Falling has fallen

January 28th, 2016

When I composed my author bio two years ago, I said I enjoy desert trail running and I’m “particularly good at falling down.” Back then, I had an irrational aversion to slowing down on training runs. For that, I sometimes paid the price, though I’m lucky I never had any serious injuries.

I’ve most often tumbled during the Arizona summer as toxic sweat pours down my face and the sun blazes at 6:00 A.M. You learn that if you injure yourself in a fall, training stops and you end up doing boring rehab on a soft, perfectly flat track.

SanTanScramble2016BIG
This week I realized I had no trail-running falls in 2015! What did I learn since 2012 to make this a fall-free year? A few rules.

1. If there’s blinding sweat in your eye(s), walk.
2. If you end up staring directly at the sun in an area of jagged rocks, walk.
3. If your headphones fall out of your ear(s), walk while you fix them.
4. If you decide you must switch MP3 albums, walk
5. Even when you drink water from a bottle, walk.

These rules don’t apply during a race, of course. That’s the time to go for it. :)

The key takeaway? If you want to reduce your fall risk while trail running, especially if you’re an oaf, walk more.

And if you do any kind of running, but especially trail running, you need a Road ID.

I’m probably overdue for a fall in 2016, but until then . . .

“He enjoys desert trail running and has avoided falling for ____ days.”