What are some of the COOLEST things you have seen while training?

On my long bike rides every weekend I see large groups of African Apostolic worshipers, dressed in all white, men and women separated, singing, dancing and praying in the corn fields. It's a pretty surreal thing to cycle by, but the music is beautiful and enhances the already amazing scenery.

Also, tons of incredible birds, the occasional monkey, and once, a zebra.

riding through a cloud of butterflies while training for my first Ironman.

I visited my sister in Africa (Rural Tanzania) when I was training for my first Marathon.  I did two long runs there - 25 km and 28 km.  on the 25 km run, I ran by a rural school where people would rarely if ever see white people.  before I knew it, I had a crowd of about 50 kids running after me, laughing and yelling "Mzungu!" (the swahili word for white person).

double post???

While running this past weekend saw 2 camels, 3 zebras, some donkeys, and a flock of geese.  I just love wildlife!!!

Since I live in a really rural area, most of what I see is wildlife:  skunks, porcupine, squirrels, chipmunks, deer, woodcock, grouse, turkey, and a coyote. 

I mostly run early morning so on clear days the stars are awesome. 

I used to run without a headlamp, just a flashlight for the occasional car to notice me.  It made for good star gazing but just missing a porcupine by 2 ft and a skunk by 15 ft convinced me to put the headlamp on and leave it on. 

At the pool I swim at, there are many elderly swimmers in class that time of day (their class finishes before open swim). Some are really good swimmers/former college swimmers and have a lot of wisdom to offer if you strike up a friendly conversation with them. I have enjoyed that part of training.

Also, in OWS swims here in NWFL, the water is so clear most of the year, you can see everything you're swimming with. The good news is, when the water is so clear, they can "see" you too and rarely mistake you for food!

I saw this recently on a bike ride. I don't live in an area where I see much wildlife so it was cool to come upon this guy when I rode through a state park. 

The Special Olympics torch passed me going the other way on a run.

The Patriot Guard.

Camels!

I don't know how many deer I've been almost killed by since they decide to play chicken with me and my group early in the AM.  But still it's beautiful to see them scamper off into the woods on the other side of the street and lots of sunrises. 

One time I saw a pack of horses at a horse farm/ranch running as a pack in circles.  Very cool to see.  Two hawks seemed to be fighting over a cow pasture.  Cows were just as cool as could be and seemed to care less.

During an early AM run last month a bald eagle swooped down in front of me to pick off a poor little bunny that was having breakfast on the side of the trail.  

Another cool thing that happened....

Must have had some flies or mosquitoes buzzing around my hat light one morning. Had 3 or 4 bats kept zipping in and out in front of me. Kinda freaky at first, but very cool once I figured out they were a hell of a lot more agile than me and wouldn't smash into me.

It is really tough to beat nature.

Every time I see a deer or coyote while running or riding I think that is pretty cool.  Especially on the rare occasion when the deer will run beside me or in front of me while i ride.

The porcupine I always stumble upon on my midnight runs is a favorite.

The rising and setting full moon.  People talk about the sunset, but if you are lucky enough to get out after the last bit of twilight or before the first bit of dawn (which where I am at must be more than an hour before or after sunrise or sunset), man it is cool.

But the coolest thing I saw was I was running with this guy in barefeet once, just for a bit, he was doing hills, and there is this steep bit, like STEEP, about 30 meter climb, mostly smooth dirt path, this is something that I can maybe run for 5 or 6 breaths up and then just power hike the rest.  Anyways, buddy says "up here" I turn to follow him and he runs up that hill in barefeet like it isn't even there.

One cool thing I remember from the Seattle to Vancouver bicycle ride (20 years ago?).  It takes a scenic ride through chuckanut drive near Bellingham Washington.  If you have ridden it you know it is very hilly.  Well at the apex of the biggest and last hill sat an 8-10 year old boy with a small table and a cooler full of various beverages.  I thought, that kid is going to make a killing. 

Oh, and there were the bald eagles too...

When I did IMFL, a manta ray or sting ray (don't know the difference) swam under me!

(not so cool when you can see the cloud of jelly fish you can't get around).

In 2011 a couple days before IMPCB, a few of us were swimming in the gulf when I spotted dorsel fins about 10 yards from us.  I kind of freaked and made an abrubt dive toward the shoreline.  The darn fisherman from the day before had me thinking shark because they dump their bait at the end of the day and they come in to feed.  Anyway, they were dolphins.  They hung around for a bit and then took off.  One of the guys had a GoPro the day before in the water but no luck on that day.  Swimming out there at sunset is pretty cool, but the rays all come into shore to feed so you see these dark shadows below you...kind of freaky.

1. While running in Waterton Canyon just Southwest of the Denver Metro Area I occasionally see a large herd of Big Horn Sheep standing in the middle of the path. A few weeks ago I saw two large Rams lock horns trying to dominate the other, I felt like I was in the middle of a National Geographic show. 
2. Last summer I had a coyote run next to me for about a half mile carrying a dead prairie dog.  I must have looked hungry. 

I live in a rural area, and so get to see lots of wildlife, especially when I'm biking.  Highlights have included: a mother deer with her fawn (young enough to still have spots!); three red fox kits playing outside their den; a porcupine that popped out of the bush and waddled along for a little while before heading back into the woods; and a deer hightailing it across a field (I didn't see what it was running from, but it was amazing to get to see the speed that they can reach!). 

So did you yell "Hey Camel!!!"

Hahaha I do! I say hello as I ride by and often get off the bike to talk to them. It's a nice break on my long ride days.