On Virtual Races in the Era of COVID-19 - GVRAT, 50k in May, and Midwest States Virtual 100k

The last race I ran in person was on March 14th - the Antelope Canyon Half Marathon.  It was a rescheduled adventure with my sister as we both bailed on the Zion Half Marathon in 2019 due to weather.  We debated a little about going because of COVID-19, but at that time...things weren't shutting down and it seemed like we might as well go.  

At the race start, before the main crowds started to arrive.  I think at this time the longer distances had already started, and the half still had some time before it began.

Finished!  It may be the only medal I receive in 2020 - at least for an in-person race!  (The Yeti Trail Series was awesome, but we received a great shirt and not a medal, for completing 31 miles over 4 months of winter running!)

After that, and as races started being cancelled, working from home became the norm for those who could, and we weren't supposed to go anywhere....tons of virtual races started popping up.  Mind you, there have been virtual races for awhile, but now races that had been cancelled started switching to virtual, etc.

I avoided the onslaught of virtual races for a good while - but finally, in April, I think, I succumbed to my first one - of course, it had to be the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee, organized by none other than the mastermind behind the Barkley Marathons (which was cancelled this year, for only the second time in it's history!)....The challenge here was to run 1000k across the state of Tennessee (though, remember, it's a Laz race, so the actual distance is 634.84 miles and not 621.371). 

And, once that happened, I joined RunningFit's 50k in May challenge to run/walk at least one mile every day in May which would equal a 50k!  

Both of these helped me with what I'd been struggling with (even though I had continued to blindly follow my training plan for cancelled races) and that was - moving on the days I didn't have a run on my schedule!  Why?  Working from home cut out the natural daily walking I do so I would run one day, then not even crack half a mile on my rest day.  Even my strength training days were usually not very conducive to walking.

I believe that walking is one of the best things you can do, so I needed some motivation to get in some steps beyond running!

Anyways, the 50k in May challenge went great, and I ended up with 166.9 miles of running/walking for the month!

As for GVRAT....I've been "behind the buzzard" some days, but mostly I've been staying just ahead of it!  But, I've gained a little bit of ground with the next thing I signed up for....The Midwest States Virtual 100k!

This came on my radar because...I'm from Wisconsin and it's beautiful and has some great trails....there's all these big, iconic ultra races in the west, but, hey, here was one in my home state of Wisconsin!  The virtual 2020 race is a "preview" for the 2021 actual race....while I don't think I would be ready for a 100mile or 100k in 2021, if there are other options, I would do it....and who knows, maybe this can be something I strive for in 2022 or beyond (I'm still tentatively planning on trying to do a 50-miler the year I turn 50!)

ANYWAYS, Midwest States is about running the distance (either 100 miles or 100k) in ten consecutive days OR LESS.  I went into it with the goal of:  running a 10k every day for the full ten days.  I've completed 8 of those 10 days and since I've been doing my regular speed/threshold workouts, have 10.52 miles left to cover.

Midwest States Virtual 100k Race Bib!

One difference for this challenge that I set for myself was that I would do all the miles as "running" miles (remember, I do intervals, so there is some walking involved, but the MAIN activity is running - for GVRAT I use regular walks to get some miles in on my non-run days.)

 With two days to go, I feel confident I'll be able to finish and who knows - if I get up early enough tomorrow, maybe I will just knock out the last 10.52 miles all at once!

The First 8 days of runs for the Midwest States Virtual 100k

First 7 days of Midwest States Virtual 100k

Runs 4-10 for Midwest States Virtual 100k!

Final Run of the Midwest States Virtual 100k - only needed a little over a 5k, so tried to run straight through (no walking) and negative splits...both of which I accomplished!

Midwest States Virtual 100k Complete!

I didn't publish this the day I started writing it because I thought it would be better to just wait until I completed the 100k...and I did that today, Thursday, June 11th, with an "easy" slightly-more-than-5k run!  Oddly enough, even though this "race" was stretched out over days...I felt that same sort of excitement I feel when I get towards the end of a race and know that I AM going to finish!  I originally planned to just run these last 3+ miles easy but then I thought, no, let's try and see if I could run the whole thing and try and hit some of the paces I've been hitting in my speed/threshold workouts.  So, I headed out (another beautiful morning after days of heat/humidity!) and ran the entire 3.33 miles, EVEN up the small hills on my normal route.  I successfully got faster each mile, ending with an overall average pace of 11:20 min/mile, which for me, is pretty damn good!

I'm really happy I took on this challenge, and look forward to running a Midwest States race in person some day!  It will definitely be harder than this challenge, because unfortunately, all of my miles were run on pavement...and trails are definitely different!!


 

What am I?

Way back, early on in college, when I first was working in libraries I wrote a poem.  It was very existential-angsty but basically the point was - "I am only I" .... which stemmed from me, at the time, identifying fairly strongly that I was a librarian....even though...I was only a student, working in the library at the time.....

So, I guess I've always been a bit hyperbolic....

Anyways, for some reason this popped into my head this morning after reading RuntoTheFinish's first tip on becoming a better runner...which basically hearkened back to one of the main points I got out of one of the books I read before running my first marathon....the power in STATING you were a marathoner...the power in STATING you are A RUNNER, an athlete....

Why am I posting this, though?  because, really, who cares?  I think it's because I find it interesting at this point in my life, that it is EASIER for me to STATE, "I AM A RUNNER", than "I AM A LIBRARIAN".  Even though I've been saying the latter much longer than the former.

I think this disturbs me and further contributes to my angst about identity and who I am, what I am....and....the BIG question..."WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO WITH YOUR LIFE?"

Pushing 50 and still trying to answer that question....

(originally written January 14, 2020, but never posted)