man, i miss boarding. i grew up in the north and went boarding every couple of weeks for years. i haven't been in a few years (damn you, texas!), but i would say, don't be afraid of falling. you'll take some hard falls, but afterwards you'll realize that you survived (hopefully) and it wasn't so bad.
i've broken my arm and my wrist, and i had one moderate concussion. but all that was after i had quite a bit of experience (enough to do stupid stuff). beginners that get hurt are usually the ones that are afraid of falling. so i say, take a couple of spills, dust yourself off, and give it another try. (a couple shots of jack don't hurt either)
do a run for me while you're at it!