This past weekend, I ran my second solo half marathon since this damn virus started. Back in June, it was announced that Pittsburgh was going to hold the EQT 10 Miler race, in person and virtual. I got super excited that there would be an in-person race. It’s held the first weekend in November so I thought it might be cold enough to have to wear a mask anyway. Side notes to this: I did run the 10 miler a few years back and it was super cold that day. But, for some reason, Mother Nature is being kind to us this year and giving us spring weather instead of fall weather this fall.
I made my training schedule back in July and followed the half marathon training throughout the summer. As the weeks went on, and the world stayed the same, I was getting less hopeful about this race actually happening in person. And in mid-August, they announced that it would be a virtual only race. Just like my experience with the Pittsburgh Marathon, I was weeks into training and again, I continued running, even though I didn’t want to do the virtual race and asked for a refund.
The time had come for me to do my “race” and I decided to go to the Montour Trail to run it. I got up on Sunday morning and headed down there. As always, I took some photos of the “start line” and myself before the race. It was a perfect day for a long run, sunny and about 42 degrees. I ran down the trail until I got to 3.5 miles then turned around and headed back to my car. At about mile 6 I had some pain in my left foot, so I stopped to stretch it out. After it felt better, I continued until I got back to my car. Once there, I stopped for some water and fuel and headed back the other way on the trail. 3 miles up, then 3 miles back. Toward the end, I needed a boost, so I cranked up my music, put on My Demons and Trials by Starset and ran fast till I hit 13.1 miles. It was good 13.1, ran it in 1:51:33.
I got back to my car, got a drink, ate the rest of my energy snack, and headed home. I’m glad I did this run. Life wouldn’t be the same without running. I’ve been running long distance for about 10 years now, so it’s a part of me, something I don’t want to give up just because of this damn virus. I’ve signed up for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in May. As with everything these days, we’ll see if that actually happens in person. I have my doubts, but maybe we’ll be at the point where they can limit the people at the starting line. We’ll see what happens, but either way, I’m going to keep on running.
Thanks for reading this segment of my “This Damn Virus” story. Catch up on past segments here and come back next Wednesday for the next one! Sign up to receive a weekly reminder email about this blog here.
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