People think driving is dangerous. So they go out and get the biggest, meanest SUV they can get their hands on. They look for vehicles loaded with safety features...air bags, side impact beams, you name it they want it. Then they run stop signs, talk on their cell phone and apply makeup while driving through a school zone. You think driving is dangerous? Try being at the mercy of these people. Try being a pedestrian, runner, cyclist.... That's dangerous.
Tonight I had my closest call yet. I went for a 5.5 mile run. I headed out at about 7:30 so I grabbed my flashing light knowing it would be dark when I got home. I will admit I was wearing dark clothes and my light isn't that big so I wasn't nearly as visible as I should've been. But....had this woman stopped at the stop sign everything would've been fine. I assumed she was going to stop (my mistake) so I started crossing the road. She only slowed down and then proceeded to turn right. I stopped and turned back just in time. It was so close I actually touched her vehicle as I turned around. When she saw me, I could tell it scared the crap out of her.
I assume partial responsibility since I wasn't as visible as I should've been, and I think I'm going to buy a reflective vest as much as I don't want to wear one. But I'm really getting tired of close calls with people doing rolling stops. Stop signs aren't suggestions. Stop! Look around. Don't assume it's clear.
Enough of my rant. Back to the training. That's what this blog is really about anyway. Today...besides my run...I had a great bike ride. I rode the Sunset Loop with the guys at lunch, and we had a strong tailwind down Seminole on the way back. Jeff pulled for a while, then Bruno, then it was my turn. I put my head down and never stopped pulling. I pushed 30-32 mph the whole stretch. It was great. I thought the group was on my wheel, but when I got to the big tree I looked back and I had put a pretty good gap on the rest of the guys. Man that was fun.
My training plan is 3 weeks of increasing volume followed by a recovery week of significantly decreased volume. I'm following the Triathlete's Training Bible program. Basically I spend 3 weeks beating myself down, and 1 week rebuilding...hopefully coming back stronger than before. I do this 12 times in the next year. I'm trying not to think about the whole year of training because it's a little overwhelming. I'm taking it one month at a time. That way I only need to worry about putting in 3 hard weeks. That's not so bad.
3 comments:
You really need to slap their window when they do that. That's how I roll. Cars will never learn, until you make noise. Seems to work for me.
We're going to need photos for each post. We need visuals. For example, you could have used that crazy photo of Brit Spears ramming that umbrella into the car to demonstrate what you'll do the next time someone almost runs you over. Or, you could just get a reflective vest. Just sayin'.
I don't know about slapping the window, since broken glass could cause injury to the occupant(s). But slamming the vehicle's hood or kicking the side panel seem reasonable. Such driver behaviour does constitute a potentially lethal threat against the pedestrian after all, and an aggressive response does seem reasonable to me. Especially if police have a history of declining to lay charges when complaints are submitted, and politicians decline to legislate such preventative measures as traffic calming, red-light cameras, etc.
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