A Half Marathon - On a Treadmill - for ALS!

Yep, you read that right!  I ran 13.1 miles on a treadmill!  Some people would call that crazy, I know.  But when it is 112 degrees outside and you have to keep with your training plan, you do what ya gotta do!  :-)

As I have mentioned in a few of my previous posts, I have started running virtual races to keep my training fun.  Surely, it would have been much easier if "virtual" meant you do it all in your head; but virtual just means wherever and whenever you want to do it...you still have to log physical miles, LOL.  So today I committed to running Jost Running's Home Run Half Marathon.  A virtual half marathon that's proceeds went towards Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Disease (ALS).  

ALS is better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease here in the United States because of the national attention it received when Lou Gehrig, the Iron Horse of Baseball, was diagnosed with it in 1939 and quickly retired because of it.  ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.  It affects people from the age of 40 to 70 and approximately 30,000 suffer from it at one time.  Now, I don't know anyone personally that has suffered from this debilitating disease, but I thought it was a good charity to support and I really love baseball and the finisher's medal...so I dedicated some time, and some money, to this worthy cause.

My official time on my Garmin - 2:27:08.  I need to get the foot pod, so that I can actually track my average pace on a treadmill.  (Hint, hint, wink, wink family...Christmas!!  :-)  )

I was a little nervous going into this run because this was officially the longest distance I have done since my stress fracture in November.  Therefore, I went really slow and took my time.  Not that I wanted to be on the treadmill all morning, but I surely didn't want to push myself hard and then injure myself again.

My heart rate was nice and stead.  The few little blurps are when I had to restart the treadmill because it didn't like the long distance.  I figured out how to fix that now at Life Time, so hopefully I won't have to deal with that again.

Look at that bling!!!  Isn't it beautiful?   The picture above is the front and back images; the home plate in the center spins!  Jost Running sure does design some great looking medals.  I can't wait to complete my 10K this coming week and get my hot dog!!

There is one more thing that I need to point out about Jost Running virtuals that others don't do that I LOVE - they post your results!!  So, you are actually racing against others even though you aren't with them - I am in 6th place right now with the half marathon!  So Jost Running isn't just about getting medals out there, they are actually interested in the competition part of it too...and to me, that is just as important sometimes.  There are times that not only do I want to run, but I want to compete as well.  That is a very unique aspect of their company that is worth noting. 

Hopefully soon, you will see actual pictures of me running outside.  The temps are finally starting to come down a little, and I think within the month I should be back outside breathing fresh oxygen.  But I won't complain...the snow is coming for you northerners!!!  

All my love, Livvie