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- - - - DAY 3 - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2008 - - - -

SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE: 2:30pm MST
I will be back on the road tomorrow, Thursday, May 1... so any teams that want to get a lead on me had better run and walk today while I'm spending one day off the road!

First some fun news! Pictures from yesterday have been posted. You can click here to see those pictures in yesterday's journal! Also, a video has been posted from the end of yesterday's run. Click here to see it! Also, a couple of videos from Day 1 have been posted.

I have had x-rays taken in Miles City, Montana (which is about 30 miles from where I stopped yesterday) and was fortunate to meet with a sports medicine physician who was at the local hospital today, but who is based out of the hospital in Billings. Bottom line, tomorrow I will continue my trek across Montana with a few adjustments. I will be lightening "Bob" a bit by leaving my tent in Miles City. Also, I will be breaking up the planned 46-mile day from Miles City to Forsyth into two days, as will be reflected in the overall schedule soon. Tomorrow morning, I will be transported out to the Powder River, where I left off yesterday, and will trek 30 miles to Miles City. I say "trek" because I need to take some days and simply walk out the distance in order to avoid placing too much stress onto my left foot at this time. I may use an ankle compression sleeve to help keep my foot in straight alignment and to provide a little more support while I'm moving forward.

Ultimately, P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 will continue and Bob and I will keep moving toward the Idaho border! So far, I have logged 62 miles and am 10% done with the trek. Here's something that you don't see everyday... an x-ray of my left foot! There is no stress fracture and the ligament strain will be treated by alternating heat and ice applications. There will be discomfort, but I am committed to continuing on across Montana and sharing details with kids worldwide through this site. Scroll down past the x-ray images for more information.

I've been asked by one teacher what the round spot is on my big toe that appears in the x-ray above. I'm not sure... but the doctor said all looks normal. It could simply be a part of the bone. Either way, that's what lies below the surface! I've been asked if I know why the injury happened. I truly don't know why. I was going up an incline with Bob, which is something I've done for hundreds and hundreds of miles without a problem. However, yesterday a little ligament decided it was a bit much and decided to pull a bit. That can happen and it's just a part of sports. It doesn't matter if you compete in basketball, football, volleyball, track, wrestling or some other sport... muscles can experience a problem - even for me. So, there's no easy explanation for why this little ligament in my foot decided to have a problem yesterday. What's most important is that I sought help from a professional and am doing what I can to move forward without causing a permanent problem.

When undertaking such an endeavor as running 620 miles solo across a state - from the great plains to the top of the Rocky Mountains, you need to monitor your body carefully and take proper action if a problem arises. I've done that and have sought the advice of a professional in sports medicine. The doctor was very helpful and made good recommendations. As the person doing this solo journey it's up to me to decide precisely what distances I can do with the ligament strain, and I've made needed adjustments to the schedule. I also had to make adjustments as I ran across America.

There are so many things that can slow the progress of a trek like this, such as injury or weather. Even Bob could break down. So, although you're in teams where there are many of you logging miles, in my case there's just one person who can log the 30 to 40 miles each day to do this trek. The distance itself is quite challenging, but then with the added strain of pushing Bob every step it's physically demanding. I'm committed to continuing and will aim to persevere all the way to the Idaho border. I encourage the team leaders to check back to this site soon to see the few adjustments that I've made to the overall schedule. Essentially, this bump in the road will add a total of two days to my trek. Therefore, instead of finishing on Friday, May 16, I'm scheduled to finish on Sunday, May 18.

I wanted to address a few questions raised by team leaders. First of all, thank you to those who have submitted team mileages so far. I'm going to try and get some of that information tossed into the journal entry section of this site. I'm sorry that this inaugural P.A.C.E. Trek does not have a database feature to automatically calculate participating teams positions and to chart them so that teams can see where the individuals teams are in Montana. That really wasn't the focus in developing this project. The idea was for the teams to race me across Montana, not each other. Perhaps a team position feature will be something to include at this site for any future P.A.C.E. Treks. Also, you can have your participants run/walk as much as you want. The guidelines for distance that I've included at this site for various age groups are simply that... guidelines - or suggestions. I just don't want any kids overexerted during this journey. I'm looking at logging about 230 miles per week, so if you want your team to stay close to my location (virtually), you'll want to keep that weekly distance in mind. If you want to just log the 620 miles quickly and get across Montana, you can do that too.

I must extend my appreciation to Gary and Karen Huckins of Miles City who not only drove 30 miles out to the Powder River to pick me up yesterday, but who also have opened their home to me during this time. They arranged for me to be able to get the attention I needed from medical experts and have certainly gone out of their way to help to get me back on the road. Tomorrow, Karen is driving me back out to the Powder River so that I can start where I left off. I will run to their home in Miles City and spend the evening tomorrow. They have been wonderful and I not only appreciate their support of this endeavor, but also of my 2006 run across America. I stayed with them during my U.S. crossing.

So, P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 continues with Bob and I on the road. Tomorrow I will return to the Powder River and move west. Unfortunately, the weather is calling for winds at 30 to 50 miles per hour (likely out of the west) and heavy rain... with some possible snow included. The high temperature for Miles City tomorrow (my destination) is only 42 degrees! That's quite a change from yesterday's 85 degrees. This is certainly a trek of extremes! Thanks for trekking along and wish Bob and I luck tomorrow. We'll be back out in barren countryside and communication by phone will be unlikely. Keep moving forward and reaching for the next milepost.

Keeping on PACE,

I want to thank one of the team leaders from Illinois who sent me the following note about today's journal entry:

"Glad to hear you are doing better. We talked a lot about you and your situation. I appreciate the way you wrote about your dilemma. It was a great jumping off point to talk about with the kids. Your ideas and writings are very thoughtful."

I also want to thank the students in room 4 at Pioneer Elementary in Somerset, California who sent me the following notes of encouragement:

Emma – I wish you good luck.

Kyle – I hope you don’t hurt your foot again and I think you’re going to make it.

Erin – I hope you don’t hurt yourself and I hope you make your last run.

Keoni – I hope you get across Montana.

Dave – We all believe in you, Paul.

Marshall – Thank you for letting us join you.

Natalynn – I hope your foot gets better.

Sydney – I know you can do it.

Sara – I hope you make it across safely.

I also appreciate the thoughts from their team leader, Mary Simpson:

"Good job taking care of yourself out there. You set a good example for the kids of knowing when to push on and when to call it quits for awhile. We love following your trek with the photos and all the history, etc. Nice job putting it all together."