Road rash and cuts received during the fall in Bear Canyon, the worst of the accident isn’t visible though.

Well, this wasn’t part of my training plan, I figured once I got out of the sling and cast in December I was done with that chapter of my life. After a great run up Fern Canyon to Bear Peak (47:03) then a quick run down Fern Canyon I hit the Bear Canyon Rd at pace. I decided to see what the legs had left, throwing down some nice sub 6min/mile as I pushed down the smooth wide gravel road. About half way down I looked up for a brief moment, in that moment my toe found a Hard Rock, the rock won, and I soon found myself skidding across the gravel. My initial reaction was to simply curse my stupidity and clumsiness, but as I got up I realized this fall was a little more than a couple scratches and some road rash. My left forearm and shoulder were dripping blood, I had a couple gashes in my knuckles, but worst of all, my left clavicle, the one I’d broken back in October, was very sore…F#@#T%.

The road rash/scratches on my legs as well. They run from the calf to the upper thigh.

As I jogged the last mile home the tenderness in my left clavicle quickly grew. When I hopped in the shower to clean off the blood and dirt the cuts on my shoulders and arms stung like crazy, but once again the worst part was that my left clavicle was extremely swollen. My first thought was, SHIT I broke it again, and my heart sunk as I heard myself say this. Why, why, why? After a day off of work to rest I went to see the good folks at CU Sports Medicine for a consult and some X-rays. To my dismay the diagnosis was a hairline fracture in the left clavicle, and several weeks of taking it ‘easy’. Meaning that the main break from October was still intact and the bones were still knitted together, so while broken the bones were stable.

I was initially crushed by the diagnosis, but as with many things, a good hike (no running) helps bring clarity. As I headed back into Bear Canyon on a sunny Thursday afternoon I happened to meet up with Joey and had a nice little discussion about his upcoming Bighorn 100. This really helped to take my mind off my own maladies for the moment. As we power hiked up the road my arm felt fine, so what if I couldn’t run for a few weeks, I was training for Hardrock (or Hardwalk). If I can hike, I can train for Hardrock! So things weren’t going as planned, but sometimes that’s how life is. The moments that define us aren’t the ones when things run smoothly, it’s the moments where life throws you a curve ball and you’re forced to persevere. So once again here I am, forced to readjusted training, but this time I can power hike to my hearts content and am hopeful to be back near full strength in a few weeks.