I am a morning runner. Actually, let me rephrase that, I prefer to be a morning runner. I’m not sure if that was always the case, or as I got older and had more life responsibilities, running in the morning seemed to me a more plausible solution to having excuses hop in the way later on in the day. The earlier I run, the less chance the day will get away from me.
When the gyms and trails closed, I realized I will need to hit the roads since I don’t have a treadmill. And because I don’t want to run alone on the dark streets early in the morning, I will need to run later in the afternoon or evening. Unfortunately, there would be more people around, but at this point, my only running option is on the road and sidewalks. That is, until yesterday morning.
Over the weekend, I ran around neighboring areas. While I tried to avoid close contact with others, I thought, Hmmm I may need to try something different. I’m not sure if it’ll work, but I gotta at least try.
I wasn’t able to run on Monday (which messes up my run streak and now I need to figure out what to title this post as). But when Tuesday morning rolled around, I woke up around 5AM, got dressed, and walked down to my building’s parking garage and ran circles in the lot. Nobody but me, my music, my thoughts, and the parked cars. If that guy in France can run a marathon on a 7 meter balcony, I can run some miles in a parking garage. Why didn’t I think of this sooner?!
While it’s an enclosed garage, there are openings to the front and back of it and I was able to pick up the GPS signal which allowed me to track my mileage. I switched my loop direction every 10 minutes.
Seriously, why didn’t I think of this sooner?! Doesn’t matter at this point. The magic is in knowing I can do this now!
Yes, running small loops in a covered space isn’t the most ideal training area, but it’s perfect! I adapt and do anything necessary in order to continue running safely.
I was able to run early and I didn’t need to wear my mask because I wasn’t surrounded by anyone. Besides providing a protective barrier between you and others, however, there is another pro to wearing a face mask while running – nobody sees you lip syncing to your music! That is, if you listen to music. I do most of the time, and sometimes I like to sing along when I’m in my groove. It’s like Kiki Dee sings, I’ve got the music in me.
I completed 3.5 miles! Ahem, 3.46 miles. Yes, the pace was off. Waaay off. Say whaaat!!
I know the mileage was accurate for the time I was out there, but we’re technically not going by individual run times for this virtual race.
On Wednesday morning, I woke up early and did it again. I managed to run 4 miles all the while thinking about how much I’ve enjoyed partaking in this virtual run and contemplated another challenge.
Yesterday evening I came across The Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee 1000K. By my calculations (and with the help from Google), this is a 122 day trek of about 621.37 miles which is around 5.09 miles per day. However, apparently that’s not even correct. It’s a 1021.68km or 634.84 mile race which averages around 5.2 miles per day. Why am I even entertaining the thought of doing this?
My first inclination was based on fear and can’t. I can’t run 5 miles, sorry I mean, I can’t run 5.2 miles a day. I can’t run 37+ miles a week! What if I can’t complete it? What if I get injured?
And then I switched that fear to curiosity. What if I can complete it? I wonder what will actually happen? I may finish. I may not. But I’ll never know unless I sign up and try it, right?
Maybe I’ll stop somewhere in Nashville. I’ve always wanted to go to Nashville. I’ve heard such wonderful things about the city and it’s been on my list of places to travel to. Oh, we’re not actually running through Tennessee, it’s virtual, but I can virtually stop in Nashville, can’t I? Gee, I wonder if we even virtually run through Nashville at all?
Before current times, I never thought about running any virtual race but look at me now! I’ve signed up for one, and now, I’m probably, most likely, seriously considering, signing up for another!
Well, until I get to the next one, I’ve got the Aravaipa Strong 50K to finish first. I was anticipating running a little each day but Monday’s rest day threw me off so here is my tally so far:
Friday (April 17th when the virtual race started): 0 miles. I didn’t start this day so doesn’t count.
Monday- Day 3: 0 miles
Tuesday – Day 4: 3.46 miles
Wednesday- Day 5: 4.14 miles
This gives me a total of 23.2 miles in 5 days with 7.9 miles and 4 days remaining!
Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay home (as much as possible). Thank you for reading!