Leap Year Virtual Run

My Leap Year Virtual Run, sponsored by Life as a Running Mom, went kind of stupidly. I had planned for it to be an awesome run where I kicked virtual butt, but instead earlier in the week I had a wicked virus. So there were runs just not with my feet. The two days before the virtual run, I did zero activity (unless you count dragging back and forth to the bathroom and lifting cans of soup) and lounged in my bed from dawn to dusk with only Downton Abbey to keep me company. For some reason, I feel like the last person on the planet to watch Downton Abbey, and I also just realized today that there is only one w, so it actually is pronounced Downton instead of Downtown. So when people say it the way it is supposed to be pronounced, they're not just trying to effect a British accent. I assumed all of my friends were really cool, which they are, and being all linguistically authentic when they talked about the show. No, just turns out that I can't read.

So the Leap Year Virtual Run results were 2.9 miles in 22:05. The time wasn't too bad, but I truly felt terrible from .01 to 2.9. First, the good treadmills were taken so I had to use the Technogym. Once I started her up, I couldn't breathe. Sweat was flying onto neighboring, luckily unoccupied, treadmills. I had chest pains. The song "Sledgehammer" was on repeat in my internal dialogue. Just an ugly, ugly run. I think I had decided to take it to 8.0 on the treadmill before I ever knew how I was going to feel once I started running, and I couldn't take it back once the horribleness immediately set in. So I just kept going. After 2.4, I thought I would speed it up for the last .5 to get it over with faster, but that backfired. Instead I had to almost immediately slow down my speed just to stay on my feet.

I tried to take a picture of the mileage with the time, but with the lameness of Technogym treadmills, you can't see your mileage if you've paused your workout. The other lame thing about them is that the screens are down around your navel, so if you want to watch a program (said like my grandma), you have to look down. That feature must be made for walkers because if I try to look down while running it will inevitably end with me slipping uncoordinated-like off of the treadmill belt.

Shaky picture because I had to take it while walking. So not really proof of my time, but proof that it took me 24 seconds to get a picture that wasn't too blurry to post. 

Perfect for if your belly button wants to watch a movie.

I also ran a warm-up and cool-down mile on the track for a total of 5 miles. It might take me the full four years before the next one to mentally recover from this run, but I'm still glad that this got me out of my virus/Downton Abbey-induced fog and gave me a great low point from which it can only improve. Hopefully.

Thanks, Life as a Running Mom, for hosting the virtual run!