October 7, 1979 (Sunday)

From running log:
Ran about 5.8 miles on a cool sunny afternoon 60F. I clumsily twisted my left ankle on a pot hole in the road ... stupid. With my sore back and leg muscles, I had to coat myself with a layer of good old Ben Gay just to be able to run. I need more rest. There is a race (Elroy Invitational) on Tuesday, then at Tomah on Thursday. It is now less than two weeks until the conference meet. We must win!

30 years later:
The dreaded pot hole ankle twist! It happened to me countless times. Those Wisconsin roads get destroyed in the winter, with its alternate cycles of melting and freezing. Luckily, unless it's an actual sprain, a twisted ankle is typically something that hurts a bit but is otherwise easily ignored. Whew.

All focus was on the upcoming conference meet. The races in-between were merely warmup events for the main show. I'd never been to Elroy, Wisconsin ... to me it sounded like a place for a rodeo more than a place for a cross country race. Then again, I was from Baraboo, not exactly a bustling metropolis of sophisticated urbanites.