If a Jim falls in the forest, does he make a sound. This Jim happened to witness the event and I can tell you that the sound was Whooomf!
I had only managed a short run in the morning before Parkrun and then I volunteered to do some barcode scanning. Three lovely folks were scanning with me. Two of them were having a rest after the previous Sunday Cambridge Half Marathon. They were chatting about training for sprint triathlon and open water swimming. It was all fascinating stuff although a little outside of my experience. I am such a poor swimmer and a slow cyclist that I can’t see me being able to join in on such things without being left so far back that I become a desperate inconvenience.
I asked the other person whether they were also resting after the half marathon, and was told no. They just volunteer. My brain gave itself a shake but came up with a 404 not found error. I tried to zero in a little on this statement to find out why. It seems that I had stumbled across a Duke of Edinburgh person who was putting in their time getting the award for volunteering for a year. This person seemed very determined and I was much impressed.
Later in the day I felt that I needed to do some more running to bank more time on my feet in preparation for Race To The Stones. I donned my gear and headed out the door.
I had no plan so figured I would do my looping bit through the trees on the Mere Way. Around and around I went. I found an extra bit that curved around the outside of the recycling centre and came close to that beauteous Cambridge landmark that is the A14.
I then came back to find a path running by a cornfield and spotted a Muntjack probably closer than I’ve ever been to one. It’s a short creature but quite bulky. It is as large as a sheep but moves like a hare. Quite a sight to see. As usual it moved far too fast for me to photograph so here’s one from Great Fen.
I curved back down the outside of the clump of trees til I came to a junction where it looked like I had to duck through the trees to regain the path. There was no route here so I needed to try and bounce my way through the undergrowth.
My bounce technique was obviously faulty as within seconds I found that my status had changed from running to prone on the floor. The transition between those two states being marked by my making a whoompf noise as all the air left my body and and a fair degree of pain making itself felt in my right arm. I stood up and felt that disconcerting warm trickle of blood oozing down my arm to catch in the elasticated cuff of my jacket.
Oh joy.
I flexed my fingers – they still seemed to be working. All is well then – on we go
Unfortunately I do seem to have injured my lower back though. I don’t think this is a result of the fall as it has been doing its’ pain thing all week. This began after Cambridge Half Marathon and maybe today’s running has made it flair up again.
Looking at the pictures from the half marathon, it does seem like I spent a lot of time bent forward, shuffling along like a little old man.
I wonder if this is what has caused the back pain…