Cheesey bottom crust

Grapevine. Lots of stretching/rolling and icing the last couple days. Much better run this evening. No hip/groin pain and the shin didn't act up till the last several minutes.

Parkway/Main. Couldnt sleep so I got up and ran. Shin got crappy after 3 miles. Went to the doc and got chewed out for running in the middle of the night. Oops. Hes trying a different tape job to see if that will help the foot strike. Fingers crossed.

Grapevine. Teamed up with the Wildbull for a morning run. Nice to get caught up with him and have some company for a run. Shin was ok for most of the run. Either I was distracted by talking or its improving a little.

Landfill. Good run today. No real shin issues, hips/groin where good. Went easy and aside from being a snack for the deer fly down by the river had fun.

Parkway. Not a very fun one today as the shin was being a turd. Rescued a sparrow out of the road before he could get run over again. He was hurt but still kicking so I felt bad for him. Moved him to some bushes and then checked on him on the way back. Still alive but not flying off so only a matter of time till he died. He didn't want to get out of my hand which made me even sadder but I put him down and wished him good luck.

Grapevine. Ran with JD, Ada and Emily for a bit then they headed home and I soloed the rest. No big shin issues on a new tape job.

Had to be out to Bloomington early so I took my stuff and ran there. Went from the in laws home near the country club to the river trail to the confluence trail head then around tonaquint and back into Bloomington. Legs felt fresh from the two days off but the shin still bugged.

Grapevine. Last visit to the doc yesterday. We switched back to the wrap he used the first time I went and he showed me how to do it. Will try and see what happens going at it alone. Its just getting to pricey to go so often. Shin was pretty good today. Just twinges no full blown pain but felt super tired. I got to the dirt and thought hey I wanted to throw some barefoot in a few times a week. This dirt would be an ok place to do a little of that. Didnt get too far before my feet had had enough of the rocks though. I know, Im not very intelligent. Put the shoes back on and finished out the run. Not one ounce of pain or shin problem while shoeless though. I need to go more like that but on grass for my wuss feet. Thinking of trying a more minimalist shoe to see if that helps.

Over to the soccer park then ran 12 laps barefoot. Wasnt sure quite how far Id gone. I was thinking each lap was around .2  but I knew I needed more so I put the shoes back on and went down to Main then up to the parkway and looped around home. Turns out each lap around the park is .25 on the watch and map my run so I went a little further than I probably should have with the parkway loop. Shin was bugging until the last 1.5 then it stopped. Doesnt seem to be any reasoning to its acting up or feeling better. Aside from not having gone that far in several months everything held up well.

Grapevine. Body is pretty tired so I took it slow. Shin was bugging bad but no hip or groin problems.

1 mile barefoot then the parkway loop. Way too tired and the shin was a jerk until the last mile.

landfill. didn't beat the flys out and they had my number. that was motivation to try and pick to the pace coming back but there was nothing in the legs. shin
stopped me a few times but again was almost good the last mile. frustrating.

Grapevine.

Bone Wash. A little better shin wise today. Nice to get out above town again.

Grapevine. Had a bit more energy today so I picked up the pace on the way back. The shin pain stopped but then the hips/groin got really sore. Wondering if its a form issue that's causing all these issues.

Hell hole/dam road with the Wildbull. Nice and cool this morning and we beat the deer fly awake. Shin sore most of the run and the groin thing is back full force. Seems like all I do is complain about injury but I want to have it down so I can try and see when it's good/bad and what was happening around that time so hopefully I can get to the bottom of it or find someone else who can.

Grapevine. Took it super slow today. Shin was tender but no real groin/hip issues.

Parkway. Legs felt really good today and not to much shin pain. Picked it up for the 3 mile return. Stride felt effortless which hasn't happened in quite a while. Felt good to have such a good run after so many hard ones.

City Wells. Got a late start after going around the block with the kids but they had fun so Im ok with that. Groin was ok but shin was all over the place. Painfull, not pain at all, some pain. Nothing that stopped the run but annoying as heck.

School/Millcreek/Top of Greensprings. Not a bad run this morning. We could use some moisture to help pack down the sandy trails.

Grapevine. Easy day like always. Saw 2 roadrunners and several coveys of quail plus the usual rabbits. Shin was making itself known but not too bad.

Grapevine. Easy again. No wildlife today. Saw the PV crew going down the road. Quite a group of kids. Top of Zion the next 2 days. Should be a lot of fun. Never done a relay of this length before.

Top of Zion Relay legs 7, 19. First leg was 3.7 miles from Boulder back toward Escalante. First mile was down hill then the rest was a climb. Sometimes pretty steep. Wasnt planing on trying to go fast just have fun hit around a 8 minute average overall and see how the body felt in the heat of the day. That all went away as soon as I started running. Hit the first mile in 6:09 as my brain went into race mode seeing people in front of me. I was able to calm things back down for the rest of the run but still ended with a 7:16 avg for the run and passed 4 people. 3.7 @ 7:16

Second leg was  4.96 miles from Cannonville to Tropic (the last 5 of the Bryce Canyon half) at 10:30pm. Didnt think the legs would do to well as I had gone harder than I wanted to on the first leg but they worked great and kept wanting to catch and pass anyone in sight. Passed 1 lady right at the start and kept a steady 7:20s pace till the last mile when I picked it up to pass my last kill. Got 3 more people for a total of 4 kills during the leg. Loved the cool temps and the night run. 4.96 @ 7:23

Top of Zion Relay - Leg 31 7.6@7:28

After no sleep for 24 hours and going harder than I thought I was in shape for on the two previous legs I knew this one would be difficult. Watched several others start out and most where walking before getting out of eye sight. This was the highest point of the race at 9100 feet so that was going to be a factor too. Started easy and just worked into a pace I felt I could hold and tried to keep it by feel and not look at the watch. This leg has a net elevation loss but is full of roller coaster hills that make it not feel like a loss. Body was tired and the legs protested but I was able to keep a good pace and even pick it up on the downhills. Caught and passed 5 more for a total of 13 kills. 

Overall I had a really fun time. I only knew 2 of the people on my team before the race but had fun getting to know the others and spend many stinky hours packed close to strangers. Saw 3 rattlers (one of which Mary almost stepped on), ended with only 9 able runners on the team after we lost 2 of our team members when they had to go home to attend their 5 yr old that had gotten both shins broken in a 4 wheeler accident and a 3rd to injury. Everyone else picked up the slack with no complaints and did great. Aside from the no sleep thing I would do one of these again no problem.

Shin was great the first run. 2nd and 3rd it was acting up but never bad enough to cause an issue. Started having pain in the arch of the foot in the mornings. So it looks like whatever the problem is is now affecting that area to. No hip or groin pain and Ill take that thank you very much.