Fractured Hand

So the weather here has been beautiful the last couple weeks (think 70-ish, clear, low humidity). I've been sick, and busy, and have been squeezing workouts in minus my usual enjoyment of working out. So here it was, a gorgeous day, I have no plans except laundry, so no plans and I think a great way to spend an hour or two would be to take my mom's dog Willie and go run some trails. Not a long run, and no real goal for this run except just having fun. It's so easy to get caught up in what you need to accomplish for each workout that you forget to have fun. And Willie ALWAYS has fun on runs and it's catching.

We get ten minutes into the run, nice and warmed up, and I'm starting to pick up the pace a little, when, out of nowhere, a tree root jumps up and grabs my toe. I go flying. And I mean, flying. There's nothing I can do, except tuck my arms in (I do know enough not to brace my arms out, that's how you break your wrist). Willie doesn't realize that I'm no longer running, but flying through the air, and keeps going. Which pulls me onto my left side since I'm still holding onto the leash in that hand. I land full on my left side, and skid for about 5 feet.

I pick myself up, brush off the leaves, shake myself out a little bit, and we continue on our way. Don't really think much about it until we're walking back to the car and I notice my hand is swelling a bit. I ice it good once we get home, and still don't think much about it. Couple days go by, the swelling goes down, and it still hurts a bit, but really not all that bad. However, my mom's nagging drives me to make a doctor appointment just in case.

Turns out, I fractured the outside bone in my hand. I have to wear a brace (luckily the doctor didn't think a cast was necessary) for a month. No swimming or biking for a month. He didn't say anything about running, and I have a half marathon in 25 days, so I figure, as long as I don't trip again, running is fine. I might try biking on the trainer in another few days too. I can do that without putting any weight on it.

The moral of the story is, aside from watching for tree roots, always get it checked out "just in case."