Look both ways

This morning I did a “hill run”, which sounds exactly like what it is. I jog from my house to Highland Drive and 7200 South, take a breather, and then GO! Up the hill to the next light and down the other side to the first light you come to. It’s almost exactly .75 miles from light to light. I’ll take 30 seconds (when I’m close to race day, a minute or more in off-season) and turn around and do it backwards. That’s one ‘leg’. I’ll do at least 3 legs, and sometimes try for four but I usually hit the snooze button a time or two and don’t have enough time for a fourth leg before I have to head home to get ready for work. Sometimes I have to check on my ‘red fern’ behind the fence in the field and I run out of time there as well.

In the fall and spring I’ll be doing a few legs in the dark. And this morning it was raining so I was wearing my dark blue and dark red Aquaphor (http://www.teamaquaphor.com/ ) jacket which is oh so visible. It was 65 degrees so the rain wasn’t cold and I took off my jacket after the first leg because I was warm and getting wet didn’t matter. It’s kind of fun, makes you feel like a kid splashing in puddles again. Anyway, my realization was that I bet 2% of cars passing me on the road never even saw me. Normally I’ll wear bright colors: Livestrong yellows, or Bronco orange, or just white so I’m more visible. What’s really visible is when it’s warm and I don’t wear a shirt – let’s just say my future’s so bright, I (and everyone else around me) gotta wear shades!

So I have to take evasive maneuvers crossing intersections so cars don’t run me down. Which is why I liked this article from Runner’s World: http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2008/09/i-almost-hit-a.html.

Here’s what I’d like you to remember. 1) when you’re about to cross an intersection or pull out into traffic, look for runners (not joggers, they’re not moving fast enough to worry about – J/K), and 2) when you’re turning right onto a street, make sure you look to the right and see if anyone is coming along the sidewalk. I’ve had 3 times where I watched a driver looking to their left for at least 15 seconds before they pulled out and never once looked to their left where I was coming up on them. One of the people actually acknowledged me with a wave, but the other two – both women (not suggesting anything, just pointing out) just kept on keepin’-on. I was ready to throw my water bottle at them just to say "hey!". And no that’s not THAT outlandish, you should hear what Em did when a guy pulled out in front of her. Ask her about the dude with the 2 cell phones and the bad language.

Oh, and just in case you need help recognizing a runner, whether on the road actually running or in their “down-time”, here’s a good read to help you out in that arena: http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2008/09/can-you-spot-th.html.

Or maybe I should just dress like this guy: