I'm Still Here

It's been awhile.  About 10 months.  And a lot has happened since then. Last May, I ran the Three Days at the Fair event in New Jersey.  61 hours, 175 miles completed.  It was a very memorable event. I felt proud of my accomplishment, and would definitely consider doing it again.

In June 2013, I ran the 12 Hour Dizzy Goat, our local trail race and completed 48.75 miles on a very hot day, but I rolled my ankle and sprained it badly about 15 miles in.  I completed the race, but then it swelled very badly and forced me to stop running for a couple of weeks.

In July 2013, I hiked/ran up and down Pikes Peak via the Barr Trail.  That was another lifetime experience for me, so cool. 

In September, I ran double marathons as part of the Center of the Nation Series in Wyoming and Montana.  That was a lot of fun too.

In October, I ran the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, NM, and then the GOATz 50k (another local trail race) in Omaha a week later.

In November, I ran 198 miles for a running game, and felt good, if not tired, and borderline burnt out.  Ran 170 miles in December, but my paces suffered a bit, and I generally don't like extreme cold weather running.

In January 2014, I ran the Louisiana Marathon, which marked a marathon or greater distance in my 31st state.

And that brings me to the current day, when I'm in the midst of some serious training cycle for a Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R2R) Grand Canyon run in early May.  I've been adding a lot of hill work to my runs to prep for the 22,000' of ascent and descent that I'll experience in the canyon. Unfortunately, about a month ago, I developed some pain in my right arch, and have been dealing with it ever since.  I first thought it was a case of Plantar Fasciitis developing, but it didn't display classic symptoms.  The pain moved more to my medial arch in the abductor hallucis muscle, and very recently has settled at the insertion point of the posterior tibial tendon. I haven't stopped running, and have managed to ramp up both mileage and cumulative ascent/descent each week, however, the foot isn't getting better.  I have an appointment with my podiatrist to get the final diagnosis. 

So, I'm still here.  I'm still running.  And still reaching for new goals, new challenges, and pushing to find my edge, with an occasional stumble along the way.