Week 6, Day 4

A slight mishap.Went out for a "recovery" jog this morning and had a fall just before the one-mile mark.

I was planning just a little easy jog on my "Shady Lane" route. I went out around 6:30, after visiting the bathroom and making coffee for Tom, who was heading out early to drive up to Michigan on business.

I had the watch set to show distance on the main display, and to alternate between pace and elapsed time on the small display. Felt immediately dissatisfied with this setup. I guess I have become programmed over years of running with a simple chronograph to mostly pay attention to elapsed time, especially when I know where I am running. And over the past couple years, I've gotten used to the combination of my chronograph and my Nike Sportband, which I use mostly to tell me approximate distance covered.

On these early morning runs when I am not fully awake, I have had some concerns about falling. It's a little dark and I can't see the cracks in the sidewalk as well, and I'm not moving my body as well.

I had just crossed Delta Ave. and was starting to think about a walking break when I caught my right toe on a crack in the sidewalk, and next thing you know I was flying through the air and then I was sliding on the concrete. Fuck.

I lay there spreadeagle for a couple of seconds, still cursing. I slowly sat up and assessed the damage. I turned off my watch. Slight scrapes and bruises on the heels of both hands. Slight scrape and minor bruise on the outside of right knee. Probably bruise on right hip. Nasty road rash on inside of lower right arm, just below elbow.

Could have been much, much worse. Seems to be no permanent or serious damage. Anyway, I didn't want to risk it, so I turned around and walked home via the shortest route---turned the silly watch back on. Result for today is 1.71 miles in 26:37 or 15:02 pace. Hahahaha. Why did I bother? I don't know.

I think in addition to not being fully awake yet, I was distracted by the damn watch. I was probably looking down at it and wondering when it was going to say I'd gone a mile when I stubbed my toe. I had already decided that maybe it will be a bad idea to race with this thing on, and this just adds to my feelings about that.

I think that in a race it will be too much information for me to process logically and positively. It is enough for me in a race to get my total time elapsed and my mile splits. I would be better off not seeing my average pace every few seconds along the way. I am too likely to interpret it in a negative way and give up, or push too hard to try to speed up when it is not the right time for that. When I am racing, I should just race. The watch can be a good training tool, if I can learn not to keep staring at it every 5 seconds. But I think it can stay home on race day!