EVOLVE
Running and the Art of Falling
Fortunately my body isn’t too bruised, but my ego is
When I had my weekly massage I pointed out to the therapist that my hip was bruised yet again. This was not easy, because she speaks Spanish and very little English, and I speak English and French and just a little Spanish. But the bruise speaks for itself and I was able to eek out that it happened while I was running at a local park.
The bruise from trail running, despite being a re-bruise of an area that hadn’t completely healed from the previous bruise, hurt less than that previous fall. Because if you’re lucky on a trail run you fall on softer dirt or mud. My first recent fall was at a quicker pace and on a sidewalk and ended up with a lovely scrape along the palm of my hand.
Lately I’ve been falling a lot. With people watching me. Fortunately I’ve been able to get up, dust myself off, and keep going at a slow shuffle. I consider putting my mask back on to hide the flush in my cheeks from being so embarrassed.
I’m slowing down. I’m watching my step. I’m making sure I’ve eaten and had plenty of water. I’ve taught myself to twist and aim for my butt, and put my hands up to cover my head, rather than going down front first on my knees or hands. The dog is still practicing being a running dog and while he hasn’t been a specific tripping hazard, he does change the dynamics of falling and I try to push myself away from him rather than landing on him.
Two days after that massage, I tripped again. Trail running. I landed on the same hip and managed to scrape my knee. The ground was littered with small rocks and rotten mangos, so not only did I develop bruises up and down my leg from the pointy rocks, I was covered in rotten mango slime. I felt okay to continue running (I was around mile 5 of what I was planning to be 7 miles) but I moved from the dirt trail to a paved path to finish up my miles. (I made it to mile 7 but it was rough.)
I’d been skimping on my stretching and strength training and I can’t afford to do that anymore. Every fall is the same, tripping with my right foot. I can feel the difference between my two legs, the right one feeling weaker and constantly on the verge of a cramp.
My most recent long run was 9 miles. I chose to stay on roads for most of it, eliminating the tripping hazards of a trail and taking it slow over broken sidewalks and moving into the street whenever it was safe to do so. I felt great compared to the 7-miler. There might be something to that stretching and strength training making me stronger. I want to be back on trails but I’m training for a road half marathon. Hopefully after that race I’ll be strong enough to tackle the trails again.
More on running and listening to your body:
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