This was supposed to be a run on the last 30 miles of the CCC 100 course, starting at Kachess Lake's "trail from hell" and ending in Easton. Everything was looking to be a fun group run with Ronda, Stacey & Bill, who I've never run with before, Tim & Kendall, who I very rarely get a chance to run with, and my training buddy, Tony, who I'll be pacing at CCC. Shortly after we had begun running the "TFH", I twisted my ankle. I didn't think it was that serious and continued on, hoping that it would work itself out. That didn't happen. In fact, I could feel the ankle swelling more and more. I finally had to tell the group that I had to turn back. We had only gone about 4 miles, but it took me over 2 hours to get back to my car. It continued to swell and by the time I got to the car, the pressure from my shoe laces was excruciating. I soaked my feet in the lake, then drove home and soaked it in a cooler full of ice. That night, I kept waking up because it was so painful, so at 3:00 am I looked for my crutches and drove to the er. The first thing they told me was that I had an infection. Puzzled, I told them that I came in for a sprain. They told me that the swelling and the purple streaks running up my leg were indications of an infection (cellulitis). By now the swelling had gotten worse and my whole foot, including toes, were like a balloon. They took x-rays and blood tests. No broken bones, and they hooked me up to an IV with antibiotics. They gave me an air cast and prescriptions for an antibiotic and Percocet. I can feel the effects of the Oxycodone as I'm writing this and can barely keep my eyes open. They drew a line on my leg where the purple streaks end. If the streaks spread past that line, I'm supposed to go back to the er, otherwise I go back in the morning. I'm finding out how difficult it is to do simple everyday things with crutches, and how much I take for granted. How exactly do you carry a glass of water with crutches?

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