As you can probably tell by the title of this piece, my last run wasn’t exactly a success.

I started off well enough, planning to do anywhere between 3 and 5 miles to bed-in my new Asics Gel Nimbus 14s.  Recently I’ve been in good form when out on the road, my 5k time has tumbled to 24.40, a full minute quicker than my previous 5k personal best, so it wasn’t a surprise when I fell into a comfortable rhythm.  After the first mile, my route took me rather sharply downhill which served to assist my pace, everything was going well.  I started to think about other things, the lovely weather, how my running had improved, what I’d have for tea on my return home.  I turned right heading towards the town centre, rounded a small block of shops and began my ascent back up the hill.

That’s when things started to go wrong.  My breathing, usually controlled and easy, became rather laboured, as did my stride, things weren’t quite going the way I’d planned.  I’d not quite become used to my new shoes either, whilst my old Asics Nimbus had become rather worn they were very comfortable, the new cushioning was firmer as a result of being new, slightly reducing my comfort.  I didn’t worry too much though because the gradient was rather steep.  Shortly after the fourth mile mark I stopped to relieve a stitch which nagged away at my left side.

Within 100 yards of restarting with renewed vigour on the last stretch back home I hit a raised paving stone with my right foot, toppled forwards, hit the ground and skidded to a blood-soaked stop.

I rose to my feet straight away to assess the damage, nothing hurt too severely though it was clear that I’d badly cut my left knee, grazed the palm of left hand and, somewhat obscurely, cut the end of my left index finger.

I walked the rest of the way home where I mopped up the blood and cleaned my cuts.  All I can do now is wait until the pain subsides and I can take to the pavements once more.  Perhaps the fall was a blessing in disguise, I’ve replaced running with going to the gym to improve my strength.  Hopefully, when I return to running in the weeks to come I will do so with more strength and hunger than before as we enter into the Autumn racing season.  Perhaps as well, it is a lesson in picking my feet up when running over a paved area.  In either case, I will return to running probably next week, aiming to increase my distances once more towards 10 and 12 mile long runs in the lead up to the Autumn where I hope to complete either a 10-mile run or even a half marathon.

Perhaps you have had a run that has gone wrong, I’d be interested in hearing whether you, like me, go to the gym to relieve the frustration of being injured or whether you have a different tactic for staving away the boredom that arises from not venturing out of the front door in your running shoes.