what not to do the week before a marathon.. if you trip easily..

Georgia International Olympic Mountain Bike course. My daughter is participating in the Boo Rama horse show at the Georgia International Horse Park this weekend. She came in 3rd place (out of about 15) in all 4 of her events today! After her last event, I headed for the trails. This time, unlike others, I followed the signs for the bike path/no horses. The first mile was so easy that I wondered how this could possibly be the Olympic course. Then I realized that that must have been the "warm-up" portion because the following miles were more challenging. I'm sure bikers take the ramp in this picture, but I chose to leap over the fallen tree instead.

There were only a few bikers on the trail and they politely warned me that they were approaching from behind so I jumped off the trail to let them pass. I felt strong as I ran and took 30 second walk breaks every 5-7 minutes depending on the terrain and my breathing. Just shy of 2 miles I tripped and fell. I didn't bother to look at the damage.. just got up and continued along the path paying closer attention to the trail obstacles in hopes of not tripping again. I can't afford a serious injury a week before my marathon.. 4.27 miles was the loop. I assessed the damage at the car. Hopefully this is just surficial scrapes rather than more significant damage since I have a marathon to run in 7 days. I posted on Facebook and Daily Mile: note to self (aka trail tripper) NO MORE TRAIL RUNS until AFTER your marathon :-P  (But I somehow doubt I can stick to that since I am now a trail addict.) Please wish me safe trail travels instead..

Oscar warned me before he left for Colombia to please be careful.. He didn't want me to injure myself before my marathon. Obviously he knows me too well.. Today is his birthday and I miss him more than I thought I would. Hope he is having a fabulous time with his family and friends!