Todd Kleinhans (b/t) is the host for T-SQL Tuesday this month. He has asked us to discuss how we use databases in our everyday life. I have been asked by friends to help them with databases covering a wide variety of topics. For myself, I haven’t created many personal databases, that is until I started doing destination runs.
There are two things that I like to do in my free time: running and vacationing. I am an avid runner and I am always looking for new runs, usually half marathons, to do in different cities and countries around the world. A few years ago, I decided to do a half marathon and started searching on the internet for good runs in fun locations. That is when I fell in love with the destination run.
It makes for a great way to see new places and I can pair that with a run. I love to wander through new cities and explore. Most runs take you past historic places or beautiful scenery. Plus, after running a half marathon, it is a lot easier to explore local restaurants and bakeries without feeling too guilty. That way I get a real taste of the area.
After my first destination run, I created an Excel spreadsheet to track runs I might want to do in the future. I found that I needed a way to organize the runs of interest for future reference. There are so many interesting runs that it is hard to remember them when I am ready to register for a new run. I get recommendations for runs from Twitter friends, top runs provided by running magazines and websites, local running groups, along with many other places. I needed help keeping them organized.
Keeping track of those runs couldn’t be enough. That spreadsheet has grown into a SQL Server database. The database helps me keep organized and helps me pick my next vacation location. Deciding on my next run takes a lot of time. But it is not stopping there. Currently, this is a very simple database but I am in the process of expanding it to include local races, training miles, as well as health stats. This will eventually become my training partner database that will be customized to track everything that I want to track. There are apps to track some of this information, but not everything that I want in one place.
Women – Technology - Society 