Fall is in the Air

Yesterday I set a new record. I realize that a daily update of my jogging progress is not only unnecessary, it doesn't make for good reading: I went a bit farther today; it was hard.

So I thought today I'd actually show you my block from Google Earth. I start jogging at the upper little yellow box and run clockwise along the sidewalk. (I added the little yellow boxes, they are not really there.) Yesterday I made it all the way to the second box, the first house on the street parallel to mine. Almost half way!

This morning I almost made it to the second walkway. You know, every day I stop when I think I'm about to fall, but I'm never 100% sure that a fall was imminent. I didn't have to worry about that today as my hands actually outdistanced my feet. Yes, I turfed it. You know, I jog on the sidewalk in part so that if I begin to fall, I can try to go either left or right and have a soft grassy landing. But that's just the thing about falling, it often comes with precious little, if any, warning. And so it was today. I mean, I was laboring, and probably should not have been pushing SO hard to reach my goal, but in an instant I was prostrate on the pavement, with a painful 4-pronged searing: both knees and the heels of my hands. Youchie.

I was only down for about ten seconds, and then I was back on my feet. My hands were scraped but not bleeding. I didn't want to look at my knees just yet. It really stung, BUT I didn't cry! (Apparently I cry easily at sadness, not pain.)

I am happy to report that I did not hit my head or face, and that nothing seems to be broken, twisted, fractured, or strained. Just a pair of skinned knees. Kara, who would have laughed aloud if she'd witnessed it, wasn't laughing when she saw my knees. She said, "Maybe you shouldn't run anymore." Maybe she's right, but I'm not ready to let go just yet; I just need to be better about knowing my limits, and today was a good little lesson with a relatively small price paid. (Well, I've made the down payment and I've financed this lesson over 2 or 3 days.) Also, I could start wearing protective grar or jogging on the grass part of our Hike n' Bike trail. Lots of options.