The Running Thread - 2018

HEY AZ HAS BREWERIES TOO! Your Brad can just hang out with my Brad and go brewery hopping while we run. :drinking1

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So - I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but my sweet friend Kari ran the Leadville 100 in Colorado a couple of weeks ago. She finished and with just a few minutes to spare! If you're friends with me on social, I posted the live video of her crossing the finish line in the last 15 minutes of the race before the cutoff - but here is a picture of her ... look at that face! Such joy after 102 miles of crazy elevation and conditions!!

View attachment 350599

@BikeFan asked about it over on my (obviously abandoned) training journal, so instead of responding there - I figured I'd post about it here. Initially, I was supposed to crew for her - but my heel and Achilles issues (and surgery and treatment) kept me from being able to go. But I feel like I was there with her through the whole thing.

She finally sat down and wrote out her experience, and I wanted to share it with y'all ... just in case you need inspiration, or are thinking about taking that leap to a bigger challenge ... or if you're actually crazy enough to think about the Leadville 100.



https://docs.google.com/document/d/...tuGFXHAW6jl1SzYbpUkOo1vnVu6pp63R05u3Tdfar/pub

I hope y'all read and enjoy. I'm so proud of her, like all of my friends - and all of you! - that inspire and motivate me every day with your accomplishments.

Thanks for posting that! What an amazing story. And to think, your friend hadn't even run an ultra when she threw her name in the Leadville lottery - how crazy is that!?! So impressive that her first 100 was Leadville, and she crushed it. Pass on my congratulations to her. Loved that story.

Hardly! (With a 10+ minute cushion-you must be a rock star.) Sounds like they'll be a few of us toeing the line on April 15th

I'm in (or at least I will be, once my registration window opens tomorrow morning)!
 


So - I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago, but my sweet friend Kari ran the Leadville 100 in Colorado a couple of weeks ago. She finished and with just a few minutes to spare! If you're friends with me on social, I posted the live video of her crossing the finish line in the last 15 minutes of the race before the cutoff - but here is a picture of her ... look at that face! Such joy after 102 miles of crazy elevation and conditions!!

View attachment 350599

@BikeFan asked about it over on my (obviously abandoned) training journal, so instead of responding there - I figured I'd post about it here. Initially, I was supposed to crew for her - but my heel and Achilles issues (and surgery and treatment) kept me from being able to go. But I feel like I was there with her through the whole thing.

She finally sat down and wrote out her experience, and I wanted to share it with y'all ... just in case you need inspiration, or are thinking about taking that leap to a bigger challenge ... or if you're actually crazy enough to think about the Leadville 100.



https://docs.google.com/document/d/...tuGFXHAW6jl1SzYbpUkOo1vnVu6pp63R05u3Tdfar/pub

I hope y'all read and enjoy. I'm so proud of her, like all of my friends - and all of you! - that inspire and motivate me every day with your accomplishments.

This is so awesome!!!!!!! What an incredible accomplishment. Thank you for sharing.
 
ATTQOTD:
The Seattle Marathon held in November is very picturesque. You can run a half or full. The course takes in very nice views of Lake Washington and downtown Seattle.
I just spent several days in Chicago and did a long training run along the river walk and the lakeshore path. Absolutely beautiful!!
Running a Chicago half is now on my bucket list.
 
This one makes me sad but I'd love to go to CA and run a Disneyland race once a year.
Star Wars Light Side assuming it returns would be my choice every single year.

If picking my home state is too boring, then I'd go Florida (WDW, duh)
And Dark Side if it works with my work schedule if I can't pick my home state either.

I think the 10K distance is great because it does not suck the life out of me- it does not take the whole day, and I am not unable to enjoy myself afterward (for example, I did 12 park hours after my 2 disney 10Ks) maybe if I run more a half would also be enjoyable? Or is that just not how it works?
I share your feelings about the 10K. Long enough to challenge, yet short enough to not completely alter the day. At the same time, runDisney really offers a lot of unique things during the Half that are not available during the shorter distances.

I would probably head back to San Francisco. Can't beat the weather for running there, and their half marathon (and marathon) cross the Golden Gate Bridge among other awesome vistas. The downside is lots of hills, but the hill training would probably make me a better runner!
May I recommend the Giant Race. I just ran it for the first time this past weekend. Billed as the flattest and fastest course in San Francisco, it goes through Crissy Field and offers a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. It finishes on the field at AT&T Park.
 


May I recommend the Giant Race. I just ran it for the first time this past weekend. Billed as the flattest and fastest course in San Francisco, it goes through Crissy Field and offers a beautiful view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. It finishes on the field at AT&T Park.

"Flattest" but not flat! That hill in Fort Mason along the Bay is maybe not terribly long, but it's no joke for a flat lander like me!

And yes, that looks like a very fun run. Are you on cobblestones in Fisherman's wharf?
 
"Flattest" but not flat! That hill in Fort Mason along the Bay is maybe not terribly long, but it's no joke for a flat lander like me!

And yes, that looks like a very fun run. Are you on cobblestones in Fisherman's wharf?
I don't remember being on cobblestones in Fisherman's Wharf, but we may have been. By that point, my back was ready to be done, so I was in one foot in front of the other and eventually it will all be over mode. There were definitely 3 or 4 hills if memory serves, but I didn't find it intensely hilly in comparison to runDisney races. I wrote more about it in my training journal along with photos if you want to see some.

I noticed that once this course opens up, it really opens up. Lots of wide open space and relatively uncrowded. My sister knocked 10 minutes off her PR and in spite of my rough day, I still knocked 3 minutes off mine. While I haven't run any other races in San Francisco, I do think it's a fast course even with the few hills.
 
I share your feelings about the 10K. Long enough to challenge, yet short enough to not completely alter the day.

That's how I feel about halves when it comes to travel. Long enough to feel worth the trip, short enough that you don't really have to train and you can be done and showered by 10am and still have plenty of miles left in the legs for sightseeing.
 
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ATTQOTD: Not sure I can answer this, I don’t have a race yet that I would be willing to be my only race going forward. I do think the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City is incredibly stunning. I suppose if I had to pick, I would cheat and go with the Run Woodstock Weekend races, because it is multiple races. It is such a fun atmosphere with music, food and camping through the weekend and races from 5K to 100 miles, and all the distances in between. It is my favorite so far.
 
ATTQOTD: 2017 was my first year running races and 2018 was a year to try different ones not too far from home, Canada (not one of the States so my answer would not count). I am still experimenting and will continue in 2019.

After reading so many good comments on various RnR races, I can’t wait to try Montreal RnR in a week or so.

For USA, if money and vacations were no object, I would repeat the runDisney Wine and Dine Two Course Challenge every year. November in FL offers pleasant weather just when it starts being depressing and cold here. I am usually at the best running shape at that point in the year. And those are distances that other family members could manage. Edit: And there is the after-race party included.
 

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