Call Me Grace

As my brother tells me, "The golden rule of running is one foot in front of the other."  Evidently I needed a reminder of that wisdom this week.  Wednesday evening I was out for a very enjoyable six mile run.  The weather was beginning to feel a bit fall-like, it had been a good day, and I was less than a quarter mile from home.  I remember looking down at my Garmin to see my pace and then in a flash of a second, found myself careening towards the pavement.  I knew immediately that the road rash was bad, but scurried to my feet and acted as though all was fine.  It was rush-hour and I was running along Park Road, thereby ensuring a very captive audience for my acrobatics.

Casualty number one was my iPhone.  I've had various iPhone models over the past six years, and this was the first time that I've cracked the screen.  Fortunately, the phone was still functional.  Unfortunately, any attempts to move my finger on the screen resulted in little shards of glass causing further injury.

My phone wasn't the only thing that took a beating.  Somehow, I managed to abrade most every bony prominence.  Both hands, both knees, and my left elbow, hip, and thigh dripped blood as I made the walk of shame back home.  Several friendly drivers offered a ride or napkins, but I wanted nothing more than to limp home and avoid the attention.

To add insult to injury, I attempted to take a shower with daggers of water piercing freshly torn skin.   No fun!  Aside for a very sore right hand, I think the majority of the damage was isolated to soft tissue. The problem, however, is that it's hard to be a surgeon with open wounds on your hands. 

The only good to come of the whole ordeal is a brand new iPhone.  Yes, I was one of those people standing in line of fifty people deep on Friday morning in anticipation of Apple's latest release.  Two hours later, and a large chunk of cash out of my wallet, I have a brand new iPhone 5S.

 

I still am unclear as to exactly what sent me face first towards the cement.  I've been a runner for many years and can honestly say I've never done such a "slip-and-slide" type dive.  It was an area of sidewalk  with gravel and uneven  sections, so I'm going to blame it on that.  Needless to say, I was much more aware of picking up my feet when I braved a run again yesterday.