To the runners who live in big cities, traffic lights can be a real problem.
When the lighs goes red, many runners stops and waits at traffic light. Some runners continue jogging in place, others stop and wait.
The problem is that you might lose some momentum, you will start to cool down, and you will see a drop on the heart rate. All this can affect the purpose ot the workout.
On the other hand, trying to cross the street with the red light, it is an extremely dangerous behavior that should be avoided.
The solution to the traffic lights is easier than you think and we’ll explain in a simple graphic.
You must never stop, you just have to be aware of traffic and signals to search for the best way to cross the street without stopping.
In the graphic you can see a runner when he reaches the corner with red light. To cross the street he has three options:
a) run left,
b) run right,
c) back a few meters to allow time to change traffic lights and then cross back into power.
To select one of three options you should consider the direction of your destination.If you go to a certain area you should choose the option that bring closer to it.
That is, if there is a park that allows you to make good workouts on your left in the graph, this should be your choice.
Having three options to continue running, the option to stop and wait for the traffic light change should not even consider it, or perhaps is it an excuse to stop you?
flickr photo by Horia Varlan https://flickr.com/photos/horiavarlan/4747872021 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license