For those if you that know me and follow me you have probably heard of my racing rants.
A shared car w Mike who constantly needs it for crazy hospital hours mon-sunday...races are too far (not all! But most)...with only 1 car if I get hurt during a race, it could happen, who would get me?? No family or friends here!...and with no job on a students budget a $60-90 race is killer.
Is that rant good enough?!
It's just been tough. I've constantly found myself trying to find a balance between safety, time, money and me wanting to enjoy racing!
I honestly jus thought ill just take this time off, a whole year and half off til I'm home for a few months.
But that sucks! Why?!
And then that little thought crept up into my mind....VIRTUAL RACING
I have disliked this virtual racing scene. Honestly to me it was a way that "runners" could "race" and get a medal for it. Like how I dislike medals for 5k and 10k's.
And what I mean is you pay for a virtual race with a monthly time limit or sometimes they do them yearly and you print out your bib at home and they send you a medal in the mail whether or not you even raced.
Yep.
You don't have to prove any time at all and you get a medal.
It makes me mad.
So all of us "normal" racers who have trained, drove at god awful hours to get to a race, park and take a school bus all realizing what you forgot to pack, wait in line for bag drop offs and wait even longer to run! The process of just getting to that start line can be longer than the race itself.
And these Virtual Races don't even have to do ANY of this and get a medal?! Blasphemy!
Until I was in this situation. And not having a car, and not having allot of money and now having close friends with kids that say "I wish I could run with you! But they don't allow strollers". I feel more sympathetic to these virtual races now.
Ranging I price from $10-35 they are honestly maybe what I need. I can hold myself accountable to get out and run, and knowing like a race I'll get a prize out of it. To me it's just that added incentive.
I can work on my pace without going through my typical anxiety attacks that have negatively impacted me at EVERY race I've done. Can I count these as an official race time? No. But I'll keep a virtual race time section seperate from official race times.
I'm just going to try it. Why not. What do I have to lose?? Besides less money than the races I've registered for here in Michigan that cost me $60 and couldn't go because Mike needed the car.
I wouldn't have to worry anymore while I'm here about registering and realizing a week before the race I can't go.
So I registered one from Jost Running and we shall see how it goes! I think I'll try a few different companies and give reviews on them.
I have looked down at Virtual Racing and I still prefer Offical Races but in some situations it can be a source of that renewed fun feeling of racing. I can see myself doing this as I enter the world of kids (someday)
There are so many I've found! Some with some cool medals. I say if you train, do the distance, put real effort into it: you deserve it. I know I do.
So....we shall see!
I'm going to miss porta potties and aiming for Dixie cups of water though...but thus just for now. I still am doing my 1st Marathon here! And going home for a Half.