The Woes of Roller Skiing

We roller ski day in and day out...we put our skis, boots, poles and helmet
on an walk out the door to do what we do every day, TRAIN! We rarely think about the possible consequences of roller ski safety. For those of you who don't know much about roller skis, they do not have breaks and even the smallest about of debris, such as pebbles, rocks, pine cones and leaves can cause huge problems.

In Sun Valley, it is mandatory for athletes to wear a helmet roller skiing at all times, even on the bike trail. This past summer we've had our fair share of roller ski accidents. Today I topped it off with a hard crash on the pavement. I was 20 seconds into an interval, carrying good speed when a pine cone got lodged into the front wheel of my ski. My entire body catapulted forward, leaving my feet and skis behind. I came down and hit my head hard on the pavement! I immediately felt a sharp, cracking pain in my head. Tears came instantly as the pain seemed almost unbearable. I slowly made my way back to my feet and found a crack in my helmet! Whew! After eventually collecting myself and grasping the pounding headache, I managed to finish my workout with a cool-down.

All I can say is I am really glad I was wearing a helmet! A headache all day long hardly compares to a concussion or even head trauma! It definitely saved my head!