Tuesday, March 24, 2020

My 2020 Spring (empty) Bucket List


There were all kinds of grandiose things on tap for my 2020 spring racing season.

Sorry, but I'm not sorry for being an early bird (both in my daily routine AND in registering for races). There is a gamble, though, in that the race(s) may not come to fruition and that start line (and subsequent finish line) will not happen. It could be all on the runner (ahem, injury or arisen schedule conflicts) or it could be on the race day circumstances (the weather).

Or, in my case, it was due to COVID-19 messing with things.

First of all, let me emphasize that I am not bitter nor angry.

If it was all on me (and my own poor choices), that would be a different scenario. This, however, is a most unique situation. This is something that none of us could have foreseen, and it's affected pretty much all runners, at least in some capacity.

Currently, my spring "races-not-happening" have reached a count of six. I still have two events, a team relay (scheduled for May 9th) and a 20K (scheduled for May 30th) that are still "on." I'm not holding my breath, or betting the farm, on either's outcome.

Care to hear about my new Plan of Action?

Last Saturday (March 21st), the first of these races was to have happened on the streets of Tampa, Florida. This would have been my first time running the Driscoll's Strawberry Classic 10K. Obviously, this race was called almost immediately as everything else was canceling.


Also, did I mention the hubs and I would have been enjoying a long weekend, spring-breaking with friends, and watching countless NCAA basketball games? Well, none of that happened. In light of all that had escalated (in a very short time) with the virus, we made the wise decision to stay home. Instead, I ran the COVID 19-Miler Virtual Run as a satisfying consolation.


The next event to cancel was the Chocoholic Frolic 10K (Iowa City, IA), scheduled for March 28th. The race organizers wasted no time in getting all the packets mailed to the registered participants and encouraged all to run the event virtually. My packet of swag was waiting for me when I got home from work last Friday, so I laced up and incorporated that 10K into the first part of my 19-miler. Don't worry, I still plan to run the 10K (again, virtually) on what would have been the race's actual race date (so I'm not "double-dipping" with my virtual races).


Another event affected is the Fight for Air Climb. Currently in postponed status (rumor has it the Climb will be rescheduled for some time in June or July), this would have been happening on March 29th (yes, the morning following the Chocoholic Frolic).  Although it will happen at a later date, and I am still fundraising (FYI), I do plan to do my own virtual Climb...all 76 flights of stairs, this coming weekend (also on the actual date it would have happened). After all, why not?


Next, there was to be the Drake Relays Road Races Half Marathon (April 19th, Des Moines, IA), and the Grand Blue Mile (two days later, also in Des Moines). Both of these are affiliated with the Drake Relays, a big Olympic-style extravaganza of running which draws state-wide high school hotshots, collegiate all stars and numerous elites. Both of these are also tentatively happening in the summer. I plan to run a 13.1-mile run on April 19th (on my own) and will do a 1-mile time trial on the following Tuesday, the 21st.


Lastly, the Run CRANDIC Half Marathon was scheduled for April 26th (yes, just a week following the Drake 13.1). That is also postponed until summer (which we all know suits me just fine, thank you very much). I will still plan to run those 13.1 miles on CRANDIC's original race day as well.

So, am I blue? Well, maybe just a little, but I'm not going to boo-hoo over it. Although I won't be training hard to run these as virtual events, I do plan to maintain my base and throw in some occasional speed drills. Basically, I'm forging on as if these actual events were happening as scheduled...but will be cutting myself some slack if need be. After all, I'm not getting paid to "perform" like an elite, so I certainly don't need to train like one.

And, let's not forget I will be staying active. Deborah and I are hosting the 19 Minutes for 19 Days Challenge, after all, so I won't be sitting idle pining away for what could have been. This spring will be like no other, but I plan to make the best of these lemons. #TeamLemonade all the way!
#19for19Challenge
So, yeah. Not a lot of "real" racing, but all kinds of virtual racing (and plenty of just-for-fun running) is on tap. Bring it!

Have you had to take a step back and modify your spring schedule? Any races canceled or postponed? Any virtual options?

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up
I'm also linking with Debbie,  RachelDeborahLisaSmitha and Jenn for the Runners' Roundup

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29 comments:

  1. So what's really throwing me right now is that I'm so used to getting back from a run and reading your blog, and now b/c I'm waiting for daylight, I'm reading your blog before my run...it just doesn't seem right. When reality set in that all of my spring races would be cancelled, at first I thought I would just stay in racing shape through the final race day, but then I realized that I can do one step better and do virtual races. My goal is to see how close I can come to racing speed on my own.

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    1. We definitely think alike ;-) My initial thoughts were to ease up on the training, but now I've decided to treat these original "race dates" as the real thing (and then get to run the actual race, later, as a bonus). That said, I'm not gonna intensify my training much, but maintain where I am right now.

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  2. I had 9 races cancelled or postponed so don't feel foolish for signing up - it's what we do. I'm running every day but less miles for "long runs." I'm grateful for every step I get to take and for the fresh air and peace it brings me. I think this "break" from racing will make me a better and happier runner. I am appreciating more - that's for sure. Hang in there! This too shall pass.

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    1. I always sign up early, the early bird deals are too good to pass up LOL I think all of us will grow to appreciate running (and life, in general) that much more after this passes.

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  3. Ugh :( Reading this broke my heart to see how many Spring races you've had cancelled. I have a feeling that this is going to be a super busy Fall racing season for a lot of runners because of so many cancelled Winter/Spring races.

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    1. Awh ;-) I'm not too heart-broken since I have a (somewhat) plan in place to keep on keeping on. I agree that Fall 2020 is gonna present us with all kinds of options!

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  4. My only race was my comeback 5K the first weekend of April, and that is postponed. I hadn't registered for anything else, and I'm kind of glad for that now. It's still so disappointing for everyone else :(

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    1. Ironically, when I had my surgery/sabbatical in 2017, I only had two races to miss. There were a bunch of others that I had procrastinated on, so it wasn't too bad having a clear calendar back then. That said, the FOMO was painful because everyone else was running and racing like normal LOL

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  5. Oh wow, bummer on those races. For once my lack of planning has served me well because I haven't signed up for anything other than my marathon (and the Shamrock Shuffle, which is postponed). I've been procrastinating on signing up for races due to injuries, and now it's been a good thing.

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    1. Thankfully, since I had registered early, I got the best deals on prices. Also, two of these events were free (one was an ambassadorship, and the other was a prize from a different race by the same mgmt company). All told, had none of these been postponed, I'd still only be out about $100 total for everything.

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  6. Great to see you have a plan in place for all the cancelled races! Yes, our love for running isn't dependent on races. We can have fun either way. In my case, I have 3 cancelled races and one more in July which might not happen.
    Love the idea with the 19 Minutes for 19 Days Challenge! #TeamLemonade!

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    1. Thanks!! At least with this current situation, running has NOT been taken away from us. The races can (and will) happen later ;-) The Challenge has been going well so far!

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  7. Oh bummer on having registered early for so many races and now they're being canceled. I love that you're going to run all of these races virtually.

    I used to register early to get the best prices, but now I seem to be injured so much that I wait until the last possible date to register unless it's a race that I really want to do and I'm afraid it will fill up and close.

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    1. Yes, most of these races offer great early bird registration pricing, and often sell out...so I don't think twice about signing up so far in advance. I think running virtual is a great option, at least for our current situation.

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  8. It's tough to have all these things cancelled--I'm grateful for the virtual races that have popped up. No, they aren't the same as a real race, but at least it's something to do!

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    1. Agreed! I'm excited to do the rescheduled races on the new dates, but for now it's fun doing a virtual run on the original date. I'm trained and ready, after all ;-)

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  9. I am a planner, so I get signing up early. No one could have predicted this crazy.

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    1. It certainly is a unique experience for everyone, runners and RD's alike.

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  10. My spring bucket list is also empty! I am planning on doing lots of virtual runs which I don't normally do. Your virtual stair climb should be fun great attitude!

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    1. Hey, I've trained for almost two months for the Climb...I might as well climb as planned LOL

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  11. It's too bad you had so many races cancelled, but you have the right attitude about it! The virtual races are a good option to have, and we can be more flexible about when we do them so thats a win!

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    1. I used to do some virtuals years ago, but haven't done any for awhile. They certainly are a great alternative right now.

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  12. Oh man, you had so many spring races lined up! I agree, though. Nothing to be upset over. This is totally out of our control and it is what it is. Through all of this, I signed up for my first virtual race. And then another. SHOCKING I KNOW!!! I always said I would never do a virtual race. Haha. I have ONE race in May. But I'm not holding my breath for it. And at this rate I'm not even sure I'll be trained up for it...

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    1. All we can really do is move forward. Dwelling on the stuff we can't control (or would never have foreseen) gets us nowhere. The good news, though, is all but the Florida race (and the Chocoholic, which went virtual) are getting rescheduled. I have a lot to look forward to this summer!

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  13. I like your attitude with regard to the various cancellations. And it sounds like you've got a good alternative plan. So far, I've had just one race postponed to the fall, but I'm fully prepared to see my late May race go the way of the wind soon. On the good side, my brother and I are running a virtual race next month :)

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  14. You're so upbeat about your cancelations/postponements. I had four races cancelled. I rolled over one to 2021, one was rescheduled for September. The Sweat Pink team hasn't decdied what to do about Ragnar yet. We can roll over to 2021 or pick any Ragnar race. We shall see!

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  15. I think I'm up to six cancellations/postponements, total, with Tokyo being the first and biggest one. Like you, I've not been angry and bitter. What can we do? Hopefully things will settle down soon and we'll all be back into our normal routines. Stay healthy!

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  16. This definitely isn't something any of us could've anticipated! I'm really sad about events having to be canceled too--I'm glad you got to do a virtual run + I like the sound of the 19 minutes for 19 days challenge! Yay for Team Lemonade! :P

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  17. What a bummer about all of your cancelled races. But I am not sad nor angry. There are bigger problems out there than a cancelled race. Stay safe and be careful. :-) Thank you for linking up with us.

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