They say it’s not a matter of if, but when…

I have begun training for a half marathon. Today’s session was a short easy run of 5 min warmup followed by a 20 min run at 12:00/mi pace and ending with a 5 min cooldown. Unlike previous training, I started this session with some high knees in the warmup. I was trying to incorporate a training tool called an A skip which is combining skipping with high knees. The goal is to get used to pushing through your knees and to relax your feet so that you are not in Dorsal Flexion (toes pointing up) when your foot lands. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember how to skip. Sounds goofy right? Almost two years ago now, I couldn’t do a jumping jack either. Neither were like riding a bike. Partly I didn’t want to look goofy out on the road trying to skip and do high knees.

Anyway, suffice it to say that the start of this session was different from pretty much every session I have done in the last however many months. Because of this, my 5-minute warm-up was over and I wasn’t really warmed up, but I listened to my training plan and moved into the run portion. It was going fine until…

I have two main places that I run. I either drive down the street to a park and run loops around the park or I start from home and run towards the park. Today I started from home. There is a section of asphalt pathway that is lined with trees and many of these trees have roots that lifted the asphalt. Normally I try to run on the side of the path furthest from the trees where this section of asphalt is not as lifted. For whatever reason, I was running closest to the trees and my foot caught the top of one of asphalt bumps.

For the second time in a year and a half of my somewhat elegant attempts at running, I pulled off a classic trip-and-fall maneuver. I once heard a running trainer compare running to “falling forward while your feet desperately try to play catch-up.” Well, my feet clearly decided to take a coffee break, and gravity was all too eager to say hello! Unlike my previous faceplant where I embraced the ground like an old friend, this time I realized I was about to play the tumble game and tried to roll like a pro. I’d say I succeeded moderately, avoiding the epic scrapes and cuts from my first incident. The worst injury? A delightful little boo-boo on the pinky side of my right hand. My right forearm is now sporting some stylish scrapes, and I have a rather impressive raspberry on my right hip—definitely a conversation starter! Thankfully, my right knee is still in the game, sporting only a faint abrasion, thanks to my fashionable knee strap.

All of the injuries are currently stinging but I have no major pains. My right forearm has some pain down deeper (muscle, tendon or bone) but it is a pretty dull ache so I think it is probably a deep bruise rather than something like a hairline fracture. I will see how it feels tomorrow though. I have rotation and flexion in my arm so I think we are okay.

Fortunately, it seems no one witnessed the embarrassing moment.