Leg swing warmup, 2.13 miles in 19:03, 8:57/mi, HR 165 & stretching. One last quick shakeout jog in the morning. Actually not too bad. Yes, the left hip tightness and uncoordination came during the run BUT I managed to muddle through without walking and it seemed to be starting to work itself out and loosen up. At its worst, I noticed my left hip muscles "tensing" for impact. I think part of the problem might be the anticipatory pain that remains in the ankle, exacerbated by the pavement. Maybe its anticipatory jarring of pavement alone.....looking back on the bouts, things are definitely better when I'm off-road. I can only hope that is the case tomorrow, as I take comfort in being in the company of guys like Jeff Browning, who won last year in course record time despite banging his shin the day prior and being in pain the entire way; Scott Jurek, who won the Hardrock 100 in 2007 4 days after spraining his ankle, and our own Jon Allen, who overcame hip problem that largely sidelined him for 6 weeks prior to his first 100 miler and went on to go under 20 hours on his first try. Thanks guys. So, despite the worst case of nerves I've had in a long long time, I'm all in. | 