August has been a great month. It started with the Tom Short 5k, which we do every year to honor one of Carl’s childhood friends who was a runner. They hold a 5k each year benefitting the General Dacey Trail in Shelbyville, IL. It’s a challenging, hilly course, and always a good way to spend a Saturday morning. I was happy with my time of 30:40, and my level of fitness at this point. This year, since we are training for NY, we got in a 4 mile run that Sunday, too, around Lake Shelbyville, where I spent many a summer with my friend Joy on her parents’ boat, skiing and swimming and eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

At the start line

Finishing the Tom Short 5k 8.2.14

Mid August took me to Cambridge, MA, for a reunion of my Harvard Kennedy School program of 2011. I was there for a week, and not just a little concerned about getting in some decent mileage while there — given that there are people and places there that I’d rather be spending my time with. But it worked out well that the hotel I was in was on the Cambridge Parkway, a 8.7 mile path around the Charles River. And it didn’t hurt that four of my friends who were attending the reunion set out with me the morning of the 16th. I did 10 glorious miles that morning and loved every step. I’d run three miles that Thursday before as well, around Boston Harbor, and I got in another six on Sunday. Here are some shots of my routes around my favorite city.

Left to Right: John Kefalas, Beth McCann, Ciaran Hayes, me, Marilee Nihan

During those travels I missed two weeks of my yoga practice, but got back this past week. I also came home to ghastly heat and humidity. We underestimate the power that heat, and especially humidity, have on our bodies. So the 10 mile run on August 23 was not good. I fell apart at about mile 7 and it was all I could do to get to the end. Those kinds of experiences really take their toll on me. They make me doubt my abilities, and question my sanity in terms of training for another marathon. But since then, our runs have been pretty good, considering the weather we’re dealing with. Track work last week was hard, but we managed to get it done.

Yesterday’s 13 miles went OK – have I mentioned it’s really hot here? It wasn’t fast, but it was long, and today’s 5 miler went surprisingly smoothly after that. That’s 33 miles this week and 100+ for the month of August. I feel like I’m really in a running groove right now and I don’t want to mess it up. I take each run as they come. I try to stay present. As in yoga, I try to take one more breath. And in running, one more step. It’s really hard work. But we’re pushing through and trying to enjoy the process. The race is 9 weeks from today.