Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Beat the Blerch Virtual 10K Race Recap!

On Saturday, Jeff and I participated in our first virtual race - the Beat the Blerch 10K!  This virtual race came about as a result of the popularity of the Blerch comic called "the terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances" by Matthew Inman, aka The Oatmeal.  Jeff and I both loved that particular comic, and when the actual Beat the Blerch race was organized (and sold out within minutes), we were a little bummed to miss out (even though it was in Washington State and realistically, we couldn't travel there).  So when they announced a virtual race, complete with swag, we were in!  Luckily for us, the distance coincided almost perfectly with our training schedule (we were supposed to run 6 miles, so we just tacked on an extra .2) for race weekend.
The SWAG - better than anything I've received for a real race!

We even got a medal:
It's crazy and I love it!

The "race" was tough, not gonna lie.  It was incredibly humid - weather said 99% at 4:30 am when I checked it online, and it was 73 degrees.  Plus, I changed my intervals to 2:1 (run two minutes, walk one minute) - why, I don't know.  Obviously I was still on a deceptive running high from California.   But it it felt like FOREVER before my Garmin would chime two minutes and I could take a walk break, and that messed with my head, along with the dumb weather messing with my body.  I ran with Julia, and although the company was wonderful, the run?  Not so much.
Jeff and I afterward - even with a rough run, we still awarded ourselves the medals!

Because junk food is a major component of the actual Blerch race (they had Nutella sandwiches and birthday cake along with the regular race food at aid stations along the route), we decided to honor the race by getting a cupcake at Blue Baker:
Neither of us could stomach the idea of eating it so soon after running that many miles in the heat, so we brought it home and shared it later in the afternoon.  It was delicious, of course!

This "race" was a fun way to break up the monotony of our training - we aren't quite halfway through the season, so it was nice to have a distraction AND get swag, too.  Thanks, Blerch!

24 comments:

  1. What a cool virtual race with actual medals and shirts, you don't see that often. I love it that you did it all in style.

    And the cupcake looks so yum!

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    1. The virtual race swag was really cool. And that cupcake was pretty damn delicious!!

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  2. Awesome job on your race. Its still pretty miserable here in Florida too with high humidity makes it really hard to jog. Love the swag you received for doing a virtual race. Hang in there it has to get better weather wise soon.

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  3. That was a very cool virtual race swag bag! Wow! Congrats on your race under such horrible weather conditions.

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    1. Thanks - here's hoping the next race will be a bit cooler.

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  4. That cupcake looks amazing! I had friends that did this race in Florida! So fun to see people all over the U.S doing the same race!

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    1. I've been on their FB page and feel like we were part of a crazyfun nationwide event, for sure! :)

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  5. 99% humidity??? That's crazy! Your body was in complete shock after your lovely California runs!

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  6. That is a lot of swag for a virtual race! Love it!

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  7. Oh man, I wish I had known about this - totally would have done it! That's my kind of race right now... no pressure just go run.

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  8. How fun! Glad the swag wasn't virtual!!!

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    1. Haha, for real. At that point, my entry fee would have been virtual. ;)

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  9. Cuppie, cuppie, cuppie!!! Yum!

    I love the Oatmeal. Cracks me up. One of those times when I am jealous of someone else's creativity.

    That humidity doesn't sound so great, but sweet medal!

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    1. The Oatmeal is not only creative, but a generous person. I just read on the Beat the Blerch FB page that a runner collapsed at mile 12 and died at the actual race on Sunday. A memorial fun was started and Matthew Inman donated $10K.

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  10. Looks like you had fun! Where do you find virtual races? Your California trip looked wonderful!

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  11. I've been unable to get to a computer for blog reading since starting my new job, but was happy to see when I checked in with you that you were able to virtually enjoy the Blerch run. I actually live right down the street from where the race was taking place, but that thing sold out so quickly, I wasn't able to get in. We love The Oatmeal at our house, and I'm so sad that one of our local runners passed away at the race. I'm hoping that they'll have another one next year, but am not surprised that Matt donated to Evan's memorial fund. It sounds like your training is going fabulously, Shelley - glad to read about all your running!

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    1. How neat that it was so close to you! So sad about the runner who died - he was so young, too. :(

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