What I Learned From Falling
This morning was a beautiful, crisp morning (in the 30’s) here in Central Ohio. The sun was out (that doesn’t happen very often) and I decided that I was going to go for a run. The last few weeks I have only pulled out the running shoes once each week. It was starting to wear on me and, without any appointments until 9:30, I decided to go for it. Usually, I drive 5 minutes to the trail with my GPS watch and head off from there.
This morning I decided just to run the sidewalks closer to home. That way I wouldn’t waste time driving back and forth. Everything was going along fine and my heart was beating steady. My breaths were clean and consistent. I was approaching the 30 minute mark, which probably equates to 3 miles and my legs were feeling it. I tried blocking it out of my head and just kept going. Then it happened.
The sidewalk monster reached up a grabbed my foot. In the blink of an eye I was sliding like Pete Rose into first base. Thankfully, I had gotten clear of the sidewalk and went through the dewey grass. I quickly got back on my feet and started running again. It was like nothing ever happened. Ya right!
All of a sudden I was out of breath and had to walk the rest of the way home. The sun day, fun day, run day was over. That’s when I noticed the mud on my sleeves and new running pants. Dang it! I took my time getting home while I was trying to wipe myself clean and even stretched outside to catch my breath.
I walked in the garage door and there she was. My beautiful bride waiting for me. She took one look at me and said, “did you fall?”. “Only once”, I said without missing a beat. All she said was, “Brian.”
That’s all that needed to be said. I’ve only fallen once before, once. In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about what I learned and relearned this morning.
- It feels good to have someone that cares about you.
- Don’t bother trying to hide setbacks. They’re on everyone’s path to success.
- When you fall, get back up and keep going.
- You only fail when you fall and don’t get back up.
- Always have identification (notice the toe tag on the left shoe)
Maybe I’ll run again tomorrow. Hopefully, I don’t learn as much.
- UPDATE – The old and the new - July 18, 2023
- Rehab is work - April 14, 2023
- I lost my wallet - April 6, 2023
Funny. Too bad someone didn’t have a camera to record that splat. At least you didn’t get hurt…physically. But, oh when she says that B….rrr…..i….a….nnn! That when you say, “stupid sidewalk”. I ought to sue that guy, he needs to fix it. 🙂
You knew how “Brian” was said! Thanks for the helpful tips.