Well, with this time of year, it pretty much is safe to say that it will be dark when we start running in the morning, and will be dark if we run or walk after work. We need to be safe and be able to see where we are going. That is when it becomes important to have the right equipment available to you. The beginning of the “charge of the light brigade”.
Now some of you may be familiar with the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, a poem commemorating the hopeless charge of 600 British light cavalry against the Russian troops on Balaclava Heights, October 25, 1864. The charge was led by “incompetent leaders”, but the poem wrote about the men involved who served under them, and their bravery, dedication, and passion. Now, as runners, we have a lot of those same characteristics. We will go run under any circumstances, or situation, and brave the elements and the environment. Sometimes with the weather conditions it may seem like we are getting ready to go to battle. We need to learn to be safe, and have it where not only can we see where we are going, but other people, and cars, need to be able to see us coming as well.
Our group on Wednesday night is getting ready to go for a run. We try to stay on the bike trails as much as possible, and that works yet when there is no snow. That will change soon! Safety has to come first for all involved.
Now you can see lights from the front, but the one Sarah is wearing, on the far right, has a headlight beam in front to be able to see where we are going. This is really important. The bike trail, and the road, has dips, holes, uneven ground, sticks, etc, and we need to see where we are going.
The lights in the back help others see us, especially cars. I have said many times, when I go out for a run, I want to be able to come back home again afterwards. Safety! Safety! Safety! My daughter Megan has one of these too, and she was out walking her dog early one morning last week, in the dark, but on the bike trail. It was adjacent to the road though. A car came up beside and stopped, and told her they loved the lights she was wearing because they could see her as they were coming! We want to see, but we need to be seen!
These are the ones we now have. Jenn McElroy had this one, and I thought it was perfect. The lights are important to be seen, but I wanted one with the light beam in front to see where we were going. These work great for going out for a walk as well.
Here we are this AM getting ready to take off, and light beams leading the way! “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, or at least our modern day version of this! We are leading the rest so we can see where we are going.
Bottom line, we are a close group, and we want to keep it that way. Always have safety in mind. We want to see where we are going, but others need to see us coming. We are quite the force when we are all in a group. It is very easy to see us coming from a distance. Because, once again, we want to have these runs together, but we want to be able to go back home again afterwards. Be safe! Be smart! Be seen! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day of new streak: #238