Along My Run | 6 - July Slowdown

After an amazing June, July reminded me that I am human and hit me with an ankle injury that cut into my running. Over the month, I took two separate weeks off, (each week felt like an eternity!), and to add insult to injury, this July was unusually cool, really perfect weather for running.


1. Water Along the Run, 2. Summer Snowballs , 3. It's raining and I'm Running, 4. Flooded, 5. Worth Getting Up For, 6. Simple Things, 7. Out in the Distance #uiuc, 8. Therapy or Torture? I Guess a bit of Both, 9. Fishing for Something?, 10. Consolation Prize - , 11. Stillness, 12. The Rising Sun Is So Red This Time of Year, Signaling Upcoming Change of the Seasons. Bittersweet, as Darkness Starts to Encroach. .

The stats - I logged 56 miles, half of what I logged in June, my lowest monthly total since December, 2013. The silver lining - my average pace was 8:49 min / mile, faster than June and probably the fastest since I started tracking things. The other silver lining - as a result of this injury (Achilles tendonitis in my left ankle), I've made adjustments to my running form and started to work on more strength building for my left leg (which has always been an issue, especially after knee surgery there). In the long run (ha, ha, pun intended) I expect to be stronger.

This slowdown has impacted my Chicago Marathon training - I am 2-3 weeks behind schedule, and if things flare up again, may require me to defer the race to next year. Disappointing, yes, but in the grand scheme of things, not the end of the world.

This month's running quote that made me smile, even if I couldn't run:

For me, like so many others, running is the answer. Out on the road it is just you, the pavement, and your will.
- John Bingham

Every run is a work of art, a drawing on each day's canvas. Some runs are shouts and some runs are whispers. Some runs are eulogies and others celebrations. When you're angry, a run can be a sharp slap in the face. When happy, a run is your song. And when your running progresses enough to become the chrysalis through which your life is viewed, motivation is almost beside the point. Rather, it's running that motivates you for everything else the day holds.
- Dagny Scott Barrios

Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.
- Lowell Thomas

I truly believe each run is a gift. The same goes for any passion in your life - hold on tight to those passions and never take them for granted.