As happens from time to time, by the time I put my cold weather gear on, drove to Shelby Park, stretched and started my run, I'd lost my motivation and felt kind of "blah." I strongly considered packing it in and heading to Bongo Java East for a cup of coffee. Instead, I decided to run a quick 5 miles on the trail, as opposed to the 8-mile run I had originally planned.
As also often happens, once I got going, I felt good and was glad I hadn't stopped the run. I ran my usual route on the grass trails, then turned onto the Cornelia Fort trail. Toward the end of the .7 miles of the Cornelia Fort trail, I turned onto a single track trail I don't run often because I knew I could turn around when it ended in a neighborhood at around the 2 1/2 mile mark. That way, I could head back and get 5 miles in by the end of the trail run.
All went according to plan until I hit the 3 mile mark while returning at about the halfway point of the Cornelia Fort trail. Suddenly - and by suddenly, I mean with no warning whatsoever - in full stride, my left foot struck a tree root extending out into the trail that was obscured by the fallen leaves. I fell hard, face first into the ground, arms outstretched in front of me. I groaned as I hit the ground, then slowly rolled over onto my back.
As I lay there, I did a physical inventory, the kind any 50 year old does when he or she takes a bad spill. First, I checked my right shoulder and although it was a bit sore, I didn't think it was any worse for the wear. I wasn't bleeding on my forearms or elbows because I was wearing a cold weather running jacket. My knees were okay, too, but as I stood up, I noticed my left foot didn't feel too good. No worries, I thought, as I walked a few tentative steps, then started running again. Immediately, my left foot began throbbing and I stopped running and began walking. After a quarter of a mile or so, I tried to run again only to have my left foot stop me in my tracks.
Shit, I thought. I'm hurt. I limped the remaining 2 miles back to my truck, the pain in my left foot increasing the longer I walked.
When I got home and took my running shoes off, I could see that my left great toe didn't look good. It was read, very swollen, stiff and cold to the touch. By Saturday evening, it was significantly bruised and even more swollen. I began to worry about whether I had broken it and, more importantly, how this type of an injury might affect my ability to run in the future (thanks Google). So, I decided to go to the emergency room and get it x-rayed.
Fractured distal phalanx. 4-6 weeks with no running and a lot of pain when walking of at least a couple of weeks. All confirmed by an orthopedic at the Vanderbilt Bone & Joint Clinic on Wednesday. Shit. I mean, shit.
How in the hell am I going to handle not running for 4-6 weeks? Time to get back in the gym, I guess.
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