Monthly Archives: December 2019

New Virtual Race – The 465 Virtual Challenge

In order to kick off the new year right, I’ve signed up for the 465 Virtual Challenge. What is this? 465 is the road that loops around Indianapolis, and it’s 53 miles long – so to complete this challenge, you run, walk, swim, bike, hop, etc. for a total of 53 miles between January 1 and February 29.

For some of us, 53 miles in two months sounds like a solid challenge. But for a lot of runners, that might not be enough mileage. So you have the option to become a Looper – how many times can you loop 465 in two months? Or maybe you’re a one-and-done type – can you get the 53 miles done in 24 hours? (I do not even want to consider this – I’m not sure I’m back into that sort of biking shape, and I have never been in that sort of running shape.)

There are two signup options – the basic package gets you a bumper sticker, a training program, motivational emails, a virtual bib, and a certificate of completion. The premium package gets you all that, plus a t-shirt and a sweet finisher’s medal with a car that slides around the route.

If you use the code BIBRAVE, you also get 10% off.

I’m really excited to get started with this. I think I’m going to try to run the 53 miles, because I’ve been working to get back into a running routine, and January and February are going to be difficult months, schedule-wise. This will hopefully help keep me on track. Anyone want to be racing buddies?

Race Report – 2019 Space Coast Half Marathon

I think it’s clear that I like space races, as I have now run this race seven times, with plans to do it at least another two years. I don’t typically run for medals, but come on, this series is fabulous.

I’m not sure what’s going to happen after 2021, but I really want the full set of the human spacewalk medals. Why? Because they’re cool.

Admittedly, I also really like this race. The course is simple, very flat, and the time of year is perfect. There is nothing better than going down to Florida in late November/early December and just getting away for a long weekend before the crazy holiday season really starts.

This year, as per usual, we headed down on Friday and hit up the expo on Saturday. Though I didn’t buy anything, this expo gets bigger every year and there are some good vendors there. And the volunteers aren’t to be beat. The sheer organization of the whole event is incredible.

It’s nice to do a race that I’m so familiar with. This race starts in a little downtown area, and it can seem a bit confusing at the start. Everyone is trying to cram into this little space down a street between cute shops and it’s very crowded and the pace groups seem all messed up and it doesn’t seem reasonable that the course will clear out. But it does. Every year, the start works and within the first half mile, the space has widened and people can run a reasonable pace.

I didn’t feel super well trained for this race, even though I had done two 10+ mile runs. My only goal was to run with my sister, finish the race, and get a medal. I was also hoping for little to no hip pain. I’m still not back into shape after breaking my arm so I’m having to do a lot of extra rehab work on both my hip and my upper body.

This race was a lot of fun, as per usual. It wasn’t my fastest, but it wasn’t my slowest. I finished in 3:12:01, finishing with my sister, my friend Nikki, and having had a great time chatting our way through the race. And with some energy in reserve for a night at Disney World.

Once this series is over, I’m not sure how long I’ll continue traveling for this race, but it’s a lot of fun and I love being able to go to the beach to start the holiday season. It’s a great place, lots of good fun, and always an amazing time with friends.