First came shock, then came ugly crying on the side of the road for 5 minutes.
We were doing a one mile speed interval, and we were at a 5:45 pace. I was directly behind my friends, and before we realized it, there was a sinkhole (I wish the picture would do it justice because it was huge). It’s the strangest feeling to expect your foot to hit the ground, and then it doesn’t; I flew. The only thing that went through my brain as I fell was what my BIL taught me, “tuck and roll.” My BIL is the BYU Cosmo Coach and dunk team coach, so he knows all about falling. I’m happy I tucked and rolled because if I had put my hands out, I think I would have snapped my wrist or something. I landed on my side and just lay on the ground for a bit before trying to get up.
I fell right in front of the Utah Valley Marathon race director. It happened right in front of his house, and he looked at the sinkhole and said that it had to have occurred within the last day or two, so I called the city to let them know because this could cause more serious problems for a biker going faster than me. It was funny because I have emailed this particular race director for years about advertising, etc., and this was my first time meeting him, sobbing in his front yard.
Luckily, just the skin hurts, and my friend taking this picture with us is the BYU athletic trainer, so he was able to take a look at it, too.
I feel silly about how upset I am over my favorite gloves, but at least they kept my hands from scraping up, too! I love these gloves so much.
Now, for the rest of the day…
Beck was concerned that I would forget to pack his ‘hair jelly.’
Drove south to find some sunshine for spring break:
We found it.
The day ended much better than it started!
Finished up with some star gazing.
Tell me about a fall you’ve taken on
the run!
22 comments
Kathleen Malum
I was three miles from home and tripped on a tree branch. I sprained my ankle and had no way home other than to walk. I was in so much pain by the time I got home I crawled into bed and cried. I’m glad you’re ok.
Mariah
Oh no! Glad you are ok!
One time I fell right in front of a cross fit gym. I was running, the sidewalk was uneven, they all saw it, and my legs were dripping blood. Turned around and went home, I was only .5 miles in lol.
Corey
OUCH!! So scary and painful. I’m glad you knew what to do to keep it from being worse. The R&R in the sun, plus the star-gazing (so gorgeous) must help, also.
A few years ago, I tripped on the sidewalk a block from my house. Went down SO fast on my knee, palms, and my head bonked the sidewalk. Since I was on a 25-minute break before the next kid responsibility (you know), I went to the neighbor’s house and asked their daughter for wet paper towels to blot the blood, then I finished the rest of my 3-miler, LOL! I do still have the knee scar.
Hope you enjoy your getaway :)
Maureen
Oh man thank goodness nothing too bad happened!! The one time I fell on a run was on black ice. It started snowing towards the end of my run and as I was rounding the corner of the parking lot in my apartment complex, I was suddenly on the ground. Luckily it was just some scrapes but I fell so hard I ripped the knee on my leggings opened. It was painful! Now I’m extra alert for ice on will happily walk if I see any
Amy
So glad you’re okay!! My worst fall was when I ran high school cross country. Our home course was a state park and during one race, I fell at the bottom of a hill when I checked back to see if anyone was behind me and then fell down a hill about a mile later. My knee, hands, and the back of my thigh were so scraped up. About a week later, I fell over a speed bump during the warm up at an away meet. Not sure if I was just growing that season and a little less coordinated than normal, but my coach gave me the bandaid award at the end of the season! :)
Marissa
I’m so glad you’re okay, that could have been sooo bad!
Girl, I have fallen too many times to count. I’m actually having surgery next week for an internal brace (and other things) bc my tendons are so stretched out from previous sprains.
The worst fall was when something startled me and I sprinted over train tracks and fell on my hand. Thankfully I was with a friend who was a nurse. She called for a ride and took off my wedding ring. The ER doctor asked if I had seen my x-ray because it was “gnarly.” Ha! Not what you want to hear from a doctor.
So glad you’re okay! Now, you can enjoy your vacay!
Molly S
The sink hole should be named after you. Or maybe create a Strava segment there.
Also, good on you for calling about it. We can’t have Conner or Clayton falling in that canyon during their Olympic build!
I have both Oiselle mittens and gloves. I am devastated any time I temporarily lose a single glove/mitten.
Enjoy the warmth!
Melissa
Trail Running Fall: Was running on a mountain biking trail at a nearby State Park in the Fall one year and tripped on a tree root covered by leaves. I ATE IT full on face down SPLAT on the ground. So scary. I somehow managed to bend a thumb backward on one hand and sprained it, but that was the worst injury from that incident. Could have been worse and I was by myself too….which also means no one saw me slam to the ground, lol.
Mollie
Stepping in even a small hole is so startling! I can’t imagine a sinkhole. I’m glad you didn’t break anything 😭.
I am queen of falling. I know I’ve commented this before but last summer I fell in front of my whole middle school xc team and KEPT RUNNING until they pointed out the blood gushing from my knee. 5 stitches and I have a gnarly scar. I ripped a hole in my fav Lulu pants one winter falling in my neighborhood. Still have scars. And I got a black eye falling basically down a mountain in a trail race! 🤣 with the amount of miles we run, it’s bound to happen. Enjoy the warm weather and sunshine!!
Amber
I wish I would’ve known about tuck and roll! A couple weeks ago i was dodging construction and tripped/fell in the dark. At 43 years old, it’s harder to shake it off. My knee took the brunt of it, but two weeks later my chest still hurts from a weird strain/tear/something off. Soooo glad it wasn’t worse for you! Be careful!
Rachael
Yesterday must’ve been a bad running day – I was running with my husband and tripped over a curb and scraped up my elbow pretty bad, and my hands and knees! Very thankful he was there to help me and get me back home! Glad you didn’t get too hurt and the day ended better than it started! Hopefully you aren’t too sore today and have a better run if you get out there! :)
Helen
Oh no! Hope you’re not too sore. I’ve tripped on nothing plenty of times, but the worst was near the end of a trail marathon. As I landed I thought, hmm, that didn’t feel right! Got up and finished and went to the hospital the next day for my broken finger!
Nina
Ouchy! I’m glad you weren’t too badly hurt!
I once fell on my bike going over a sink hole like that (luckily also just skin hurts), you just don’t see them coming… It is pretty strange how unbalanced we are when we are not expecting the bump or hole or whatever!
Karen A.
I have lost count of the times I’ve fallen on my knees (I tend to favor falling on my right knee) throughout the years. Once I tripped on a chunk of tar that had been used to seal a sidewalk crack, and I tore right through my tech fabric leggings and gouged a hole in my knee–in the same spot I always gouge a hole! I’m glad your fall wasn’t worse!
My worst fall ever was off a bike when I was ten, though. I was riding a bike (I had just learned) on a gravel road, and I guess a rock hit the tire at just the wrong angle, and my bike and I parted ways. Ten stitches right in the middle of my forehead, plus road rash on my elbows, hands, and knees. I still have the scar on my head even after corrective plastic surgery, but it’s pretty faint. Funnily enough, I have never, since then, fallen off my bike again. Maybe I used up all my bad biking karma in one go!
Wendy
Ouchie!! But thankfully you didn’t break anything. And scary too!
I once tripped over an uneven sidewalk and scraped up my knees and hands really bad. I now run in the bike lane whenever possible. But I for sure will be watching out for pot holes and sink holes. Especially since we’ve had so much rain.
Glad you had an uneventful trip south. Now enjoy the sunshine 🤗
Kathy McElhaney
I’m glad you’re okay, Janae! I’m guessing you’re hurting even more today. Take it easy!
One of the side affects of peri-menopause for me was clumsiness. I fell SO many times! Three stand out – I sprained my ankle while trail running solo with about 1.5 miles to get back to my car. Another time I tripped over my own feet and hurt everything on my left side – ankle, shoulder and even gave myself a black eye. The one I remember the most wasn’t because of the pain, but because of the kindest woman. It happened in Hawaii and a homeless woman came to my rescue, offering so much compassion (https://mcmomentsandmemories.blogspot.com/2014/01/compassion.html)
Ali
I hope you are OK, Janae!
By far the worst fall for me was running and slipped on some black ice. I tore the cartilage in my hip and needed surgery! I was only 22 at the time and it was one of the worst experiences. Thankfully no lasting damage and I’ve been running fine since.
Get better soon!
kelly
Falling is the worst! Isn’t it weird to think in the time between tripping and landing? I fell on huge cracked asphalt on terwilliger blvd and landed on my mouth,chin, shoulder, forearm and knee. It was so fast! My upper lip and knee still have a scar.
Super Puff mittens are the best. I hope you get a new pair asap!
Enjoy the sun and so glad you tucked and rolled!
Warren
omg!….yeah lucky. My skull fracture was bad…but the time on my bike, biking on grass to go around walkers and hitting a fence post that hand be cut and not pulled out of the ground, I flew for what felt like forever, but landed on my chest and ouch!….then there was me running into the back of a car that had stopped a little too quickly…….I could write a book
Rachel Soper
One day I started out my run on a lit paved trail so I did not wear my headlamp. I felt great during my warm-up so I decided to head to the track for my speed work. The track was in the process of being redone. It was fully paved, but the lines weren’t painted on yet, it was dark around parts of the track since all the lights weren’t on since we weren’t supposed to be on it since it wasn’t completely 100% finished. While I was running backwards around the track to prevent injury and since there weren’t lines and it was dark. I was just following the inside curve of the track. Well, at one end of the track was the steeplechase hit and since I Was running in the reverse direction I couldn’t see the drop off in the dark. So I was running at short interval speed and ran right off the edge of the steeplechase pit like I was wile E coyote. I sprained my ankle and it hurt but not too bad. So I walked back to my car laughing the whole way because the whole situation was just too funny. Well, it ended up not being funny because I hurt my ankle pretty bad and I couldn’t run for months after that. But now I’m running and all better and it’s back to being a really funny story.
Steph
I always say I wish I had some big adventure stories for my freak accidents. I was coming back from the library on my bike one day and waved to my neighbor. I didn’t notice a speed bump and I bit the dust. Scrapes my hands and chin, plus my inner thigh got caught on my handlebars. My pride was bruised worse than anything.
Be safe out there!
Michelle
I am so glad you are okay! I run with my dogs and one night as we ran through town, one of my dogs just dead stopped right in front of me. I was talking to my running partner and not looking ahead and next thing I know, I am summersaulting over my dog. My instincts from riding horses for years was to tuck and roll but I still managed to land a huge amount of my body weight on my elbow. How I didn’t break it, I will never know. I was bruised, bloody, and very scared but I used my adrenaline to finish our run before I looked at everything. We got six miles done LOL! I guess someone had thrown out a hamburger in the road and that was what my dog was chowing down on. The funny part is I run with both dogs so as one of my dogs is happily chowing down on food, the other dog was attacking him for stopping and I guess hurting me. My poor running partner also runs with two dogs so she was trying to untangle me on the ground from my dogs while her dogs were going nuts too. I am sure the neighbors all had a great laugh at us.