Sunday, November 6, 2011

A stumble, a tumble and some trouble on a morning run


Fall seven times, stand up eight.  ~Japanese Proverb

frequently-regularly-often trip while reaching for my high ideals.  Then I giggle, or cry, and get back up.  ~Erika Harris

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I get knocked down… But I get up again - You're never going to keep me down - -Chumbawamba 

I am a huge fan of 'falling down and getting up' quotes and analogies. In fact they pop up in my blog all the time - I am all about "not being afraid to fall" and 'it's the great man' who keeps getting up and all that jazz. Of-course, I love the metaphor of it but the reality? Well. Yesterday I literally fell. on my face - actually on my palms and the somehow on the back of my shoulder.

It was a beautiful brisk morning and with the opportunity to run outside I was going to take it. I've been doing a lot of tread running lately because it's been dark when I've had time to run and my neighborhood probably isn't the safest to run around in after dark…

So I was taking that nice outdoor run. And I was cooking. I could feel myself running FAST I even was passing other runners up and I was poised to clock a winning run.

Part of the hazard of my neighborhood is steepish hills, uneven sidewalks, dodging cars, etc. I'm particularly careful to watch my footing on the hills and sidewalks because they can be tough.

I thought I was doing a good job paying attention. Really I did. But somehow the toe of my shoe caught a raised sidewalk crack on the way down a steepish hill and I found myself in that dreaded moment of OH SH!T and down I went. A woman tried to help me up who didn't think I tripped but was having a heart attack. LOL. 

I was banged up, scraped bruised arse, scraped bloody palms, sore wrist and a bleeding shoulder but do you know what I did?

I got up. And I kept on running.

I have to say that this was a new thing for me and pretty unexpected. The old me would've sat down, cried over my bleeding, cursed my bad luck, called my hubby and called it a day. But all that Ironman watching made me want to 'finish' even just this little training run. I wanted to finish strong.

As far as falls go, this was a great one. I mean, klutzy me was long over-due a tumble instead of crying my way home, I celebrated. I fell down onto concrete running fast downhill and my knees, ankles, feet, hips and legs were still in perfect working order. I didn't chip a tooth or break a bone. A few flesh wounds? Eh. Plenty of athletes have gone thru worse.  I was capable of running the way home.

And I did.

My final time on my ipod was 3 mi for 10:02 mile. That's an AWESOME time for me. And that was with falling and running much slower that last half a mile. I'm bummed because my NIKE+ for some reason didn't upload the run and now it's lost so I can't see the splits and what kind of pace I was holding for those first two miles but they must've been pretty fast (for me.)

Trail running is probably not for me. I can't even navigate pavement… but in any case -

I am kinda happy about the fall - I learned something about myself. I'm stronger than I think. And I'm proud that I fell and got back up again and I'm eternally grateful to the running universe that I wasn't seriously hurt.

Have you ever tripped during a run? 

XO
Jen

PS: I am no hero - if i thought or even had an inkling that running would've injured something seriously or if something was in red-alert pain, I would've called hubby and been shuttled home - no shame in taking care of yourself appropriately either. You can always 'get back up' another day. 




8 comments:

Azrhiaz said...

I was running next to a busy street on the dirt next to the sidewalk and tripped on a root and went splat. I jumped right up and kept going mostly out of embarrassment. They just *think they saw me fall, yeah, that's it....

nikki said...

you're awesome, jen the runner!! and you run strong... thank you for our team name...xo

The Unexpected Runner said...

A couple months ago I went flying right in front of my dentists office. I was ok, but I definitely had an "oh crap" moment when I knew I was going down and nothing was going to stop it. I was thankful I was ok and finished my run too, even though it was definitely at a slower pace. Mostly I was embarrassed!

Unknown said...

Azrhiaz and T.U.R - I am with you both - my biggest bruise was definitely my ego. I don't care how, when or where, there's always something a little embarrassing about falling but congrats to you both for keeping in the run!

Nik - thanks for getting the team together coach! Can't wait for next week!

Mandy said...

Good for you!!!

I've fallen...but only while walking...not running. Ha! Maybe I run too slow?

Erica Gorman said...

Yes, I had a trip during a run once but I caught myself before falling. And it was right at a crosswalk where I am sure all saw the performance. Doesn't that happen to all runners?

Jason said...

OK, stop writing Fast (for me).....it is your fast and this is your blog so that is all that matters. You are fast. Period. That for me is a crutch and you proved you don't need any crutches.

Way to get back up and dust it off and keep going. AWESOME!

Unknown said...

thanks for sharing everyone - i am glad to see that I'm not alone in my klutzy world…

Jason - you are right. I will stop saying that. I am fast and getting faster every day! ;)