It was a good thing that, after completing 1.80 miles, 46.37 minutes this morning, I took the precaution of writing that info down because, when I later logged into the app, it had once again failed to record.
Probably punishment for having ignored prompts to “get up, get going” for three months but, inasmuch as I can no longer rely on that app, I deleted it and uploaded another.
Looking at that 100 Mile Challenge site, looks like it’s totally my responsibility to manually calculate and input miles as I go, which means I can count both Monday’s and this morning’s walk – that’s 5.25 towards 100.
It also turns out, Monday’s 3.45 mile walk is also not a wash towards the required 3.20 mile Mardi Gras Virtual, as results are based solely on the honor system -- I’m not required to submit results, only to complete all the miles in the stated time period to earn that finisher’s medal.
So, Woo Hoo! That one is done.
Someone asked me a while back about how organizers can be sure you’re being honest -- that you’ve actually walked the walk.
My response was, “I can’t imagine anyone having paid money to register NOT legitimately finishing. You’d only be wasting your own money, cheating your own self, as the point of the whole thing is to encourage exercise through finishing bling.”
Now that I think about it, all virtuals are honor-based in one way or another. Either, like the Mardi Gras, your word is taken without inputting results or your word is taken that the results you input are factual. Some virtuals don’t even require miles be completed at once – participants can break the miles up over as many days as they like so long as they are all completed within the race time period.
So I really don’t see anyone failing or lying in a virtual.
The on-site races, where there hundreds and thousands of participants, are a different breed. There I’ve observed “cheaters” and “quitters”.
I can understand quitters. They turn around and head to the finish line, nowhere near the turnaround point, because they tried, injured themselves and/or found they’d simply bitten off more than they could chew and can’t go on.
As to understanding cheaters … not so much.
There’s one particular annual race, which course is to go twice around the Ontario Mall. During the two years I participated, before I got fed up with cheaters, I observed numerous participants head to the finish line and collect finishing medals after only once around.
This puts them high up on the results, but what’s the point when you know you didn’t do as well as the results indicate.
At last year’s Bacon Run, still heading up that difficult hill climb as runners and other walkers were already coming down, the guy behind me caught up and said, “You know, I was just thinking we should move over and blend in with those going downhill.”
Race bibs have embedded timing chips, chips which automatically record the minute an individual participant crosses the start line, and when that participant steps over the finish line. The chips do not time where you are and what you do in between. So, actually, I could cross the start line, go sit on a picnic bench for a while, then come back, cross the finish line and post a phenomenal time ahead of other participants, take my medal and go home.
Annoying as it sometimes is that I get pushed to the bottom on results, because others take shortcuts and cheat, in the final analysis, nothing can replace the thrill and sense of accomplishment I feel at having reached the top, the calories burned, muscles strengthened, so I always push myself to finish all the miles required.
I joked off the guy’s suggestion, kept on keeping on, and finished not last.
Without my agreeing to be his partner in crime, the guy kept it legit and came in a few participants behind me.
While out walking this morning, a resident motioned for me to come over saying, “I have something to show you?” Once I got to where she was, she pointed to the ground saying “This is proof Big Foot exists”.
ROFLMAO! It certainly looks like it.
As I headed out for this morning’s walk, I found the monthly calendar had finally been posted. Consequently, only three residents noticed the casino trip listing and showed up for the 11:00 bus.
The Activity Director looks so distressed when she walked into the Community Room and found only three waiting, that my heart went out to her. I told her how sorry I was this was happening to her, but that it wasn’t from lack of resident interest, it was due to last-minute notice.
She didn’t want to disappoint the three, so instead of cancelling the trip because the minimum had not been reached, she called the casino and got special permission to carry on.
Though I still have a sense Apache’s candlemas party is going to turn into a cluster f**k and don’t want to be involved, I’m feeling a little better about participating because two of the residents on the casino bus are two of that group I’ve named “those people”. Actually, the very two we observed stealing and, by the time they get back, it’ll be all over.
So I’ll give steaming ‘em in the Community Room a shot and see how it goes.
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