I knew it was only a matter of time. Run trails long enough and eventually you will fall. I'm surprised I never did before. At least if I have, it wasn't enough to do any damage and I don't remember falling. Well today I finally took my first official fall.
I just wanted an easy day. I figured I'd head to a trail. I haven't been on the trails all week. I was only looking to run 3 miles. I opted for the fast and easy course at Jacobsburg. I decided to go on the Sober's Run Loop. I've run parts of this, but never actually the whole loop.
I parked out near the horse trailers in a small lot. I often run this part when I start at the Environmental Center. It is flat and more of a stone road than a trail. After a short distance, there is a steady climb. None of the climbs at Jacobsburg are like the mountain climbs I usually do, but this was was still challenging early on.
I normally don't like to run this area of the park because horses are allowed there and they are a pain to navigate around. Thankfully I didn't see any on this day. I've done some repeats up this exposed climbing section. After getting to the top, the trail remains wide, but goes back into the woods.
This is the part of the trail that I've rarely, if ever, run on. I quickly looked at a map beforehand to know where I was going. I just followed the green loop. It is interesting because there are so many little off shoot trails all over. Maybe one day I'll explore them all. I passed a cute girl walking a dog in this section. I was going easy, but my pace was fast. That was thanks to the mostly flat, smooth and wide stone path.
I was amazed at how quickly the miles were adding up. Before I knew it, I was back to the area that I know and have run before. I did miss the one turn back to the start because I usually cross the road in that area. This turn led me back to more true trails. I was now on a narrow dirt singletrack in the woods. That is much more enjoyable for me. This part of the trail is slower, but still pretty fast. It follows a ridge just above Sober's Run.
There are some short climbs and a few rocks, but it isn't too bad. I was definitely enjoying this section. I was commenting to myself how I don't appreciate Jacobsburg enough. It is a scenic place to run. It just doesn't have the hills that I crave.
Right as I was thinking about how I don't appreciate this place enough, BOOM, it happened. Before I knew it I was on the group covered in dirt with a couple of nice cuts. I guess I was daydreaming and relaxing and all of a sudden, I tripped on a rock. The scrapes on my wrists, arms and legs were like those that you get when falling off your bike as a kid. Painful at first, but not a problem in the end.
The real concern is my toe. Because I have Morton's toe (my middle toe is longer than my big toe), that bashed on the rock and was quite sore. I've banged it pretty good on rocks in the past. I think I even had to take a few days off once. This one certainly hurt pretty bad. I was at about two and a half miles at this point. It didn't hurt enough to prevent me from running though. I probably pushed off more with my mid foot, but I finished the final half mile. I like running in lighter shoes, but then you lose the protection and wind up with issues like this.
When I got back near the car, there was a path down to the water. I walked down it and was going to wash the dirt off of me. As I got to the rocks though, I realized that I couldn't walk on them with my sore toe. I just headed back to the car and brushed as much off as I could with paper towels.
My big concern was driving home. It was a toe on my right foot that was sore. This meant I could have trouble hitting the gas and braking. Luckily, I wasn't too far from home. Driving was somewhat tough, but I managed to use more of my mid foot, rather than the toe.
It is funny that with all the difficult and rocky trails that I've run, it is on one of the easier ones where I take my first fall. I guess I just concentrate more when it is tougher. This brings up another thing. For awhile now, I've been saying I need to practice falling. Maybe now is the time. Had it been a big fall and I landed on my wrists, I might've broken them. It is tough to brace yourself so quickly for a fall, but you have to land on your side, not on your wrists. I certainly need to practice this on some grass.
The plan for tomorrow is to run at night. I was hoping to do 10 miles point to point with the group. Now, I'm not so sure. I'm icing my toe and I'll have to see how it feels tomorrow. Hopefully, it is just a little bruise and not too bad. There would be worse things than having to take a few days off. I was planning that anyway after tomorrow.
3 miles - 28:28 (9:30 pace)
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