March was a tough month workout wise. Thanks to horrible weather and illness, I made it past Lewisburg, WV in my Virtual Walk to Denver.

March is over and it’s time to total my cardio miles to see how far I’ve virtually traveled. I biked, ran and walked a total of 68.93 miles over 11 days. That’s a little below my 72 mile monthly average. But considering all the snow, ice, bitter cold temps and 10 days of strep throat, it’s not too shabby.

Workout Mileage Breakdown
Virtual Walk to Denver — (March)

*Includes 10 miles from February 28 spin class.

So Where Am I?
Breaking out my AAA Trip Tik map, my workouts took me to West Virginia’s beautiful Greenbrier Valley, about 5 miles west of the town of Lewisburg.  Named the “Coolest Small Town in America” by Budget Travel, Lewisburg is 232-years-old and surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains.

For you civil war buffs, Lewisburg was the site of a Union victory in 1862. West Virginian historian Andrew Price called the battle one of the most dramatic of the civil war as the battle was “fought in a mountain town, before breakfast, and combining rifle shooting, artillery fire, infantry charges, and cavalry, all in a sleeping little city whose (800) inhabitants awoke to hear the cannon boom and the rifles speak, and who had no time to do anything in the way of escape until it was all over.”

Here’s a fun fact: did you know that there is more than 1 Carnegie Hall? What’s more, there are only 4 halls still in continuous use in the world, and one of those is in Lewisburg, WV.

In 1902 Andrew Carnegie built Carnegie Hall as a classroom building for the Lewisburg Female Institute (later the Greenbrier College for Women). Today the cultural center features live performances, classes, workshops and art exhibits. Pretty cool.

Not into the culture thing? Try exploring the Lost World Caverns‘ mile of interconnected passages that reach a depth of 245 feet below the surface. Or check out Organ Cave, which is part of the state’s largest cave system. The cave is known for its fossils. Guess who discovered its most famous fossile (a giant sloth)? Thomas Jefferson. Is there anything that man didn’t do?

Myself? I love backpacking, and West Virginia is home to beautiful forests. There are lots of trails you can explore in the area, including those at nearby Monongahela National Forest.  If you prefer, continue westward and check out the New River Gorge where you can explore 70,000 beautiful acres and enjoy white water rafting and rock climbing.

Where I’m I Headed?
Temperatures are warming up (finally) and I hope that winter weather is really gone. If the weather and my health hold up, I hope to be in the Bluegrass State next month.