As I am sure many Midwestern runners did, I eagerly dashed out the door to log some miles. The warmth and fresh air felt amazing. It had been months since I have felt so rejuvenated from a run.
Normally I zone out while I'm running. But this day, I was being more observant of the neighborhood and noticing other folks enjoying the warmer weather.
I ran by Union Park. There was a gathering of protesters holding up signs and chanting something about human rights. There was also an enormous plume of either smoke or steam wafting through the grounds.
This was an unusual sight which drew my curiosity. I didn't want to stare, though. I attempted to feign nonchalance by just making a few quick glances to the side as I ran past.
It was at this moment that my foot caught an edge in the sidewalk.
I felt myself start to lose my balance. In a brief moment of desperation, I fought to remain upright. Normally when things like this happen, the world goes into slow motion, right? Not this time.
A split-second later, I fell forward and faceplanted directly on the concrete. Right in plain view of the protesters.
Humiliating AND painful for the win! I refused to look at the protesters for fear of seeing their reactions.
I scraped myself off of the sidewalk. Then, I stood with my hands on my knees for a few moments, trying to regain the wind that had been knocked out of me. I had taken the brunt of the fall on my hands, knees, and the, uh, lower-lower abdomen (i.e. a bad spot). The impact stung badly. (How do professional athletes deal with stuff like this so frequently!?!?)
I took a few minutes to walk it off while I evaluated my situation. I was about a mile away from home and I didn't have my transit card, phone, or any form of payment with me. In short, there was only one way to get home. All right. If we need to walk the whole way back, so be it.
Thankfully, I did eventually felt good enough to slowly start running again.
Enroute, I was praying that the pain would go away. My mind was racing over the half marathon that I'm supposed to run next weekend in DC. I was thinking how awful it would be to have to DNS the race because I had sustained an injury the week before. How awful it would be to have to tell all my friends and family how the injury happened. How awful it would be to have to go to the doctor and get x-rays taken of that bad spot.
Another note: I was wearing a white jacket when I took that spill, of course. Because of course I would be wearing white on a day when I would get dramatically smeared with post-winter sidewalk gunk in various shades of brown, grey, and black. Sigh.
FAST FORWARD TO TODAY.
Much to my relief, the pain has substantially disappeared. I have some bruises and scrapes, but otherwise I am fine. Embarrassed as all get out, but fine.
Note to self for next time.
In the meantime, thank goodness for the magic of industrial-strength stain remover when liberally applied to a white jacket.
Ouch!! I actually took my second fall (ever!) while running on Saturday. There was a GIANT icy spot near Milwaukee & Green. I even stopped to walk over it but as soon as I put one foot down I slipped and fell on my left side. I had Chewie with me who immediately came over and started licking my face. Thankfully I don't have any lingering pain and I think only one person driving by in a car saw me.
ReplyDeleteErin, nooooo!!! That is terrible to hear that you took a tumble this past weekend, too. Those icy spots are so deceptive, especially when the weather is above freezing, yes? Thank goodness that you don't have lingering pain and that your spill went relatively unnoticed. And thank goodness for Chewie being there to comfort you! (He must have been terrified right when it happened, though!) Nothing heals the pain more quickly than doggie love. =)
DeleteOuch! Sorry to hear about your spill. Luckily, it sounds as if you are making a swift recovery. I did slip and fall last year when I was running in the dark in Boston. Similar to your story, the sidewalk was buckled, and since it was dark I did not see that it was sticking up until I tripped. I fell on my hands and my bottle flew out of my hand and rolled and kept rolling about 100 yards in front of me. Yes, those injury fears flashed through my head too, luckily I was okay, just a little scraped up. Lesson learned, don't run in the dark! :)
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the sympathy, Pete. YIKES on the spill you took when you were running in Boston! I am glad that you weren't seriously hurt, either. How frustrating that your bottle ended up rolling so far ahead of you, though. There's nothing worse than having to go chase after your bottle when you're trying to scrape yourself up off the ground! Yes on not running in the dark, especially in unfamiliar territory!
DeleteOh wow! So sorry to hear about the fall. Sounds brutal to knock the wind out of you. Thank heavens your injuries are superficial! I only fell once. It was in the last 400 yds of a 20 miler. I was on a trail, caught a root and belly flopped. Ugh. War stories.
ReplyDeleteAppreciate the sympathy, Marcia. So sorry to hear about the fall you took, too! How awful to fall in the last 400 yards of a 20-miler. You're already so beaten up to begin with, and then to take a tumble at the very end? BRUTAL. But it sounds like you weren't seriously hurt, either, so thank goodness for that!
DeleteI was lucky and got to avoid all of the sidewalks in my neighborhood during my long run by running in the street instead. This is the only time I have ever been excited by quiet suburban streets.
ReplyDeleteMo, you are so lucky indeed! When I do have the opportunity, I prefer to run on the street instead of the sidewalk because I've heard that asphalt is easier on the joints than concrete. Road running is one of the best parts of organized races!
DeleteOh noooooo! Blame it on those protesters!! I'm glad you're okay. I took a hard spill like that over the winter and it really shook me up too.
ReplyDeleteYes, those crazy protesters trying to draw attention to themselves!!! Obviously it worked, LOL. Appreciate the sympathy and sorry to hear about the hard spill that you took over the winter, as well. Hopefully you had minimal lingering damage, if any!
DeleteAwww- I'm glad you're OK! How is the jacket doing? I want tips!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren. The jacket actually looks as good as new now that I doused it in spot-remover and washed it. Spot remover really does work magic. =) And I think that technical fabric in general, since it wicks sweat, is actually pretty resistant to absorbing stains. This is a good thing!
DeleteArg! I'm not sure which was worse - the pain or the embarrassment! I feel your pain. Glad to hear you are feeling better, and best of luck next weekend at the big DC race!
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with the conundrum between pain and embarrassment. Sigh. Thanks for the well wishes in DC this weekend! (Incidentally, the meteorologists are forecasting rain. Again!)
DeleteUgh, that could have been BAD! I am happy you are okay! Did none of those people offer to help you up? For shame!
ReplyDeleteI was running with my running partner in the dark yesterday am and had the most graceful fall ever on the ice. I am not sure how I pulled it off! LOL
Thanks Kim! To be fair, I didn't look back at any of the protesters out of pure embarrassment. So it is possible that someone would have wanted to help but I didn't see it. =\
DeleteOh gosh! How horrible that you fell on the ice in the darkness! I actually heard somewhere that ice is even harder than pavement. Are you okay????
Ha ha. I am assuming they would have.
DeleteOh yeah! I am totally fine! I fall a lot :) Hee hee.
Glad that you are okay! And if there's something positive to be said about falling a lot, it's that your body does get used to taking the impact, yes? That's a good thing to have a shorter recovery period!
DeleteI once fell during a race. I remember falling (in slow motion like a movie) but was able to use my hands to cushion the fall. Then at the end of a race I was having a conversation with another runner and she mentioned that she saw me fall.
ReplyDeleteZenaida, nooooo!!! That is terrible that you fell during a race, but glad that you were able to cushion the blow with your hands. Definitely better to take the impact on your hands than on, say, your knees. Hopefully you never have to experience falling ever again!
DeleteI laugh about it now but at the moment I was shocked! :-)
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