Royal wreck-reation

About once a month, I have a wonderful opportunity to run the Royal Recreation Trail in Guelph - Tanker drops me at my start point of choice, then heads to our friends' place for a potluck brunch while I make my rather smellier way there on foot.

Yes, I do shower when I get there. I'm not always irredeemably gross.

The main trail is fairly flat and nicely groomed (think rail trail), there are some beautiful, technical side trails that roll along directly beside the Speed River. Roots and rocks, sun and shadow, forest and flowing water.

Where my soul can breathe, even while it takes my breath away.

I had the perfect chance to go for a trot through this slice of heaven on Sunday, and jumped at it despite blistering heat and humidity.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Apparently this was not to be like every other time I've run it, though. This was fine:

Lovely, really.

And this was also fine:

If requiring a little bit of fancy footwork.

This, however, was not:

Yep, got through the nastiest root wells on the way to Victoria Road and then caught a stinkin' toe on some of the least-technical singletrack there is.

Down I go..

Elbows first, as I was on a slight uphill:

Yeah, I took trail damage photos before I even got up off the ground.
Such are the sacrifices I make for you.

..but a good gash out of my left knee, too:

It hadn't really started to bleed yet.
Rest assured it was lovely and gory by the time I arrived at brunch.

The worst of it, really, is that I managed to break my left middle toe on that stupid little root.

Now how am I supposed to flip people off with my foot?

Fortunately, nothing was so badly damaged that I couldn't continue. A bit sore, the scrapes stung as sweat inevitably got into them, and my toe whined a bit, but I was able to truck along ok. Even my phone - which I'd had in my left hand when I went for the close-up inspection of the trail's surface, and mashed into the dirt a bit - was functional.

So you get more run selfies.
I can tell you're overjoyed.

So, no big deal. I've continue to run without trouble this week, though I did almost sweat my hydrocolloid bandage off the major scrape on my elbow a couple of times as the heat and dripping humidity have been relentless.

Turns out the dressings are only waterproof from the outside..

The thing is, it's rather a blow to my confidence when I bail hard on a familiar trail and am planning to go run a very unfamiliar one tomorrow morning. The last Haliburton training run starts at 9am on Saturday, and I am going for my first look at the storied Haliburton Forest. 

Then, well...there's this:

Did I mention we're camping tonight through Monday?

So I'll be going in for ridiculously muddy trails with a broken toe and a recent history of clumsiness, plus the memory of mudbogging at Limberlost (just up the road, really) still very fresh in my mind.

I'm very glad my trekking poles are packed in the car and I'll have Tanker to start searching the mud puddles if I don't turn up by the time the sun is setting. 

Wolves don't eat klutzes, do they?