Thursday, July 9, 2009

Safety First

I wouldn't consider myself to be a morbid person - I rarely think about how I am going to die or when I am going to die. I don't worry about it - when it happens, it happens is the approach I take. Granted, I am 28 and pretty healthy, so there is no reason to think of the end of life.

That said, I often joke with co-workers when I leave work with a plan to go for a run. I will often tell my co-worker, 'um, ok, I'm running Harriet tonight - if I don't show up tomorrow, look for a news story about an unidentified female runner found in South Minneapolis. Ok? Bye!'

Since I live alone and don't talk to anyone on a daily basis, I feel like I could go missing for days and no one would really know. I have all these separate groups of friends in my life, but they aren't at all connected - my co-workers would notice I was missing, but they wouldn't know how to contact my parents. You know what I mean?

Anyways, after joking about being an unidentified female runner, found on a running path, I figured it was time to maybe get some proper identification. My mom did make me a laminated emergency contact sheet after I got caught in a lightning storm, but I only have that on me when I run with my running belt, so it's only useful when I'm doing long runs...

So I bought this road tag today - similar to the bracelet below, but you attach it to your shoe.



So now if, God forbid, something were to happen to me when I am running, they person who finds me can call my mom, dad, or brother Kevin. The chances of this little tag ever being needed are slim to none (I hope), but it eases my mind a bit to have it on me.

2 comments:

Amber said...

That's a great idea. I always give Eric a timeline and say "OK, if I'm not home in 2 hours or 3 hours or whatever, come looking for me or call the police!" LOL. My mom FREAKS out about me running and if she knows I'm going for a run, she'll be calling Eric and pestering him wondering how long I've been gone for and when I'm supposed to be back, so I neglect to tell her when I'm going on runs usually! Haha

I think it's definitely a good idea for ANYONE to have identification on them though, whether they have someone waiting for them at home or not!

Abby said...

That is a great idea to get the identification band. I am glad that I now live in "Family-Friendly Sahuarita, AZ" with paved running trails, water fountains, and mom's walking kids in strollers-galore.

......Because...prior to moving here...I would run out in the mountainous "boonies" of Tucson, AZ. Nothing but me, roads, and mountains....and coyotes. It was scary. And I often found myself doing the same thing and wondering "Hm...If I were to die out here, I wouldn't if anyone would know where to find me....."

Where do you get a running id band anyways?