Practical Long Run in Virtual World

Mural on building at corners of Merchants and Culver Roads. (4/4/20)

Weather: Cloudy, 40°F, Wind North @ 2 mph, 93% Humidity.
Route: 14.6 mile route from Park Avenue neighborhood to Irondequoit Bay and back through Ellison Park and Cobbs Hill Park.

Deep in COVID-19 quarantine and nearly all the road races for the next few months have been (rightly) canceled. I ran in the last road race likely to take place locally, the Sweaty Yeti, and despite a well-organized race with great swag, the writing was on the wall. So now, not unlike schools that re moving instruction online, many races that had been previously scheduled have begun transitioning to being "virtual races." This strikes me as a good resolution to a few problems; first, the need to support local race organizers who lose registration fees as a result of canceled events, and s
secondly, offers an opportunity for target races for those who depend on road/trail races as focal points for training cycles. I would count myself as one of those weekend warriors.

What I have tried to do during this strange new time, is to maintain my fitness without the benefit of a target race (those I had signed up for have been moved or canceled outright with registration being deferred to another race or next year's edition). This has gone well as I have focused on what I enjoy about the running experience more than about times and splits. This morning's prime weather conditions inspired me to attempt my longest run in a few years outside the 3-4 half marathons I've run each of the past three years.

St. Ambrose Church at corner of Culver Road and Empire Boulevard. Nice to
report that they do still have an elementary school still and have joined
"forces" with my childhood parish, St. James, and another church, St. John the
Evangelist, to form the Peace of Christ Parish. (4/4/20)

Just past corners of Empire Boulevard and North Winton Road heading
down to Irondequoit Bay. (4/4/20)

View of Irondequoit Bay from Western most part of Empire Boulevard just
after sharp downhill. (4/4/20)

Eastern most part of Irondequoit Bay just prior to incline up Empire Boulevard. (4/4/20)

About three miles later, heading back downhill toward Ellison Park. (4/4/20)

Followed shortly thereafter by an inline up Blossom Road before taking a left
at the top on North Landing Road. (4/4/20)

Two miles from home (given the circuitous route planned) coming down
Norris Drive through Cobbs Hill Park. (4/4/20)

The course covered some familiar ground and offered a few nice hills to work. There seems to be much less public artwork on this north east side of the city, and it was nice to see St. Ambrose Church still up and running, and with an elementary school to boot! Suburban roads are still suburban roads, though the new normal makes previously busy roadways more conducive to safe running. In the past Empire Boulevard and Blossom Road would have been scary with shoulders that are less-than-safe due to speeding drivers anytime outside very early morning hours. Auto traffic is nearly non-existent and foot traffic in outlying areas is minimal. Actually, it is only at the beginning and end of runs, in my city neighborhood, that finding 6 foot clearance on both sides in which to run becomes a challenge. I don't mind this at all as it is great to see so many people out walking their dogs or jogging: this small thing has made my active little neighborhood even more vibrant in wake of quarantine.

No medal, tee shirt, registration fee or water station for today's practical run, though I will be signing up for an upcoming virtual event in the near future. I'm keeping hope alive that some aspects of my pre-COVID running experience will return before too long. While I greatly appreciate need the quiet time that comes with solo training, the camaraderie of community road races are a wonderful way to celebrate the success of well-run race courses.