My lucky break ... or should I say, no break?

After seven hours in a variety of waiting rooms at St. Michael's Hospital, it has been determined that my shin suffered "massive trauma" in my parkour mishap, but no fracture. So as soon as I can walk again without pain, I'll be ready to run.

I'd say the next world record attempt is a go.

When my name was called out by the triage nurse in the ER, I heard a voice behind me say: "That's the joggler! That guy runs marathons while juggling." I looked back to see a guy in the red shirt and glasses grinning away. Later on in the treatment area, we ran into each other again. It turns out that he was the editor who put together the CBC News: Sunday documentary. He had torn his Achilles tendon playing ball hockey. We had a good conversation about joggling, juggling, running, ball hockey, news editing and injuries.

Weird knee injury

Here's the start of the Toronto Father's Day Run for prostate cancer research. Look at the dork juggling!

Three days after my humiliating parkour hurdling injury, my shin is still massively swollen from knee to ankle. I also have a very strange knee injury that allows me to run without pain (although I haven't ventured out on an actual run) but I can't walk up or down stairs properly, and it hurts when I stand up or sit down. As long as I can run, I'm happy. I don't need to sit down.

Joggler's parkour career over before it started

Back in March I wrote this post about being a klutz when I'm not joggling or juggling.

I further proved this point yesterday after work in a painfully unsuccessful jump over a parking lot barrier. The casual shoes I was wearing were too loose. As I jumped up to hurdle the metal barricade my shoe flopped around a messed up my take-off and the next thing I knew my foot caught the edge of the metal and I crashed ignominiously to the ground.

I would have been embarrassed were it not for the excruciating pain in my left shin, which took the brunt of the impact. After hobbling to the subway the trying not to whimper out loud on my trip home, I went to a walk-in clinic to get the damage assessed.

There was a big gash in the shin about 8 cm long, but it wasn't deep enough to warrant stitches. It feels like I might have torn something in my knee, but it's too hard to tell with all the swelling around the surface wound.

So for now, I rest, and contemplate my future now that parkour has been scratched off my Things To Do Before I Die list.

Help, I can't stop joggling!

My attempts to stop joggling have failed. Last night I ran home from work and just couldn't resist the urge to joggle. Since I hadn't joggled in a couple of weeks, I went crazy, doing all kinds of tricks and bouncing the beanbags off signs and buildings - sort of a joggling version of parkour. It's good to be back.

This article in the Washington Post talks about Michael Wardian's recent stroller-pushing marathon record, and also mentions me and Barry Goldmeier. I like the last paragraph about stunt runners showing people how to lighten up. I would, however, like to point out that I don't joggle and go for stunt records "for the publicity." It's the other way around. I want to break the records and set new challenges and entertain people, so why not publicize them? Does anyone accuse Sidney Crosby of playing hockey "for publicity"? Does Mike Weir play golf to get his name in the paper?

Publicity has also been a great way to generate competition. My wife, Dianne, did such a good job promoting my stroller and joggling records that Zach Warren and Michael Wardian heard about them and decided to break them.