Everything changes...

Saturday morning was to be my first trail run -- however I have been totally sidelined. I currently have a "jones" fracture in my left foot and a split in the radius of my right wrist. The previous Saturday as I was untying canoe from our vehicle, I managed to slip and break my foot and my wrist. I had never broken a bone before, this was a new level of pain for me. Thus, my vacation ended with a thud. I have had my first ambulance ride now. The foot fracture will heal with the use of an "airboot", a bracing boot with inflatable sections to provide stable and support for the foot. The expected healing time is 4-6 weeks. The wrist required surgery as the break of the radius bone was causing the bone to pull away from the wrist. The orthopedic surgeon attached an 'external fixator' to the wrist. This device is intended to draw the bones together. The expected timeline is also 4-6 weeks for the wrist. Being down this long means my fitness training will have to start all over. If all goes well with the healing of my bones I can start fitness training again beginning in August. Running will be out of the question for a good while. Pounding of the pavement could easily lead to a re-injury. I am thinking cycling and swimming combined with resistance training will the best for getting me into shape again. The hardest part of healing so far has been psychological. I find myself teetering on depression... this could be the pain talking or not - either way I have got to find a way to keep it together.

Paws in the Park --- Revisited

The first race with my dog partner was the Paws in the Park 5k in Port St Joe in August 2011. This was a tough event for us, the temperature and humidity was brutal! I am all for supporting Gulf County Humane society but... why is the race in August? There is a Bow Wow Bash in October that sounds like fun -- the race should be in October too ... I bet the event gets more participants. I cannot remember our race time but I do remember I walked a LOT! The heat was too much for me and I was really worried about Cherokee. We usually run much earlier in the day and I wasn't sure how he would handle running so much later. Overall, I think he did well -- the next race we did was the St Patrick's day Run with the Dogs in Destin, FL,  what a difference here... the Destin race was huge with bunches of dogs! March is much better than August in Florida for running anyway :-)  The sheer number of dogs was almost overwhelming for Cherokee but he got it together as the race got under way. Our time was pitiful, but that's OK, too. It was a fun day and Cherokee was very happy to play.

Thoughts on training and more

Having decided to participate in a 6k trail run at the end of the month, I realized the need to ramp up the training for me & my dog partner. I am planning to use the Galloway method of run/walk especially since this will be the end of June in Florida (uh, it's HOT! here) I like to run with music but several times now during the actual races I have had 'technical' issues with either earbuds, mp3 player or dead batteries (which really sucks after creating a brand new playlist). I think I run better (perhaps this is a delusion) when listening to music. Eventually, I hope my running technique develops to the point that I could maintain a good steady pace on my own... so where is the rambling leading? I don't know, yet...

Few days ago I saw this picture of the "modern marathoner" -- sure hope this not me. :-)

Last month I bought a belt to hold a couple small water bottles and this works pretty well in helping to stay hydrated while running in the brutal Florida humidity. I also enjoy my Garmin forerunner and mp3 player --- uh oh maybe I am getting too many gadgets...ok I am drawing the line now --- no more gadgets! (except my dog bowl, dog baggies, leash and phone -- all fits in the belt with water bottles)