New here?
Hi, I’m Taya.
I’m an engineer and mom of two in Minnesota who runs, reads, drinks a lot of coffee, and likes having somewhere to keep track of everything.
I’ve been blogging since 2012, so this little corner of the internet has seen race recaps, book reviews, pregnancy updates, kid chaos, training logs, goals, gadgets, and plenty of random life things.
This page is the easiest place to figure out where to start.
The main categories
What this blog is about
Most things here fit into one of three buckets. Pick the one that sounds most like you, or bounce between all three like I do.
Running
I’ve been running since 2010 and racing since 2011. There are more than 52 race recaps here, along with 25 marathons, one 35-mile ultra, three Ragnars, and two Boston qualifiers.
Reading
I read a lot, mostly mysteries, thrillers, cozy mysteries, romance, and the occasional fantasy or sci-fi. I review what I finish and include spoilers when I need them for my own memory.
Life
This is everything that does not fit neatly into running or reading: kids, work, travel, home projects, goals, favorite things, gadgets, and the small moments I want to remember later.
A few good places to begin
Reader favorites
A mix of race recaps, books, family ideas, and pages people come back to most often.
Grandma’s Half: One Year and Almost 53 Minutes
A look at how much changed between two race weekends, including nearly 53 minutes off my half marathon time.
Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon: My Boston Qualifier
The race where I ran 3:30:04 and qualified for Boston. It is still one of the proudest moments of my running life.
My Favorite Books by Genre
The series and standalones I genuinely love, organized by genre with short notes on why each one made the list.
Our Favorite Things to Do With Kids Around the Twin Cities
The parks, play spaces, museums, splash pads, and other places we actually go back to.
Useful corners of the site
Tools and deeper dives
These are the pages built for tracking, browsing, or going much farther down a rabbit hole than a normal person probably needs to.
Audiobook Math
Track sessions, speed, content covered, and how much real time you spent listening. I use this for updating my StoryGraph stats to reflect the actual time I spent listening, not the audiobook length.
Book finderBook Quiz
Answer a few questions and get matched with a genre and personal recommendations from my favorite books.
Reading archiveFavorite Books
Browse favorite series and standalones by genre, with honest one-line takes.
Running archiveRace Results
Every race I can remember since 2010, including times, paces, places, and recap links.
A note about protected content
Some personal life updates and family posts are login-protected. This is mainly so photos of my kids are not publicly indexed forever, not because I am trying to keep readers out. Registration is free and takes about 30 seconds.