Round 16 will play from Friday, July 3 through Thursday, July 30. Please sign up no later than 12:00pm EST on Wednesday, July 1. Teams will be announced on Thursday, July 2
To sign up, please indicate:
1. Badassery Level (Titanium, Super Mega, Mega, Badass, or BAIT) - don't know what kind of badass you are? Based on our points scoring system, you can figure out approximately how many points per week you'll be earning, and from there, your level. Don't forget, cross-training counts! While the game has a tendency to motivate people to do a little more (which is what it's here for!), please don't purposely sandbag. We try to make the teams as even as possible so that the game is actually fun & competitive!
2. Are you willing to be Captain? Teams need captains, but the job is very simple - just check to make sure everyone's inputting their points in the VRAA Database correctly and answer any questions for your teammates.
We will have some ways to earn bonus points this round, which will be announced when I announce teams.
Please see the VRAA Information Central thread for any questions (and post your questions there, so others in future rounds can see them).
Cheers!
***
VRAA scoring categories:
I. Running/Walking: 4 pts for every mile (1 pt for every 1/4 mile). Includes outdoor running/walking and, if you choose, treadmill.
II. Swimming: 1 pt for every 100 yards (indoor or outdoor)
III. Cycling: 1.5 pt for every mile (includes outdoor cycling and, if you choose, trainers that give accurate mileage readings)
IV. In-line skating (the APRR Chuck rule): 2 pts for every mile
V. The Race Premium: Add 5 pts. for a race to the points you'd get for the distance. Applies once per race, whether it's a 5K or an Ironman tri.
VI. General Cardio*: 1 pt for every 3 minutes
VII. Alternate workouts**: 1 pt for every 5 minutes (maximum of 60 minutes, or 12 points, per day; we do not intend to turn this race into Yoga Your Ass Across America)
* General Cardio includes: Stationary bike/Elliptical/Stair-stepper/Rowing, etc. The basic requirement for this category is an activity that produces a sustained, elevated and/or aerobic heart rate. Use this for any aerobic activity that you can't readily measure in miles.
** Alternate workouts: This category is open to interpretation. To a point. Below are the suggested activities. The guidance with this category is to count time spent working and not rest time.
- Yoga/Pilates
- Weighlifting/Circuit training
- Core/Abdominal work
- Team sports
At some point, we must draw the line. The Alternate workout category is capped at 60 minutes, or 12 points per day.
***
VRAA levels of Badassery
When you sign up, please place yourself in one of the following categories. Make your best guess about what you'll average over the course of the next several weeks and categorize yourself accordingly. You won't be punished if you end up doing more or less (do keep in mind that all the non-running points add up; a lot of cross-trainers and multi-sporters tend to underestimate their productivity).
(1) Titanium Badass: A cut above the rest. Your teammates love you, you opponents plan extra workouts because of you. You average earning 280+ VRAA points per week. That's 2 hours on the elliptical trainer, every day. Or, you go to Pilates class for 60 excruciating minutes 3 times a week, bike 50 miles a week, and still find time to run an additional 40 miles.
(2) Super Mega Badass: You're a sizzling chunk of aerobic machinery, earning roughly 200-280 points per week or more. You run 40+ miles per week plus bike 25ish miles per week, or bike 135 miles per week, or walk a 9.5 mile mail delivery route every day plus run like a beast in your free time, etc.
(3) Mega Badass: You're hot & sassy. You're scoring constantly, garnering 120-200 VRAA points per week. Maybe you churn up the pool for 2000 yards in a week and then run 20 miles a week. But not content with that, you then do your cross-training (alt. workouts) because every Mega Badass just knows they should.
(4) Badass: You are the backbone of the VRAA. No team can win without a solid core of Badassery. You rack up 60-120 VRAA points per week. Cycle for 40 miles in a week and you've done it. In-line skate for 30 miles, same thing. Or you could just run for 15 miles in a week. Or mix it up a little. A Badass like you has options!
(5) Badass in Training: Maybe you're in one of them long tapers, or you're aspiring to badassery, or you're really busy right now, or you're crosstraining through an injury. We love you for who you are, and respect you for what you do. And what you do is this: earn 0-60 VRAA points weekly for your team. That's up to 15 mpw running, or 40 mpw on a bike, or 6000 yards of swimming, or a few good days at the gym lifting weights and/or tooling around on them machines. To get closer to the low end up the point range, simply up the Cheetos consumption.
***
“
“Submit”
Whoa!!! What did I just DO???
Apparently, I’m ready to expand my horizons. I’m tracking my mileage far more consistently than ever [although I still haven’t used to the rest-day thing and run or ride, what I feel, when I feel like it] so why not put it to good use?
And show off a little, for those who don’t know me yet, since the field draws from all corners of Kick.
I like virtual comps for a bunch of reasons:
You can engage with people across the country, without travelling.
You don’t have to deal with pre- or post-race logistics.
You can run, ride or whatever, when it suits YOU.
They’re free!!!
Sure, you don’t get a medal or a t-shirt or a swag bag, but they’re free!!! Bragging rights fade kinda quickly and unless you’re chatting with someone in the comp, they’re not gonna know about it, and probably couldn’t care less. Yeah, who’s gonna be interested to know that I finished 3rd in the Slowtwitch Turkeyman Virtual Duathlon in 2007? Heck, I’m surprised that I remembered. Huh? It was 2006? Oh … That proves my point, I s’pose.
This one lasts a month … and I have Midnight Madness smack in the middle of it. My training schedule for the Distance Run starts the Tuesday right after. It’s actually pretty good timing: I can finish up my training for MM [even though it’s not a “real” race, but more of a “running event”] then get on with PDR without the post-race let down, like I’ve gotten before … Because I’d hate to let my team down … I hope they come up with a cool name!!!*
Since I’m the virgin, it looks like I’m going into the volcano.
* As of 7/12, still no progress on the name, even though I’m made plenty of suggestions [we’re Team 2 of three participating]:
Team "The Deuce You Say?"
Team Whatever We Come Up With
Team Undecided
Team Name TBD
2 Hot 2 Handle
Guaranteed Bronze
** On 7/13 we were assigned “Hawt & Hairy” in recognition of our Team Captain – “Hairy Trotter” Being a small mammal, and therefore more “furry” than “hairy” [and not even very furry at that!!!] I guess that puts me in the “Hawt” category
*** We won
No comments:
Post a Comment