Watch Out for that Tree!

As a long distance runner you're always prepared for the inevitable injury that pounding the pavement for hours at a time can bring.  Plantar Fasciitis, shin splints, giant blisters, lost toenails, aching knees.  Luckily for me over the years a few blisters and a sore lower back have been my only running related injuries.  Although I have tripped a couple of times and scraped my knees, my injuries have never been anything that a little neosporin and few ibuprofen couldn't heal.

So with only 2 weeks left until my 5th marathon I was totally unprepared for a non-running related injury. 

I got my motorcycle license a year ago and although I passed the safety class I still don't feel comfortable on a bike.  So when a friend offered me to ride his son's 80cc dirt bike on some dirt roads with no traffic I thought it would be a good "safe" place to practice.  I was wrong, I hit a tree, I broke my clavicle. 

Luckily that was all I hurt.  After being thrown to the ground I was thinking three things:  s**t,  I just broke something and I won't be running the marathon on June 6.

It's hard not think that with one wrong turn I just wasted 6 months training for nothing. But I'm trying to remember that I had some great runs, ran faster than I ever have before and recovered faster. I know that 8 weeks in a sling means starting over, but I can't wait.  Hopefully I'll be more appreciative of every run, I'll be better prepared to achieve my goal, and most of all I'll be watching out for those trees.