There’s a craze sweeping the running world, one that you may
or may not have participated in – virtual racing.
What is virtual racing?
Well, you sign up to run a theme- or cause-based specific distance,
within a specific timeframe, you pay a fee, and the organizing party sends you
race swag for the event. Once that
timeframe rolls around, you (alone or with a group of running buddies) don your
gear, run the distance (honor system here), and take your commemorative selfies
to post to social media.
Some people love this concept. There’s no pressure to get to a starting line
at a specific time on a specific day. You control the venue. You control the time of day you run. You control your course, making it as hard or
easy as you want. Heck, you can even
control the weather, to a point, postponing your event if the weather doesn’t
suit your temperament.
You run your race and no one else’s. The pressure to be as good as the runners
around you doesn’t exist. Only you can
intimidate yourself. There’s no
comparing how you run or how fast you run with others. You don’t have to have the coolest gear. You set your intention and pace from the beginning,
no fighting crowds to find open course or battling to get out of the finisher’s
corral and stumble back to your car.
Me? I’ve been
skeptical about virtual races. There are
so many things I feel are part of the race experience. I enjoy the anticipation of the gun at the
starting line, using my fellow competitors to push myself harder, trying out
new courses out of necessity, earning my swag only after crossing the finish
line. I don’t feel like those things are
really available through virtual racing.
But, there are other, worthwhile things, available through
virtual racing.”
Recently, I ran my first virtual race via Flex it Pink…the
Run for the Heroes. The price was right
(mid $30s for the bib, tank, and medal), and the cause was right (Mission 22 – www.mission22.com – raising awareness about
veteran suicide). I could run a 5k or
10k (my choice) and only needed to complete the “race” sometime between June 30
– July 9.
Last weekend was my “race date” and I wasn’t alone. When you live on a military installation, and
races are often far away or expensive, virtual racing is appealing, so there’s
often a small group participating in one virtual race or another. And this cause hits home pretty hard. Many of us have known service members who
came home from deployment, suffering PTSD, who took their own lives.
Because I’m mid-training plan, I chose to add my “race” into
the middle of a training workout…mid-long run of course.
So, I met up with three other ladies on base and we slogged
through a hot morning together to “dial it in.”
We didn’t chose the easiest course (yeah, we voluntarily took on hills),
so that we avoided a simple out and back, but when you’ve got company and
conversation you often don’t notice the challenging aspects of a particular
route. Of course we wore our race shirts
– totally taboo….I never wear a race shirt until it’s earned, but who can say
no to a post-run group photo in our gear.
The camaraderie was great, we supported a cause worth broadcasting to as
many people as possible, and, bonus for me, also broke up my long run.
How about you? Have
you participated in a virtual race? What
did you think? Would you do it again?
Question for me is, will I do it again? Well, probably. I’m not likely to run a virtual race for the
theme of it (there are plenty of those out there), but for a good cause, it is
certainly worth it! But, because I
really love the atmosphere of an in-person event, that will continue to be my
go to. Happy trails!!!
2017 miles to date: 822.79 miles
Observations: I am so happy that everything seems to be working right now. I know I'm running a risk with my left foot tendons, but I've had a weak with almost no signs of stress there.
MARATHON TRAINING WEEK FIVE:
Monday - 6 miles interval (switched to 5 miles with hills)
Tuesday - 6 miles easy (split this between Tuesday and Thursday)
Wednesday - 5 miles hills (completed a 6 mile tempo run)
Thursday - Off (see Tuesday)
Friday - 3-4 miles easy
Saturday - 16 mile long run (will be Sunday on the treadmill....yuck)
Sunday - Off
