It is September 2013 and you would not believe my ability to injury myself. I suspect I am a bit clumsy after this latest incident. I was running last Saturday on a glorious sunny last day of winter. I had intended to run 15kms and was really happy with the way I was running especially given I was wearing the sling. I was running along Beach Road on Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay and was heading back to where I had left my car.

The Wound

About 3km from the end I was cruising along when whack, I hit my head on a piece of bush hanging over the path. I am not sure I had seen it but hidden amongst the leaves was some branches that had been pruned and left jagged edges.   In shock I reached for my head to be greeted with a lot of blood. It seems heads bleed rather profusely. Luckily I had some tissues in my shorts pocket which  I could hold to me head to stop the bleeding.

I had been listening to music on my iPhone so I could ring home. I was worried about alarming them, but my daughter answered who didn’t know I had been running and when I said I had split my head she assumed I had been riding and was ready to tell me off. She came and picked me up before my wife then took me to casualty.

The Split Head

In casualty I was advised to have some staples put in to hold the wound together. I was told a local anesthetic would be ineffective so the staples proceeded. I have to tell you – it hurt. Luckily I was not warned.

The reaction of friends has been to shake their heads in amazement at my stupidity and to suggest perhaps I should give it away. The reality is they don’t really mean it – or do they??