The Lazy Lady: Flashback to February! Gasparilla Half-Marathon (Virtual) "Race Report"

Thursday, August 20, 2020

Flashback to February! Gasparilla Half-Marathon (Virtual) "Race Report"

After Planet Fitness closed mid-March, and Depot Park parkruns were cancelled, and races were being changed to virtual runs - or being cancelled completely - I found myself giving in to laziness. My days consisted of waking up, taking Hubby to work, working from home, picking Hubby up from work/taking Kiddo to work, working more, cooking dinner (or, let's be honest, ordering pizza), and going to bed. I was simply existing.

As April rolled into May, and then into June, I just stopped giving a fuck. I can't tell you the last time I got on my treadmill. Or the last time I went for a simple walk in the park.

According to MyFitnessPal, I've gained only 10 pounds since March (I've slacked off on even logging in to MFP, either...). The scale yesterday hovered around 245. Judging by the way my clothing fits, however, I would guess that while gaining weight, I've also lost a lot of muscle, meaning more of this weight is actually true fat. Does that make sense?

Being so sedentary has also contributed to some nasty back problems over the past few months.

I'm beginning to understand now how fat people get so fat and then feel like they can't get healthier. At some point, there's a tipping point from I'm too lazy to work out today to I'm too fat and in pain to work out today. I don't want to be that person.

So, what do I do about it? Well, obviously... I get off my ass.

How do I do that? Physically, I know that I just... get off my ass. But how do I get my brain involved in this process? My brain doesn't care anymore. My brain is happy to sit in an office chair for 10 hours a day until it's time to get up and sit on the couch.

Enter, the Flashback to February!

Click on the photo for more information

At the end of July or the beginning of August, I saw a Facebook post by Gasparilla about a virtual run. I hate virtual runs. You know that.

But... this virtual run would give me the chance to run any of their distances (5k, 8k, 15k, or half-marathon) for a low cost, and I would receive 2020 race swag to go with it. I thought about it for a few days and made a promise to myself: I will walk one mile every day for 13 straight days and earn this medal. Nothing more, nothing less. No running, if I didn't want to. I could do it on the treadmill every day. No park, if I didn't want to. I was hoping to use this as a springboard to get back into the swing of things.

So a few weeks ago, I got my swag, which included a long-sleeve race shirt, bandanna, finisher towel, Publix reusable bag, and of course, the awesome hinge-jaw finisher medal. All for fifteen bucks (okay, $22, after tax and shipping)!

I also took advantage of some deep discounts to buy some leftover 2020 swag, including a running hat and a tank top. Both items were only $28 total, just under 50% off. I love the hat, but the tank doesn't fit as well as the race tees, so #goals, I guess.

I got the blue one

When my package got here, I kind of just set it to the side for a few days. I had to mentally prepare myself to do this. It was kind of pathetic, really.

But after that, I was ready to go. I found that a good mid-day break for 20 minutes was good. I would generally get it done in the hour before it was time to pick up Hubby from work, or on days that he was home, I would do it around lunch time so I could eat afterward.

I certainly won't win any Age Group awards for my time, but I was consistent. Except for one day when I didn't walk, I was on that treadmill every day. I even did a two-mile walk at the end (instead of dragging it out an extra day). I watched Parks & Rec and just enjoyed my time.

Once I was all done, I was able to enter my results into their tracker, and lo and behold... even in a "pandemic"... I wasn't last!