Jenni in Training

On February 11, 2008 I had an accident.  I call it an accident because it was “an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury”.  There were a series of events that lead to this accident, where if any one had been slightly altered in any way, the accident might have been avoided.  Perhaps the bus that was blocking the crosswalk had pulled up a bit further, clearing the view of the crosswalk and the walk/do not walk sign.  Perhaps I hadn’t hesitated as I decided to cross.  Perhaps I decided not to cross at all.  Perhaps I would have, instead of turning back mid-way across the street, just ran to the other side.  Perhaps I had changed my shoes into my winter boots before running out to the drug store.  Perhaps I had not eaten the day old cheese sandwich in my office fridge that ended up giving me that stomach ache for which I was going to get Pepto Bismo for.  Alas, I ate that sandwich.  I didn’t change my shoes and wore my office shoes with no tread.  I hesitated as I struggled to see if the don’t walk signal was flashing.  I decided to walk behind the bus blocking the cross walk and go for it and get out of the cold sooner.  I decided 1/3 of the way across to turn back, realizing I didn’t have enough time to cross the massive NYC avenue before getting plowed over by the line of cabbies anxiously waiting the green light.  I slipped on an icy manhole cover as I turned.  I landed on my right knee.  I shattering my knee into half a dozen pieces.  The rest is history.  My right knee was history.  Two surgeries later I’m still recovering.  My leg muscle was gone.  I’ve been working very hard to get my muscles back and also to get any glimmer of my old running life back.  It is coming back.  I want to spend 2009 writing about how my injury and experiences in 2008 have shaped the way I look at running and exercise and health.  So Jenni in Training, might eventually go back to a blog about marathon training, but it will be about marathon training post-traumatic knee injury.  In the meantime, it will be a blog about taking one day at a time, which is the only way you can take it when you’re dealing with any injury.  I will be exploring and sharing my hardships and joys.