Virtual Races for everyone

H guys,

Saw someone ask about virtual races today on FB.  I've done a few. They can be a lot of fun and some of these even offer medals!

I thought I'd suggest a few places where you can find virtual races tonight. Hope this helps you get through any isolation or cabin fever.  Stay fit and keep on keeping on.

Connect on Apps
Sometimes you want to race with friends. These apps allow you to connect real-time with others as you train.  To access all the functions you will need to subscribe.  However, it can be helpful to have your friends interacting as you train when you can't get out with them physically.


Zwift
Strava
Peloton Digital

Train alone but race against yourself and others: Virtual Races

Find Virtual Races of all Kinds 
Find Virtual races by distance below. Each Virtual race has links to its marketing page and registration page. Whether you are looking for a Virtual running event, Virtual cycling, or a Virtual triathlon you will find your race experience listed below. If you are a virtual race organizer, add your race to our calendar.

Yes.fit  Running

Dozens of races of all distances.  You pay a fee, like a race fee and log your runs until you complete the challenge.  You get a medal and a tee if you like.  I did the Ring of Kerry 100 mi race.  Many of these individual races are also part of a series that you can do to get a set of medals for the group.

Yes.Fit is flexible and a fun fitness challenge app that anyone can do. Start with shorter events and manageable workouts then progress to longer events and more strenuous challenges. Your new workout routine is based on your own pace and time frame that fits your lifestyle, schedule, and individual goals.

Virtual Triathlon
FREE
This is free, sponsored by USAT.  Sign up and get started on your own triathlon competing against other teams or join a team.
This FREE and convenient triathlon allows you to be a triathlete on your own time at your own pace.
Indoors or outside. Day or night. On a stationary bike and a treadmill or on a trail. All at once or broken into one leg per day. You decide. That’s the beauty of virtual racing – swim, bike and run where you want and when you want.
Regardless of your familiarity with a triathlon or your fitness level, anyone can participate in the #DreamingSeason Time to Tri Virtual Triathlon.

Tri to Triumph
Prices from $39 to $99

Tri to Triumph is a virtual triathlon that allows you to complete the triathlon distance of your choice, on your own time, in your own location.  No costly entry fees, no travel expenses, no race-day hassle or pressure, there are really no drawbacks!  Register for either a Sprint, Quarter, Half, of Full distance triathlon and receive an awesome Tri Tro Triumph super-soft blended shirt, custom-designed race bib, and epic heavy-duty finishers medal!  We will also have a duathlon option for any "non-swimmers," out there (see distance breakdown below).  With Tri to Triumph Virtual Triathlon, you can complete each segment of the triathlon on your own schedule!  Do it all together on the day you choose or break it into individual swim/bike/run days it's entirely up to you.  Furthermore, you can complete each part in the location of your choice, and YES... trainers and treadmills are absolutely acceptable!

Don't feel up to a solo triathlon? NO PROBLEM!! You can also get together with your training buddies and crush each discipline as a RELAY!
You can complete the Tri To Triumph anytime between January 1 and December 31, 2020! Or JOIN OUR VIRTUAL TRIATHLON COMMUNITY and complete your event on November 30, 2020.

The Trilife
Pledge to swim / bike / run your chosen triathlon distance throughout November.  You don’t have to complete it all in one go, that’s the joy of a virtual triathlon! And you can choose to swim indoors or in open water.
Sign up to the distance you fancy and start your journey towards earning yourself a piece of thetrilife.com virtual triathlon bling!

thetrilife Middle Distance – 1.9km (swim), 90km (bike), 21km (run)
thetrilife Standard Distance – Standard (Olympic) distance: 1500m (swim), 40km (bike), 10km (run)
thetrilife Sprint Distance – 750m (swim), 20km (bike), 5km (run)
thetrilife Super Sprint Distance – 400m (swim), 10km (bike), 2.5km (run)

The challenge is to complete your chosen distance during the month (and within a 48 hour timeframe).
It’s your race, your rules, so you do the disciplines and the distances in the order your choose and when they fit in with your schedule.

Kerrville Virtual Triathlon
Free, must be completed September 26, 2020 until October 17, 2020
Have you dreamed of completing a triathlon but haven’t been able to fit it into your schedule?  Or maybe you can’t make it out to Kerrville Tri this year.  Or maybe you’re just too nervous to do the swim, bike and run all in one day.  If this is the case – then The Kerrville Virtual Triathlon is for you!

With this virtual triathlon, you can complete each segment of the triathlon on your own schedule.  For example, you can do part of the swim on Monday, part of the run on Wednesday and part of the bike on Friday.  You can do each part in a location and time that’s convenient for you.

You’ll have from the actual Kerrville Tri event day September 26, 2020 until October 17, 2020.  That’s 3 weeks to swim, bike, and run. Results must be submitted by midnight on October 17th

The Kerrville Virtual Triathlon offers a Sprint, Quarter & Half Distance.
Debra Zapata Sprint Distance: 500m Swim, 14.5 mile Bike, 5 Km Run.
Sprint Distance Aquabike: 500m Swim, 14.5 mile Bike
Quarter Distance: 1000m Swim, 29 mile Bike, 6.4 mile Run.
Quarter Distance Aquabike: 1000m swim, 29 mile Bike
Half Distance: 1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile Run.
Half Distance Aquabike: 1.2 mile Swim, 56 mile Bike.

The Conqueror Events
$30-$60 depending on whether you want both medal and t-shirt or one.   Races of all distances.  You'll need a connection through garmin, strava or other to report progress it appears. 

Transplant Games of America
Participants:
Transplant Recipients, Living Donors, Corneal & Tissue Recipients,
Bone Marrow Recipients, and International

BE A VIRTUAL WINNER TODAY!

On being older and an athlete

Hi guys,

Last week I got back from the Base Performance Camp.  It's four days of training and I loved it.  Here's the link for the camp in case you're curious.  The schedule pushes you as hard as you want to push.

BASE PERFORMANCE CAMP

Thursday  Short run, 3000-meter swim, 12 mi bike ride easy
Friday 3000 meter swim, Ride to Sugar Loaf for hill repeats Bike/Run short tough bricks and ride back.  (toughest day)
Saturday Choice on Bike ride 2, 3, 4 hours
Sunday Run clay trails up to 10 miles and swim 3000 meters

It's at the end of February and I've done it three times.  Love the NTC swimming pool and the bike rides around Clermont are pretty traffic-free, mostly on good trails.

FATIGUE
I did well for the first two days.  I kept up and pushed myself hard.  However, this year I couldn't take time off from work so I ended up working late at night to keep up with my telecommuting job.  By Sunday I was pretty fried.  I decided I had to step back.  Sadly I let myself sleep in a bit and then ran 3 miles and swam a mile in the pool at the park where my house is located.

While that was less than the planned workout, it was also still a lot of training in four days.  I had a lot of travel the next few days and by the following Friday, I was pretty done and needing to sleep extra.

This is what an older athlete deals with.  While the heart may be willing and the mind is all excited about the training plan, the body just can't keep up with the demands any longer.

A NATURAL CYCLE TO TRAINING: PRESSURE THEN REST
In my 20s, I was in Tae Kwon Do.  That was before we knew about periodizing training.  I would train 7 days per week, 2 hours each night after a full day of work.  I could usually keep this up for about a month before I just couldn't do it for a whole week.  I noticed back then that I was a LOT BETTER the week I returned after a good amount of rest.  While my TKD career ended with an injury at work, I did learn something about training that stayed with me.  Rest can allow the body to do a lot of repairs and actually jump-start your ability if you return after a short break.

Now at 62, I find I need to rest about 2 days per week.  I can sometimes get a yoga class or light weights in for one of those days but normally I'm needing about 2 days rest for each week of training.  For the Base Camp, I rested about 3 days in a row.

I won't say I was easy in my mind about that.  It doesn't make me happy to have to skip training even though I know my body is doing a lot of repair and building work...it still feels like doing nothing and skipping out.

THE DEAL  15 minute check out
Later I became a bodybuilder and I made this deal with myself:
On days when I just don't feel like training, I'll get up and go anyway but my deal is that I can leave after 15 minutes if I'm not feeling it.  Usually, I feel better as the endorphins kick in and I begin to enjoy the workout.  However, on the days when the 15 mins feel too hard to go on, I let myself leave and get the rest I need.

OVERTRAINING SYMPTOMS
So I guess what I want you to think about is how do you feel in your training?  Classic signs of overtraining are
1. Loss of emotional control
2. Fatigue
3. Loss of interest in training...feels more like work than fun
4. Minor injuries, clumsiness, falls, tripping, bumping into things
5. Loss of appetite
6. Insomnia (which makes everything else worse)

Eventually leading to major injuries.  On those days when you just don't feel like it, try my 15 min deal with yourself.  I think you'll find you learn to avoid injury and your training stays on a positive upward trend rather than cycling between extreme fatigue and exhilaration.

For an older adult, these symptoms can be compounded by the other physical issues we experience.  Less mobility, tendency to pull muscles or cramps, Less balance, and Inflammation.  It's important to know when to give yourself a break as you age.  Sure there are the older athletes that appear to be superhuman, but for the normal human, rest is important.  Get a good healthy meal, enjoy a good book and sleep a full 8 hours on those days.  I like to go walking the dog and bird hiking.  That way, I'm still outside and moving, just not with the same intensity as my triathlon training demands.

LOVE EVERY WORKOUT WHEN YOU GET SUFFICIENT REST
In a perfect world, you'll enjoy all the workouts and know you've accomplished something, but your body is also dealing with stress from mental and external sources and that can affect your ability to deal with the training stress.

So be kind to yourself.  Do a mental check and see if you are still feeling happy to train or if it's become overwhelming and like a dreadmill of one more chore to do.  Find that balance so that you can keep your training mojo and age and race gracefully.