**WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS DETAILED PICTURES OF BLOOD AND INJURY**
Fall Guy. I almost saved it. But then in the blink of an eye and yet also in slow motion, I went over the handlebars and slid across the road. It was spectacular enough that somehow I have strawberries on both sides of my hips (still haven’t figured out how that is even possible!). I remember putting my hands down to brace for impact but everything after that is just folklore at this point. One thing is for sure, though, Garmin tracking nailed it.
Superbad. What had happened was I got distracted by a bystander. I shouldn’t have, but I looked back because I thought he was trying to get my attention. Maybe a water bottle had fallen out? Part of my race gear out of place? I had no idea. Nothing was gained by looking back, though. Absolutely nothing. When I turned my gaze to focus on riding again, the traffic cone was unavoidable. It slowed me down immediately but for a second I thought I’d escape without anything embarrassing happening. Nope. Instead of deflecting away, the cone stuck in its place which sent my front fork into a jackknife and up and over I went. Hands scraped. Shoulder, too. The chain must’ve slipped down to the small chain ring exposing the teeth of the large chain ring, a few of which sliced through part of my leg (although I didn’t know that at the time). There were also a couple of bad road burns on my knee. This wouldn’t have been a big deal except for the amount of blood now streaming down my leg. It felt like a superbad situation that might require attention before I could finish the race. In the chaos of the aftermath, I only thought to check my bike when I probably should’ve also inspected my legs, shoulders, etc. The tires were OK, pedals fine, chain was a little out of sync by still grabbing onto the small chain ring. I distinctly remember hopping back on the bike, thinking, “Either I’m screwed or I’m good to go, so might as well give it a shot!” Back to the grind of finishing the bike leg of this triathlon.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I decided to keep racing until I finished or was dragged off the course. I kept glancing down at my right leg, watching the blood ooze further and further until it was soaking my sock. Without further ado, here are photos and remember the warning: if blood or injuries make you nauseous, this is where you want to close this tab and go pet a kitten.
[photo by Heather Tucker @Tuck_and_Run]
Bubble Boy. For the next couple of weeks I’ll be walking as gingerly as possible so the fancy horizontal mattress stitching stays in tact and I don’t get any infections. Doctor’s orders! I’m not allowed to swim anywhere or do any leg exercises for a while.
Final Destination. OK, now that the gruesome stuff is out of the way… it’s time to show some statistics from the race. I usually have 3 goals– where I finish overall, within my age group, and my overall time. This race I wanted to finish in the top 50 overall, top 5 of age group, and under 1:20:00. Here are the results…
I’m most happy about the run, especially with an injury that was worse than I thought in the moment. The cycling was a bit of a disappointment (crazy headwinds and the clumsy crash) and the swim was not a good test of any improvements (because of the venue change, water depth, etc.)… but I loved the race. Just having the opportunity and ability is such a gift that I don’t ever want to gloss over. This crash, as mild as it was considering how bad it could’ve been, is serving as a reminder that some people are in situations where they want to exercise but can’t. From the first place finisher to the last, the officials, the volunteers, the fans, everyone out there crushed it. It was a challenging race that I hope to do again next year…
…but maybe without the trip to the ER.
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 