Day 9 began with much concern over an injury to a muscle in my lower left leg. The injury occurred in Roanoke Sunday and became progressively worse through Tuesday. Good news--I ran very cautiously and it's better this afternoon than the last two days. We had a great day--lots to see, but, someone turned up the thermostat!

Day 9 Run

Today, I ran from Milepost 160 to Milepost 180. We began near Floyd an ended in the REAL Mayberry (see more below). The run had three longer climbs: Rocky Knob, around FloydFest, and just after Mabry Mill. Otherwise rolling hills was the terrain.

Two issues slowed the run...

First, I injured a muscle in my lower left leg Sunday. The injury resulted from running on the left side of the Parkway which has a significant camber and exaggerated sloping in curves. My left foot was consistently landing with the outside of the foot lower than the inside forcing the a muscle just outside the tibia bone to constantly work too hard; it eventually was strained or pulled creating significant pain. I should have known better! Among the modifications today was to run on the right side of the road. That helped much, and the leg (while still very sore) is better this afternoon. I also kept it relatively slowed and walked anything steep (up or down).

Second, the heat is on. Today's BRPWeather.Com forecast called for a high of 78 degrees at Rocky Knob and FloydFest. That's hot for runners. After the first 6 miles, I had to get hydration every 2 miles, and that was really not enough.

For details on the run see... https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1184047531

Photos and Video

The App Ortho Photo of the Day

We found the REAL Mayberry. Andy Griffith's Mayberry derived it's name from a small community just a 100 yards off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Milepost 180. Griffith and his father made many trips to the Mayberry Trading Post. The community had a post office until 1922. In addition to the Trading Post, there are two churches, a community center, and a few houses.

We placed many photos on http://www.BRPWeather.com/. See the map on BRPWeather.com, then zoom into the north end of of the Parkway in the Google Map to see our photos between Floyd and Meadows of Dan. By the way, you can upload your photos to BRPWeather.com also; just click on the Photo link and follow the process--it's quick and easy!

We uploaded photos of every overlook, Mabry Mill, Rocky Knob, FloydFest, Meadows of Dan. Terrific stuff!

Here are three videos, the typical starting and ending videos plus a third of Ray singing while walking a steep section on the Rocky Knob climb.

Location Information

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