Saturday, January 8, 2011

Go ahead...laugh at me.

No one said that the C25K training was going to be a breeze.  Especially considering I haven't ran on a regular basis since my sophomore year of college.  The first week had been going pretty well until I met my nemesis yesterday at lunch...the treadmill.  I am not a treadmill type of guy but I felt like I needed to get a run in because I wasn't able to the night before due to snow.  The treadmill workout started out pretty well. I felt like I looked like I knew what I was doing, blending in with the crowd, feeling pretty good about myself.  That is until the unthinkable happened...I fell off of the treadmill.  You read that correctly, I am the guy that fell off of the treadmill. 

How could that happen?  Allow me to explain. 

Throughout the workout I was unsure of where to put my IPod (I don't yet have the arm strap).  So I decided that I would put in the cup holder.  That plan was working out just fine until I inadvertently got my hand caught in the earphones cord and knocked the IPod to the floor.  That's where my inexperience on a treadmill came into play as I allowed my instincts to kick and I just stopped to bend down to pick up the IPod.  Well, that doesn't work on a treadmill.  I learned that the hard way as my feet came out from under me before I could think twice, but I was able to grab the bar and hold myself up.  At that point I was understandably flustered/embarrassed, but that's no excuse for my next move...

There I was, holding onto the bar to keep myself off of the ground while everyone around me most certainly looked on with amusement and without thinking I again tried to stand up on the treadmill that continued to roll along at 6.3 mph.  Needless to say, the second effort was a futile as the first and I fell again.   I didn't fall just once, I fell twice. 

I have always thought of myself as a pretty smart guy.  After this little episode, that is debatable.

I could have packed up my things and walked out of the gym with my tail between my legs, but I didn't.  I quickly picked myself and my pride up off of the floor and continued on with my workout. 

Not even extreme embarrassment will keep me from my goal of running a 5K.

4 comments:

  1. OH...MY...GOSH! That's hilarious! I was just telling a friend of mine yesterday that I've made it through nearly a year of running without falling. That probably has something to do with my aversion to the treadmill (I've only used it 5 or 6 times).

    But hey, you have all my respect for getting up and running the rest of your workout. Very, very cool.

    But I'm still laughing. =)

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  2. I don't comment on here often, but I'm a follower. I am coming out of the woodwork to commiserate because I too have fallen off a treadmill under similar circumstances. Not one of my finer moments, but thankfully I had wasn't there alone. I was able to laugh it off with my friend, but my cassette walkman was never the same again! Kudos to you for getting back on and finishing your workout! I'm impressed!

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  3. Congratulations on not giving up! Good luck with that training! The more you use that treadmill, the easier it will become - they are a necessary evil during the winter months!

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  4. Awwwwwww, I think I love you!!!! This was a great story!! I, too, am determined to run my first 5K this year. GOOD FOR YOU that you kept going. I'm so happy!! (Thanks for the laugh and I'm sure the people at the gym thank you, too! LOL)

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