until like 10pm 😂 Transitioning from having Fridays off in the summer to working Fridays during the academic year always throws me off! But I managed to remember this week which I think is what counts the most. 😜 

This week has been busy as it was the first week back to classes for our students (our university is currently hybrid, so we do have students on campus but only at about 75% capacity and I'm still working remote), and that means that we have a lot of programs to run! All of our programs this week have been virtual so I've been chained to my desk and laptop every single day and SO DRAINED by the time the work day is over. As much as I love working from home, I miss not having to stare at a screen all day every day.

 
Performing our civic duty on Tuesday! (Both voting AND wearing our masks!)

We went and voted in the MA Senate & Congressional primary on Tuesday. We opted to vote in person since we're both young and healthy. We'll likely vote in person this November as well because it was run very well and I felt very safe! They sanitized the voting pens for everyone, there was hand sanitizer and Plexiglas everywhere to keep voters and poll workers safe, and all of the voting booths were well spaced out. We didn't have to wait in line, but they did have markers on the ground for folks to wait 6 feet apart if a line were to form. Really with happy with how everything ran and made me feel much better for the Presidential election in November!

We've also been making trips to the dog park a regular routine for Miss Snowy and she's absolutely loving it! She's starting to make friends with some of the dog park regulars and is getting so much more confident in her play with the other pups. We're loving seeing her grow and get so much more comfortable in her new life!

This weekend is Labor Day weekend which is technically a long weekend, but I will be working tomorrow night and Sunday throughout the day. Monday will thankfully be a true day off for me, which I'm definitely looking forward to. In the meantime, I'm hoping to find the time to fit in 20 miles worth of running (two 5 mile runs and one 10 mile run), and read a couple of books. I'm currently reading Permanent Record by Mary H.K. Choi, so I'd really like to finish that. I'm thinking I'll either pick up and try to finish a book that's on my "Currently Reading" shelf, or pick up The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson because I'm just itching to read that! We'll see what mood I'm in this weekend. 😊

📥 TBR In & Out 📤 // August 2020

Okay so I totally stole this idea from Emma at Drinking by my Shelf. 😂 She does this awesome thing each month called "Balancing the Books" where she compares how many TBR books she read with how many books she acquired throughout the month with the goal of reducing her overall TBR, or reading more books that you acquire. I absolutley love this idea. I've been wanting to reduce my TBR without any real idea of how to hold myself accountable or to see my progress along the way. I think that Emma's idea is a great way to hold yourself accountable each month and to be regularly checking in on your progress of reducing your TBR! I've decided to call it "TBR In & Out", which is admittedly a much worse name, but it makes it so I'm not totally ripping off her idea 😂

I won't be including my reading stats in these posts - those will be included in my reading wraps every few months. These posts will be more to check in on how I'm doing in reading the books I already own each month, and hopefully encourage me to *not* continue to buy a ton of books that end up collecting dust on my shelf for years at a time! 😅 So, without further adieu, here's my TBR In & Out for the month of August:

TBR # ON AUGUST 1, 2020: 

156

Yikes, y'all... I have a problem 😬

BOOKS ACQUIRED: 

+6

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson (BoTM)

The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan (BoTM)

Luster by Raven Leilani (BoTM)

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman (Gift from Brett because he knows how much I loved Scythe! 😍)

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand (Picked up from a Free Little Library!)

Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home by Dave McGillivray (Part of my Medford2Medford race packet)

OWNED TBR BOOKS READ: 

-9

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow & Ann Friedman

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro & Emily Henry

Thinner by Stephen King

Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home by Dave McGillivray

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris

TBR # ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2020: 

153

OTHER BOOKS READ IN AUGUST

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Library)

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Library)

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Library)

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman (Borrowed from a friend)

The Final NEWTs 🦎✨ // Week 4 Recap & Final Wrap Up

Starting Goodbye, Paris with a snack for the "Hagrid's Hut" challenge in the Care of Magical Creatures exam!

Y'ALL I DID IT! I'm not sure how I managed to pull it off but I finished all my NEWTs and I am officially a Hogwarts Professor, teaching Care of Magical Creatures! (I wish that was actually true, tbh 😉) It really got down to the wire at the end of August. I entered August 31st with two books still needing to be read. Luckily I was able to find audiobooks for both and spent pretty much the whole day listening to my final two books while working. Such a whirlwind, but I got it done!

I'm really happy with how my NEWTs went, and while I'm sad to see this version of the Magical Readathon get retired, I know that it's the right thing to do. G is going to put together something so much greater in the future for the Magical readathon, and I can't wait to see what that will be! See below for all of the books I got read in the final week of NEWTs, as well as my final stats and ratings for each book I read!

Shout out to audiobooks for saving my life at the end of NEWTs!

DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS
Acceptable level achieved: Read a horror/thriller

Thinner by Stephen King

318 pages

Exceeds Expectations level achieved: Read a book involving water

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

342 pages

DIVINATION

Acceptable level achieved: Read a book with a red cover

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

323 pages

CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURES

Outstanding level achieved: Start a book with a snack

Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris
279 pages

 NEWTS REQUIREMENTS FOR HOGWARTS PROFESSOR

Achieve an "Outstanding" in the subject that you wish to teach 
CARE OF MAGICAL CREATURESAcceptable ✅Exceeds Expectations ✅Outstanding ✅ 
Achieve an "Exceeds Expectations" in Defense Against the Dark Arts
DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTSAcceptable ✅ Exceeds Expectations ✅ 
Achieve an "Acceptable" in secondary subjects of your choice
DIVINATIONAcceptable ✅ 
HERBOLOGYAcceptable ✅ 
FINAL STATS & RATINGS
Books completed: 7Pages read: 2,255NEWTs Requirements Completed: 3/3NEWTs Challenges Completed: 7/7
Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett ⭐⭐⭐⭐In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire ⭐⭐⭐⭐Thinner by Stephen King ⭐⭐Dominicana by Angie Cruz ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman ⭐⭐⭐Goodbye, Paris by Anstey Harris ⭐⭐⭐⭐