I think my New Years resolutions post jinxed me…
Slip n’ Slide (not the fun kind…)
After making my New Years post, I felt very excited to get started on the goals I had discussed. The first Sunday of 2024 I woke up at a reasonable hour and set out to join the YYC Run Crew for a morning run (one of my resolutions).
It just happened to be the day that Canada remembered winter is supposed to include snow… It was chilly but also nice to have that winter wonderland feel after a fairly brown Christmas. Unfortunately, lurking underneath the fluffy white stuff was a very rude awakening… duh duh duh!
I slipped on the icy concrete path and fell flat on my back. What followed was a lot of loud moaning and thinking I had broken myself. Not a pretty picture to say the least.
Recovery Time
Fortunately, things were not as bad as they could have been. I separated my right shoulder, which the doc compared to a bad sprain. I was instructed to wear a sling until I feel better, about two to four weeks. Not a great situation for a full-time office worker/part-time-ish blogger such as myself!
I took a week off to let the shoulder get some quality recovery time. The rest seems to have done wonders as we are not even at the two week mark and here I am typing up a storm with no pain.
I am incredibly lucky.
A Winter Wake Up Call
I have learned a couple of important lessons here. Firstly, I cannot let my guard down while winter running. There had been such a long stretch with no snow and very little ice on the paths, I let my winter running brain check out. Won’t be doing that again!
Secondly, I need new shoes. The ones I have been wearing are a few years old and just not suitable for running in these conditions. Fortunately, the trail running shoes that I planned to purchase for Sinister 7 are designed with really good tread. Time to pull the trigger and get those working for me sooner rather than later.
I have started reading Training Essentials for Ultrarunning by Jason Koop, one of the two books I committed to reading. I am learning a bunch of interesting information that is helping me perfect an individualized training plan. Working on my game plan has kept the race front of mind and excitement levels high.
My shoulder recovery is trending positively, so hope to add some more miles in the very near future. Stay safe out there!
