broken, waiting and waiting in Soča

Its been a long month, since I flew like a bird and landed like a stone.

The long cold Winter had brought lots of great days on the nordic track in Italy, and very fine skiing road trip to Rosenheim then to St Anton, before enjoying more Valburna fun. Plus Satu and I had been enjoying home life in Slovenia, running, biking and paddling, whilst the valley was still very much quiet. Early season is ace, always things to do, and oceans of time. Well I have been enjoying Kanin ski hill when the conditions are ace, and the snow fresh. Before Easter, Beppe and I hit the hill for a killer day out, and with the new connection through to the Italian resort Sella Neva now open, its a fun hill to cruise, especially the lift accessible off piste.

It was near bluebird all morning and on the last run down the side valley Kanica, a prefect bowl for 1000m, with lots of kickers to hit. Towards the end, as you drop into the tree line, the bowl tightens up before you drop on a transverse and the access road. As I zipped through the trees, the light went very flat, just before the transverse, I hit a little lip and jumped, landed on the road, which normally sits in the sun and had 5cms of snow. I landing square, yet the bone on bone impact was painful to say the least! 5 minutes of resting and then 5 minutes more down the access road to the lift station, I knew it was no light injury. It was off to the hospital for myself.

Waiting for the X-Ray at Šempeter Hospital, with a walk/roll on Shinning Cameo

The Slovene health care programme is swift and effective, I was in the building for 90 minutes, x-rayed, knee fluid extracted and plastered up, and sent on my way with rest as the main instruction. Well, for an active man, that is the last command you wish to hear, so I was on the phone to all my medically enlighten friends to get the full picture. An MRI scan in a private clinic just over the border in Italy revealed news that the X-ray did not….

“a fracture, hidden from the posterior aspect of lateral tibial cancellous bone with evident edema perilesional”

So resting it was. I have managed to watch all of the famed E4 TV series Skins, plus the Series one and two of Northern Exposure, plus my wife has forced Glee on to myself…… which with all the pain killer’s I had swallowed has made the funny odd balls appear very normal! During this time, Gene17 has had a lot on, and Deb Pinniger fresh from her Winter work in Augsburg step in to fun the show. Whilst crutches in hand, I have walked from the parked car on the beach at Srpenica on the Soča, paddled the classic, and had my lovely lady of another porter the boat out!! Thankfully I have been able to paddle…. otherwise &9@4DF!!

This week its been normalisation, with 5 Star Training & Assessment work, and next week to Greece for a week of coaching before Italy for May. I have missed out on going to Corsica this year, but resting at home in Soča is near prefect.