Emily, eccentric heel drops have saved me from chronic Achilles issues more than once. I try to do them on a regular basis now. I have chronically tight calves from being a forefoot/toe runner that runs up mountains a lot, and this leads to a cranky Achilles every now and again.

Oak, half the battle (OK, maybe more than half) is just getting out there. Nice work.

I did my last race of the year over the weekend. Time to do something else now (let it snow!). This race was my first experience with a timed event. Originally I nuttily thought I might do 24 hours but actually got smart for once and opted for the 12 hour event. I took it pretty easy, didn't really have a goal (I went to do the race with a friend who is new to trail running and new to ultra running so I wasn't really there to race). Tiny, local event in Morristown, Tennessee. Great weather, great organization, super fun crowd, and pleasant rolling course. I ended up doing 59 miles in 12 hours. I had time for one more lap but just didn't feel like it. I'm pretty happy with the result considering I didn't even think or feel like I was racing. It's all about who shows up and how many show up. I won the whole shebang. I'm pretty sure that is the first and last time in my life that will happen. My friend did great--her longest run ever (and she is already talking about her next race in November). And I had a great visit to Tennessee and North Carolina. The weather was beautiful and the hard cider was tasty.

Come December I have to start thinking about running again since many of the race lotteries open on Jan 1. I'll just read about all of you running until then!