via DCPhotoTour
Cruising through Facebook news feed got me to a link by Active.com: "Embarrassing Running Problems"
I don't recall any embarrassing running "problems." I've had problems, but they were never an embarrassing issue. But there was a moment I'll never forget.
During Washington DC's all-time record high Snowmageddon in February 2010, the roads, sidewalks, cars, buildings and everything else was completely buried in snow and ice. It was a huge gleaming dump and running was the last thing on my mind.
Growing up in Arizona, I had no idea how to run in such inclement weather like this. I had planned to wait until the all the snow melts but as days went by, I went crazy. Frustrated depression came with an intensified craving to give what my body and mind needs. For every avid runner, it's a horror to be stuck in the house not being able to do what has long been part of our daily morning routine like brushing our teeth.
One day, my roommates and I went to run errands. The city was completely dead, with no one out there except for a couple runners. It left me wondering how they could glide so effortlessly in the snow. They made it look so easy, so piece-of-cake and I thought..... "really?"
I put on my big girl panties and went the next morning. A four mile run turned out to take an hour to complete along with some slips and near falls.
The worst part? While making a turn around the White House, there was this guard standing in front of the gate and I guess I didn't want to look stupid with a panicked face, my frenzied eyes on the watch for ice and glued to the ground with a jog that looked more like a tip-toed, brisk walk on a full bladder. I wanted to make an impression and decided to change my form to how I normally run so he'll assume I'm from the area and have been running in this no-biggie kind of weather for years. Bad idea.
Doing my best imitation of DC runners in the snow was an epic fail. I slipped and landed on my left hip right in front of the guard. He came to offer a hand to help me up but I insisted I didn't need any help. I was in so much pain and tried to cover it up by getting up and quickly getting back into the grind to shake it off like it was, again, no big deal.
Bad idea #2. Before landing one foot in the front of the other, BAM. I slipped again on my butt and my face got hot. Instead of pain, I felt blood rushing to my face with the rest of my body numb from the cold. It was beyond embarrassing. I wanted to hide and this time, I had to take his hand to save myself from more humiliation. This all happened 2-3 feet away from where he was standing. Why, God why. Why there and not anywhere else?
I got hideous bruises with one the size of a tennis ball the next morning, my hips sore and achy but at least, I know I'll never face him again. I don't regret the run at all. It's nice to say one day: "Yeah, been there. Done that," so that next time, you'll be sure not to do anything stupid.
Lesson learned.
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