I was never very good at complex concepts in physics. I remember simple things like F=ma: Force is equal to Mass times Acceleration. For some reason, that was the second thing I thought of after face-planting while running. The first thought was, naturally, "Ohmygod, did anyone see me?" I've never tripped while running, but holy cow, it came out of nowhere and happened fast. My current Mass (15 pounds heavier than desired) and my Acceleration that day (I have blistering speed when I run) equalled a Force of HolyCrapThatHurt.
I quickly and gratefully determined that no-one saw me fall. I was on Rutgers campus, and it was early morning and every self-respecting college kid was still in bed. I'll bet there were some guys in the RU security office that had a good laugh if they happened to be looking at the right security camera, but they didn't roll a patrol car to check on the body since I got up right away and started walking. Nothing wrong here. Ow. I'm fine. Ow, ow, ow. I think my knee is bleeding. Ow.
It took me about two blocks to do a severity assessment all the parts that hurt and conclude that I would live. In the next block, I reminded myself that real athletes in the NYC and Boston marathons have stumbled and fallen too. nope, I'm not a clutz. Ow. Ow. You know, real athletes would start running again. Ow. I started trotting again with a renewed emphasis on picking up my feet and increased awareness of sidewalk cracks. I thought if I could trot, I'd get back to the gym faster -- to inspect and lick my wounds (so to speak) in the light.
I blame my new blaze orange sneakers. I hypothesize that the color had no actual bearing on my fall, but I was looking pretty cool in them right up until I face-planted. This was just my second run in these Saucony's. On the first run I thought they felt a little 'strange' and sure enough, my shins hurt the next day. Since I fell on the second run, clearly the sneakers are broken and it's their fault. It will be a few days before I run again because a number of things hurt, including my pride. But I just thought you'd like to know the laws of physics are intact in case you haven't tested them in a while.
I quickly and gratefully determined that no-one saw me fall. I was on Rutgers campus, and it was early morning and every self-respecting college kid was still in bed. I'll bet there were some guys in the RU security office that had a good laugh if they happened to be looking at the right security camera, but they didn't roll a patrol car to check on the body since I got up right away and started walking. Nothing wrong here. Ow. I'm fine. Ow, ow, ow. I think my knee is bleeding. Ow.
It took me about two blocks to do a severity assessment all the parts that hurt and conclude that I would live. In the next block, I reminded myself that real athletes in the NYC and Boston marathons have stumbled and fallen too. nope, I'm not a clutz. Ow. Ow. You know, real athletes would start running again. Ow. I started trotting again with a renewed emphasis on picking up my feet and increased awareness of sidewalk cracks. I thought if I could trot, I'd get back to the gym faster -- to inspect and lick my wounds (so to speak) in the light.
I blame my new blaze orange sneakers. I hypothesize that the color had no actual bearing on my fall, but I was looking pretty cool in them right up until I face-planted. This was just my second run in these Saucony's. On the first run I thought they felt a little 'strange' and sure enough, my shins hurt the next day. Since I fell on the second run, clearly the sneakers are broken and it's their fault. It will be a few days before I run again because a number of things hurt, including my pride. But I just thought you'd like to know the laws of physics are intact in case you haven't tested them in a while.