I currently find myself starving sat in a hospital bed waiting to go in for surgery so I figured, why not use the time productively and blog about it.
So just over a week ago, I was reeling from a pb at the World Half Marathon Champs in the shape of my life. With only four weeks from the half till London, I dared to think ‘I’ve only got 1 hard week left and then a 3 week taper, what could possibly go wrong’…
The guys in TeamThie will tell you though, I of all people shouldn’t tempt fate, having previously been out of action due to bizzare occurrences whilst training such as being jumped and having my ribs cracked, to having a freak viral infection.
As it was, the week following Cardiff was going fairly well. I was feeling tired but still getting the training done. James and I had planned to put in one last long run on Sunday following some 2k reps last Wednesday. The day before the long run I decided to include Lancaster parkrun in a steady run. I hadn’t planned on running too hard with the long run in mind the next day but thought it would be fun. In hindsight I shouldn’t have stepped outside of the plan but you can never predict when these freak accidents may occur and they can happen anywhere.
Lancaster parkrun is one of the best parkruns I’ve done before. It’s picturesque and well supported which was why i thought it would be a nice way to mix up my run. The accident occurred as I entered the second lap of the race. Unfortunately it was wet and I took a corner too sharply. I went down with a heavy thud but thought nothing of it as I bounced straight back up. My hand was cut and my knees felt stiff but I figured I should man up and carry on and assess the damage later on. It was half a mile later when I ran past a girl with a horrified look on her face that I realised I’d perhaps caused more damage than I previously thought. I finished the parkrun and then immediately noticed my legs were red. My left knee was gushing out blood yet due to the adrenaline it still didn’t feel too bad. The organisers kindly strapped me up and I was on my way. Sandra Bateson later tried to clean it out and we then decided I should get to A and E so they could clean it properly. Hannah will tell you…that was a dramatic experience. As the shock started to kick in, along with the lack of food and loss of blood I started to feel quite ill and not long after arriving at A and E I was out like a light as I passed out. Hannah is adamant still that I did this simply to get pushed up the queue.
The doctors decided that the wound had too much mud and grit in to clean out so they’d pack it up and I’d have to come back Monday. Being a typical runner the first thing I did was mention London and ask when I could run next. At this point everything looked promising if I could get stitched up on Monday.
As the weekend progressed the pain in the leg increased and this morning it was confirmed that the cut is infected and is a lot deeper than previously thought. Whether I landed on something is unclear as I bounced up so quickly I didn’t stop to look but the size of the hole in my leg would suggest I did.
I’ll now be heading in for surgery to have the wound cleaned out and then back in in a few days to hopefully get stitched back up.
Sometimes life throws these curve balls at us and although I’m not sure when I’ll be running next or whether I’ll be on the start line at London, I’m kind of looking forward to the challenge ahead and just getting back out there. Nothing worth doing is easy…or straight forward!
A big thanks to Hannah, Sandra and Mick Bateson for looking after me and putting up with me complaining. No more drama from me for the next few weeks I promise.
Thanks again for reading. I’ll be back with some positive news!!