With snow and ice looming in the near future, it will soon be time to blow the dust off the treadmill and start training indoors. We all know the treadmill can be boring, but it can also be dangerous. Trust me, I found out the hard way last year.
I didn’t share this story at the time of the accident last year, since it was pretty embarrassing. I mean, who wipes out on the treadmill? You’d have to be a real dumbass to fall while running in place, right? Maybe. Let me set the stage for you.
So, I was training for the 2015 Boston Marathon. The race is in April, so the majority of the training is during the winter months. One evening I was running on the treadmill in the basement. I have a sweet setup down there. 36″ TV, wireless headphones, Netflix, all the essentials to make the indoor run less mind-numbing. The boys wanted to play the Wii on the other TV in the basement, so Jen came down with them to supervise the video gaming. It was warm down there on this particular evening. I decided I would crack the basement door a bit to let some cool air in. So I stepped off the treadmill, letting it run. After opening the door, I stepped back on the stationary right side rail, stepped toward the left side rail, but missed and hit the moving belt. My left foot went flying back. My left shin and knee hit the belt of the treadmill. I tried bouncing back up but my right foot slipped off and I was back down on my left knee again. Finally I righted the ship and shakily continued to run. Those two flesh-on-belt meetings left me bruised, bleeding and quite shaken up.
“What was that, Daddy?” asked the boys. “Oh, nothing. I just tripped,” I stoically replied while trying to hold back from crying like a baby. Damn that hurt! Jen walked over and looked at me. There was blood streaming down my leg from two nasty wounds. I know what she was thinking. “What a dumbass”. She asked if I was OK. I, of course, said it was merely a flesh wound and I’d finish my run.
I finished the run and cleaned up the gashed, burned, and bruised skin. It was nasty. That treadmill belt was like a sanding belt. It took off all of the skin it touched in those brief encounters with my knee and shin. I was a mess. The abrasions were deep. I still have scars on my leg from it.
Here I was, weeks away from the biggest race of my life, and I injure myself on a treadmill.
How could I have avoided it?
BY USING THE SAFETY CORD! I should have had it clipped to my shorts. But I didn’t.
The clip. USE IT!
Why wasn’t I using the safety cord? Same reason you don’t. I tend to hit it with my hand while picking my nose … I mean wiping sweat off my face, or changing channels on the TV, or switching songs on my iPod; and it cuts the power on the treadmill, bringing my run to a halt, and leaving me wondering how far and fast I had gone. Annoying. But not nearly as annoying as being injured by not following the safety precautions clearly spelled out on the treadmill.
I definitely think you should KEEP KIDS OFF TREADMILLS or supervise them very diligently.
I have seen kids with burns on their legs because they were horsing around on treadmills without using the safety cord.
I have read articles about severe injuries, even death, from wiping out on a treadmill. Plain and simple, they can be very dangerous and safety precautions need to be taken.
WEAR THE SAFETY CORD. ATTACHED IT TO YOUR SHORTS OR SHIRT. READ THE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND FOLLOW THEM.
Don’t be a dumbass, like me.
