fall – an amazing run

I’ve heard people say that time seems to slow down when you fall, and you feel like you are falling in slow motion. But that hasn’t been my experience, quite the contrary. For the second time this year, I tripped and fell today and I barely was able to brace myself for the impact, just like the last time.

The first time I fell I was on my fifth loop of the WausaUltra Backyard Ultra in Wausau, Wisconsin back in late April. I was doing well and feeling pretty good as I closed in on twenty-one miles. But out of nowhere, something grabbed my toe, and down I went.

Today, I was pacing myself through a 10-mile run and was just coasting along on the paved bike path. It was pretty sunny and I had decided to head into the forest preserve for the much-appreciated shade. Once in the preserve, I had a choice to make; I could stay on the paved portion of the path, or I could live dangerously and run on the much more technical trail. Now, for the past few years, I had sworn off running on the dirt path because I was training for some big race and didn’t want to chance – get this – possibly tripping and injuring myself! But for some reason, my brain overrode that failsafe breaker switch, and happily, I trotted onto the tree root-laden path.

I wasn’t more than a quarter-mile into the path when I encountered a walker ahead of me, going in the same direction and wearing earbuds. I attempted to get his attention with two loud requests to pass and as I watched to see if I had got his attention, I got tripped up and down I went.

I seemed to fall with the same velocity as the first time, but I was actually able to instinctively tuck my arms underneath me and brace myself for the impact better than I did the last time. I kind of felt like a wide receiver that had been tackled by the ankles and was glad to know that I was still holding on to the football. It’s comforting to know that I’m getting better at falling. Maybe someday I will be able to do a tuck and roll and pop right back up.

As I lay there looking at some gnarly roots and groaning loudly, I could hear the gentleman asking me if I was okay, repeatedly. I guess I had his attention now. I took an assessment of what happened and I quickly came to the conclusion that I am one dumb-ass trail-running fool. It was nice to know that the guy was able to see me embarrass myself in front of him. I think it was the fifth or sixth “Are you okay?” that I finally answered him with a “yeah, I’m okay.” I also added, “Why the fuck does this keep happening to me?!” It was a rhetorical question, and he didn’t answer it anyway.

What’s the old saying? If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Well, if trees are anything like me, you bet your ass they do. There was a loud OOMPH! when I hit the ground. I got up and grumbled, and ran off down the path swearing loudly at myself – WTF? WTF? Dammit!

The last time I fell it was into some mud. You’d think that might have worked out better for me, but I must have hit the wooden plank footbridge first. This time I hit the dirt, but somehow managed to miss the bazillion roots that surrounded me. I looked and saw some abrasions, but no bumps or bruises this time around. I took my water bottle and rinsed the dirt out of my wound and continued down the path. Then I realized that I had to run the remaining four miles home looking like I had just ran a Tough Mudder or something.

I got home in one piece. I grabbed my phone to document my stupidity and then jumped into the pool to cool down and wash off the rest of the dirt from the fall. I think I’ll skip the trail running for a while. I’m not “falling” in love with falling.

Search for running injuries on the internet and you’ll see a variety of running induced issues – Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles Tendonitis, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Runner’s Knee, Ankle Sprains, Shin Splints, Blisters, Chafing, etc. I’ve suffered many of these maladies over the years, as well as several I didn’t even list. But today I suffered a dumb one, one that I had only suffered once before – I fell down, go boom.

You would think that I would have mastered not falling down while running, but sometimes dumb stuff like this happens. The first time this happened to me was on April 22, 1991. How do I know this? Well, it’s written down in the running log!

22APR91 – Fell + hurt hand. Wrote it down.

It was a memorable fall. It was my girlfriend and future wife’s birthday and I was doing one last 10 mile run three days out from my first marathon, because that was what newbies who didn’t know any better did back in those days. And the trail I ran on had a portion that was next to a railroad lot where they parked trucks and equipment. In the gravel was a wire hanger that was partially buried. I caught my foot on in it and down I went, scraping up my hands and knees pretty good. The scariest part, I was three days away from my first marathon. I ran on egg shells the rest of the way home.

Okay, back to today’s fall. I was about 10.75 miles into a 12 mile run and my concentration was diverted to this minivan than had pulled up along side of an entrance next to the nature preserve running trail. This guy gets out and starts running to the gate and I’m wondering what the heck is going on. So I was kind of watching them over my shoulder when my foot got caught on a bumped up, broken crack portion of the trail. Now usually I can stumble my way out of those types of trips and catch myself. Not this time. Fortunately for me, I was pretty heavily padded with running gear, since it was 26 degrees out and I was freezing.

The fall was pretty typical, I couldn’t get the tripped leg back under me fast enough and I put my hands out to catch myself. It happened super quick, and I didn’t really have time to think at all. But I was pretty impressed with my catch and roll. It was like text book. If I had to do it over again, I probably would eliminate the verbal “UGGGHHH” sound I made as I hit the ground, but it was pretty unavoidable.

As I got up, the palm of my hand was vibrating and I thought that I had sprained my wrist pretty good. I got to my feet and assessed myself. I could walk, that was good. My hand hurt, but I could move it okay. All that was left was to pick up my pride and finish the run.

I got home and surveyed the damage. The palm of the hand had been what had really concerned me, but the glove I was wearing limited any bruising or abrasions. But I could sense something wrong with my outer knee. I pulled up my pant leg and saw a pretty good abrasion. My son and his girlfriend where listening to my story and were surprised to see the damage. I figured I might need to show this to my wife, you know, for spousal support reasons. I needed a “mommy.”

She was shocked, but she didn’t kiss it. I also had another abrasion on my left elbow, but it was smaller and didn’t hurt much. Didn’t hurt until I got into the shower, that is. Then it hurt like heck. I put some antibacterial ointment on it, and now I’m healing. I should be good to go again soon.

At this rate I should fall again in another 26-27 years, sometime around 2043. I’ll keep you posted.

Tag: fall

I Be Trippin’

The Dumb Running Injury