My Running Accident (please no laughing)

Last Thursday I went walking for 30 minutes before picking up the kids from school. No problems there. I came home, got the kiddos snacks and settled down so that I go to a neighbor’s house just down the hill from where I live. Instead of driving to her home (like I normally do), I decided to run. This is where you would think I had the accident, since I live on a pretty steep hillside and running down a hill, any hill, one picks up speed and sometimes can’t control it. But no, I did fairly well. I actually enjoyed running down the hill—the wind whipping through my hair, my body and lungs working together.  

No, at this point all was well. It was the return home that did me in. Like I said, I live on a hillside. I had to walk back up the hill to get to my house. It was hard, but doable. I have done it several times before—muscles aching and thoughts of “Who decided it would be a good idea to build houses on a hillside?” running through my mind. 

It wasn’t until I actually got to the bottom of my very own steep driveway, that tragedy befell me. I decided to climb to my front door by using our rock steps instead of the perfectly good steps that came with the house. This was my undoing. 

With wobbly, weak legs I climbed each step (keep in mind I was wearing my new $140 shoes that were a whole size too big). Just as I was about to reach the landing, the toe of my left foot caught on the rock overhang of the step, snagged me and down I went.  

Before I even checked for bodily damage, I looked around to see if I had any witnesses (because that is just embarrassing). There were none. That’s when I noticed my banged up knee (my good knee, thank goodness) and that my wrist and shoulder (that I used to brace my fall) were in a lot of pain.  

My knee is so sore—scraped up and bruised—but it is my right shoulder that is giving me nothing but grief these past few days. The day after the fall, I woke up and felt as though my shoulder had been dislocated. I was in an awful lot of pain—popping ibuprofen like crazy. I can’t sleep laying on it, it hurts. I can’t sleep on the opposite shoulder, because it pulls and therefore hurts. I can’t lie flat, because it hurts. The sucker just hurts. 

It is getting better with each day, thankfully. But it has been 4 days since I have done any training at all. I don’t like that. I don’t want to fall behind, because I have no time to spare.  

So today, pain or no pain, I will go running. I will drug myself up and get out there.