Sunday, November 8, 2009

Falls and Marks

I fell during my run today. One stride I was rushing forward, chattering to St. Matt about an amazing book I'd read yesterday and admiring the foliage; then I was launched into sideways Superman dive, grating over leaves, roots and twigs. I'm sure it was very graceful.

I popped up, shook my limbs, shrugged at a suddenly pale St. Matt, and resumed my run and the conversation: "And it was so consuming; I couldn't turn pages--

He interrupted to point out that I'd given him yet another heart attack and to repeat: "Don't look at your leg. No. Don't. I said DON'T look at it."

I have a weensy issue with blood. Okay, it's a major issue. Bruises, however, inspire macabre fascination. My new hobby is watching my legs turn purple.

But it isn't painful; it isn't even unexpected. I fall A LOT, especially on a trail run – and trail runs in the autumn are their own brand of treachery: tree roots and holes stay hidden under a layer of leaves, just waiting for their opportunity to send me sprawling.

Yet, despite four (is it five?) sprained ankles, countless scrapes, and bruises from indigo to lilac, there's no keeping me off the trails.

A straight out, straight back road run? One where I'll know each step that takes me away and brings me back to the start? Boring.

I prefer runs just like how I prefer my books: full of the unexpected. They'll have a start, they'll have a conclusion, but the moments in between should be an adventure.

I want my heroine to dare to turn left at the fallen log, just to see if it is a real path. I want her to start running up a hill whose peak is hidden by trees – not knowing if she'll have the stamina to reach the top, or even how far away it is. I want split second decisions: stay by the stream or turn toward the covered bridge. And challenges: fording puddles, striding through mud, sliding up a rain-slick hill. She should stop short to avoid spider webs that appear inches from her face, pause to pat the occasional dog sharing her path, and be willing to get her feet wet and her legs muddy. Scratches from that pricker-bush incident should be worn with pride.

It's these books that stay with me; the ones where I can't predict what the hero or heroine will do next. The ones whose characters take risks, do the unexpected, but never forget to notice the beauty along the way. They fall, get back up, continue their adventures.

These books fill my head with questions and what-if's. They linger in my mind and are book-bullied into others' hands. These are the books that leave marks on me long after The End.

But unlike trail runs… the marks don't require band-aids.

8 comments:

  1. LOVELY post, Tiffany :) And I think you should carry a little portable bandaid kit with you :p

    But I know exactly what you mean. It's one of the reasons I love the Mortal Instruments series, because it keeps me on my toes the whole time. I don't dare put it down, in case there's something important around the bend, and there almost always is.

    I'm glad you found a book that left some marks on you :p

    ReplyDelete
  2. Victoria - I DO have bandaid kits in all my purses and the cars. I'll have to MacGyver a bandaid carrier for trail runs.

    And, YES, I am quite marked up... physically and mentally.

    Distraction Fairies disguised as books should really come with warning labels :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. So you know bruises are just you ~bleeding within~ right? LOL I SHARE YOUR MORBID FASCINATION. And they're so easy to see on me! Glad you didn't break anything besides blood vessels! AND I agree...who wants a heroine who sticks to the path? :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I couldn't agree more! and I love the analogy you have drawn here :)

    Me, I NEED my heroine's to run for me. Mostly because I cannot. Truly. Put me in a pair of pointe shoes and I am wonderfully graceful. However, ask me to run...let's just say it gets VERY messy. Even a McGyver bandaid wont fix it. It usually requires an ambulance.

    Most recently, the book that did this for me would have to be Beautiful Creatures. UNPUTDOWNABLE!

    Victoria - The Mortal Instruments Trilogy. BEST EVER!

    :)
    Tye

    ReplyDelete
  5. Emily - No, bruises are not blood. They are just purple skin. Got it?

    Tye - I am JEALOUS! Put me in ballet slippers and it gets messy... in fact, the last time I was in a ballet recital, I provided my family with 20 YEARS of teasing material:

    http://www.tiffanyschmidt.net/2009/04/why-im-not-ballerina.html

    Also, Jace is one of my favorite Distraction Fairies EVER

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bubble-wrap running clothes! Please!

    ReplyDelete
  7. VY - *gigglefit* at that image. And when I fall, (that's WHEN, not if) I'd make enough noise to alert the ambulance! It's like a Bat Signal made of bubble-wrap!

    ReplyDelete
  8. LULZ!!!!!!!!!!
    I am laughing so hard at your ballerina post I can barely type!
    That is AN AWESOME story!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

    Dont nevy me, I was a very stubborn ballerina with a horrid Madame who was horrendous to me! At 15 yrs of age, 2 weeks before my audition for the Sydney Ballet Co she and I had a huge fight. I (stubbornly) defied her and went to play basketball...where I tore my ligament and ended up in surgery for a knee reconstruction. I was devastated. No more professional ballet for me, after 13 years of training and bleeding toes and recitals and exams....

    But! Turns out I was too tall to have been a prima ballerina anyhow. I grew an inch at 18 and ended up being 6 foot flat. There would have been no partners for me....

    Your story though, was beautiful!
    ~*~

    ReplyDelete

Comments? I LOVE these!

Note: you may have to press 'Post Comment' twice, I'm not sure why... anyone know?