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September 28, 2007
Reason #349 Of Why I Shouldn’t Be Allowed Out In Public
(This is the next segment in a still growing series.)
Imagine that you’re a Yellowstone tourist. It’s a gorgeous September afternoon. You’re happily perched in a group of tourists in the shade of a large oak tree, watching the elk rut unfold in front of you. Something catches your eye to the left, and you look to see a woman and her dog running by on a paved, blacktop surface. Perhaps you take a moment to think, now that’s a graceful runner. Perhaps you don’t.
Either way, just moments later, you can hardly believe what you are seeing: This runner is tripping over her dog, flailing wildly through the air, and sliding across pavement on hands and knees to a screeching halt. Your eyes widen, your jaw drops, and you begin to smirk at this shocking display of clumsiness. With the way she slid, it’s all you can do to refrain from yelling, “Safe!” It’s akin to a gory accident scene, and you have to watch to see what happens next.
Slowly, stiffly, the woman climbs up off the ground, scanning herself for injuries. She doesn’t have to look long; from your position, you can see blood rolling down her leg. The woman glances around to see who has watched her tumble, and that’s when she makes eye contact with you. The shared gaze is momentary as she diverts her gaze in embarrassment and slinks off with a leg-trailing limp.
Yes, this story is about me. Are you surprised? Sigh. I should be chained to an armchair or locked in a room with padded walls.
The story: My dog and I became momentarily distracted by rutting elk, bunches of tourists, and a train of vehicle traffic. She ran in front of me. I didn’t see her. I tripped over her, failed in turning the clumsy trip into a graceful jump, and went sliding baseball player-like onto my hands and knees.
The damage: I lost about 2 square inches worth of right palm skin and ground dirt and gravel into the open wound. I made my right knee bleed a bit. I hit the ground hard on the outside of my right knee, precisely where the IT band passes, and made it quite inflamed and sore. I have road rash on my right shin. My left palm was happily spared because I was carrying a dog poop bag in it, and I’m unsure why my left knee survived unscathed.
The outcome: It was significantly more painful to wash my palm wound than to fall in the first place. I cried like a little baby while doing that, and that’s no joke. Then, what do you do with a hand that is missing a bunch of skin? I had to wrap it up nice and tight, so to protect it from the germs of the world. The knee and IT band injury required a day of rest, and they are even a little sore still, more than a week later.
The conclusion: My friend suggested that I wrap myself in bubble wrap before engaging in one of those crazy pavement runs. I think I agree.
Posted by Meghan at September 28, 2007 12:50 AM
Comments
Poor you. As a clumsy person myself, I can sympathise.
Don't other trail runners carry water bottles in their hands to act like air bags in case of accidents like that?
Posted by: Thomas at September 28, 2007 4:48 AM
we all care about you :-) accidents happen, could have been worse, luckily you're one tough babe...
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at September 28, 2007 5:45 AM
This is so weird because two days ago I tripped over nothing and must have landed on a rock because as I started to run again, I looked down and saw there was a deep hole in my knee. Not only was the fall embarrassing, but then they took me to a hospital in an ambulance with the sirens on. I got some stitches inside and outside my knee, and I can barely walk now. Running isn't going to be an option for a while. I don't think this is the first time that I've had something like this happen, only to learn that other bloggers were having similar things happen around the same time.
At least you have your dog as an excuse! As far as I know, I didn't even trip over anything.
It's very amusing that the dog poop saved your left palm. I hope you and your right hand are feeling a lot better now!
Posted by: Alison at September 28, 2007 5:51 AM
I fall every six months or so and I'm overdue. If Alison's theory is correct, it could be any day now. So sorry for both of you. It's unfortunate that the pain and injury always have that element of embarrassment, too. Heal fast.
Posted by: Roslyn at September 28, 2007 10:32 AM
Ow, ow, ow! Oh, Meghan, that hurts.
I nearly always wear bicycle gloves. People joke at me, "So you fall down a lot?" and I don't miss a beat: "Yes", or "Not since yesterday."
Posted by: Anonymous at September 28, 2007 4:39 PM
Thanks for the well-wishes, everyone! I know, I'm SO clumsy.
Alison! My goodness! You fall sounds horrible! I'm so sorry to hear about that! Take good care of yourself, ok?
Posted by: Meghan at September 28, 2007 5:34 PM
Yikes! That hurt. I've done that twice, though it has been several years. And I have no idea what caused the fall - probably something like a pebble.
You are lucky that bag of dog doo didn't burst open under your palm!
Posted by: backofpack at September 28, 2007 9:27 PM
OUCH! Your vivid story-telling made the pain quite tangible! Yowie! I am wincing, just thinking about cleaning your palm--oohhh, that hurts.
That said, however, it is pretty funny that your left hand was saved by the dog poop.
Great writing!
Having had my share of public falls, myself, I can relate. I always laugh when I see the little name-meaning definitions that say the name "Anne" means "Grace." ha ha! Hardly. Quite the misnomer, in my case!
Posted by: anne at September 28, 2007 10:14 PM
Yep, I can sympathize as well. On a trail, it's easy to blame the rocks and roots for a fall; on pavement, it's harder not to wind up feeling like an idiot. Funny story, though; I can hardly wait for reason #350!
Posted by: crowther at September 29, 2007 10:40 PM
Get down! Get back up again! You must rise from the asphalt with cat-like quickness and a cat-like attitude that says "I meant to do that".
I don't want to "poo-poo" the seriousness of your injury. As Thomas says I use my water bottles as my "runners airbag". I don't think your dog poop idea is going to catch on. But it tells volumes about you as a responsible pet owner. Now if only your dog would go on runs with you without hoping other dogs won't see the clutz of an owner she has;-P
Posted by: Eric at September 29, 2007 10:51 PM
Ouch, so that's why Alison hasn't been posting. Sorry to hear this Alison. Best wishes for healing good and healing fast. By the way, you should know that recently in Rome I met Alweiss (and ran together) while she was on vacation. Talk about your wonderful blogland being conducive to transoceanic fun-sightseeing runs. Take much care, corrado
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at October 1, 2007 8:57 AM
Bubble wrap sounds like a good idea just about now, but then we wouldn't ahve this type of stories, would we? Heal up, girl:) Tetons are waiting!
Posted by: olga at October 1, 2007 1:10 PM
You could roll along in the bubble wrap and listen to yourself pop.
Posted by: Kendra BorgneverEVERfalls at October 3, 2007 8:18 PM
Meghan!! I so do fall. I was being facetious although you probably knew that. The guy who mentioned the water bottles acting as bumpers... it's definitely a bonus with those-mine are scratched up from tumbles, trust me. :)
Posted by: Kendra Borgidding at October 4, 2007 9:50 AM