Physical Races Cancelled = Influx Of Virtual Races

 Initially, I had planned to have run several races this year such as the Las Vegas Women's 1/2 Marathon in Las Vegas in March, and the Havasu 1/2 Marathon and Star Wars 1/2 Marathon in April.

In addition, 2020 was going to be the year I completed my first international race which was going to be the Disneyland Paris 1/2 Marathon in September. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, all of my races were cancelled. Luckily, the race directors were able to reschedule the Las Vegas Women's 1/2 Marathon for October 18, 2020 and the Havasu 1/2 Marathon for March 27, 2021.

While I was bummed that my physical races were cancelled (because I like running with others and earning races medals.) 

Luckily, the Rock N Roll running series decided to create a free virtual run club and I joined in in April. Here are some of the virtual race medal I earned by completing various running distances.

Day 3 of COVID-19 California Lockdown

     Today has started out well in that I'm treating this life a normal day. This year, I decided to make Sundays "self-care Sunday" and to this end, I got up and discovered some new YouTube channels like Fordy Runs which provide me with way to get a run in without having to leave home through turning treadmill virtual run videos into a running workout. Today I did an hour virtual run through the streets of London and was surprised how sweaty I got as well as how much I enjoyed seeing different scenery versus what I see everyday when hubby and I take an afternoon walk around our nearby park.

     In other news, I've been plugging away with reading books for the two reading challenges I'm doing this year which are the 2020 Popsugar Reading Challenge and the the 2020 Mommy Mannegren 52 Books in 52 Weeks Reading Challenge. I just finished reading "Food Junkies" by Dr. Vera Tarman. This book is insightful in that it talks about food addiction as well as overeating, obesity, and eating disorders.

We went out briefly yesterday to get medicine and were surprised that there we no thermometers to be found. I tried to buy a thermometer on Amazon and although I found a low cost thermometer, I felt uncomfortable paying $55.98 for shipping and also having to wait until May for the thermometer to arrive. In addition, although some people were practicing social distancing, most people were not so we made sure to self distance ourselves from others. As time progresses, I think that people are going to wish that they had taken this pandemic more seriously but all I can do is work to protect me and hubby. 

Another issue I'm having is COVID-19 information overload and feeling emotionally drained by all the social media posts and online articles. I'm working towards finding a balance between being informed and not feeling overwhelmed.Self care is important no matter if it's 5 minutes or an hour so make sure if you're reading this to take some time to disconnect from all the pandemic news and reconnect with yourself. Stay safe & well!

Race Recap: T9 Mermaid Run East Bay Virtual 5K

A couple of months ago, I signed up to complete the mermaid series T9 Mermaid Run East Bay on Saturday, May 12. Since I was working on that day, me and a friend decided to complete the run on the next day on Mother's Day. Since it was a virtual race, the race swag was sent prior to race day and it was pretty cool since in addition to the usual race swag of a shirt, bib and medal, it also included a necklace. Overall, it was a great day for a run and it was even better since I completed the virtual with my friend/co-worker. 

Me and friend after finishing virtual 5K

Collage of race swag, me and friend and race finish time