Take 5

Move that body: 3.5-mile run with Denali and Miles

I just stared at the training schedule I had posted on the fridge.

3.5 miles? 3.5 miles!

Hal Higdon could not be serious. I mean, how am I supposed to fit in 3.5 miles before work? Three miles was doable but 3.5 - no way! Not. Going. To. Happen.

At least until I slapped some sense into myself. Three-and-a-half miles is only a half-mile farther than the 3 miles that seemed so easy to fit in before heading into the office, and that half-mile should only take 5 minutes (give or take). And though my mornings lack the leisure of my pre-Miles life, I do have 5 minutes to spare and, if I don't, being 5 minutes late to work isn't the end of the world. After all, one could always tell her boss that she bumped into [important person's name here] on the way in.

So I got myself dressed, Miles bundled and Denali leashed and headed out a few minutes shy of 7 a.m.

The run itself was fairly average - I felt good, for the most part, unless I had to push that dang BOB up a hill. Hills suck.

Along the course, a nearly out-and-back through the neighborhood, I did get cited by the snark police. I was running against (the zero) traffic when a woman sitting in a parked van rolled down her window to tell me that we were hard to see. We were hard to see - me in that bright shirt and Miles in a yellow stroller - as opposed to her, sitting in a parked van with no lights on.

Instead of telling her to shut up, put the doughnut down and run herself, I politely nodded and said "Umm, thanks."

OK, she didn't really have a doughnut. At least one that I saw.

While I do appreciate the "concern," the woman's tone was more snarky than polite. I just don't think she understood. It's not as if I choose to run in the street to see how many cars come thisclose to hitting me. The street is easier and, dare I say, safer to push the stroller on than the sidewalk, which is usually full of uneven ground from mature tree roots pushing up under the cement.  I was also taking measures to keep my clan safe - running against traffic, wearing bright colors, running on a street with street lights and moving over whenever possible.

With that said, though, I do plan to buy some kind of light to wear or strap on the stroller to be as safe as possible, especially as the days get shorter.

How do you stay safe while running? Anyone have a light/reflective gear to recommend?