On Point....Running and Driving in Northern Virginina

For some very interesting reason it would appear that once the white stuff starts hitting the ground people just seem to loose it; all sense of civility and even more importantly a sense of what to do.

I began my day today just like any other ...with PT regimen commencing at roughly 530AM. Nobody on the road, a light snow falling and I am wearing...shorts! I do not go for all that frilly running gear they sell at the high end running boutiques. I spend the money on shoes and not on outer garments. That said when the first vehicle approached me with its high-beams and came within a shoe length of plowing into me I could easily make out the driver glancing at her (not a him this time...a her) Blackberry or other like device.

As I recovered from jumping into the grass and ensuring I had everything still attached I continued on my way. I have a route that snakes through neighborhoods which are easier to navigate and keep me away from the traffic yet I still had a quarter of a mile to go till I reached the turn-off and hit Nirvana...the place where my music and breathing become one...but alas another driver had plans for me!

You see I run on the Old Mount Vernon Highway outside of Ft Belvoir. It's a great course but the road itself lends runners to running against the traffic. Its amazing what you can "see" when cars are hurling towards you! I have almost been hit by a young couple sharing a bowl of cereal; a drunk driver who cursed at me violently and several other speeders who always seem to float to the right as they chat on the phone.

I bring up the aforementioned cases only as I make the turn and am immediately confronted with (another) a man on a cell phone who plows through the intersection only to quickly correct his deviation while I (again) dive for the trees.

So I guess the point of this fine rambling is that it has nothing to do with the weather; people just don't care about the act of driving. We have become a society that multi-tasks to the detriment of everything else we do; whether that be driving, texting, eating or chatting or in my case running! SO now add to my daily routine "dodging oncoming multi-taskers who just don't care."

That is Life On Point view...rain, shine or in the case of getting to DC today....snow!

Brian Hayes