An undignified end to a run

This morning I was doing my 5k run. I reached the 3.8 km mark (according to Strava), right at the end of a long downhill stretch, so I was going pretty fast, when my foot caught an uneven concrete paving block edge. I took a couple of flailing steps and then realised I couldn’t stay on my feet. I fell headlong onto the concrete, but managed to roll myself onto the adjacent grass after initial contact.

It hurt a lot. Probably the most painful thing since I accidentally sliced my hand open five years ago. I was still lying on the grass assessing my status when a couple came up, a bit older than me, to check and make sure if I was okay or not. I was in a quiet residential street and they were the only other people around.

I managed to pull myself to my feet and determine that there were no broken bones, nor any sprains. In fact I felt fairly okay, except for painful and bleeding grazes on both knees and the heels of both hands. The couple asked how near I lived, and I told them it was a walk up the hill and past the railway station. They were going that way and said they’d walk with me. I had to reassure them a couple of times first that I was capable of walking. They were very kind and concerned.

At the station I used a drinking water station to rinse off some of the blood before proceeding home. During the walk I discovered that this couple live in the old converted church that I always admire when I go past it. It’s a small old Anglican church, in the middle of a street of houses, and it’s been converted into a residence. They said they bought the property some time ago and did the renovation work necessary to turn it into a home. Quite a coincidence that these would be the people who stopped to help me.

Once home, my wife helped me as I showered in hot water and with lots of soap to wash the wounds. Then I applied iodine antiseptic to them and bandaged them all up. The bleeding had almost stopped and the grazes don’t seem too bad. And I’m up to date with tetanus shots, so that’s not a worry.

Now, in the evening, things seem mostly fine. The heels of my hands are a little tender and bruised, and the right knee too. My left knee and hand are least affected, because as I fell I tried to head towards the grass on the right hand side, so most of the impact (on the concrete) was on my right knee and hand. It’ll be a few days for the grazes and bruises to heal up, but I don’t expect any other issues. I’m very happy I didn’t break a bone less than a week before flying to Europe.

During the afternoon I worked on more Darths & Droids comics. I now have made enough to cover the entire time I’ll be away in Europe, so there won’t be any pause in regular updates. And then late in the afternoon I had ethics classes. I had something to tell my students during the introductions while waiting for everyone to login to Zoom: I showed them the bandages on my hands and explained what had happened. It’s actually good to have something to talk about, as small-talk with the kids can be tricky sometimes.

And now it’s time to relax and watch some TV before bed.