The Broad Running Broad

I was debating referencing the Taylor Swift song about August slipping away, but that seemed a little too cheesy for my taste. And I’m not a Swiftie, so there’s that.

August was an interesting month, to be it mildly. Since I last posted:

1.) I’m finally back to marathon-level miles, and as of Aug. 31st, I reached the milestone of 500 miles this year. It might kill me, but I want to reach 600 miles before September is up.

2.) On Aug. 25th, I finally went on the longest bike ride to date – 62.7 miles. It took me six and a half hours to get it done, and I thought I’d never find the park where the Kokosing Gap Trail begins. Frankly, the 90 degrees outside and full humidity might have been one of my, um, less-well-thought-out choices. But it’s done, and I surpassed my longest ride of 57 miles from Pelotonia 2022. Now if only my knees could forgive me.

3.) Remember the AU61 exam I said I was feeling confident about? I took the exam last night. Turns out I didn’t have anything to be confident about. So at some point in the future, I’m going to have to re-take that. I never thought I’d feel like I was back in college when I’m 32, but here we are and so it goes.

And on top of it all, my grandmother’s beloved cat passed away, so there’s mourning a little critter who had been a part of our family for 16 years.

Now it’s September, traditionally a month of crunch time. Detroit is in seven-ish weeks, while Indy is in nine.

You know the knees I mentioned earlier? It’s been a little over a week and I’m still dealing with knee pain from that bike ride. Running last week and riding the recumbent bike doesn’t cause me any problems, although sitting too long during work or walking around my place barefoot aggravates them (note to self: wear your recovery sandals.) I’m taking it a little slower and have been taking my Epsom salt baths, as well as keeping my legs elevated when I can and taking aspirin. I don’t want to call it runner’s (cyclists?) knee. I really do not want to speak this into existence until after November 10th. A little discomfort leading up to race day is one thing. An injury is the stuff of nightmares.

So Reader-Friends, I haven’t a clue what to predict for September.

I will however, wish you all a month of peace as the days of summer transition into fall.

Yours in life and running,

Allison