I started running again a couple of months ago.
Last week, I had the most dramatic day I have ever had as a runner. I started late, and followed my usual route. I was more than half way, headed back, when I fell.
I do not really remember falling; I remember running, taking a step, and feeling that my body was not where it was meant to be. I took the next step, aware that something was not right, and the next thing I knew, the right side of my head hit the sidewalk.
The first thing I felt was embarrassed. It was getting dark, and I had dropped the flashlight and keys I was carrying. I reached my left hand to touch my face to find out whether I had hurt myself. I had. My hand was covered with blood. Of course, I had to make sure, so I tried my right hand, and got the same result. I found the light, and then the keys, stood up, and started walking back.
When I got there, I unlocked our front door and, without going in, told my wife not to be upset. When she saw me, she thought I had lost my right eye. We went to the emergency room, where I eventually got some stitches. I looked like a hockey player, but had not actually done any permanent damage.
It fascinates me that so much can happen as the result of such a brief moment that I cannot really remember. It is amazing to me that my body had already begun to heal itself, even before I finished walking back. I have not been able to figure out how I scraped my right knee, the back of my right shoulder, and hit the right side of my face on the sidewalk.
We tell ourselves that we learn from our mistakes, and then we deny making them. I fell down, and the lessons I am learning from that will be with me longer than the black eye, the stiffness in my back, and the other aches and pains.
When have you fallen down, and what lessons did you learn?
[Image by Freddy The Boy]
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In