I think I may have only read two books in the month of February. I felt like I blinked, and the month was over. But when I look back at my calendar, I'm trying to figure out what exactly I did.  Yes there was the Super Bowl, which the Eagles sadly lost, and we had an incredibly busy President's Day weekend, but beyond that, I think I was just largely uninspired by the books I had been reading, and only managed to find two this month that I actually enjoyed. 

And oddly enough, they were both witchy romances. I stumbled down this category books after a discussion at a past book club on how witchy books were really taking off. So I read two of them in February, and honestly found them both pretty enjoyable.

Four Stars

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Witches in Great Britain follow a certain set of rules to remain undetected by the regular population, most importantly, keeping their heads down and not mingling with other witches. But then Mika gets a job opportunity to train a group of young witches living in secret together on a far-flung farm. She takes the job because she needs the money, but is constantly worried about the repercussions. Over time she finds herself growing found of her charges. Throw in some surly normal people that live on the farm with the witches. Things get dicey as spells go off the rails and Mika has to navigate it all. This was another enjoyable and cozy read.

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute follow-up to the Ex Hex that I read back in the fall. Set in the same magical town, featuring a similar set of witches. One witch loses her magic when a newcomer arrives in town, but it's not immediately clear why. As she tries to figure it out, she's also faced with a pack of witches attempting to do some dark magic. Meanwhile, she finds herself falling for a sworn enemy. Definitely a fun and light read.

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January was a slow month of reading for me. I just felt like I was in a slump the whole time and didn't finish a lot of the books I picked up. To that end, I only finished the month with four books. They were at least all fairly decent though, and the last read of the month was just what I needed to get me excited about books again.

Five Stars

Her Sister's Death by K.L. Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was just the book I needed to drag me out of a major reading slump! It's a mystery set in Baltimore during two different time periods. In modern day, Val is trying to investigate her sister's mysterious death at a fancy Baltimore hotel. The police have ruled it a suicide, but Val doesn't buy it. Back in the 1920s, Bridget is getting ready to be married off to a wealthy man in the same hotel. She has some concerns, but goes through with the wedding anyway. I thought it was interesting the way the author wove these two very different storylines together, centering the hotel as a strange and mysterious place. I couldn't put this book down and tore through it in just a few days.

Four Stars

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not normally a book I'd pick up, but it was a book club selection for a virtual book club I'm in, and honestly it was better than I expected. Samuel Adams (who apparently NEVER went by Sam Adams) was a pretty pivotal figure in the founding of our country, but not much is written about him. This book explored his life and the role he played in the American Revolution. I definitely learned some stuff I didn't know and largely enjoyed reading this book.

The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the first from Mindy Kaling's book production studio with Amazon so I knew it had to be good. And it was. It tells the story of three generations of women, the push and pulls on their relationships, the way they support each other as they each dip their toes into the dating waters and some of the hi-jinx that ensue. It has funny moments, but it's also a touching story. Definitely a fast, feel-good read.

Three Stars

The Winners by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to the conclusion of the Beartown Trilogy, but this book was a bit of a slog for me to get through. I appreciated being reunited with some of my favorite characters from the series, and there were parts that definitely pulled at my heart strings, but overall, this book felt long and I didn't get swept up in it like I did the other Beartown books.

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It's been nearly a year and half since I first started experiencing my hip issues, which then turned into hamstring issues. The last race I ran before shifting into rehab mode was the Rehoboth Beach half back in December 2021. 

That is a long time for me to not lace up my shoes for a race morning starting line.

Recovery from this injury has been slow and full of set backs. I spent several weeks trying to rest, and then do my regular mobility/rehab routines at home. I'd make some progress, but never fully recovered.

After being frustrated with my own lack of progress, in June I visited my orthopedic doctor and got myself into PT. 

This is hands down the longest amount of time I've spent in physical therapy, and let me tell you that is hard for me. I am not patient. When I felt like I was suffering setbacks in August, I was so disheartened. 

But I stuck with all the PT. I've done a million and one balance and stabilization exercises to help provide support for my loose joints. My PT focused on building stability up the entire length of my body. My hips are in a better place and so are my knees. My right ankle is still really wobbly though, so I'm still working on stabilization exercises for that. 

By building all this balance and stability, my body is better able to support me through the motion of running without having to overtax muscles or recruit muscles that really should have anything to do with running and then causing injuries. 

I've mentioned in previous PT posts that I was on a run walk plan starting back in the fall. 

Over time, I've been building up my running stretches and reducing my walking. Yesterday, I felt like I hit a really big milestone. I ran for a full 30 minutes with less than 90 seconds of walking over the course of the run. (See Garmin pic at top of post).

I've also managed to increase my distance from the 2.5 miles that I had been doing during most of my recovery up to 3 miles. 

That might seem like such a small thing, but to me it's a huge sign of improvement. These runs, while so, so much slower than I used to be able to go, have been fairly pain free. 

I definitely feel like I'm starting over, which is hard, but I'm also really grateful that I might finally be seeing the light at the end of this injury tunnel. 

I know I still have a lot to do in terms of maintenance of everything I've been working on in PT as I slowly rebuild my endurance, and then hopefully my speed. But I'm finally seeing some progress, and that's huge.