the pencil runs

posts on running

die die must run

Thursday, March 30, 2006
I am at the "die die must run" stage of the week. My motivation to run waxes and wanes. Although the looming task of 42.2km at the end of the year ought to be motivation enough to put away my pack of chips, get off the couch and go for a run, December is a long way from March, and I just can't seem to find that extra oomph to do more than what I usually do. These days, I'm content to just put in the minumum number (and I mean minimum) of kilometers on the old usual routes.

But today, I "die die must run". I didn't run Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday this week, and I just know that if I put it off any longer, it is going to hurt when I start again.

Running safely

Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I've been running on the streets for about two years now and there have been a couple of times when I've nearly gotten into an accident. A father of a teenage girl was killed by a motorbike while running in my neighbourhood, and everytime I run near my home, I invariably think of his family's loss, and what we can do to keep ourselves safe.

These are some rules I try to adhere to:

1. Run on the pavement rather than on the road.
2. Always check for turning vehicles in both directions, even when it is a quiet road.
3. When there is no pavement and you have to run on the road, don't listen to loud music.
4. Don't assume a car's direction.

The fourth rule was something I picked up after a few near accidents. One time, I was running into Labrador Park and there was a huge lorry about to move off. I thought the lorry was going to reverse out so I ran in front of the lorry, but I was wrong. The lorry had to brake for me.

The other time, I was running on Nassim Road, where there were a lot of driveways. There was a car halfway out the driveway and I assumed it was reversing out of the driveway so I ran in front -- turned out it was driving into his house instead.

What are some rules you have to be safe?