Just when you need it most…. A perfect thing comes along.

Every race for the foreseeable future is canceled, which for a person like me that doesn’t actually DO many races, shouldn’t seem like a big deal. But for someone that uses a ton of vacation time every year to volunteer at races, it is. Spring normally brings with it horrible allergies and the start of my favorite season…. ULTRATEERING SEASON!

So, as the pandemic reality set in, it became obvious…. Everything will be different. I mean, duh…. Of course it will be. I mean, virtual races have been a thing for years and if that’s your jam, go for it. It really wasn’t mine because I didn’t much care about participating in real races anymore, so I had no need for virtual ones.

Enter the Head Goat 50k in May. One of my favorite racing companies Running Fit Events decided to put on a virtual race in May this year, because…. We got nothing else to do, right? But it’s a streaking event. Move a mile a day for the whole month of May and voila! You’ve done a 50k.

So, of course I signed up. And of course my knee and calf are messed up so it’s been mostly walking. But so far, it’s also been this magical, supportive, and perfect group with a goal that has kept my spirits up and a smile on my face. There’s themes for the day, bad jokes, terrible puns, inspiring stories, and just a ton of good people supporting and laughing and moving together/apart. It's a somewhat silly thing, but maybe I just needed a silly thing to focus on instead of all the terrifying awful things around me.

There’s this great line from the last season of The Office:

“I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

I am gratefully aware of this special moment I am in with these special people. AND I’ll even have a t-shirt from it. But for now…..I gotta get my mile in.

Running Goals? Strange times indeed....

I meant to keep this thing updated, or at least semi regularly updated. But then….. Life happened.

Then a pandemic happened.

Then I ran a half marathon in my neighborhood after the pandemic canceled my race.

And now my knee and calf are bothering me.

And that’s just where things are at.

I’m a stubborn gal, so when my race got canceled I decided I’d go ahead and do the virtual race in the dumbest way possible… one mile loops in my neighborhood. So on race day I got up and did the thing. I think it was maybe a blessing in disguise for me. I don’t love road races like I used to. So many people, so many…. Roads. It was cool to do the half marathon distance again, I can’t remember when I did that last, but it hurt…. Road running hurts. But it was nice to have a potty and water bottle every mile if I needed it. So, that happened.

And then the knee and calf pain also happened. It has still allowed me to walk (which has been key to stay at home order sanity for me), but I haven’t tried to force running. Just a little dabble here and there. The walking and running I have been able to do are a godsend, but I wasn’t interested in a new running goal….and then….

A group I do lots of volunteering with set up a virtual race/run/we are all just trying to get by where you run, walk, skip, bike, row a mile a day for the month of May. Do that, and you end up with a 50k.

So, now I oddly have another running goal in 2020? I thought I stopped making those years ago. Of course, I thought I stopped writing in the blog years ago too. I guess this weird reality calls for weird goals and life choices and I am IN!

JOIN IN THE FUN! Let’s make goals and see where it takes us!

https://runningfitevents.redpodium.com/2020-head-goat-50k-in-may