I am soooo proud of my friends!

What a weekend of Ultra Running and Trail Running!
Grindstone 100 was this past weekend and I am so pleased to see Rick Gray, Sophie Speidel, Kevin Townsend and many others among the finishers. Must be a tough course: 38-hour time limit of which many folks took advantage! Karl Meltzer led the men’s race 18:46:26, and Donna Utakis 23:34:59 for the women. Rick has often struggled with issues related to sleep deprivation during long races, yet he finished solidly in 36:04:26! I really look forward to hearing stories! Here for results!

I spent most of the weekend following the live web cast of North Coast 24 Hour. Jill Perry kicked butt with 136.01 miles, Anna Piskorska with 131.30 and my teammate from Italy, Deb Horn with 128.80. Many other excellent performances and stories I am certain! The men’s top 3: Phil McCarthy 151.32 (yay former teammate too!), John Geesler 138.71, and Dan Rose 138.71. Well done. Go here for full results.Click on appropriate link.

Much closer to home, I celebrated life and running. I had an appointment with a foot ankle specialist on Thurs (Oct 1). He spent 40 minutes with me, reviewing x-rays, MRI, history and my ultra running habit. His conclusion is that I do not have tendinitis or cellulitis (though I may have 10 weeks ago...) but what the inflammation is from now is an entrapped nerve in my lower shin.

Somehow, (due to irritation, chance, or injury) the fascia around the nerve in the lower leg has gotten thicker. The nerve runs through the muscle/fascia and when the muscle is active and filled with more blood, the nerve gets squeezed, hence the discomfort and pain. The most direct treatment is a procedure, which cuts into the fascia creating “breathing space” and hence releases pressure on the nerve. Kind of like compartment syndrome...but not quite.

This diagnosis makes sense to me. I don’t like the idea of being cut-yet it is a good option. Hopefully next week I’ll have scheduled an appt with a nerve doctor who can do a nerve conduction test and then we can go from there. In the meantime, I’ve stopped taking Celebrex in favor of a homeopathic nerve booster and a topical prescription cream. I am also doing iontophorisis on the area that seems entrapped. Best case is the fascia will calm on it’s own-worse, I get to have my skin snipped…

In the meantime, I’ve gotten the “OK” to train moderately and run, provided I am self aware and disciplined enough to back off when it hurts and apply ice and compression…
Sooo…I ran at the Dark Mountain Challenge yesterday (pitifully, yet joyously!) 17 advertised miles... (yet more like 15.5 from my time).

Jason and Allison Bryant both won!

Above is fast girl Allison Bryant who finished just under 2 hours and me (slogging in a slow-yet happy 2:15ish!)
And I got to meet a Gail,a professor at Appalachian State University and ultrarunner who recently relocated to the area from Wyoming. I hope we get to share the trails again in the future!

Today I got to run a slow round trip at Moses Cone from Bass lake to the fire tower today another slow 10.5 miles up and down. Discomfort? Yes! Did compression on the point specified help? Yes!

For now, I will await an appointment for the nerve conduction study and avidly continue to prepare for the New River Trail 50k, and proudly celebrate the tenacity,endurance and accomplishments of my friends and kindred spirits!