See Me? Hear Me?

One of my friends had a "close encounter of the motor vehicular kind" last week.  At first glance, the entire scenario appears torn out of the middle pages of one of my favorite running novels, John L. Parker, Jr's. "Once A Runner."  His post-encounter commentary - with a few minor edits - follows:

"Dear Rogue Driver:  Thank you for taking the opportunity to play 'will my insurance cover this?'  You chose to run through a posted four-way stop intersection and only look to your left.  I, on the other hand, approached from your right.  Even though I was decorated more like a flashing Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center, you somehow failed to notice me.  Your failure to notice me initially cost you a size 11 dent in your hood, as well as the loss of two windshield wipers and the driver's side mirror."
"I appreciated your creative use of expletives as you drove angrily next me over the next several yards; you failed to appreciate the possibility that I might have been sufficiently prepared for such an encounter.  I was physically warmed up, as well as mentally and emotionally-charged as a result of the very angry music to which I was running.  I could gladly accept my failure to cleanly evade the initial obstacle outweighed your failure to exhibit your mastery of the English language.  However, your effort to compensate for my greater level of failure by cutting me off, then climbing out of your car to take a swing at me was a big mistake.  In my humble opinion, that was definitely unacceptable."
"I sincerely hope the hospital trip to seal your lip and stitch the cut under your left eye serves as an object lesson:  Just because a man wears short running shorts does not necessarily mean he lacks the ability to loosen a load of rubbish out of your skull should you attempt to run him off the road.  In order to save your face and motor vehicle from any further damage it would be wise for you to, at the least, look both ways before violating traffic laws.  Sincerely, M.J."

I know M.J.'s actions are likely going to make life more difficult for the next runner "Rogue Driver" encounters.  And, as always, it is impossible to glean the salient details of a runner-meets-angry-motorist story from the point of view of the runner.  But we perhaps can take away a few points:

The three most important qualities for safe running near motor vehicle traffic are "visibility, visibility and visibility."  Well, only if you're a realtor.  The two qualities other than visibility might be "hearability" and "communicability."  Light-colored clothes, reflective gear, lights; all of these items ought to be part of the runners' wardrobe, and especially during the winter months. 

I'm not going to beat the "music headphones are evil and should be destroyed" drum, but please find a way to keep the volume - if you're going to wear them on the run - low enough to hear what is going on around you.  Runners tend to listen to music in order to dissociate, get away from the messages being sent to the brain.  Sometimes getting away means not getting the important message that an auto or a person are approaching. 

Lastly, if you have to defend yourself physically, make certain (as Parker wrote) you can control "the preliminaries."  A means of exit that a car cannot follow is good; a means of collecting information for the local law enforcement is better.  It doesn't hurt to carry a smart phone with you.  Those little cell phone cameras do things which exceed documenting your friends on Saturday night.

Open Season on The Roads

I almost ran into a runner as I drove from my home to a local run group gathering last night.

Well, the term "almost" might be a little bit of a stretch. I was a couple of feet closer to him than I felt comfortable. I had my low beam driving lights on and cannot say I was distracted by anything. In fact, it wasn't until I was about 50 feet away from the guy that I saw anything.

I know my nearly fifty-year-old eyesight isn't the greatest, even at baseline. Top that off with the twilight conditions and the poor lighting on this stretch of road along the bluffs just off Pensacola Bay, it's amazing more runners (and bicyclists) are not injured or killed there.

In my own defense, when a guy runs out along the side of the road at twilight wearing dark gray and black thermal compression wear, with nothing light-colored, lighted or reflectorized he is not doing himself any favors.

The period between Thanksgiving and the New Year might best be called "open season" on runners, walkers and cyclists. Motorists are in a hurry to get from home to work, from work to shopping, from shopping to social function, and from social function to heaven knows where. Multitasking is something most humans do poorly, yet they do it regularly. That leaves the responsibility to the person not cocooned in a motor vehicle to either stay clear of where the distracted motorists are, or to make themselves very, very visible.

Lots of runners loathe the treadmill because of its boring nature; the same surface step after step. The same pace minute after minute. Are we talking about the same runners who go out for a run with headphones? Dude, wear them on the treadmill. Make a game out of the treadmill run; go hard for a song, then easy for a song. Sing along with the jams - I bet that will encourage everyone to steer clear.

Reflective clothing can be bought in a variety of styles (vest, belt, top), (bright) colors, and fabric weights. I recommend pairing reflective clothes with clip-on lighting; the more the better. At the least if you don't feel like wearing lights or reflective stuff, then a light-colored long-sleeved top is better than nothing. And definitely better than black, dark gray or dark blue.

And, most importantly, don't forget that cell phone with the camera, just in case things do go south on the run. You never know when you might see someone who needs assistance...or when you might need it yourself. If changing the time or the location of the daily run or ride to get away from traffic is not possible, then do what you can to make yourself seen out on the roads.

It Does Not Follow

Often I have too much time on my hands, which provides opportunities to ponder things I hear or see in the media. Usually, what I end up feeling when it is all said & done, is a sense my fellow man is more inept, gullible, or stupid than I previously feared. Of course, there are many occasions when I feel like Walt Kelly's Pogo, & have little else to say but the semi-classic: 'we have met the enemy and he is us.'

Some people feel as though making a change in one area of their life is going to positively change a completely unrelated area, say, by releasing a number of employees at a satellite office, or selling a home/office during a housing slump...or, better yet, increasing the amount of red tape & waste efforts needed to accomplish a necessary work function. Oh, how about telling a supplier they will have to accept payment for their goods/services in a certain way? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Oscar?

Athletes do the same thing, too. All of the time. 'If increasing from 20 to 40 miles per week drops my 5,000 meter time by one minute, then increasing from 40 to 60 should drop my time another 30 seconds.' Doesn't quite work that way. Quality, as well as relevance to outcome, is the key to personal improvement.
As some of us age it becomes more of a challenge to see clearly. I've been wearing eyeglasses for everything but athletics since I was in my mid-teens...so that's three decades of being stuck with the suckers. Of course, when you participate in athletics, or spend a good amount of time in bright light (for Florida residents, that's nearly all year) it's almost de rigeur to have a good pair of sunglasses.
Those of us with weak vision have a Hobson's choice (for those unfamiliar, that means all of your choices pretty much s*ck):
1. Spend money on prescription sunglasses which look more like Clark Kent specials. We affectionately called these birth control glasses when I was in the Air Force.

2. Spend more money on sunglasses which have prescription lenses fitted in, like Rudy Project or Bolle' products.

3. Spend decent money on sport-focused sunglasses, and,

3.a. Wear contact lenses, or

3.b. Go without vision correction.

Tri-geeks have it even worse, because of the goggle issue. If you're fortunate to have your prescription fall within an even or half-diopter, there are fairly inexpensive goggle implants or prescription goggles available from a couple of companies. I have it worse than the average bear, because of astigmatism; making my prescription very screwy & falling in between a half/whole diopter. Toric contact lenses are my only option...but I choose to suck it up and follow the person (really, all of the persons) in front of me on the swim.

Oh, here's a new one which makes me feel more stoopid. Hyundai, the Korean car maker, as come out with an advertising campaign to try & boost sales of their product. While other car makers have promised the sun, moon & stars to get you into their vehicle, Hyundai promises to make it easy for you to get out of it, should your cash flow suddenly become a problem.
Hyunday promises to allow buyers to return their car within the first year in the event of job loss. Once again, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Oscar? If I lose my job & have no income, therefore have no ability to pay my car payment, I'm certain every car maker is going to take my car back, no questions asked.