The Running Thread - 2016

[BuckeyeBama]

I think I've said never again after a couple of my marathons yet I always do. You're definitely right about it never feeling easy.

I have, too. After my first marathon - a race in which I went from 50 pounds overweight and my couch to completing a marathon in less than 6 months - I was in so much pain that I swore that I would never run another - ever. And then the pain for about 4 days afterward - goodness, it was bad. I had to hold onto a hand rail to walk down a single step. Putting my pants on was a chore.

The first 19 miles of that race were an absolute breeze - the next 2 were okay - then I stepped just wrong when giving my son a high 5 on the side of the road with about 5 miles to go. I didn't really injure anything, but my body was so tired that it wrecked me for the rest of the race. The last 2 miles were a death march/jog/shuffle. But I had to finish - I had told everyone that I knew that I was doing this for that purpose - so that I would have to finish.

I reached my goals - I finished, I lost most of the weight, and I got my fitness back on track. Eventually I convinced myself that I should try another just to finish strong. Then I tried another, and another, and on it goes.

 

[Chasing Dopey]

I don't think anyone has said they regretted Dopey... That is encouraging.

 

[gjramsey]

ATTQOTD: I am currently regretting the Ragnar I did about 1 month back. I had a slight groin strain, and that weekend made it much worse. The smart move would have not run, but I did not want to drop out that close to the race and leave the team a member short.

I have not run more than 100 yards since then, and will probably not run until at least the end of the month.

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: I'm wondering what person-made structures you see frequently... or what has been some of the most memorable? What do you simply like to see? I'm thinking about Bridges, houses, buildings, etc., but bring up anything.

ATTQOTD: On my "normal" weekend runs I usually see one or more of the following: The Mississippi River and the I-10 bridge that runs over it in Baton Rouge, The USS Kidd, Tiger Stadium / LSU campus, and the capital building in Baton Rouge. Some unique sites seen while running have been everything from the WDW marathon! My personal favorite is the Citgo sign / Fenway park at the Boston Marathon. The end is near when you see those icons.

 

[Mimsy Borogove]

QOTD: I'm wondering what person-made structures you see frequently... or what has been some of the most memorable? What do you simply like to see? I'm thinking about Bridges, houses, buildings, etc., but bring up anything.

Here in my Florida town, I'd have to say the bridges that connect the barrier island to the mainland (which also make for good hill substitutes). I also frequently run past an art museum, cute beachside shops, and a boardwalk that runs along the beach. Most of the time, I get distracted by animals, though, such as manatees, sharks, dolphins, various water birds, the resident parrot flock, and all the little anoles scurrying on the sidewalks.

When I visit my parents in Wisconsin, I like to run the pedestrian trail from east of the Monona Terrace and around Lake Monona in Madison - it provides an excellent view of the Capitol and shoreline. There is also a bike trail (remnant railroad line) that runs through my hometown, and it's 7 miles out to an old tunnel which is really cool and creepy.

 

[rteetz]

QOTD: I'm wondering what person-made structures you see frequently... or what has been some of the most memorable? What do you simply like to see? I'm thinking about Bridges, houses, buildings, etc., but bring up anything.

During training runs all I see is residential nothing special. I do like to see what people are doing with their yards though.

During Disney runs I love seeing backstage and how the structures look. I always enjoy seeing how things operate as well. I'm going into civil engineering so bridges and buildings do fascinate me.

 

[roxymama]

ATTQOTD: Nothing very exciting for my training runs. But I run a lot of races now in the lake front area of Chicago and I do like running by Soldier Field, Buckingham Fountain, over the Chicago River bridges and past all the huge buildings. I would also like to add all the docked sailboats since many of the popular race routes start or end near a harbor on or near Lake Michigan. Would be totally cool to be on a boat post-race.
Oh and can I include the big Epcot golfball? Cause that would be my favorite sight during a race to date.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

ATTQOTD: I have run in some truly beautiful races (Civil War battlefields in Virginia and West Virginia, Redwood Forrest in Northern CA, DISNEY WORLD!, a mountain canyon in Utah), but I feel like my normal daily run is very pedestrian and boring (at least as far as buildings and man made structures go). I live in a fairly small town, but when I get to right elevation I can see the buildings of downtown Salt Lake City, which is fun. I'd definitely take Disney sights over that day any day!

 

[roxymama]

Oh and these are the bridges I was talking about running over. You may recognize them if you are a Batman fan.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

ATTQOTD - I run trails and rural routes, so I see absolutely nothing man made of note - which is kinda the purpose behind my choice of training routes. So I guess that I would have to fall back on races that I have run, and even then the most memorable sights are all natural, like beaches and beautiful countryside. So I am left with the beauty of WDW. Yep - WDW gets my vote. Any/All of the attractions along the routes.

 

[Dis5150]

ATTQOTD: I also only run in rural areas so no man made structures. So WDW wins! My fave there was Streets of America with the Osbourne Lights. I will have to find a new favorite now.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

During training runs all I see is residential nothing special. I do like to see what people are doing with their yards though.

During Disney runs I love seeing backstage and how the structures look. I always enjoy seeing how things operate as well. I'm going into civil engineering so bridges and buildings do fascinate me.

My husband is a civil designer and when we do Disney runs he loves seeing the backstage buildings too. I always think he is crazy when he points out the water treatment plants etc. I'm like that's not magical but to him I guess it is lol.

 

[PrincessV]

QOTD: I'm wondering what person-made structures you see frequently... or what has been some of the most memorable? What do you simply like to see? I'm thinking about Bridges, houses, buildings, etc., but bring up anything.

ATTQOTD: I run in residential sprawl... there's a cute little brick ranch house I like to run by!

 

[FFigawi]

QOTD: I'm wondering what person-made structures you see frequently... or what has been some of the most memorable? What do you simply like to see? I'm thinking about Bridges, houses, buildings, etc., but bring up anything.

I run around a parking lot. I don't see much of anything other than cars and walls.

 

[RunDisneyDad]

I agree with @rteetz....I love to see the behind the scenes stuff at Disney. Initially that was one of the main motivators for me to run Disney.

As far as my training runs go, its not necessarily man made structures I like to see, but its other people I like to see. I like to see other people out and about running and training and hopefully working toward their goals.

 

[MommaoffherRocker]

ATTQOTD: I normally run in rural neighborhoods so I don't have anything too exciting to look at. I like to do races in St. Augustine when I can because it's so pretty with all the historical buildings and the Castillo de San Marcos on the river.

 

[Chaitali]

Most of my training runs are on local paved trails in more natural surroundings. But one of my regular routes is down by the C&O Canal and the canal is man made I live in the DC suburbs but occasionally I'll drive into the city for a training run around the Capitol Building and the Smithsonian museums.

 

[surfde22]

QOTD: I'm wondering what person-made structures you see frequently... or what has been some of the most memorable? What do you simply like to see? I'm thinking about Bridges, houses, buildings, etc., but bring up anything.

Nothing of interest on my runs unless corn fields and dairy farms excite you.

On another note, I was finally able to give notice at my current job and am excited to start my new job.

 

[LSUlakes]

Nothing of interest on my runs unless corn fields and dairy farms excite you.

On another note, I was finally able to give notice at my current job and am excited to start my new job.

Congrats on the new job!

 

[Miranda]

ATTQOTD: On my regular runs, nothing super exciting... rural and what qualifies as semi-urban for this area of northern New England. I run through the downtown area and in-town areas of my city of ~30,000 a lot. Sometimes I pass houses that keep free ranging chickens (even in town!), a horse farm, or run through the high school's back parking lot near the vocational school section. They have an Animal Science program and there is a pen with a lot of baby animals back there every year... donkey, llama, cow, goat, sheep.

Like others, I have seen a lot of cool stuff in the backstage of Disney at the races.

Because of my location in the Seacoast area of NH, I have access to a lot of races that run near the ocean or some pretty scenic inland areas. On Saturday, the Maine Coast HM is, as the name implies, run on the Maine coast. In June, I am running the Covered Bridges HM up in Vermont, which should be pretty scenic. The race passes through 5 covered bridges. If you are not familiar with covered bridges, we have a lot of them here in NH and VT (although not as many as there used to be... there used to be ~400 of them in NH in olden days!) they are old timey enclosed, sometimes single lane, wooden bridges. Here is a picture of one: