On the road again

After a one month hiatus, I am running again. Not fast, of course, but running just the same.

The layoff was due to a bicycle accident in which I ran into a dog at 20+ mph. I went down hard on the pavement, separating my shoulder and breaking five ribs. There were other scratches, scrapes and contusions. I banged my head on the pavement twice, but the helmet prevented any injury there.

The bike repair was $220. We won't discuss the medical bill.

A couple weeks ago, I set my sights on May 20 as a return date. I missed it by one day. Saturday, despite the impending Rapture, I headed out on a walk that I intended to turn into a run. Mike and I walked a half mile, then "ran" a mile very slowly. We walked a while more, then ran again. All told, I think we ran about 2 of the 3.27 miles. The overall pace was 13:50.

Then today, I went to English Landing Park, which has a nice, flat, soft trail, and took off on what turned out to be a 4.4 mile run. This really was a run, since the pace was 10:06. It was hot and humid, so that was fast enough under any circumstances.

I estimate I am 80 percent recovered. My shoulder is pretty stiff, and unless I concentrate, that stiffness expands to my neck as I run. I have to try real hard to stay loose. Shaking my arms helps, but it has the unwanted effect of reminding me that the bones in my shoulder don't fit together very well yet. But that's a discomfort thing. There's a low level of pain coming from my first four ribs, the ones that were broken the worst. They apparently aren't fully healed. If you look closely at the x-ray, you might be able to see the No. 1 & 2 ribs broken and overlapping, and the clean break on No. 4 (the pieces don't overlap). The shoulder separation is pretty evident, too. The orthopod told me I would always have a noticeable bump on my shoulder as a result of the injury.

In case you're wondering, the doctor gave me the green light on exercise, telling me Thursday that there was no chance of re-injuring myself. He said I might be sore after a run, but that was all. After I heard that I made up my mind I was going to run no matter how it felt.

I was sore during and after Saturday's run, but it eased quickly afterward. I was sore at times during Sunday's run, but not after. I'm actually sorer now, hours after the run and after a full day of various activities. I'm sure a bit of Ibu at bedtime will be necessary.

It feels so good to get going again that I think I'll swear off and further serious injuries. There are other ways to take time off. -- Rob