Well not really “hit” by a rock…but I did manage to take my first fall onto a pile of rocks while trail running and it hurts like hell. I was nearing the end of a 40 minute run, preparing for this weekends race. Had about 10 minutes to run and “wham” I slam my right toes into a rock outcropping and over I go. Broke my right big toe, my right knee is twice the regular size and I have trail rash on my back from sliding along the trail.
This was on Sunday. Today…all my toes hurt from walking around “protecting” the big toe. Hopefully all goes well this week and I get to race this Sunday. I’ll test the knee and toe tomorrow on a short bike ride, then an easy jog on Thursday. It sucks getting old… this fall should not have been this bad and I should be recovered sooner!!
Yes, seems as we get older, we fall more. My face place a few months ago was no fun. Got luck with the race, but with a broken big toe, you must be a stud.
I have to consiously be more careful about foot placement as my off-road runs progress. As I get tired I make more mistakes and trip more. This is the first time I’ve “gone over”. I trip at least a few times on each run.
I have gone over twice now in 2 years. Do you find ou tend to twist your ankles much more often now, I do. What a drag getting old, but, I still love betting the young kids. :o)
I’ve never had an ankle problem. All my trail runs are done in regular running shoes. I can tell when my ankle turns a tad when they hit rocks, but its never a problem. I run alot of trails that are almost to the point of climbing and have been lucky, I guess. This whole area is nothing but rocks. There are no flat areas or easy trails, its all rocky and single track trails.
Not sure of the saneness of running with a broken toe. What type of further damage is made possible by running just a race?
Yeah, I broke the fifth metatarsal at the start of the run at the USAT national championship in 1995 and continued to the finish but I didn’t fully realize it was broken. In retrospect, it was a dumb move.
No one ever accused me of being even close to sane : )
I’ll be fine. I won’t have any problem on the swim or bike…I expect the toe to start aching as the run progresses. I’ll take the “wait and see what happens” attitude.