Today was the most difficult thing I have ever done in running. I started off the day with 100 miles in two days with Rob and had another 48+ miles planned going on 10 hours rest. The very first steps I took in the morning were painful and by mile 8 I was down to pure walking. The pain in my right forefoot was so intense that I could not put any pressure on it. I altered my gate and that gave me a horrific blister on my right outer heal. Luckily I had David Riddle, Kathy Yougren, Blake Thompson and Sarah Bowden there to keep me going. I walked with pacers for 6-8 more miles before going it solo with crew support. I had some resurgence in the late afternoon when I was able to medicate enough to take the edge off, but that faded toward the end. All day long my mind was mostly strong, I stayed hydrated, properly fueled and aware of the magnitude of each step as I gutted out 37 of the planned 48 miles.
Our crew chief Josh Kennedy worked on my feet tonight after icing. I have forefoot blisters over callouses over blisters on both feet and a few other bad spots. As of right now, I can not apply any pressure on them while standing. But this is too important for me to give up, despite being several hours behind Rob. Eric Fritz and I will start out on Dugger Mountain in the morning and see how my feet respond.