“I CAN’T FIGURE OUT HOW TO STOP THIS THING!” Famous last words, right?

I grasped for the handles but missed. Evidently I had missed the “STOP” button as well, as the machine kept going. For one millisecond my body resembled Superman, flying through the sky.

I immediately recalled the one scientific law I’ve never truly forgotten. Nothing hits home that what goes up, truly must go down quite like hearing and feeling my body thud against the rough surface of a fast-moving conveyor belt.

The treadmill continued to run (even though my legs didn’t), and I felt myself slide down and pop off. The entire experience was a whirlwind and was nearly as thrilling as a roller coaster. I laughed, amused by my own incompetence. Then the pain came.

I looked down and could see my legs turning shades of green and black, not the most flattering complement to my never-ending winter paleness.

Naturally, I reflected on this experience and gained a few takeaways. In my opinion, you should never go through something negative and not learn from it.

Know your limits.

While at the time, going to higher and higher speeds on the treadmill seemed like a good idea, it wasn’t. Maybe I should’ve stuck to a pace that challenged me, but didn’t cause me to roll down the machine like a Taylor Swift gif.

Before you start something, get an idea of what you’re doing.

Even if it seems easy to figure out, like one would think a treadmill is, make sure you’re aware of what’s going on. For example, I probably should’ve figured out how to get the machine to stop moving before I upped the speed obnoxiously.

When you fail, adjust accordingly.

For me, I’ve learned that maybe I’m better off running on the track or outside. However, sometimes it’s good for me to get back on, face my new fear, and just take it a little slower. You know, just shake it off.

We all have gym failures. Whether it’s dropping a weight you simply can’t lift, not being able to keep up with the moves in Zumba, or falling off a treadmill, it happens. But move on, don’t be too embarrassed, and use these silly mishaps to grow.

Be well, Auburn.

Photography: Cat S.