Yeah, somehow I have become the leader of the pack……3 times a week, so far…
They asked, I said sure, so yep, two evenings, one Sunday morning a week, I lead, people show up, I map out the routes, keep everyone sorted out as far as paces are concerned, so that no one is left behind and to keep all conected, and entertained…hopefully..
Yesterday was typical…..someone new to our group, some really quick people, midpackers, and me and her …. so all good…
Because I wanted to keep all close together, I improvised the planned route…picked something with a lot of twists and turns, because that’s what I do….but because of that, those in the lead had to keep turning around, occasionally stopping, because I only know the route, and well, it kept us all together for most of the run…I let the speedy group go when we were almost done, and we all finished together…a Warren 5K, which was actually just over 6K……
Fun
Tonight, another night, another group……probably a lot of the same people, but we’ll do another 5/6K…I’m still working on the route…I usually have a few choices in my head, and then decide what we do when I see who’ll be joining…..it’s colder, and raining, but, well, there’ll probably be lots, because no one wants to be the one that doesn’t show…
A busy weekend coming, but well…tomorrow will be an early long run and a swim for me….may rest Friday a bit because I’ve a 12K trail run on Saturday, another run Sunday….and well, then it’s time for a dinner…with the parents, cause, a Canadian Thanksgiving……..
Life is busy, not sure if this is what I planned when I retired wow, 8 years ago, but, well…this I love to do, and life right now rocks….there are some low points, points where I’m just not sure…..where doubts creep in…but for the most part….come on get happy..
Yes I have had…lots…..both on the bike and on the run…..
on the bike?
actually it’s been a while…
my worst ever was hitting a car that decided to make a left hand turn in front of me (I guess he didn’t see me?)……..hit his left quarter panel, the car was okay, my good old 10 speed was a piece of modern art……and yeah I didn’t die…good thing huh?…that was amazing. I was flying to catch a green light, head down, and as usual, the driver had no idea, and had no idea how quick a bike can travel, and no, a bike can’t stop on a dime…
Actually thinking about it, it’s always been about me running into things…pre helmets…I guess we all thought at the time that a ball cap was safety enough…..I’ve run into parked cars (dah) cars stopped in front of me (seriously, for air?)……and then there was the night someone on a bike in front of me decided to turn around on a sidewalk, right across that sidewalk, blocking that sidewalk…..turning his bike right across the sidewalk……yikes huh…that was concussion number one, broken glasses, and yeah, bought a new bike, and a helmet after that…..and now wear a helmet always…..cause
oddly enough, now, maybe because I’m now so much older…the bike’s been relatively safe…running on the other hand?……dangerous, or just, unfortunate?
running towards a concussion?
Yeah, well…injuries…a fractured lower left fibula, a few fainting spells, a concussion with a huge helping of a fractured occipital bone…..yikes.
I’ve only ever dry heaved once ; my very first ever attempt at a marathon, in Kelowna in 1998, and as for GI issues, well, I’ve always managed to head those off at the pass, thank goodness for porta potties…..that was a fun introduction to marathoning…how long ago was that?…the distances were still marked off in miles, and it was the final time that the Okanagan Marathon was held in May…..
Yes, I have fainted on a run, actually one run, twice on that same run, I think in 2013… a stupid run, that I just had to do, just had to get that 10K done….
ran from home after taking something for my seasonal allergies, began with a really sore chest and upper back, and all I took from that was to run harder, quicker, because that’s what you do…
I made it to the first intersection, seeing stars….2nd intersection, still not feeling great, but, well, a hospital on one side of the street, my doctor’s office on the other…..and there was a bench at a bus stop, could I make it that far? so I kept going, then, well, wondered why my pillow was so cold, and why there was a tree in my bedroom……yep, I went down, hard…lucky for me there was a grass boulevard for me to fall on….it took me a few minutes to gather myself, find my glasses, and yeah, it must have happened quickly, because no one n a busy road noticed……
Did that stop me?
Nope, I turned around, headed towards home….walked a bit, felt better, started running, got back to that first intersection, and well, found myself looking up at the underside of some freaked out woman’s car…
I guess I blacked out hard again, this time onto asphalt ….. not sure if I fell and hit the car or if she hit me when I passed out, but, yeah, I looked like I lost a prize fight with a angry cat…told the lady I tripped, and walked home…posted everything onto Facebook, cause, well that’s what you do……and then called my MD……who couldn’t help me, or figure out what happened……and man I was bruised pretty good, my run tights were ripped, and a few bruises on the face; it was a weird year, I passed out a few more times in that one month, once at home, and once in the men’s change room in Banff Hot Springs and scared the shit out of my son…..was it allergies, or what, but haven’t had any issues with fainting since, so, maybe it was just a thing?
Then there’s that fractured ankle…fibula…..was out for a run, about half way, with our Saturday morning run crew, we were on pavement, a friend sprinted passed me through a bunch of trees next to the trail, I just had to follow; there was no way I wasn’t going to keep up.
I tripped, I thought I heard a branch or a root break, but I guess that sound (it was loud) it was actually my ankle…I ran back to our starting point, because, well, why not? I didn’t know it was broken, I thought a bad sprain……but yep, a visit to ER, in a cast for 3 months…..and well, the fibula never actually healed, but apparently scar tissue and ligaments are holding everything in place……and now I know what a bone breaking sounds like…..
If you’ve read this blog for a while you already know the story about the head….a ..run on a slippery winter day, thought off road would be better, but, after two quick steps, well not so much.
I knew I fell hard, but, could not remember if I’d fallen backwards or forwards, didn’t immediately know I’d knocked myself out, couldn’t figure out where my glasses fell…….but yeah, after about a week, finally went to an MD, he sent me to get a CT scan, and yep, cracked the skull…I knew and suspected the concussion, and actually attempted to run through that, but, well, a cracked skull honestly, scared me….I’ve been told a few times that I got lucky…and scar on my skull, a concussion that took, so far, 2 and a half years to go away……and yeah, now, when I see ice, I put on traction….still terrifies me when I think about it all…I was knocked out, on my own, on a trail no one would be stupid enough to run on on that morning…..what if I hadn’t regained consciousness?……I figure I was out for 30 minutes……
We run, we’re active, injuries happen…I guess the lesson is, don’t die, take the time the heal (yep, I’ve got that runner’s knee thing and that plantar fasciitis comes back every so often ) completely..and then start all over again..
I’m 63, I know things now take longer to heal, and I do know I have to rest and recover……..but, well…..we carry on right?
