Castlewood Cliffs 10k

It's been cold and rainy all week. Until yesterday. In the 60s and sunny. Matt Vespa'd over and we drove down to Castlewood Canyon South of Franktown for the 10k trail race. ! was hoping to do about 1 hour in spite of the rumor that it was actually 6.5-6.9 miles. We started off w/ 3/4 miles on blacktop roads to string us out before the single track. ! popped out the 1st mile in 7:20. ! was pushing hard, but not really overdoing it. Mile 2 slowed down to 8:50 about what ! needed to average to do 6.9 miles in 1 hour. 9:14 pace if it was 6.5 miles and 9:40 for a mere 10k. By this point we were well down into the canyon and the trail undulated only slightly. There was a steep climb about 2/3 in to get out of the canyon. About like taking the stairs up 5 floors then mostly flat along the canyon edge back to the finish. As much trail running w/ long, steep climbs as !'ve been doing lately ! knew ! could handle this one. ! would slow down of course and my heart rate would spike. Ok. Back to the end of mile 2. By that point ! had been passed by about 20 of the girls and all the fast guys. ! was totally out of contention for any prizes as usual. The fastest guy did 44:54 and the fastest girl did 56:03. The slow pokes were all way behind me and there were just a few chasing me. Matt was back somewhere. He could see me sometimes. At ~2.8 miles ! was still moving when ! miss stepped and turned my ankle. It hurt some, but just like always, pushing on loosened it up. Not like always was the pain in the foot. It seems ! bashed the side of my foot on the rock when ! turned it. ! pulled the tongue away and it still hurt. Every stride was painful. ! walked a bit then ran some. ! could run ok as long as ! managed to step down onto the left (uninjured) foot. ! did 10:03 for the 3rd mile. The pain wasn't going away and ! was soon walking only. ! was getting passed by mobs of runners who never should have been able to see me. Matt came by pretty soon. Then many more. Mile 4 was 13:14. Way too slow. OR way too fast considering. ! started running again a bit before the big climb. ! passed @ least 6 people on the hill. ! was actually running while everyone else was walking. ! was doing ok. Staying aerobic. Then the pain returned and forced me to walk the last of it. There were people in front of me that continued to walk even on the top where it was flat. ! started running again then walked due to the pain. It now hurt just to walk. The plan ! formulated was to limp to the aid station and put some ice on my swollen foot. They didn't have ice. Just gallon jugs of cool water. ! put one against my foot to no avail. After a few minutes it was time to continue on. After about 1 tenth mile ! decided it wasn't worth it. The pain was unbearable and potentially increasing damage. ! staggered back and sat down until the park ranger came to drive me back to the ambulance. The paramedic put an ice pack on it and recommended ! get an x-ray. ! didn't. No point since the only thing they could do would be tape it up and give me drugs. Matt and ! stopped @ Long John Silver's for lunch on the way back. It was his first time there. Obviously he had a lousy childhood. !'m using my old crutches now until ! can walk again. ! have CCTT Wednesday and then next Wednesday, Barkin' Dog Duathlon next Saturday and in 2 weeks the Colfax Marathon. ! can only ice and pray that !'ll be well for that one. This is about the worst time of this year for a serious injury. And it sucks.