I almost got hit by a car. I mean, this was a serious close call. I was standing, well actually running in place, at a red light waiting for my walk signal. As soon as the flashing red hand turned into the white walking man, I proceeded to run across the street. As I was about half-way through the crosswalk, a car decides that it's going to try to turn real quick right in front of me. Now, it wasn't like I was still on the sidewalk and he tried to turn before me; I was IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CROSSWALK! Who in their right mind tries to turn when their is a person running just a few feet toward their moving car?? Not to mention, it was a very bright day out and I was wearing reflective gear, so there was no possible way that he could have not seen me there. Apparently, saving a millisecond of this person's commute was worth putting a pedestrian (me) in potentially serious danger. Luckily, I have fast reflexes, so I slammed on the brakes (being my feet), threw my arms up, and proceeded to yell obscenities as I kept running. The sad thing about this is, I doubt that the driver ever thought twice about this after it happened. In fact, he was probably irritated at me for interrupting his turn...his illegal turn that could've taken me out!
Now, I am very careful runner when it comes to crossing the street because of drivers like this. I always wait for the walk signal, look both ways more than once, and try to assess whether or not a car is going to try to beat me across the street, even when I have the rightaway (actually pedestrians always have the rightaway). I don't get why people are in such a rush these days. Do they not realize that if they hit a person, it would make their commute SOOO much longer (and more miserable) than if they wait the 3 seconds for them to cross the street? This clearly is a very frustrating thing for me, but I just have to be careful and deal with it.
The irony of this event is, before going out for my run, I had just read an article in Runner's World Magazine about Jenny Crain. Jenny Crain was an elite runner who, at 27 years old, qualified for the 1996 Olympic Trials even though she'd never ran 26.2 miles or had a running coach. She was an amazing runner who was naturally gifted at the sport. In 2004, she was the top American to race in the New York City Marathon timing in at 2:41:06. Then, on August 22, 2007, at age 39, Jenny Crain was hit by a car while finishing a run just a few blocks from her home. She suffered critical, irreparable, brain damage and now lives in a care facility full time. Jenny once was a person who would do hill repeats during a 20 mile run and now she complains about having to walk 50 feet. Her life will never be the same because of a driver who was in a hurry.
This tragic story reminds me of how important it is to be aware of my surroundings, especially since I road run. I recently ditched my headphones because they essentially take away my hearing, which is imperative to safe running. I want to be able to hear if a person or a car or if anything is coming up on me that I"ll need to quickly avoid. I also never jay-walk and I always wear reflective gear, even if it's bright out. Like I said in my last post, you can never be too cautious!
On a completely different note, I did my first run with the meet-up group on Wednesday. I didn't know quite what to expect going into it, but let me tell ya, it was an incredible workout! Probably one of the toughest runs I've done so far. I started with a warm-up of easy running about 2 miles around the track. After that, the intervals started. That's when it got intense. My group ran 6 x 1200s at about a 7 minute mile pace and rested for 1 min. 45 sec. in between intervals. I've never ran this fast in my life, but I just pushed myself through it because I knew the benefits would out-weigh the pain. This workout killed me, but it was great!! This is exactly what need this to build my strength and speed. It's also very motivating to run with other people, especially people who are better runners than me. I hope to eventually work up to their level. I am definitely going to continue to run with the group every Wednesday for intervals and any other time I get the chance. I'm so glad I found them!
Only 6 more weeks until the marathon!
Week Nineteen
10/12 - Rest day
10/13 - Run 4 miles
10/14 - Intervals - 7 miles
-Warmup 2 miles
-6 x 1200s @ 7 min. mile pace
-Cooldown 1/2 mile
10/15 - Rest day
10/16 - Tempo run - 10 miles
-Warmup 1 mile
-8 miles @ marathon pace
-Cooldown 1 mile
10/17 - Rest day
10/18 - Long run - 20 miles
Total miles for the week: 41
Now, I am very careful runner when it comes to crossing the street because of drivers like this. I always wait for the walk signal, look both ways more than once, and try to assess whether or not a car is going to try to beat me across the street, even when I have the rightaway (actually pedestrians always have the rightaway). I don't get why people are in such a rush these days. Do they not realize that if they hit a person, it would make their commute SOOO much longer (and more miserable) than if they wait the 3 seconds for them to cross the street? This clearly is a very frustrating thing for me, but I just have to be careful and deal with it.
The irony of this event is, before going out for my run, I had just read an article in Runner's World Magazine about Jenny Crain. Jenny Crain was an elite runner who, at 27 years old, qualified for the 1996 Olympic Trials even though she'd never ran 26.2 miles or had a running coach. She was an amazing runner who was naturally gifted at the sport. In 2004, she was the top American to race in the New York City Marathon timing in at 2:41:06. Then, on August 22, 2007, at age 39, Jenny Crain was hit by a car while finishing a run just a few blocks from her home. She suffered critical, irreparable, brain damage and now lives in a care facility full time. Jenny once was a person who would do hill repeats during a 20 mile run and now she complains about having to walk 50 feet. Her life will never be the same because of a driver who was in a hurry.
This tragic story reminds me of how important it is to be aware of my surroundings, especially since I road run. I recently ditched my headphones because they essentially take away my hearing, which is imperative to safe running. I want to be able to hear if a person or a car or if anything is coming up on me that I"ll need to quickly avoid. I also never jay-walk and I always wear reflective gear, even if it's bright out. Like I said in my last post, you can never be too cautious!
On a completely different note, I did my first run with the meet-up group on Wednesday. I didn't know quite what to expect going into it, but let me tell ya, it was an incredible workout! Probably one of the toughest runs I've done so far. I started with a warm-up of easy running about 2 miles around the track. After that, the intervals started. That's when it got intense. My group ran 6 x 1200s at about a 7 minute mile pace and rested for 1 min. 45 sec. in between intervals. I've never ran this fast in my life, but I just pushed myself through it because I knew the benefits would out-weigh the pain. This workout killed me, but it was great!! This is exactly what need this to build my strength and speed. It's also very motivating to run with other people, especially people who are better runners than me. I hope to eventually work up to their level. I am definitely going to continue to run with the group every Wednesday for intervals and any other time I get the chance. I'm so glad I found them!
Only 6 more weeks until the marathon!
Week Nineteen
10/12 - Rest day
10/13 - Run 4 miles
10/14 - Intervals - 7 miles
-Warmup 2 miles
-6 x 1200s @ 7 min. mile pace
-Cooldown 1/2 mile
10/15 - Rest day
10/16 - Tempo run - 10 miles
-Warmup 1 mile
-8 miles @ marathon pace
-Cooldown 1 mile
10/17 - Rest day
10/18 - Long run - 20 miles
Total miles for the week: 41
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