Running safely

Last night I was reading my January issue of Runner's World. There were several good articles in it, but the one I appreciated the most was called "Collision Course", and was all about running safely and avoiding getting hit by vehicles.

I was hit by a car 18 years while I was out for a quick run the evening before Thanksgiving and what was supposed to be my first 5 mile race. It wasn't dark when I started out, but by the time I was almost home, it was dusk, and visibility wasn't great. I was maybe 100 yards from our driveway, and I was running on the edge of the pavement, a foot or two to the left of the line, when a van with a mirror that jutted way out drove a little too close to the line. The end result was that we were too close to each other, and the mirror hit me in the shoulder. The van was speeding (60 or so in a 50 zone), but no bones were broken. I have a small scar where the skin was broken, but the major damage was the squished nerves that caused massive amounts of pain for several years. After pain pills, physical therapy, and an incredibly painful cortisol shot, we finally found some medication that interrupted the rogue pain signals (there was no reason for the pain, it was just messed up nerve signals).

Ever since, I've been paranoid about safety while running. Unfortunately, back then there wasn't very many options for high visibility. It took a couple years to find a windbreaker I thought was bright enough, and even then it wasn't as bright as the day-glo colors you can find today. And any reflective clothing (which I can't remember seeing) would have been quite expensive back then.

The article talked about reflective clothing, flashing lights (I do have a red flashing light I found a couple years after my accident), watching traffic patterns, and so on. When I was a college student, I remember driving home (after dark) on several occasions and seeing girls running by themselves, wearing dark clothing and headphones, and running in the street (not on the sidewalk)- talk about a death wish. If drivers can't see you when you're running, sooner or later you're going to get hit.

I thought that the article was a timely one that all runners and drivers should read. I really wish drivers were more aware and considerate, but since they're not, it's up to those of us who run or walk on the road to be properly prepared and aware of what's going on around us.

Today I used my pepper spray for the first time

LMS and I went for a run this morning and had a run in with a couple dogs. We were running past their house (on the road, nowhere near their house or driveway), and they were running around in their barely fenced yard (3 strands of wire, not barbed wire, with entire stretches without even wire). They decided we were too close, and came running after us, barking furiously. One went through a gap, the other easily slid under a strand of wire. I started yelling at them, pulled out my pepper spray, and sprayed one as it got closer. Ok, I didn't actually hit it, since the range on the pepper spray is less than I thought (good to know!), but I think the dog got a wiff, because it backed off a bit. At that point, their owner started calling them, and they retreated.

These particular people have 3 or 4 dogs, which are usually fenced in, away from the road. I have had them come after me a couple of times, so I know to watch the house carefully as I pass. In the past one of the owners was out in the yard with them, and was able to call them off before they got too close. This time, no one was in the yard, they were in the house, not paying attention.

I've gone off about unleashed dogs before, but I need to rant again. Just because you live in the country doesn't mean you should let your dog run free. My mom tells me that when we moved here 12 years ago the county was a free range county, and she thinks it still is. This means that technically you can let your dog run free, but he can't enter anyone else's property (like they're only going to stay in the road??). However, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

If you let your dog run free and he damages property or livestock, or bites someone, you'll still be held liable. Makes sense that you'd keep your dog appropriately leashed/fenced, right? It only takes a minute for someone to get bit, as could easily have happened today. I'm sure the owner thought the dogs would be ok, she'd just go drink a cup of coffee or something, but we could have easily been bit.

And I don't care what people say: 'my dog wouldn't hurt a flea', 'his bark is worse than his bite', etc. Well, I don't want to find out if his bark really is worse than his bite; I don't want to be chased by dogs barking ferociously; and I don't want my daughter hurt or traumatized because either she or her mom were bitten or chased by barking dogs. I still remember an Afghan (those are some big dogs!) jumping over it's completely inadequate fence and coming after us as we walked home from my older brother's school- I would have been 3 or 4 at the time. Maybe that's why I'm so paranoid now, but I don't want LMS to have the same issues I do.

If you can't be a responsible pet owner, you shouldn't have pets.

The disadvantages of dogs

Normally I enjoy living out in the boonies: the fresh air, the neighbors that aren't 6 inches from our house, the dirt roads.... There are things I don't like though. Like the lack of leash laws, the stupid people who let their dogs run around unleashed and/or unfenced, the same stupid people who own 4 or 5 dogs....

The weather has been cold (40's) and windy the last couple days, totally out of character for the beginning of September. Today was cool (just right for a walk or bike ride) and not windy (finally!), so Little Miss Sunshine and I headed out on a four mile walk (2 out, 2 back). We've gone this route many times, without any problems; I know where the dogs live, and even if they bark, they're fenced, so it's not a problem. Just after I hit the mile and a half point, I heard a car behind me honking. I looked back to see why, and there were three dogs in the middle of the road. I kept walking and after 30 seconds looked back to see where they were. They were trotting down the road, following us, and they were catching up. So I pulled out my cell (first time I've had to use it while exercising) and called my mom to come pick us up. I can handle one dog, but I wasn't going to mess with three dogs at once- there's no telling what they will do. Before my mom reached us, the dogs had turned into a driveway at a house that has a couple of fenced in dogs. Good thing, too, since they would have caught up with us before mom reached us. Prayer works, let me tell you. Mom brought us home and we headed out in a different direction, because I really needed to get the mileage in.

So now I am in the process of researching local laws concerning pellet guns. As long as it's legal, I will be buying a pellet gun and carrying it with me. I carry pepper spray, but you have to be aware of the direction of the wind so you don't end up with it in your face, so I'm hesitant to actually use it (especially with how windy it can be here). If I'd been on my bike this whole thing wouldn't have been so bad: the bike trailer is much more enclosed and safer for LMS, and I can go a lot faster. On foot, with her in an open jogging stroller: not very protected at all.

Ever since I was a kid and the Great Dane that lived on the other side of the vacant lot next to us would come out and chase us anytime we walked, ran, or biked past, I've been suspicious of dogs. Not to say all are bad, I met a very sweet Great Dane when I worked at the vet clinic, but it made enough of an impression to scar me for life. You just don't know what they're going to do. I know people say 'oh, he's so sweet/gentle/good with kids/wouldn't hurt a flea', but what if that dog feels threatened, real or imagined? That sweet, gentle dog could do something not so sweet and gentle. And then there's the whole 'a dog should run free, it's cruel to leash or fence them in' thought process. Yeah right. It's downright negligent and irresponsible to not leash and/or fence (securely) a dog, and it could be criminal, as well, if the dog were to attack people or livestock. But for some reason, people feel that once they move out to the country, it's their right to let their dog roam free. I'd like to see how quickly they change their minds when a pack of dogs comes after them.

Ok, I feel better. Rant over for now.