I just took an amazing vacation to the Dominican Republic with my best friend. On our way back to the airport, our taxi broke down in the middle of nowhere. It all ended well, but my friend and I had some scary moments. After we calmed ourselves and were safely on our way again, we talked about how we could have done things differently to be that much safer. For example, my cell phone wasn't working properly since I was out of the country but I just ignored it. Big mistake. I also had no emergency contact information on me.

What does this have to do with diet and fitness? The whole incident made me think about other aspects of my life when I don't take safety as seriously as I should, such as when I'm working out. For example, when I go running or Rollerblading in the park I never take my cell phone and rarely have identification on me. I usually don't tell anyone where I'm going either. What am I thinking? I'm not. I recently gave up running with my iPod because I realized I really couldn't hear anything with them in and while I'm pretty vigilant about running against traffic and being visible in the dark, I'm missing some essentials.

As spring and summer approach and many of us will be taking our workouts outside, I've vowed to make some serious changes regarding my safety and I encourage you to do the same. Here's some starting points:

1-- Carry a cell phone and put emergency contact information in it.

2-- Avoid overgrown, unpopulated trails.

3-- Pay attention to what's going on around you, which may mean leaving your iPod at home.

4-- Carry ID or write your name and phone number and any other crucial medical information on a card that you keep on your or you can even write it on the inside of the sole of your shoe.

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• #8 Comment from lindasmith247 
  5/17/08 7:18 PM | Permalink

  Very good info!
  
  I also heard that IF anyone jumps you push your elbow back to their chest.
  IF they want your purse throw it way out from you, also with keys.
  
  Hide some money in a travel wallet..and alt. id.
  
  Go with a buddy like you did.
  Never hurts to take a self defense course...really helped me prepare.
  Now I know exactly what I will do...and once I was tested and really did it.
  Very much worth the money.
  
  Thanks for sharing this...great for women to hear.
  
  Kudos, Jennifer.
  
  Linda
  www.attentiontodetailgifts.com
  
• #7 Comment from bowen1955 
  5/4/08 10:05 AM | Permalink

  Wonderful comments, thank you!
• #6 Comment from csswin 
  5/1/08 11:41 PM | Permalink

  www.neckpaincures.com
  
  
• #5 Comment from spegeg 
  4/13/08 11:53 PM | Permalink

  Thanks for the safety tips Jennifer. For more safety tips please check out http://davespersonalsafetyblog.blogspot.com
• #4 Comment from runingmanjoe 
  9/21/07 8:47 PM | Permalink

  How is your training going this year?
  
  
  Joe Carnegie
  Genesissub2