A 100 Mile Challenge

Laura and some of her work friends decided to challenge themselves by signing up for a virtual fun run of 100 miles.  Runners or walkers would successfully complete this run if they ran or walked 100 miles in 45 days between April 1 and May 15.  Participants were provided a paper chart to track their miles.  Race organizers relied on the honesty of the participant in recording these miles.  I decided I wanted to participate also.  It sounded like fun.  My race entrance fee would go to charity and I would get a glitter and glass medal at the end of the 45 days.

To be honest, walking 100 miles in 45 days is no challenge for Mike and I.  Our goal is to walk 4 miles a day.  The challenge is to do this everyday.  So my goal was to walk 100 miles in 25 days.  I did not make it.  I took 26 days.  But I had a good excuse.

We went to California to visit my family on the 25th day.  We left the house at 3:30 am that morning and got to the airport with some time to spare.  Once we cleared security we had an hour or so until boarding.  So Mike and I walked through the terminal. It was so early in the morning the concourse was not that crowded.  Plus the people that were there were too busy getting Starbucks or breakfast to get in our way or be too concerned about us race walking through the terminal.  Mike's phone said we went four miles but my fitbit said we went only two miles and that was too big a discrepancy to ignore.  I was determined to actually earn my glitter medal.

I was not worried though.  We had the whole rest of the day in California to get in those extra two miles.  But some how I never did find the time.  On that first day of the trip I was too busy visiting first my folks in Torrance and then my brother and his family in Manhattan Beach to find time to exercise.  It was unfortunate too because we ate out a lot including a special dessert from Nothing but Bundt Cakes.

The next day we made time to walk the four miles around my parents neighborhood in Torrance.  We ended up on both Sepulveda and Crenshaw which are some incredibly busy streets.  We probably polluted our lungs from car exhaust but we made a four mile round trip.  We spent the rest of our day with my parents, shopping and eating.

So by this time, I was 2 miles over the 100 mile challenge but I had not yet told Laura.  Her and her friends had been getting a bit testy during the month when I would text her my progress because  I was quite a bit farther ahead in the challenge than the rest of them.  (Personally, I think that they had underestimated this retired aka old, chicken farmer.)  So I hesitated to tell them I was finished.

However on the fourth day of our visit, I had to tell Laura about the best four mile walk ever.  Mike and I had spent all day with my brothers family.  Since they live at Manhattan Beach we took our four mile walk on the beach.  At sunset.  It was beautiful and serene.  We practically had the beach to ourselves too.  Most of the public was gone by then.

What a great way to finish the 100 mile fun run!  I do not know if I will be able to enjoy walking in the timber anymore.  I kind of liked watching the waves and listening to the sound of the surf!