Keep Moving Forward

Things are going well with the exception of this slight ankle sprain.  I rolled it last Tuesday when I went out to a new trail (to me) in the Missouri area.  I took my eyes off the trail for a second to check my watch and POW!  So I took a few days off and did some icing and not much else.  I then hit the trail again on Saturday for a medium distance trail run with Howard and was fine for the first 7 miles.  We stopped in at a forest preserve area that had some vending machines for water.  On our way back to the trail I stepped off the side of the sidewalk and rolled the same ankle again.  It was not bad as I was able to run the rest of the way back without much discomfort.  What luck huh?  7 miles at a decent pace on a root covered trail and nothing, 200 feet on sidewalk and I get hurt.  One more reason to stay out of civilization when running!!  It's was pretty swollen yesterday and some today, but ice and rest seem to be helping.

I'm 13 days from MT. Hoot PCT 50 so this will just be a forced taper.  Plus, I've got some travel coming up for work, so getting in a lot of training won't happen due to my work schedule over the next 7 days... yes 7 days YUCK!  I'm flying to Orlando (Monday-Friday) tomorrow for a conference then out to Seattle for training (Friday-Monday).  Then taking off on Thursday to Portland for the run. I've contacted Olga (RD) about helping out for anything she might need the day before the race and it looks like I'll be able to help out somewhere.  I don't have a lot planned other then just hanging out, so I figured I might as well lend a hand and maybe meet some of the folks that will be manning an aid station along the way.  It never hurts to hear someone give you some words of encouragement or see a familiar face, even if it's a new face :)

On a totally unrelated note:  Getting the updates on Hardrock this weekend was awesome.  I found myself spending time refreshing and waiting on updates.  Also seeing the finishers come across via Youtube was great too. I have to say, I really like that this is able to happen and hope to see this trend continue.  Seeing the emotions that the elites have when they come across makes me love this sport even more.  Well done Scott and Krissy!! It makes you know that these events mean as much to them as they do to the rest of us, it's not just another race.  Of course the others attempting and finishing this is an unbelievable achievement too and much congratulations to you all!