My Very Own Forrest Gump

A few years ago, my BFF started running.  He started out like most, running area 5K's but kept rolling his right ankle.  Although many years had passed since high school, Jay's ankles had not recovered from the torment they suffered in football, basketball and baseball.  He went and had complete ankle reconstruction on his right ankle, and as soon as possible, jumped right back into running.

And like Forrest, he just kept running.

Mville Ag Fair 5k 2012

Sometime in the last 12-18 months I recall him telling me, "Sarah, I have no desire to run a marathon."  Fine by me.  (That makes two of us!)

Fast forward to this past Spring.  He tells me he is signing up for this Tunnel Hill Trial 50/100 Mile Run in November.  WHAT?!  (Did you forget the whole I-have-no-desire-to-run-a-marathon statement?)  Last time I checked a marathon was 26.2 miles.  This was double that! He thought it would be great because the Tunnel Hill trail is in our favorite corner of the world (Southern Illinois), it was so close geographically-speaking, and he had plenty of time to train. In June, we headed down there to check the trail out.  It was beautiful, of course, at least the 6.5 miles the kids and I rode our bikes on while Jay ran.

He decided sometime mid-summer he would run a 30-mile trail run in October to help prepare for the 50-mile.

Every chance he had, he was running.  He would take the truck or car to be serviced in Casey and he would run home.  He would run into a ball game or home from one.  He often ran to church on Wednesday nights.  On the weekends, he would have his big runs and if possible, I would go with him on the bike.  We did a few long runs/rides at our local state park together.  And sometimes he would go out to the Lake north of town and run on their bike trails.  He trained pretty hard most of the summer.

Then his silly left foot/ankle/heel started becoming a problem.  He tried various methods to ease the pain and stress, went to the foot doctor, let off on the running a bit and finally decided nothing was going to work, he would just have to run through the pain.  Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

He completed the 30-mile trail run in about six hours.  It was treacherous, up and down hills, muddy, cold and rained a couple times.  I did a lot of praying during those six hours that he would finish in one piece.  He finished, we got in the car, drove straight home, showered, packed and headed to St. Louis for a wedding reception.  All the while, I think his body was in shock.

His knee, which he had never had problems with, suffered the most after that trail run, although his foot and heel were still causing him pain.  He pretty much laid off the training during the four weeks between the 30-mile and the 50-mile runs.  He knew that would hurt him on one hand, but on the other, his body needed some rest.

Last Wednesday, we were talking about the heel and I decided to research what the essential oils could do for his plantar fasciitis.  I had put a couple oils on his heel a few times, but he didn't seem to notice much relief.  I tried again and he was amazed.  I showed him the oil combo and told him to oil up every few hours until his big day.  (It was only three days, but hey...)

Last Friday mid-afternoon we headed south to Vienna, Illinois to pick up his registration packet and settle into our hotel.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story...