Hard Headed Runner

Late last month I took a spill off a boat and hit my head. It was pretty scary. I ended up in the water under the boat. My fiance had to throw the boat into reverse just to avoid hitting me. I must have briefly lost consciousness because I don't remember where or when I hit my head. When I got out of the water I had a small cut on my nose.

Other than a little blood, I had no other visible injuries. I was shocked when I didn't end up with two black eyes. Because I didn't exhibit any of the typical characteristics of a broken nose or concussion I assumed nothing was wrong and went about business as usual. I kept running, driving and going to work. Even though I had a persistent headache and my nose and part of my face was numb I decided not to listen to my body and keep going.

By day four I knew something had to give. I went to Urgent Care and they - of course - sent me to the hospital. At the ER I was diagnosed with a concussion and, luckily, an x-ray ruled out any fractures of my nose or face. I was told I needed to take the rest of the weekend off work, and I was not to run. In fact, I couldn't run again until after the headaches stopped.

That part was hard. I was in the middle of training for a half marathon. Running is also my therapy. But they were right. My head and body needed the rest so I could recover.

After two weeks I thought I was ready. I started slow today and went for a short, slow half mile run. I felt mostly fine afterward and walked back home. I was disappointed with how much endurance I lost, but I knew that I needed to listen to my body. Later in the afternoon my head started throbbing. My body is telling me that I haven't recovered from my concussion, and that if I keep pushing myself I'll backtrack in my recovery.

I've always struggled to reconcile listening to my brain vs. listening to my body. While it's unfortunate that it took a head injury to get get in touch with both, I'm glad for the opportunity and incredibly lucky that once I've recovered I'm still able bodied and maybe get in better shape than I was before!