run, interrupted.

today's 9 miles was a total wash.
about six minutes into said run, i got hit by a car.

it was bound to happen one day ... i knew it - it was either going to happen crossing an alley on a busy street that i always run on, or on one particular street in the park where the cars just come flying by - its every man for himself.

so about six minutes into run, i step off sidewalk into alley, give a cursory glance to my left to see if a car was coming, but it was too late - the car was there. in front of me. the whole event was totally surreal ... there was no screaching of brakes, no drama - it was all a very slo-mo out of body thing - like i watched it happen, but have no idea what happened ... i don't know if the car actually hit me, or if i ran into it .. i think it was a combo of both - whatever happened, i went over the hood in some sort of spectactular stunt girl thing (maybe it was more of a trying to stop my fall, slipping on rainsoaked hood of car thing - i don't know) -- either way, i landed on the asphalt in front of the car ... comepletley stunned. i got up & went over to his window ... it should be noted that the guy did not even get out ... lord, if i had just hit someone in my car, i'd be out of it in a flash & helping the poor soul up off the ground.

he parked his car, got out ... and accident formalities were exchanged. this was weird.

what the hell do you say to someone when they hit you with their car? other than the very obvious - dude, you just f--ing hit me with your car! which i did not say ... i mean, that went without saying. did you not see me in my brand new so-stark-white-you-can-see-it-from-space running jacket? but then of course, i am still trying trying to figure it out - did he hit me or did i run into him? idunno.

the adrenaline rush is such that i didn't even know if i was ok or not ... other than the fact that i am standing & talking and clearly, thankfully, not in need of an ambulance - despite having just gone over the hood of someone's car ... i wondered what injury the adrenaline was hiding.

now - this is where i realize i have a problem because once the accident formalities are exchanged, i actually consider continuing on. the first step is admitting you have a problem. and i see that clearly. i pace the sidewalk, back & forth, back & forth - shaking my left leg out - wondering if it hurts or not ... thankfully, brain cells kick in & i decide the wise thing to do would be to go home, re-group, and (get this) - get my road id bracelet.

i half run, half walk home ... sort of crying in disbelief the whole way ... walk into front door, call my husband over because i don't want to scare the kids - and dissolve into those scared, shaken tears while i tell him. the poor guy is stunned - but then more stunned when i say i'm going back out, just need my id bracelet.

i'm sure this is when he wonders how on earth he could have married such a dimwit.

suffice it to say, i did not go back out. i took off my rain soaked running clothes & got in warm shower ... i'm one lucky girl to have come out of that with a very minor scrape on my knee. sore & shaken ... but could have been so much worse.

i wasn't wearing my running mojo necklace ... its a pendant with a depiction of Ganesh: the harbinger of success, the remover of obstacles ... that car was one big friggin' obstacle.