Runner Insight

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Out of all my running stories, this one takes first prize for dumbest move on my part.

I had stopped driving after my diagnosis of Retinitis Pigmentosa, so most nights when I had to go to the hospital to work my graveyard shift, I would get a ride or take a taxi.  One night in late summer about a year after my diagnosis, I decided to run to work.  I wanted to try out a new headlamp I just got, and what a perfect opportunity, since my shift at the hospital didn’t start until 11:00 PM.

There was a workout room connected to the hospital, and I could shower and clean up before my shift, so I put on my running clothes and put my work clothes into a backpack. Giving myself plenty of time to have a quick weightlifting session too, I headed out the door, with headlamp on and started down the long hill where I lived.

So far, so good.  My headlamp seemed to be working well. I was pleased.  It wasn’t until I got on to the busy street that would take me to within a few blocks of the hospital, that I ran into some trouble.  Thinking I was being smart, I got onto the sidewalk. Although the bike path alongside the road was smoother, I was worried about not being seen, as I had no blinkers or flashing lights on me: just the headlamp, which was now starting to feel heavy and clumsy on my head. It kept slipping, and I had to keep re-adjusting it. The sidewalk would be safer from traffic, but it had a lot of uneven spots in it, too.

I was running along, making good time, and naturally I caught one of those uneven spots with my toe, a section of cement sticking up about 3″.  I went down fast and hard, reaching out with my hands to stop myself, hitting my chin on the pavement and catching the full brunt of my body weight with my right elbow.

After a couple of moments of shock and processing, I realized what had happened. I did a body check.  Yep all my teeth were still where they needed to be.  But my arm hurt and I had some nasty road rash on my hands.  And now I had to decide what to do next: I’m about half way there, so do I turn around and head back home?   Or do I continue on running to work?

This story is a little too long to complete in one installment, so please join me on Wednesday to continue the adventure….

How ’bout it?

-Vision Runner

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Tags: blind, dumbest running story, eyesight, falling, headlamp, headlamp running, Retinitis Pigmentosa, run, run to work, Runner, Running, running blog, running clothes, running stories, running with a headlamp, sight, Vision, Vision Runner

This entry was posted on Monday, December 8th, 2008 at 4:54 am and is filed under Running, Vision Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.