Good Morning SF

Given that soon I will have to begin doing 2/day workouts to fit my training into my schedule, and given that I have gotten out of the habit of early morning workouts (this is easy to do when working at home and having the option of "sneaking" out for a run/bike in the middle of the day), I figured I should start to train myself to get up and outside. I used to be great at waking up and practically running out the door, so I know I can do it, it's just a matter of getting back into the habit.

So, it wasn't that easy this morning...I had to check email, eat a few grapes and drink coffee first, but I made it out right after 8am. I did my "hill workout," which is a 3.5 mile run up to Noe Valley, a cute family neighborhood, with a few good "rollers" as I think they're called. I call them hills--they make me breath hard. "Rolling" to me means--Sunday-drive, this is fun, I'm hardly breathing, are we already at the top?--kind of hill. There aren't many "rolling" hills in San Francisco! On the up side, on this run, I am rewarded with an awesome view of the city both on the way out and back. I'll have to remember to bring my camera next time.

Right after I started my run, at a stoplight, I saw a cyclist get hit by a car. It didn't appear the cyclist got hurt, just a little bruised, and likely a bent bike. But the woman driver was going too fast trying to make the yellow light. And the cyclist may have jumped the green light a bit...It's hard to say exactly. I wasn't paying that close attention until after the crash had happened. Another cyclist and pedestrians, along with the driver of the car all checked out the cyclist to make sure he was ok.

It made me think how I take for granted that cars will stop for me when I'm running, walking, cycling. I can do everything correctly, but I just never know when the car driver doesn't see me. Especially in the morning and evening when the sun creates a glare right in the line of vision, and people are in a hurry before and after work. I need to be more aware of cars around me and similarly when I drive, aware of the pedestrians, runners, and cyclists using the roads. Hitting someone, even if it's just a scratch (good case scenario) will make me later and cause me more problems in the long run, than if I'd just slowed down in the first place.