Some advice

Day 46 – October 22, 2007

It was hard to decide what to write about today. Should I complain about the sudden flare up of my sciatic nerve or offer some safety advice to keep someone else from becoming a statistic? Hmmm.

Well, since the sciatic problem will probably be here for a few days, I guess I'll go with the safety warning.

NEVER ASSUME A VEHICLE MAKING A RIGHT HAND TURN WILL LOOK TO THE RIGHT BEFORE PULLING INTO THE STREET

If you run like I do, facing traffic, this can be a serious concern. Normally, on the back roads that I run on, when I see someone ahead of me looking to turn right, I quickly cross over to the right side of the road and put as much distance between me and their front tires. But this morning, there was traffic coming from behind, and I decided against it. I watched the minivan come to a stop at the intersection, and I waited to see if they made a quick turn or if they were going to wait for me to cross in front. When they hesitated at the stop sign, I assumed they had seen me and were waiting…WRONG!

Just as I entered the intersection, a good 4-5 feet in front of the car, the engine roared as foot hit accelerator. I thought I was done. The van lurched forward and just in time, the passenger alerted the driver and they slammed on the brake. The front bumper stopped about 8 inches short of hitting me. The hood ornament was sighted in perfectly on my chest. I'm thankful for that passenger because when I heard the engine rev, I instinctively turned and saw the driver through the windshield still looking back to their left to watch for oncoming cars. The driver never would have seen me before the thud. I was lucky. I knew better than to cross in front, but they had stopped far enough back from the sign and waited long enough that I was sure they had seen me. I will not be making that mistake again. It will be really hard to log my run from the undercarriage of a vehicle.

This is not the first time I've seen this happen. On at least two occasions, I've had cars roll through stop signs, looking back to the left, and never seen me in the cross walk until I slapped their hoods. I'm really sensitive to it now and I guess that is why this morning was such a surprise. Every indication from this driver was that she had seen me. From now on, I'll make sure I get a wave or a nod before I pass in front.

So, when you are out running, watch out for those cars looking back the other way. And if you are out driving, please remember to look right before pulling out into the intersection. It may not be a runner who should be paying attention that you gun down – it could be a school kid crossing the street.

Chris

Day: 46..... Time/Date: 6:50 AM 10/22/2007..... Weather:Clear, 451F
Run: 5 Hill 4.4 .....Miles: 4.4..... Time: 36:45 .....Pace: 8:21 min/mile
Miles to Date: 179.1 .....Total Running Time: 22:24:14