Falling Hard … for Gravity (A Brief Odyssey Report)
September 24, 2007 by Bryon Powell · 6 Comments
A brief weekend update: I DNFed Oddyssey. I cruised through Lap 1 (13 miles) in 2:02. I made good time to the summit of Middle Mountain, the midway (time wise) point of Lap 2 just slightly slower than Lap 1 (1:09 rather than 1:05) and easily caught the second place ultramarathoner shortly thereafter. I was running smooth, strong, and confident. That is until gravity made itself known while I was floating down the far side of the mountain at around mile 20. I let my concentration lapse for just a moment, but it was enough to send me on a close encounter with the ground. This marked my third hard fall within a week. Ugh. In this one, I hit the inside of my right knee pretty hard, though I ended up chest to ground. Immediately, my stride was affected. I couldn’t roll like I had before. I pretty much immediately knew my day was done as soon as finished lap 2. I hoped that my knee would loosen up, but it didn’t. Furthermore, as time went on I’d get occasional radial pain when I’d start running out of a walk or when there was more loss than normal on a downhill stride. My heart rate graph for the race clearly shows where I fell as I couldn’t get my HR up very high on the flats and downs afterwards, though I could still walk hard enough to raise it on the climbs. Had the RD let me drop down races, I would have been the second marathoner, but no luck on that. Oh well. I ended up with a time of 4:20 for the marathon. The race guide said that the marathon had 6,000′ total climb. I think that might be a tad high, but it would be close. I think I would have come through Lap 2 in around 4:12-15 had I not fallen. I also felt like I was ready to rock Lap 3, which had been my plan, but it was not to be.
If I get a chance, I’ll expand this report in the next couple days, so check back.
In other news, my fall from last Sunday STILL has the left side of my chest very uncomfortable. I’m increasingly worried that I’ve cracked a rib. However, I imagine a cracked rid would be excruciating, and my chest is merely bothersome to quite uncomfortable depending on what I’m doing. It hurts to cough, breathe deep, and put pressure on my chest. Doh!
Of my three falls last week, the least bothersome is the one that led to the most blood. On Tuesday night, I hit the sidewalk with a five-point (!?) fall. I managed to get both knees, both hands, and my right elbow. That took talent.
All of this falling if very unusual… and damn annoying. Remember to keep the rubber side down!
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Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
All posts by Bryon Powell
Goat,
Sorry about your face plant. I had two near-misses on that same benign (?) section of trail…close calls both. Thanks for your pep talk and the ice at the transition area…I am glad I went out on loop three, but it was brutal. Great trail, no? And send me that photo if you have it. :-)
Take care of your boo-boos.
S
Sounds like you were on a roll until the fall.
Get yourself checked out…I’ve had cracked ribs before, once without much general pain (but with issues taking a deep breath and applying pressure). It is better to be safe and make sure there are no serious issues.
Rest up.
Tony
Thanks, Sophie. It was a bummer to drop, I was running really well and comfortably when I fell.
Tony, Did the doc do anything when you cracked a rib? Not sure that there is a real reason for me to go in. I mean, at this point, I can be pretty sure that I didn’t puncture a lung or anything like that. ;-)
Just rest and pain control so I could breath comfortably and cough without too much discomfort in order to clear out any junk in my lungs. This helps to prevent any lung collapse or pneumonia.
Hey Bryon,
Sorry about your injuries. Wow, between Steve and you and I we have enough injuries to last for a while. Take care of yourself. I fell at a 50k and broke 3 ribs and it was really tender for almost a year. Wrapping an ace wrap around your chest will help give your ribs some support. There is really nothing else that can be done. Take care!
Tony and Kelly, thanks for the info. I figured there’s not a whole lot a doc can do. I’ll step up the ibuprofen and try resting. Unfortunately, I’ve been in the middle of a never ending floor project that’s had me hunched over for hours everyday. Ugh. Not helping! Should be done soon.