A Summer of Virtual Challenges...

I might have gone a teeny tiny bit overboard with my virtual challenges. I'm currently participating in three of them; but thankfully I only had to pay for one, and most of the activities and requirements overlap.

This past week was the first week of the Amerithon Challenge (which started on July 4th)...

This is a 3,521 mile virtual journey from the West coast to the East coast and I want to finish it by the end of the year (which is a very lofty goal since I am doing it by myself instead of with a group). The race organizers allow you to count any "movement miles" so I'm counting running, walking, swimming and the indoor cardio stuff I do, like the stair climber, upright and recumbent bikes, elliptical etc. I'm counting walking (including my daily steps) because I'm intentional about completing at least 10,000 steps a day. And since I also participate in a step challenge (aka virtual challenge #2) I have extra motivation to get up and move so I can reach the 10K step goal. 

At the end of the Amertithon Week 1 I got my first virtual badge...

..and I'm about 93 miles away from reaching my next landmark.

I'm also participating in the ZOOMA Summer Challenge (aka virtual challenge #3), which is helping me focus not just on running (since it's not a major emphasis of the program) but also my cross training. My favorite thing about the ZOOMA challenge is that it's flexible so I can switch around my cross training and running days as I need to based on my life calendar (which has been kind of crazy recently). Typically I have two or three "go to" cross training activities that I do, but the ZOOMA Summer Challenge really encourages me to explore different things like barre and yoga. 

Speaking of yoga...

The ZOOMA Cape Cod Yoga + Run Fitness Weekend is coming up in September!!!  It's not too late to register and you can still use my discount for 10% off...

I won't be able to make the Cape Cod event because it conflicts with my September Chicago half marathon, but I will be at the ZOOMA half in October on Amelia Island...

(The finish line is actually on the beach)

The ZOOMA half in October and the Chicago half in September are all part of my overall NY Marathon training plan. Both those events fall within the "taper weekends" after my two scheduled 20 milers, which kind of makes them more like training runs and less like half marathons that I'm hoping to PR in. That being said, I'm hoping that cooler weather and strong legs will help me get my fastest half marathon time of this training cycle. We'll see.

Do you schedule half marathons (or other races) during your full marathon training?

Have you ever done the Amerithon Challenge? 

What are your Summer fitness goals this year?