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Describing Your Worst Falls .... (Read 1063 times)

    I'm thinking the fall of 1979... yep that was the worst one for me.


    Running Rev'd

      I crashed hard two Thanksgivings ago running on a path in Sebastopol, CA. It had been chilly, and some of the wooden bridges had a little ice on them. I remember thinking, "Be careful not to fall on this bridge," and then WHAM. It knocked the breath out of me. I thought I was okay, but over the next few days figured out that I had bruised my ribs pretty badly. It took me several weeks before I could run normally again.

      Called to Endure - Blog

      "Everyone gets the sunset. Only the dedicated earn the sunrise."

      LedLincoln


      not bad for mile 25

        I met Stealth Dog a few years ago when I was running along a country road.  Most dogs like to audibly let you know what they think of you, but Stealth Dog runs up silently from behind, then slips between your legs.  Rather clever, except it knocked the wind out of both dog and runner.  We lay there for a while until we could breathe again, at which point I got up and let the dog know what I thought about his trick, then hobbled the rest of the way with blood dripping from my knee and elbow.

          Summer 1982 -- the inaugural Keystone State Games 10,000m.  I was in great shape that summer, and I came through the first mile slightly fast but feeling smooth and ready to rock.  As we rounded the near turn, I got nudged on my right, a push just strong enough that I drifted left and stepped on the rail.  Kaboom!  Luckily, I was about 2/3 of the way back in the pack, so there weren't too many people to step on me.  But I landed hard on my knee -- it hit the rail, too -- and couldn't continue.

           

          Fourth of July 2012 -- I was running along a bicycle path at the beach.  A squirrel in the path juked left, right, left, right.  I kept trying to react and avoid it, as I didn't want the tree rat to bite me and give me rabies or the plague.  Finally, it decided on left and I started moving to the right.  Then it changed its tiny mind and went right.  I tried to veer left, hooked my back foot on my lead leg, and went down.  With an audience.  Scraped up my knee, hip, elbow and took some gravel in the palm of my hand.  Those scrapes felt really nice every time I went into the ocean, too.

          "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

          -- Dick LeBeau


          jules2

            A friend of mine rode across the state of MI without incident, only to crash and destroy her helmet while riding a short way from the finish area to nearby campground showers.  She had a backpack in a SAG vehicle with her clean clothes and a 6 pack of beer.  The beer made the pack heavy and that weight totally messed with her center of gravity when she took a corner too fast.

             

            The moral of this story being always drink all your beer before you ride.Evil

            Old age is when you move from illegal to prescribed drugs.

              I don't specifically remember falling over when running - I'm sure it's happened tho'.

               

              I have had some great falls on the mountain bike. Most spectacularly when doing a jump from a man-made ramp in Courchevel (which is a great place to go mountain biking in the summer). I broke my collar bone although I didn't realise it for sure at the time and rode for the rest of the day. 

              I had done the same jump of number of times before...

               

              I've also been taken out a couple of times when on the road, once by a homicidal London taxi driver (broken elbow) and once by a geriatric, blind Frenchman (broken fibula).

               

              Enjoy your riding! Smile

              zoom-zoom


              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                The moral of this story being always drink all your beer before you ride.Evil

                 

                Exactly!

                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                     ~ Sarah Kay

                  Unfortunately, I tend to fall a lot while running.  It used to be about 1 bad fall a year, but this year it's been 4 or 5. 

                   

                  One of the worst was Whistlestop Marathon 2009.  It is a packed gravel path with some larger rocks and unevenness.  I fell at 13 miles and actually split my lip since I managed to hit my face on the ground!  I popped up and kept going, only to fall even harder at about 17. That fall I landed with my arm under my ribcage and really bruised (I feared broke) some ribs.  I could hardly breathe.  I finished the race and won my age group and then went right to the medical tent.  My ribs were so bruised that I could barely lift my luggage or get in and out of the car.  It took about 3 weeks to recover.

                   

                  This October I had a spectacular fall about 50 yards short of the finish line at the Winchester, TN marathon.  This time I didn't trip, which was a first.  I simply locked up and tipped over.  Unfortunately, I cracked the back of my head on the asphalt, which scared me a little.  The volunteers all rushed out, but I declined any help since if I received assistance I wouldn't make the Olympics with my 4:50 marathon.......  I finished and asked my daughter (KMays) and her doctor-husband if they had seen me fall.  They hadn't, and I told them I was concerned because I had hit my head pretty hard.  Dr. Son in Law asked me if I blacked out (no) and if I had the worst headache I've ever had (no).  He said, "You're fine" and we waived off the medical crew which was rushing towards me.   Not good. 

                   

                  I keep me feet too low to the ground, which means I can trip over specks of dust.   I've gotten pretty paranoid about it all.

                  Out there running since dinosaurs roamed the earth

                   

                    It was a lunchtime run, about 15 years ago in early spring.  Back then, bus stop benches were made of wood, not the composite recycled material they seem to have now.  For some reason, I had developed the silly habit on my runs of of hopping briefly onto the bench seat for a stride, and then back down again to the street.  Why?  I dunno, I was young then.

                     

                    Anyhow, I had obviously neglected to take into account the ubiquitous Oregon winter rain, and the resultant propensity for dry rot in wood.  This particular time, when I hit that board, it shattered.  My directional vector was suddenly pointed toward the end of the bench, and the pavement beyond.  It was early in my run and I was moving pretty fast (like I said, I was young), and tried to do a roll but there was no recovery to be had.  My right shoulder was pile-driven into the sidewalk.

                     

                    As I lay there, seeing constellations, stunned and in great pain, traffic stopped on the road (which was, interestingly enough, in front of the Nike HQ building).  A guy ran over and assisted me.  He said “I thought you were having a heart attack when I saw you holding your shoulder”.   I wanted to say “no, more like a stupid attack.”

                     

                    I was sure I had broken something, but fortunately not.  It took 3 or 4 weeks, but I recovered.   Now I steer clear of bus stop benches, though I do think about that every time I pass one….

                    StepbyStep-SH


                      I have a talent for defying physics - even though my center of gravity is located low and to the rear, I can trip on a smooth, flat side and land on my face.

                      In early December 3 years ago I had successfully run 6 miles over a variety of snow, drifts, bits of ice, and was finally on dry, clear, smooth sidewalk, when I looked to the side at a squirrel, dragged my right toe, and BOOM! I landed on my left cheek, left shoulder and arm, and left hip. It scraped the top off a button on my Garmin, and I knew my face hurt, but got up and ran the last mile back to the YMCA anyway. I didn't realize how bad it looked until I walked by the membership desk and someone working there gasped and asked if I needed an ice pack. "I don't know, do you think I do?" Blush

                      Our Christmas photos that year feature a mom with a winner of a shiner.

                       

                      My best fall was about 5 miles into a 50k this year. Stubbed that same toe (it's always my right foot) on a root on a slight downhill. But this time I managed to drop my shoulder, roll and pop right back. I don't think the runner 200 yards behind even saw it happen. Big grin

                      20,000 miles behind me, the world still to see.

                        Not me, but a spot-on pacer from Cincinatti's Flying Pig posted his race report from his first ultra that happened this weekend..

                        15 miles in to the JFK 50 he slips on a large rock and jams up his whole lower left leg and gets all battered and bruised.. then has to walk in teary-eyed pain for 10 miles and finally manages to shuffle for the last 25.. all because he had too much pride in finishing his first ultra. When I go back and imagine my death marches of maybe 5 miles I now can wince thinking about this.

                         

                        MTA: Quick story about me- I was running at night in full reflective and had a blinking light on my inside-of-the-road arm and had a dualie (spelling?) storming towards me at way above the 25mph speed limit. I ran off the road to make sure he didn't hit me if he didn't react to seeing me and slipped but recovered on a rock that I obviously couldn't see and then stumbled back into the road as he hit me in the shoulder with his side mirror.

                          I've been counting all my falls and I take about 20 to 30 falls per year on pavement or dirt trails.  The falls on pavement come when I get tired and trip on uneven surfaces or slip on the snow or ice.  Most of the falls on dirt come from tripping over roots or uneven surfaces.  The worst fall I can remember was in Chicago on Clark Street right near the Century Mall.  I was going full speed on the sidewalk and hit black ice.  That fall was very painful.  I thought for once in my life I must have broke a bone.  I didn't go to a hospital though, so I doubt it or if I did it was minor. 


                          Maggie & Molly

                            didn't technically fall but in Oct, 2009 I was running a local 5 k when a kid stopped short in front of me.  my issue - I was zoned I think so didn't truly see the kid.   jammed my legs to prevent falling on and possibly hurting the kid.  Ended my race right there any any running for about a month afterward.  Knee tweeked bad.  Ever since then I pay attention. Joking

                             "It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop."
                            Wisdom of Confucius

                            HF 4363

                            Trent


                            Good Bad & The Monkey

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                              an amazing likeness

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                                I could post worse...

                                Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.

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