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Hey fellow masters,

I'm Lindy Raney, a M50 sprinter from Texas.
As usual, I'm late to the party. I was a member of the old masters egroup and I've occasionally looked at this forum. I regularly read Ken's blog also. Anyway, I joined this forum because I hope to run in Wisconsin this summer(I'm a High school coach so football practice has usually begun by the time nats rolls around). I have a major obstacle to overcome so I thought if I told some other masters what I'm up to I would feel encouraged. On January 11th I was involved in a motorcycle accident. At 50 I didn't ride like a maniac, I just liked to ride for stress relief. A woman driving a pickup came barreling out of a driveway in reverse, giving me no time to avoid her. I braked hard and my bike slid backwards into her truck. I was knocked unconcious and when I awoke in the roadway I felt intense pain in my back. I was sent by ambulance to the hospital where they scanned and X rayed me. Thank God I had no internal or brain injuries(I wore a full face helmet and riding gear everytime I rode). I did break my R collarbone, 5 ribs, L shoulder blade, several vertebrae had the protuberance sheared off, and a collapsed lung. Whew! I was in the hospital for 4 days and I still have to take painkillers every 4 hours or the pain becomes unbearable. I have walked for 20:00 6 days in a row and today in NE Texas it was 73* so I actually worked up a sweat. I know I'm on the road to recovery and have vowed to my family that I will run in USATF nats this summer. I don't know how competitive I will be but I'm just thankful to be alive and I hope to see some of you there.

Good luck Lindy and best wishes for a full recovery! Post updates on the forum as to your progress. I hope you make it to Wisconsin.

Thanks Liz,

I'll keep you updated.

Lindy

I couldn't say it any better Lindy. I suspect you have a new perspective and I wish you the best as you train!

Thanks BMo. Are you planning to run in Wisconsin this summer?

One thing I know from hanging around masters tracksters for a few years is that I've seen amazing comebacks. Don't give up and keep working on one small goal at a time. If not this nationals, then the next one.

I'm W50 and hope to compete with you!

Kim Williams

Don't know. It'll depend on how well things are going. I never rule it out completely but I tend to look at Nats as a meet for the really fast runners (not to slight any field athletes). As such, I end up just looking the times up at home and being in awe.
Cheers!

That's why you need to change over to the steeple, BMo- just by nature of attrition, even a mediocre runner like myself can be competitive!

Never thought about it that way MJ. I had been thinkin' I'd try my hand at the 800 as that (well the 880) and the mile were more my forte when I was younger. Steeplechase? Hmmm?

Thought I would post an update. My collarbone was not only broken in half and almost sticking out of the skin but was moved out of its natural postition. I knew it was unlikely to grow back together and when I went back to the Orthopedic Dr. he said surgery or lots of pain. He put in a plate, 7 screws, and did a bone graft on Feb. 3rd. I had to be extra careful for the 1st 2 weeks and had the arm in a sling most of the time, but I still walked and rode a stationary bike often. After 2 weeks he removed the 15 staples along the incision and told me I could use the arm more and gave me some exercises to regain ROM. He said no running yet but walk all you want. So I walk while going crazy after not running for 6 weeks. I've been a runner all my life but really stared training and educating myself about it at age 14 so a 36 year addiction to running is tough. I'll be well rested when he gives me the OK to run again. Maybe I'll appreciate the good health I've been blessed with a bit more from now on. Good training my fellow masters.

It's almost summer and I'm ready to compete. My Dr. gave me the OK to begin running again in mid March. All the stationary biking, walking, and slo mo running drills certainly helped me get back into training mode. Repeat 400's, 300's, etc never felt so good. I started doing most of my training on grass back in the mid 90's but occasionally I need to test myself on the track. This morning I ran a relaxed 59.8 400 on the track. I had alot left in the tank and the lactic booty lock feeling did not happen. I had a great cooldown with tons of drills and form running so I'm ready to get out there and run a competitive 400. 3 weeks until my first meet(Waterloo in Austin).

That is so great! Be sure to post your results after the meet!

Congratulations, I bet you are feeling encouraged.

What good news! Take it slow. Enjoy it.

Thanks for the encouragement. I feel I'm completely over my injuries. I started a training/race report thread where I'll post from now on. (Like let'srun Liz). I hope others will post their results there.

I did make the long trip to Wisconsin. Long since over my MC crash injuries, I had a slight ham pull 3 weeks b4 Oshkosh. Had a decent w.o. 2 weeks after the pull so I go up to Oshkosh hopeful but unsure what will happen when I try to go 100%. I ran a relaxed 58.80 heat that secured lane 2 for the finals. I ran my best time of the season (57.74) to place 5th. My accident and all the rehab to get back to normal seem well behind me now and I look forward to next year and hopefully running a bit better. Thanks for the encouragement.