Huntsville State Park, oh how I love this place! I think I would spend some time there every weekend if it were not a 100-mile drive from my home.
I woke up at 3am on November 5, 2011, made the coffee and put my race gear in the car. Thankfully, I had leftover scrambled eggs and deer sausage left over from dinner the night before, so I did not have to worry with that. I just warmed it up and headed the Honda in a northeasterly direction at about 4am!
I ate my breakfast promptly at 5am, as my race started at 7am. I planned to run as much as was humanly possible for me in order to finish the race in a respectable time (for me). Typically, I am not a runner, but a walker/racewalker. Everyone knows that racewalking is not possible on the heavily root covered trails at Huntsville, so I usually run a little when I race there. This day was going to be different because I have been waging an internal battle with myself: Do I want to be a competitive master’s racewalker, or am I really just doing the racing because it is fun?
Packet and chip pick up was very efficient and organized! East Texas Ultra Runners Paul Stone and his crew always put on a great event. Bib #181 seemed like a good one… I watched the start of the 50k at 6am, and then walked back to my car to get my race gear assembled.
It was still a little dark outside when the race started and a friend had forgotten to bring a light. I jogged slowly from the start so the friend could benefit from my flashlight. When the sun came up enough for all of us to see the trail without the light, I bid my friend farewell and began to tear up the trail. I say that with tongue in cheek, because an average 13:00 per mile pace is not necessarily tearing up the trail. However, for me, maintaining that pace for 25k would be a huge pr (personal record) for this distance on trails. I was feeling fine, the temperature was in the 40’s for the start and it was a beautiful day! I finally figured out what caused my electrolyte problem in the past (too many Endurolytes and not enough water) so I made that adjustment. My race fuel was Hammer espresso gel/chocolate gel mixed with 2T Now Egg White Protein powder and a little coconut oil. I had a handheld water bottle filled with Heed that I refilled at the aid stations. Sadly, I left my little flashlight at the first aid station. That flashlight served me well through Tejas Trails Kapt’n Karls 3 race series, so I guess I will have to go buy another one. It is very bright and easy to carry because it came with a wrist strap. I cannot imagine what made me walk off and leave it.
Back to the trail… I was having fun and really pushing myself, passing back and forth with a couple of runners who were about my speed. There were a couple of moments where I began plodding along, not really feeling in to the race. I had to tell myself to pick up the pace because a friend, Erin Taylor-Talcott, has recently enlightened me. She got something from our conversations that I had not noticed. It is a mental thing that happens to me about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way into my races no matter the distance. I start to feel fatigued and disgusted with myself, and I always slow down only to pick up the pace after a mile or so of feeling bad. If it were a nutritional problem, it would be time based or even based on a specific distance. I think it is my mind telling my body I suck, and I will never get any better at this thing called racing. Every time I started to plod, I would tell myself “Run, Dammit! You can do better than this.” I would run until I HAD to walk again, uphill or downhill, it did not matter.
Finally, I arrived at the H-T Rex aid station, 2.8 miles from the finish. I had been drinking more water this race, so had to use the porta-can. I looked at my watch and saw I was only 2:52 into the race, so I mugged for a photo (thanks Mariela) and ran up the hill to cover the last section of the trail. A little history about my Rocky Raccoon 25k finishes: the first time I did this race in 2008 I walked the whole thing in 3:36; the second time I did it in 2010 I ran/walked it in 3:43 (the running slowed my overall finish time); this time I ran/walked it in 3:22. I am soooo proud of this! It is only a 14 minute pr for the distance on trails, but if you consider my run/walk improvement of 21 minutes, that is a substantial improvement!
Race photos can be found here for a while... Your Sporting Image and enter bib #181.
Now for the other junk:
I would not be where I am right now had I not changed my lifestyle from Standard American Diet to Paleo Diet. NO QUESTION. I effortlessly lost 35 pounds; I eat as much as my body wants to be fed, as long as there are no grains, legumes or processed foods, very little fruit, occasional full fat Greek yogurt, and plenty of coconut oil, good quality meats and lots of veggies. I maintain this weight loss without food logging which is a definite plus. I do not have to kill myself exercising, and still get pr’s. I can lift heavier things without worrying about straining my back. My total body composition is changing. I am no longer an apple shaped woman. My waistline continues to get smaller even though I am not losing any more weight.
The question I have to answer now is this: Do I want to put the additional stress in my life that trying to be a competitive master’s racewalker will cause? I started doing marathons because I really enjoy them, and gave me a good reason to try to maintain my fitness level so that I will continue to enjoy them when I participate. Then I found ultra marathons and trail races. Those are my favorite, because even the elite athletes are welcoming to the whole crowd, even if it takes you twice as long to finish the race as it does them.
I am going to go back in time a little. My husband and I used to have a weekend drag racing car. He worked on it, and I raced it. That was so much fun, from the burnout, to staging the car at the Christmas tree! The adrenaline rush of taking off and speeding down the strip does not compare to anything I have ever done, or will ever do again. The problem with drag racing is you can be as fast as you can afford to be. I was really good with my reaction time. If .500 was perfect, I was usually in the range of .501 to .510. The other drivers all tried their best to goad me into going in for the dial-in and competing against them. Everyone pitches in some money, and you predict your finish time, the one closest to the “dial-in” wins the pot. It was not long after that, we sold the car and stopped going to the drag strip. When I thought about competing, the fun was all lost.
I would appreciate a little feedback… I have not written anything for the blog in a long time, mainly because I have been going over this compete vs. participate dilemma for a long time. I may come back and add a photo and a couple of links later, but really needed to get this off my mind.
Showing posts with label racewalking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racewalking. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Training Update
I have not written anything for my blog since April 26th, and it is May 10. I just cannot seem to get everything done that I have on my schedule. The blog is important to me, but so are a lot of other things.
I have been spot on with getting my twice a week weight training sessions done. There have been 4 since my last blog post. I am now moving away from machines and doing almost everything with free weights. I have had to drop the weight on some of the exercises so that I have complete control of the weights. Here is what I did on Mother’s Day:
leg raises 3sets 15 reps on the incline bench
back extensions 3sets 20 reps
leg press 3sets 15reps 150 lb
lunge 4sets 10reps 20 lb
dumbbell curl 3sets 10reps 15 lb
lying triceps dumbbell extension 3sets 12reps 12 lb
Standing calf raise 3sets 15reps 60 lb
dumbbell lateral raise 3sets 12reps 10 lb
bent over dumbbell row 3sets 12reps 15 lb
dumbbell chest fly 3sets 12reps 12 lb
upright dumbbell row 3sets 12reps 15 lb
Now that I have moved to mostly free weights, I believe things will continue to progress. I have a little muscle soreness (a good thing), but will be ready for the next workout! When my 3 month membership is over at the gym, I really believe I will continue to do my twice a week lifting at home. I have a complete set of weights, but I was having trouble forcing myself to use them.
Now for my walking report. Shame on me. I have only walked 3 times since my last blog post (should have been 8 walks). I really should not even count one of them, except for the fact that I really enjoyed going for a walk with my mom. She is amazing, even at her age and considering the fact she has severe arthritis; she walks 3 miles a day. Granted, she splits it up into 3 walks… but I am really proud of the changes she has been able to make since her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
Stats on yesterday’s walk with Ruth: 8.08 miles
Mile 1 - 12:25.02; Mile 2 - 11:56.42; Mile 3 - 11:53.77; Mile 4 - 11:48.78; Mile 5 - 11:44.42; Mile 6 - 12:09.94;
(average pace through mile 6 was 12:00)
Mile 7 - 12:49.86; Mile 8 - 13:44.25; .08 mile 1:09.36(to finish the lap)
Even though I have been a true slacker in the walking dept, I still believe in myself and my ability to walk 100 miles in 24 hours. Walking with Ruth has been a real confidence booster for me. I would never have dreamed that my racewalking form would improve as much as it has since I started walking with her. She has me walking at speeds that I thought I was no longer capable of walking. I guess Dave McGovern was right… that fat I was carrying around – the fat in the middle – was really only potential. Lose that fat, and anyone has the potential to walk faster.
http://www.fans24hour.org/ is less than four short weeks away. I am really looking forward to the trip to Minneapolis with my good friends, and hopefully will make some new ones!
Now, I am thinking about the Strong is the New Skinny challenge and what my goals were from the start... to increase my endurance, lose fat, and lift weights. So far, so good. I have had a little trouble getting the walking workouts done, but the weight lifting is progressing nicely. I have also been really good with the food intake. I don't really have any cheats, and am loving the Paleo diet! When you can pretty much eat all the fat you want, how can that be bad? I don't miss grains or processed foods at all and am really enjoying cooking again!
That's all for now... ooh, another rambling blog post ;)
I have been spot on with getting my twice a week weight training sessions done. There have been 4 since my last blog post. I am now moving away from machines and doing almost everything with free weights. I have had to drop the weight on some of the exercises so that I have complete control of the weights. Here is what I did on Mother’s Day:
leg raises 3sets 15 reps on the incline bench
back extensions 3sets 20 reps
leg press 3sets 15reps 150 lb
lunge 4sets 10reps 20 lb
dumbbell curl 3sets 10reps 15 lb
lying triceps dumbbell extension 3sets 12reps 12 lb
Standing calf raise 3sets 15reps 60 lb
dumbbell lateral raise 3sets 12reps 10 lb
bent over dumbbell row 3sets 12reps 15 lb
dumbbell chest fly 3sets 12reps 12 lb
upright dumbbell row 3sets 12reps 15 lb
Now that I have moved to mostly free weights, I believe things will continue to progress. I have a little muscle soreness (a good thing), but will be ready for the next workout! When my 3 month membership is over at the gym, I really believe I will continue to do my twice a week lifting at home. I have a complete set of weights, but I was having trouble forcing myself to use them.
Now for my walking report. Shame on me. I have only walked 3 times since my last blog post (should have been 8 walks). I really should not even count one of them, except for the fact that I really enjoyed going for a walk with my mom. She is amazing, even at her age and considering the fact she has severe arthritis; she walks 3 miles a day. Granted, she splits it up into 3 walks… but I am really proud of the changes she has been able to make since her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.
Stats on yesterday’s walk with Ruth: 8.08 miles
Mile 1 - 12:25.02; Mile 2 - 11:56.42; Mile 3 - 11:53.77; Mile 4 - 11:48.78; Mile 5 - 11:44.42; Mile 6 - 12:09.94;
(average pace through mile 6 was 12:00)
Mile 7 - 12:49.86; Mile 8 - 13:44.25; .08 mile 1:09.36(to finish the lap)
Even though I have been a true slacker in the walking dept, I still believe in myself and my ability to walk 100 miles in 24 hours. Walking with Ruth has been a real confidence booster for me. I would never have dreamed that my racewalking form would improve as much as it has since I started walking with her. She has me walking at speeds that I thought I was no longer capable of walking. I guess Dave McGovern was right… that fat I was carrying around – the fat in the middle – was really only potential. Lose that fat, and anyone has the potential to walk faster.
http://www.fans24hour.org/ is less than four short weeks away. I am really looking forward to the trip to Minneapolis with my good friends, and hopefully will make some new ones!
Now, I am thinking about the Strong is the New Skinny challenge and what my goals were from the start... to increase my endurance, lose fat, and lift weights. So far, so good. I have had a little trouble getting the walking workouts done, but the weight lifting is progressing nicely. I have also been really good with the food intake. I don't really have any cheats, and am loving the Paleo diet! When you can pretty much eat all the fat you want, how can that be bad? I don't miss grains or processed foods at all and am really enjoying cooking again!
That's all for now... ooh, another rambling blog post ;)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
My Rant.
a home schooled High School age girl and I work out on the 2 mile asphalt loop at Bear Creek Park in Houston almost every Monday morning. We have always left our water bottles sitting under one of the benches near the tennis courts and no one has ever disturbed them. We are also aware of the men in orange suits who do a very good job of cleaning up the trash that seems to be everywhere on Monday mornings.
Yesterday, April 25, we were extending our distance to 4 times around the loop, so we both had electrolyte supplement and some nutritional product with our water bottles, so that we could stop at each loop and hydrate properly. At the conclusion of the 4th loop of a very intense workout, we approached the bench where we left our water bottles and they were gone.
I asked a couple of other park patrons and they said the men in orange suits had been cleaning in the area. I jogged over to the van and asked their supervisor if they had put our personal belongings in the garbage. One of the bottles was stainless steel that I had paid about $30 for. He was not very interested in helping me, however, one of the orange suited men who was seated in one of the back seats of the van handed my stainless steel bottle to him and he returned it to me. Whan I inquired about the full bottle of Gatorade, my friend's plastic water bottle, and my Hammer Nutrition Products red and clear plastic bottle, they merely shrugged and suggested I could dig through the trash if I was inclined to do so. I was not aware that these men were allowed to keep anything they find at the park, and isn't it ironic that the bottle they chose to keep was the most expensive one.
This park is always fairly crowded with walkers, runners and cyclists, and I have never felt the need to lock my bottles in the car. I never expected that men who are doing forced community service would be the ones to force my hand in this matter. I intend to continue to use the facilities at the park, it is lovely. But from now on, my friend and I will be forced to return to the vehicle to hydrate.
Now for a personal observation. Before I started the Paleo diet, and until I became very settled in to the lifestyle, I would NEVER have approached this van, or said anything to anyone about my belongings being stolen. I would have just gone home PISSED OFF. Of course, I am still pissed, but at least I got my Kleen Kanteen back. I will just have to place another order from Hammer Nutrition and get another Hammer bottle.
As for the workout? It was amazing... first thing Monday morning, I went to the gym and did a full body weight routine at 6am. Yes, I said 6am. When I was done, I drove to the park to racewalk with my friend. She is amazing, and we had an awesome speedy racewalking workout! 8 miles, average pace 12:14! It breaks down like this: Mile 1 - 12:20; Mile 2 - 12:00; Mile 3 - 12:09; Mile 4 - 12:16; Mile 5 - 12:24; Mile 6 - 12:24; Mile 7 - 12:25; Mile 8 - 11:47. It's nice to still have something in the tank at the end of a long walk!
Yesterday, April 25, we were extending our distance to 4 times around the loop, so we both had electrolyte supplement and some nutritional product with our water bottles, so that we could stop at each loop and hydrate properly. At the conclusion of the 4th loop of a very intense workout, we approached the bench where we left our water bottles and they were gone.
I asked a couple of other park patrons and they said the men in orange suits had been cleaning in the area. I jogged over to the van and asked their supervisor if they had put our personal belongings in the garbage. One of the bottles was stainless steel that I had paid about $30 for. He was not very interested in helping me, however, one of the orange suited men who was seated in one of the back seats of the van handed my stainless steel bottle to him and he returned it to me. Whan I inquired about the full bottle of Gatorade, my friend's plastic water bottle, and my Hammer Nutrition Products red and clear plastic bottle, they merely shrugged and suggested I could dig through the trash if I was inclined to do so. I was not aware that these men were allowed to keep anything they find at the park, and isn't it ironic that the bottle they chose to keep was the most expensive one.
This park is always fairly crowded with walkers, runners and cyclists, and I have never felt the need to lock my bottles in the car. I never expected that men who are doing forced community service would be the ones to force my hand in this matter. I intend to continue to use the facilities at the park, it is lovely. But from now on, my friend and I will be forced to return to the vehicle to hydrate.
Now for a personal observation. Before I started the Paleo diet, and until I became very settled in to the lifestyle, I would NEVER have approached this van, or said anything to anyone about my belongings being stolen. I would have just gone home PISSED OFF. Of course, I am still pissed, but at least I got my Kleen Kanteen back. I will just have to place another order from Hammer Nutrition and get another Hammer bottle.
As for the workout? It was amazing... first thing Monday morning, I went to the gym and did a full body weight routine at 6am. Yes, I said 6am. When I was done, I drove to the park to racewalk with my friend. She is amazing, and we had an awesome speedy racewalking workout! 8 miles, average pace 12:14! It breaks down like this: Mile 1 - 12:20; Mile 2 - 12:00; Mile 3 - 12:09; Mile 4 - 12:16; Mile 5 - 12:24; Mile 6 - 12:24; Mile 7 - 12:25; Mile 8 - 11:47. It's nice to still have something in the tank at the end of a long walk!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Great way to start the day!
So... I was off to Houston early this morning for my second training session with Ruth. She is an awesome, sweet young lady, and I think we compliment each other nicely. She is speedy, and I have endurance for the long haul.
We did some warm up drills and stretching before we started off to finish 6 miles in what we hoped to be an average pace somewhere around 12 minutes per mile. Wow, we held it for 5 miles, then did the last mile slowly for cool down. We followed the workout with lots of quality stretching and a stop at Starbucks on our way back to her house. I do my level best to maintain racewalking form during these workouts, but the soft knee is always going to be a problem for me, and I am OK with that. Just so Ruth does not pick up any bad habits from me, which I don't think she will. Her form is awesome, and I know she works on it all the time!
Oh, and, I tried a chin up on the bars at the park. I really was able to do 2!!! I have not even tried to do a pull up since I was in high school, so I am totally amazed I was able to get my chin above the bar!
Now that I have done back to back hard efforts, I don't feel obligated to any structured workout tomorrow. I have to work all day in the mattress store, so whatever happens, happens.
We did some warm up drills and stretching before we started off to finish 6 miles in what we hoped to be an average pace somewhere around 12 minutes per mile. Wow, we held it for 5 miles, then did the last mile slowly for cool down. We followed the workout with lots of quality stretching and a stop at Starbucks on our way back to her house. I do my level best to maintain racewalking form during these workouts, but the soft knee is always going to be a problem for me, and I am OK with that. Just so Ruth does not pick up any bad habits from me, which I don't think she will. Her form is awesome, and I know she works on it all the time!
Oh, and, I tried a chin up on the bars at the park. I really was able to do 2!!! I have not even tried to do a pull up since I was in high school, so I am totally amazed I was able to get my chin above the bar!
Now that I have done back to back hard efforts, I don't feel obligated to any structured workout tomorrow. I have to work all day in the mattress store, so whatever happens, happens.
Labels:
endurance,
flexibility,
heart rate,
intervals,
Paleo,
racewalking,
Strong is the New Skinny,
training
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Omg, another blog entry!
Just have a few things to share today.
#1 – thanks to Strong is the New Skinny for challenging us to do better!
#2 – I want to share my workouts from Monday and Wednesday… they are on Running Ahead. It’s the website I use to track all my mileage.
#3 – I will be turning 50 on March 11, and I am truly excited about reaching this milestone. I am healthier right now than I have ever been, because I was the FAT KID all my life.
#4 – thanks to Ruth for needing a training partner on Mondays! She and I are going to make a great team. She is faster than I am, and I have more long distance endurance. So, she will help me become faster and more efficient, and I will help her increase her endurance!
I also like to talk about my meals… This morning, I had a couple pieces of bacon and one egg. I was not really hungry, but hubby cooked breakfast, so I ate a little.
Lunch: some celery sticks with cashew butter, radishes and heirloom tomatoes with olive oil vinaigrette (still not very hungry).
Dinner tonight after my treadmill hill workout: 2 small flounder filets cooked in a mix of olive and coconut oils, a small sweet potato (increasing carb intake with mileage increases) and a huge serving of mixed veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, squash and onions) with garlic and olive oil.
Feeling great, off to clean up the dishes then in the shower and to bed early! Sleep is awesome!
Thanks, Jerry!
Maryann
#1 – thanks to Strong is the New Skinny for challenging us to do better!
#2 – I want to share my workouts from Monday and Wednesday… they are on Running Ahead. It’s the website I use to track all my mileage.
#3 – I will be turning 50 on March 11, and I am truly excited about reaching this milestone. I am healthier right now than I have ever been, because I was the FAT KID all my life.
#4 – thanks to Ruth for needing a training partner on Mondays! She and I are going to make a great team. She is faster than I am, and I have more long distance endurance. So, she will help me become faster and more efficient, and I will help her increase her endurance!
I also like to talk about my meals… This morning, I had a couple pieces of bacon and one egg. I was not really hungry, but hubby cooked breakfast, so I ate a little.
Lunch: some celery sticks with cashew butter, radishes and heirloom tomatoes with olive oil vinaigrette (still not very hungry).
Dinner tonight after my treadmill hill workout: 2 small flounder filets cooked in a mix of olive and coconut oils, a small sweet potato (increasing carb intake with mileage increases) and a huge serving of mixed veggies (broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, squash and onions) with garlic and olive oil.
Feeling great, off to clean up the dishes then in the shower and to bed early! Sleep is awesome!
Thanks, Jerry!
Maryann
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Dave’s World Class Race Walking Clinic
October 9-11, 2009
The drive to Dallas proved to be very interesting. There was a cold front on the way, and I was not sure when or where I would drive into the leading edge, where cool air meets warm and humid air. Turned out, I met the storm while driving on a two lane Farm to Market road with no shoulders. Texas Farm to Market roads usually have a speed limit of 70 mph even where there are no shoulders. I drive a 2dr Honda Accord Coupe, and cars like this usually don’t do so well in severe weather. I had to pull over to the shoulder once in the recent past during a severe thunderstorm with high winds. So, back to the trip… I was headed north from Roans Prairie (taking the back road) to connect with I45 in Madisonville. That’s where the wind started gusting and the rain was coming at me in sheets. Some lovely person in a large SUV was right on my tail, I guess expecting me to drive 70mph. That was not going to happen. When I hit standing water on the highway in this car, I am usually pulled all over the road. 50mph was really pushing the envelope of safety, so that @$$4073 behind me was just going to have to wait. Then random trees started breaking apart on either side of the road. The tree damaging winds were short lived, but that scared the hell out of me. Finally made it to Madisonville and was able to get out of the car for a few minutes. I got back on the road, I45 this time, and drove in intermittent heavy rain all the way to Dallas. Funny, though, the rain stopped when I was about 10 miles south of Linda’s house.
Linda is a wonderful new friend. She invited Kim (my friend from Arkansas) and I to stay at her lovely home for the weekend! Linda has a beautiful water garden and lovely well placed plants and walking paths in her back yard that seemed to emanate peace and tranquility!
I helped Linda, who was co-hosting the racewalking clinic together with Jerry Kerr, get a few things ready around the house, then Kim arrived. I was really happy to see her again. The last time we met, it was very brief. We both did the Bass Pro race in 2008. Kim did the half marathon and I did the full. She was really speedy and her husband missed her at the finish line. They were so kind to stick around and wait for me to finish the full! I was very surprised to see Kim and David with my Mom and my Aunt Fran. Anyway, we certainly got to spend a lot more time together during the racewalking clinic, and we had a blast.
Kim and I had planned to go to the Oak Lawn Luke's Locker when she arrived, so we headed out. It is always a challenge to get the right pair of shoes for racewalking. Salespeople hear 'walk' and they always bring out some huge, heavy, clunky pair of shoes. Well, then you have to go into a discussion of what racewalking is. I finally gave up letting the salesperson decide. I just go in and ask for racing flats... Running racing flats. Apparently, we found the right salesman and he brought out several pair of shoes for Kim to try, I was initially worried about them having any to choose from because Kim has really small feet and most racing flats are unisex sizing (men's sizes). Anyway, she ended up with a great pair of shoes.
I also made a fantastic purchase. I have been talking about trying CW-X compression tights for a long time. I just could not find a store anywhere where I could try on the men's small in either the pro or expert model of the tights. I buy men's running shoes because my feet are wide, and I buy men's tights because I have a wide waist. Men's shorts are also a usual choice for me because they are not so darn short like women's running shorts usually are. Anyway, the tights were expensive, but they fit like a glove. I am happy to have them!
We stopped to eat lunch, and then headed back to Linda's house to help her prepare the dinner for everyone who was participating in the racewalking clinic. We had baked ziti, one vegetarian and one with organic fresh ground beef that Kim had brought from her farm. My mom made home made french bread for us and all we had to do was heat that up, make a salad, and bake some brownies for dessert.
Jerry picked Dave McGovern up at the airport and brought him to Linda's house. Patty and Jean-Maria, friends of mine from the Dallas area, and lots of others showed up for the dinner and informational meeting that followed. Everyone just loved mom's home made bread! Especially the beer, jalapeno and cheese loaf! They all asked for the recipe! I still have to get that from mom and pass it along!
Saturday morning was cold and damp, but thankfully the rain held off, or simply stayed south of us. We went over to the track for our first workout, and Dave was going to try and film us individually, but he was having a problem with his camera. It was filming, but did not have a view finder and the lcd screen was black. I really should have been wearing tights because it was rather cold and I may have done too much standing around and then sprinting and pulled a calf muscle. We all finished our workouts, and then it was time for lunch and a trip to the Lukes Locker on Legacy in Plano. We descended on that running store like ants. Dave found the location manager and we all learned a lot more about shoes for racewalking.
The next stop was a quick bite for lunch. Rose, Dave and I stopped at a little pizza by the slice place across the street from Luke’s. The pizza was very tasty, and the slices were huge. Our next mission was to find Best Buy so Dave could try and replace his video camera. He had no luck at the Best Buy we were closest to and decided to try another location where we might actually find someone who knew a little about what they were selling. Back at Linda’s house we all sat down and watched the video that Dave was able to tape while we were working out on the track. We watched video of Olympic class athletes and then compared what we are doing to what they are doing. Of course, we have lots of miles of practice ahead of us. While we were watching film, I worked on the calf… found the irritated spot, and dug in. Whatever was going on there… I was able to work it out.
Now, it has been almost 2 whole weeks since the clinic, so forgive me when I ramble around a little. I think we went back to the track to work with the ladders for quick step drills, did some skipping, etc. Dave said I was a dainty skipper. I think it was due to the fact I was wearing a running skirt. One thing I have never been accused of is being dainty. We also learned several drills to help us with flexibility and then Dave showed us some very effective stretches, etc.
Dinner time… we went to a place called Uncle Julio’s and the food was very good. The big joke of the evening was that my reading glasses were left at Linda’s house, so I was planning to pretend I was illiterate. Maybe not so funny, so I just made fun of my old age eyesight and asked the bartender to stand across the bar and hold the menu for me so I could read it. I ordered a mixed platter of shrimp, beef and chicken fajitas. After dinner, we stopped off at another Best Buy for Dave to purchase a new video camera. I think he finally got what he was after and I, of course, bought another CD… Anvil.
Kim and Dave have both traveled much more than I have, so the after dinner conversation at Linda’s house was very interesting.
Sunday morning, it was cold again, and I decided to wear my tights and that was a good thing. We did our lactate threshold test after warming up, doing the drills and stretching well. The test consists of 3 - 8 minute intervals of walking as fast as possible with good technique and taking the HR every two minutes, our partner gave the Hr info to Dave. There is a two minute rest between the intervals where we check out recovery HR. I was in the first group and was able to get my HR up to 177 at the end of the last repeat. So, I was the apparent winner of the HR test… My max HR is 193 and if you subscribe to the 220 -age =BS formula, I am 27! WOO HOO!!! When the next group did their test, there was a soccer game on the football field; so, I had to do lots of running in order to be able to get some good photos of the folks on the track while reporting my partner’s HR to Dave for her test. More stretching before leaving the track to eat lunch and then wrap up the clinic with a lecture on training schedules for specific distance races, and more discussion on HR based training. Dave commented that my recovery HR was still kind of high… He did suggest that I refrain from drinking 4 cups of coffee right before an interval workout. Typically, I wait until after my workouts to drink coffee, or I do my workouts late in the evening, after the coffee has worn off… LOL

So, the workshop was wrapping up, and everyone was saying their goodbyes. Jerry and I helped Linda put some things back in place, and I packed up my things to return home. I bought one of the Chrons and Colitis Foundation Team in Training shirts from Dave… “The Best Craps in Vegas”, said my goodbyes and headed south. I was about 5 miles south of Linda’s and the rain started. What should have taken 4 hours at most to drive, took me almost 6 hours, including one stop for restroom and to gas up the car. I got a message from Dave… “It never rains at a World Class Racewalking Clinic… that is until after the last guest leaves”. I told him that my only consolation was that he was getting wet, too. Dave was leaving for a workout when I was driving away. LOL
The drive home was not as treacherous as the drive to Dallas, with the exception of the people who choose to drive 80+ mph, no matter how hard it is raining. A funny thing happened to me when I stopped for restroom and gas in Madisonville Texas. I went in to use the restroom before pumping my gas because I had been on the road for a while. There were 4 or 5 women just standing around in the restroom, so I kind of bent down to see if anyone was in the stalls. They were empty and as I started to enter one, some woman says: “Hey, did you just pick up two dollars off the floor?” I go, “WHAT???”, because I was kind of hypnotized from the long drive in bad weather. So, she asks me again and if I had been on the ball, I would have asked her if I really looked like I needed her two dollars. Anyway, I just told her I was merely looking under the stall door to see if it was occupied. TWO DOLLARS… would I be driving a rocket ship if I was in serious need of two dollars?
Anyway, I made it home safely and had a great weekend. The major thing I learned about myself:
I may not actually be cut out for racewalking because of my physical limitations which include degenerative disc disease in my lower back and a left hip that is perpetually out of place.
The drive to Dallas proved to be very interesting. There was a cold front on the way, and I was not sure when or where I would drive into the leading edge, where cool air meets warm and humid air. Turned out, I met the storm while driving on a two lane Farm to Market road with no shoulders. Texas Farm to Market roads usually have a speed limit of 70 mph even where there are no shoulders. I drive a 2dr Honda Accord Coupe, and cars like this usually don’t do so well in severe weather. I had to pull over to the shoulder once in the recent past during a severe thunderstorm with high winds. So, back to the trip… I was headed north from Roans Prairie (taking the back road) to connect with I45 in Madisonville. That’s where the wind started gusting and the rain was coming at me in sheets. Some lovely person in a large SUV was right on my tail, I guess expecting me to drive 70mph. That was not going to happen. When I hit standing water on the highway in this car, I am usually pulled all over the road. 50mph was really pushing the envelope of safety, so that @$$4073 behind me was just going to have to wait. Then random trees started breaking apart on either side of the road. The tree damaging winds were short lived, but that scared the hell out of me. Finally made it to Madisonville and was able to get out of the car for a few minutes. I got back on the road, I45 this time, and drove in intermittent heavy rain all the way to Dallas. Funny, though, the rain stopped when I was about 10 miles south of Linda’s house.
Linda is a wonderful new friend. She invited Kim (my friend from Arkansas) and I to stay at her lovely home for the weekend! Linda has a beautiful water garden and lovely well placed plants and walking paths in her back yard that seemed to emanate peace and tranquility!
I helped Linda, who was co-hosting the racewalking clinic together with Jerry Kerr, get a few things ready around the house, then Kim arrived. I was really happy to see her again. The last time we met, it was very brief. We both did the Bass Pro race in 2008. Kim did the half marathon and I did the full. She was really speedy and her husband missed her at the finish line. They were so kind to stick around and wait for me to finish the full! I was very surprised to see Kim and David with my Mom and my Aunt Fran. Anyway, we certainly got to spend a lot more time together during the racewalking clinic, and we had a blast.
Kim and I had planned to go to the Oak Lawn Luke's Locker when she arrived, so we headed out. It is always a challenge to get the right pair of shoes for racewalking. Salespeople hear 'walk' and they always bring out some huge, heavy, clunky pair of shoes. Well, then you have to go into a discussion of what racewalking is. I finally gave up letting the salesperson decide. I just go in and ask for racing flats... Running racing flats. Apparently, we found the right salesman and he brought out several pair of shoes for Kim to try, I was initially worried about them having any to choose from because Kim has really small feet and most racing flats are unisex sizing (men's sizes). Anyway, she ended up with a great pair of shoes.
I also made a fantastic purchase. I have been talking about trying CW-X compression tights for a long time. I just could not find a store anywhere where I could try on the men's small in either the pro or expert model of the tights. I buy men's running shoes because my feet are wide, and I buy men's tights because I have a wide waist. Men's shorts are also a usual choice for me because they are not so darn short like women's running shorts usually are. Anyway, the tights were expensive, but they fit like a glove. I am happy to have them!
We stopped to eat lunch, and then headed back to Linda's house to help her prepare the dinner for everyone who was participating in the racewalking clinic. We had baked ziti, one vegetarian and one with organic fresh ground beef that Kim had brought from her farm. My mom made home made french bread for us and all we had to do was heat that up, make a salad, and bake some brownies for dessert.
Jerry picked Dave McGovern up at the airport and brought him to Linda's house. Patty and Jean-Maria, friends of mine from the Dallas area, and lots of others showed up for the dinner and informational meeting that followed. Everyone just loved mom's home made bread! Especially the beer, jalapeno and cheese loaf! They all asked for the recipe! I still have to get that from mom and pass it along!
Saturday morning was cold and damp, but thankfully the rain held off, or simply stayed south of us. We went over to the track for our first workout, and Dave was going to try and film us individually, but he was having a problem with his camera. It was filming, but did not have a view finder and the lcd screen was black. I really should have been wearing tights because it was rather cold and I may have done too much standing around and then sprinting and pulled a calf muscle. We all finished our workouts, and then it was time for lunch and a trip to the Lukes Locker on Legacy in Plano. We descended on that running store like ants. Dave found the location manager and we all learned a lot more about shoes for racewalking.
The next stop was a quick bite for lunch. Rose, Dave and I stopped at a little pizza by the slice place across the street from Luke’s. The pizza was very tasty, and the slices were huge. Our next mission was to find Best Buy so Dave could try and replace his video camera. He had no luck at the Best Buy we were closest to and decided to try another location where we might actually find someone who knew a little about what they were selling. Back at Linda’s house we all sat down and watched the video that Dave was able to tape while we were working out on the track. We watched video of Olympic class athletes and then compared what we are doing to what they are doing. Of course, we have lots of miles of practice ahead of us. While we were watching film, I worked on the calf… found the irritated spot, and dug in. Whatever was going on there… I was able to work it out.
Now, it has been almost 2 whole weeks since the clinic, so forgive me when I ramble around a little. I think we went back to the track to work with the ladders for quick step drills, did some skipping, etc. Dave said I was a dainty skipper. I think it was due to the fact I was wearing a running skirt. One thing I have never been accused of is being dainty. We also learned several drills to help us with flexibility and then Dave showed us some very effective stretches, etc.
Dinner time… we went to a place called Uncle Julio’s and the food was very good. The big joke of the evening was that my reading glasses were left at Linda’s house, so I was planning to pretend I was illiterate. Maybe not so funny, so I just made fun of my old age eyesight and asked the bartender to stand across the bar and hold the menu for me so I could read it. I ordered a mixed platter of shrimp, beef and chicken fajitas. After dinner, we stopped off at another Best Buy for Dave to purchase a new video camera. I think he finally got what he was after and I, of course, bought another CD… Anvil.
Kim and Dave have both traveled much more than I have, so the after dinner conversation at Linda’s house was very interesting.
Sunday morning, it was cold again, and I decided to wear my tights and that was a good thing. We did our lactate threshold test after warming up, doing the drills and stretching well. The test consists of 3 - 8 minute intervals of walking as fast as possible with good technique and taking the HR every two minutes, our partner gave the Hr info to Dave. There is a two minute rest between the intervals where we check out recovery HR. I was in the first group and was able to get my HR up to 177 at the end of the last repeat. So, I was the apparent winner of the HR test… My max HR is 193 and if you subscribe to the 220 -age =BS formula, I am 27! WOO HOO!!! When the next group did their test, there was a soccer game on the football field; so, I had to do lots of running in order to be able to get some good photos of the folks on the track while reporting my partner’s HR to Dave for her test. More stretching before leaving the track to eat lunch and then wrap up the clinic with a lecture on training schedules for specific distance races, and more discussion on HR based training. Dave commented that my recovery HR was still kind of high… He did suggest that I refrain from drinking 4 cups of coffee right before an interval workout. Typically, I wait until after my workouts to drink coffee, or I do my workouts late in the evening, after the coffee has worn off… LOL
So, the workshop was wrapping up, and everyone was saying their goodbyes. Jerry and I helped Linda put some things back in place, and I packed up my things to return home. I bought one of the Chrons and Colitis Foundation Team in Training shirts from Dave… “The Best Craps in Vegas”, said my goodbyes and headed south. I was about 5 miles south of Linda’s and the rain started. What should have taken 4 hours at most to drive, took me almost 6 hours, including one stop for restroom and to gas up the car. I got a message from Dave… “It never rains at a World Class Racewalking Clinic… that is until after the last guest leaves”. I told him that my only consolation was that he was getting wet, too. Dave was leaving for a workout when I was driving away. LOL
The drive home was not as treacherous as the drive to Dallas, with the exception of the people who choose to drive 80+ mph, no matter how hard it is raining. A funny thing happened to me when I stopped for restroom and gas in Madisonville Texas. I went in to use the restroom before pumping my gas because I had been on the road for a while. There were 4 or 5 women just standing around in the restroom, so I kind of bent down to see if anyone was in the stalls. They were empty and as I started to enter one, some woman says: “Hey, did you just pick up two dollars off the floor?” I go, “WHAT???”, because I was kind of hypnotized from the long drive in bad weather. So, she asks me again and if I had been on the ball, I would have asked her if I really looked like I needed her two dollars. Anyway, I just told her I was merely looking under the stall door to see if it was occupied. TWO DOLLARS… would I be driving a rocket ship if I was in serious need of two dollars?
Anyway, I made it home safely and had a great weekend. The major thing I learned about myself:
I may not actually be cut out for racewalking because of my physical limitations which include degenerative disc disease in my lower back and a left hip that is perpetually out of place.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
It's Thursday!
Missed my workout on Monday, and that was ok with me. I tried to get up early on Tuesday, but my body was having none of that. So, the planned early morning walk turned into a plan for an afternoon walk. Then I got the call right before lunch that I was needed at work in Rosenberg for the afternoon. I did not leave the store until 7:45 pm for the 30 minute drive home and needed to stop at the store for a few things on the way home. So, no afternoon walk either.
Wednesday, I still got up a little later than I wanted to, but got dressed and went to the park for the weekly walk/jog. This time I only jogged the half-mile section 3 times for a total of 2.85 miles walking and 1.5 miles jogging. The workout took just as long as if I had walked the whole thing, so jogging does nothing for my pace during a shorter workout. And, that's ok with me. I am not really jogging to increase overall speed, but to balance things out... using different muscles when jogging to give the ones who feel used and abused a little less stress. The workout totaled 1 hour and a 13:47 minute per mile pace.
That evening, I went out for coffee with a friend and the talk we had made me realize how much I have been slacking in a lot of areas in my life. so...
Today, Thursday when the alarm went off at 5 am, I only laid in bed for 5 minutes and thought to myself, you SLACKER, get your @$$ out of bed. I walked my 6 miles this morning in 1:19:39. The average pace through the first 5 miles was 13:26, which was great because I was walking in the wet grass and gravel and working seriously on the pushoff at the rear of my stride. My shins got a great workout and it seems that this will also help with my racewalking. Mile number 6 - 12:29. Lots of stretching when I got home, then a shower and off to work. This evening, I am going to work on my legs with the stick, and treat myself to a nice hot foot soak!
Wednesday, I still got up a little later than I wanted to, but got dressed and went to the park for the weekly walk/jog. This time I only jogged the half-mile section 3 times for a total of 2.85 miles walking and 1.5 miles jogging. The workout took just as long as if I had walked the whole thing, so jogging does nothing for my pace during a shorter workout. And, that's ok with me. I am not really jogging to increase overall speed, but to balance things out... using different muscles when jogging to give the ones who feel used and abused a little less stress. The workout totaled 1 hour and a 13:47 minute per mile pace.
That evening, I went out for coffee with a friend and the talk we had made me realize how much I have been slacking in a lot of areas in my life. so...
Today, Thursday when the alarm went off at 5 am, I only laid in bed for 5 minutes and thought to myself, you SLACKER, get your @$$ out of bed. I walked my 6 miles this morning in 1:19:39. The average pace through the first 5 miles was 13:26, which was great because I was walking in the wet grass and gravel and working seriously on the pushoff at the rear of my stride. My shins got a great workout and it seems that this will also help with my racewalking. Mile number 6 - 12:29. Lots of stretching when I got home, then a shower and off to work. This evening, I am going to work on my legs with the stick, and treat myself to a nice hot foot soak!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, September 6
so... 2 mile warm up, stretching, then a 10k race.
The warm up went well, I was able to get some real speed going in the second mile, then I had time to stretch and do some flexibility drills before the race started.
We got a little late start... remember I said I was not going to do the judged race because I am still not sure of my racewalking form. Well, I should have thrown caution to the wind and let them judge me. Both judges said my form was looking much better and neither would have dq'd me. Anyhow, it was still a great race. 10k in 1:13:06.54 with an average pace of 11:46. Average hr was 167bpm, max hr achieved was in the neighborhood of 190. I have my max set at 194 right now, that may need to be adjusted a little higher. So, this was 2:35 better than my best for the distance. I'll take it! A new PR!
one thing to add... I was so happy to see a good turnout at the race. There were several youngsters who are being coached by AC Jaime from South Texas Racewalkers... and two of them came in first and second place. It was an awesome thing to watch those youngsters with a love for the sport that is so often misunderstood and made fun of!
The warm up went well, I was able to get some real speed going in the second mile, then I had time to stretch and do some flexibility drills before the race started.
We got a little late start... remember I said I was not going to do the judged race because I am still not sure of my racewalking form. Well, I should have thrown caution to the wind and let them judge me. Both judges said my form was looking much better and neither would have dq'd me. Anyhow, it was still a great race. 10k in 1:13:06.54 with an average pace of 11:46. Average hr was 167bpm, max hr achieved was in the neighborhood of 190. I have my max set at 194 right now, that may need to be adjusted a little higher. So, this was 2:35 better than my best for the distance. I'll take it! A new PR!
one thing to add... I was so happy to see a good turnout at the race. There were several youngsters who are being coached by AC Jaime from South Texas Racewalkers... and two of them came in first and second place. It was an awesome thing to watch those youngsters with a love for the sport that is so often misunderstood and made fun of!
Labels:
flexibility,
pr,
promote racewalking,
Race Report,
racewalking,
stretching
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
back to the grind
So, I was able to get in several miles of active recovery walking in Las Vegas before coming home to go immediately back to work. I had one rest day in my office, then had to work several days in a row at the mattress store. I don't know if I can count these days as miles walked, but they are certainly ACTIVE recovery with some strength training thrown in. Sunday, I stayed at home, did some laundry and nothing else.
Monday, back to work at the mattress store. Since I like to work out in the evening, I was hoping to get off of work at 5 so I could get home in time to ride my bike for a little while, then do a strength training workout. No such luck. I was finally on my way home at around 7pm.
5pm rolls around on Tuesday and the boss wants to take care of some business late in the day. When I called him back with the info he requested, he offers to call me right back and I tell him, NO, just hang up, then don't answer when I call you back, I will leave the info you requested in a voice message because I am leaving work at 5 today, no ifs ands or butts about it. So, he got his pen and wrote down the info right then.
When I got home, I was still a little irritated, so I went rushing to change into workout clothes in a big hurry. I really felt that if I didn't get a walk done, it was all over but the getting fat again. I had not done a timed walk since the marathon, and I was disappointed in that finish time. So, I set the Garmin and took off down the street, fast. The route I took is exactly a mile from the track and I made it there in 12:33! That was a great warm-up, so I stopped the timer and stretched everything and did some of the flexibility drills. Then I got on the track and accelerated for a mile and a half. My last lap was at an 11:30 pace. It was so hot and humid that it took an entire 30 minutes for me to stop sweating after I got home...
I thought I had lost something out there in the desert near area 51, but I found it at the track. Thank goodness. I know it will take some time to get the pace down where I would like it to be... somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 minute miles, and I may NEVER get there, but I will have fun trying.
My next BIG thing on the schedule is Dave's World Class Racewalking Clinic in Dallas October 9-11. I screwed up my first chance to really learn something from Dave in Mesa last January by walking a marathon the same weekend as the clinic. Well, I don't have anything on the schedule with the exception of a 10k fun walk in Houston on September 6. And, the Dallas weekend will be devoted exclusively to the clinic. It will be nice to see my two Dallas friends and one from Arkansas who will all be attending the clinic as well.
50k in November, marathon in January, 100 miles in February.
Monday, back to work at the mattress store. Since I like to work out in the evening, I was hoping to get off of work at 5 so I could get home in time to ride my bike for a little while, then do a strength training workout. No such luck. I was finally on my way home at around 7pm.
5pm rolls around on Tuesday and the boss wants to take care of some business late in the day. When I called him back with the info he requested, he offers to call me right back and I tell him, NO, just hang up, then don't answer when I call you back, I will leave the info you requested in a voice message because I am leaving work at 5 today, no ifs ands or butts about it. So, he got his pen and wrote down the info right then.
When I got home, I was still a little irritated, so I went rushing to change into workout clothes in a big hurry. I really felt that if I didn't get a walk done, it was all over but the getting fat again. I had not done a timed walk since the marathon, and I was disappointed in that finish time. So, I set the Garmin and took off down the street, fast. The route I took is exactly a mile from the track and I made it there in 12:33! That was a great warm-up, so I stopped the timer and stretched everything and did some of the flexibility drills. Then I got on the track and accelerated for a mile and a half. My last lap was at an 11:30 pace. It was so hot and humid that it took an entire 30 minutes for me to stop sweating after I got home...
I thought I had lost something out there in the desert near area 51, but I found it at the track. Thank goodness. I know it will take some time to get the pace down where I would like it to be... somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 minute miles, and I may NEVER get there, but I will have fun trying.
My next BIG thing on the schedule is Dave's World Class Racewalking Clinic in Dallas October 9-11. I screwed up my first chance to really learn something from Dave in Mesa last January by walking a marathon the same weekend as the clinic. Well, I don't have anything on the schedule with the exception of a 10k fun walk in Houston on September 6. And, the Dallas weekend will be devoted exclusively to the clinic. It will be nice to see my two Dallas friends and one from Arkansas who will all be attending the clinic as well.
50k in November, marathon in January, 100 miles in February.
Labels:
100 miles,
daily workouts,
fat,
hot,
humidity,
racewalking,
racewalking clinic,
recovery,
rocky raccoon,
stretching
Thursday, August 6, 2009
workouts July 25 - August 1
Saturday, July 25
20 miles in the bag for me today. The first 16 went well even though I was completely soaked through (sweat) by mile 6 due to the humidity... When the Garmin let me know I was at mile 19... I was walking through the cemetery... I was so crapped out, that I felt like staying a while, you know lying down on one of the graves that had a pleasant looking carpet of pine needles on top of it. I just love to complain about how HOT it is here... 5:30 am - real temp was 74; humidity 92%; heat index 84, 10:30 am at finish: real temp 87; humidity 75%, forecast said heat index was 106??? also, my average pace through the first 16 miles was 14:10mpm, I am almost ashamed to say how slow the last 4 miles were... averaged 16:38. that is just awful for me, but I was still moving forward, so it's all good.
Eating some watermelon and canteloupe, then off to stretch and shower and drive an hour each way to pick up a friend at the airport. Think I will treat myself to a Starbucks on the way. A doubleshot over ice with 5 shots espresso, a little half and half and a couple of pumps of simple syrup. Yum!
Monday, July 27
Monday evening workout done! One hour bicycle ride followed by upper body and core strength routine and stretching. Did not work the legs tonight because that pesky left calf, (shin splint?) is acting up again after the bicycle ride.
HMMM I have been thinking that maybe the last month of a marathon training schedule is not the best time to add new stuff to the routine. But, now that I am 5 weeks into the new routine, starting the 6th week, I don't plan to back off now. I will just adjust the intensity down a little.
Tuesday, July 28
I ended up having to drive to Rosenberg again. I thought I would make it home before 7:30, but it just was not happening. So, dinner, shower, to bed early, walk tomorrow, cycling and weight training Thursday, walk Friday and Saturday again.
Wednesday, July 29
Went to the track, warmed up a little over a mile, stretched, did my drills, and walked as close as I could to a couple of 1 mile repeats. They were actually a little longer than a mile because I started in lane 8 at the track and finished the repeats in lane 5, then walked a cool down lap in lane 4 in between the 2 repeats, followed by 2 cool down laps and lots more stretching. The focus of this whole workout was trying my best to keep the knees straight and legal and on lengthening my stride to the rear. I know I had a few moments when everything felt as it should.
The track is just so packed with people it is nearly impossible to do any speed work.
Thursday, July 30
I wanted to let you all know that I missed my second round of strength training this week. I had a really hectic day at work. Had to work out of town after putting out a bunch of fires at my office... arrived at the mattress store late, received a furniture delivery, then spent the whole afternoon moving mattresses around so that customers could try them out.
On the upside, I made several sales. Selling mattresses is like a low intensity cardio workout with a lot of strength moves thrown in. Upper body and core definitely got a workout!
Friday, July 31
Decided I need a rest day before the weekend.
Saturday, August 1
The last long distance walk pre-marathon. Walked 8 miles this morning. the first and last mile were 13:56 and 13:40, I tried to racewalk the 6 in the middle and the average pace for those 6 miles was 12:40... still not getting that HR high enough. My average HR for the 6 faster miles was only 77%. Now that I have stretched and showered and facebooked. Off to reclaim my title as the mattress chick.
AKA mattress sales person, not what you were thinking...
Sunday, August 2
So, I am kind of a scatterbrain... I finally found my spibelt... I have been looking for it since last weekend.
Didn't get a walk in today because I spent the day with my mom. We did a lot of shopping, then I figured out how to hook up here DVD player so she can watch some of her movie collection.
20 miles in the bag for me today. The first 16 went well even though I was completely soaked through (sweat) by mile 6 due to the humidity... When the Garmin let me know I was at mile 19... I was walking through the cemetery... I was so crapped out, that I felt like staying a while, you know lying down on one of the graves that had a pleasant looking carpet of pine needles on top of it. I just love to complain about how HOT it is here... 5:30 am - real temp was 74; humidity 92%; heat index 84, 10:30 am at finish: real temp 87; humidity 75%, forecast said heat index was 106??? also, my average pace through the first 16 miles was 14:10mpm, I am almost ashamed to say how slow the last 4 miles were... averaged 16:38. that is just awful for me, but I was still moving forward, so it's all good.
Eating some watermelon and canteloupe, then off to stretch and shower and drive an hour each way to pick up a friend at the airport. Think I will treat myself to a Starbucks on the way. A doubleshot over ice with 5 shots espresso, a little half and half and a couple of pumps of simple syrup. Yum!
Monday, July 27
Monday evening workout done! One hour bicycle ride followed by upper body and core strength routine and stretching. Did not work the legs tonight because that pesky left calf, (shin splint?) is acting up again after the bicycle ride.
HMMM I have been thinking that maybe the last month of a marathon training schedule is not the best time to add new stuff to the routine. But, now that I am 5 weeks into the new routine, starting the 6th week, I don't plan to back off now. I will just adjust the intensity down a little.
Tuesday, July 28
I ended up having to drive to Rosenberg again. I thought I would make it home before 7:30, but it just was not happening. So, dinner, shower, to bed early, walk tomorrow, cycling and weight training Thursday, walk Friday and Saturday again.
Wednesday, July 29
Went to the track, warmed up a little over a mile, stretched, did my drills, and walked as close as I could to a couple of 1 mile repeats. They were actually a little longer than a mile because I started in lane 8 at the track and finished the repeats in lane 5, then walked a cool down lap in lane 4 in between the 2 repeats, followed by 2 cool down laps and lots more stretching. The focus of this whole workout was trying my best to keep the knees straight and legal and on lengthening my stride to the rear. I know I had a few moments when everything felt as it should.
The track is just so packed with people it is nearly impossible to do any speed work.
Thursday, July 30
I wanted to let you all know that I missed my second round of strength training this week. I had a really hectic day at work. Had to work out of town after putting out a bunch of fires at my office... arrived at the mattress store late, received a furniture delivery, then spent the whole afternoon moving mattresses around so that customers could try them out.
On the upside, I made several sales. Selling mattresses is like a low intensity cardio workout with a lot of strength moves thrown in. Upper body and core definitely got a workout!
Friday, July 31
Decided I need a rest day before the weekend.
Saturday, August 1
The last long distance walk pre-marathon. Walked 8 miles this morning. the first and last mile were 13:56 and 13:40, I tried to racewalk the 6 in the middle and the average pace for those 6 miles was 12:40... still not getting that HR high enough. My average HR for the 6 faster miles was only 77%. Now that I have stretched and showered and facebooked. Off to reclaim my title as the mattress chick.
AKA mattress sales person, not what you were thinking...
Sunday, August 2
So, I am kind of a scatterbrain... I finally found my spibelt... I have been looking for it since last weekend.
Didn't get a walk in today because I spent the day with my mom. We did a lot of shopping, then I figured out how to hook up here DVD player so she can watch some of her movie collection.
Labels:
daily workouts,
racewalking,
stretching,
training,
training schedule
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Hill Training and other random things.
So, I haven’t blogged anything in quite some time. I have been really preoccupied at work. Retail is tough right now. I don’t have anything else to say about that.
The Silver Classic 5k in Killeen Texas redeemed itself by sending me a certificate for 1st place female walker and some gift cards from Applebee’s. I will send them a thank you note.
I had been taking my training kind of easy… only walking the races and a few weekday miles. My longest walk before last Sunday was the 20k on March. Then the weather changed. It was cold and rainy all week, so I didn’t get any walking done until I went to a track meet on Saturday, March 14 for a 1500 meter racewalk. It was raining and about 42 degrees when I arrived. 5 out of the 10 schools that were scheduled to attend the meet were no-shows. I have a lot of admiration for high school kids who will show up to run in those conditions. I wasn’t really feeling it, but under the circumstances, I felt like I would be the cop out if I didn’t do the race. So, I did. I did a 1 mile warm up, then jogged a lap and stretched before the race. I REALLY didn’t want to take off the wind pants to show the knees, but oh well; I was there, so I did. Not as fast as I wanted to be, but it was so cold. 1500 meters in 10:05:16.
I walked 5.37 miles on the 17th, 7.44 miles on the 19th, and 4.14 miles on the 20th. It was a pretty good week. No walking on Saturday, then it was time to get down to business with the hill training for Mohican.
I will have to sacrifice some of my shorter distance race speed in order to do the hill training, but it is critical that I do it in order to be able to walk the 100 miles at Mohican. I mapped out a hilly 3+ mile loop in Bellville where my mom lives. Sunday morning, not early enough, I went to Bellville to walk at least 16 miles, 18 miles if I felt good. The plan was to walk the loop in one direction, then reverse the loop and add a block on the every other time so that I would only have to walk it 5 times to add up to 16 miles. I also need to get used to stopping at the aid stations, so I set up my own on my mom’s front porch with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fig newtons, fritos, orange slices, water to refill my handheld, a clif bar just in case and some extra electrolyte for the fuel belt. I only brought one GU along, because I am going to try to fuel for the 100 miler with mostly REAL food.
Funny thing, I haven’t had a migraine in a long time. About a mile into my walk I started to see the aura that usually precedes a migraine. I was glad to have the Chocolate Outrage GU along because it has caffeine in it. Caffeine is a quick cure for a migraine. It only took a few minutes for the aura to go away. Did I mention that I was walking up and down hills? It’s funny that Bellville is only 12 miles north of Sealy and it is so much hillier. My goal for Mohican is to average 17mpm, including stops, I want to finish in 28 ½ hours. I was doing great and walking in the grassy shoulders of the roads when I could, and on the pavement when I had to. I made the first loop, then walked around the block and then reversed the loop. The loop also goes around a park where I can practice dodging tree roots, I made it to the park at about 4 miles and that is where I stopped for about 4 minutes to stretch during the second loop. My first AID STATION stop was at 6.7 miles, the end of loop #2. I refilled my handheld water bottle and ate some of the real food. It took me about 4 minutes, not too bad. The walk was going well, and I didn’t start to feel bad at all until about mile 12. I still had a little more than a mile to get back to the AID STATION, so I slowed down a little until I got there. I refilled the water bottle, ate the rest of the PBJ, orange slices and Fritos and brought the fig newtons for the road. After refueling, I felt better. I really could have used that GU at mile 12, but I used the only one I had with me to combat the migraine. Mental note… bring extra GU. I walked mile 15 and 16 at an average pace of 14:45, so I was able to finish the walk strong.
Anyhow, I made it. There was app 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss over the 16 miles. I didn't stop my timer when I stopped to refuel, but I did keep track of how much time it took me at each stop and when I stopped to stretch at mile 4. Total time (incl 15 minutes dawdle time) 4:09:28, total distance 16.34 miles for an average pace 15:16. So, if I take out the stopped time, my actual walking pace was around 14:20. Average HR 69%, max HR (achieved at mile 12) 78%. This was a really good test. I plan to start doing this hilly LSD every other weekend. I have also started taking yoga to strengthen my core. Once a week after yoga, since I have to drive to Bellville for the class, I will do a hilly weekday walk.
I really thought that hilly 16 miler was going to tear me up, but I went to walk at the track today after work and walked a quick 6.11 miles. It looked like it was going to rain, so I drove to the track instead of walking. I figured if there was a quick downpour, I could always hide under the bleachers for a few minutes until it passed. Well, it didn't rain at all. I usually walk fast when I go to the track for a workout, and today was no different. I'll call it a tempo walk, because the first 5 miles were done in 1:02:27 with an average HR of 153 or 79% and I achieved 175 or what I believe to be 90% at the end of mile 5. The last 1.11 miles were done slow for cool down.
I think the hilly walk on Sunday helped the tight hamstrings rather than hurt them like I expected.
I guess that’s enough for now, except to say that I am walking in Angie's Half Crazy half marathon in Clear Lake Texas on Sunday. It is going to be a fun race, because as I always say... it's better to be crazy than lazy!
The Silver Classic 5k in Killeen Texas redeemed itself by sending me a certificate for 1st place female walker and some gift cards from Applebee’s. I will send them a thank you note.
I had been taking my training kind of easy… only walking the races and a few weekday miles. My longest walk before last Sunday was the 20k on March. Then the weather changed. It was cold and rainy all week, so I didn’t get any walking done until I went to a track meet on Saturday, March 14 for a 1500 meter racewalk. It was raining and about 42 degrees when I arrived. 5 out of the 10 schools that were scheduled to attend the meet were no-shows. I have a lot of admiration for high school kids who will show up to run in those conditions. I wasn’t really feeling it, but under the circumstances, I felt like I would be the cop out if I didn’t do the race. So, I did. I did a 1 mile warm up, then jogged a lap and stretched before the race. I REALLY didn’t want to take off the wind pants to show the knees, but oh well; I was there, so I did. Not as fast as I wanted to be, but it was so cold. 1500 meters in 10:05:16.
I walked 5.37 miles on the 17th, 7.44 miles on the 19th, and 4.14 miles on the 20th. It was a pretty good week. No walking on Saturday, then it was time to get down to business with the hill training for Mohican.
I will have to sacrifice some of my shorter distance race speed in order to do the hill training, but it is critical that I do it in order to be able to walk the 100 miles at Mohican. I mapped out a hilly 3+ mile loop in Bellville where my mom lives. Sunday morning, not early enough, I went to Bellville to walk at least 16 miles, 18 miles if I felt good. The plan was to walk the loop in one direction, then reverse the loop and add a block on the every other time so that I would only have to walk it 5 times to add up to 16 miles. I also need to get used to stopping at the aid stations, so I set up my own on my mom’s front porch with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fig newtons, fritos, orange slices, water to refill my handheld, a clif bar just in case and some extra electrolyte for the fuel belt. I only brought one GU along, because I am going to try to fuel for the 100 miler with mostly REAL food.
Funny thing, I haven’t had a migraine in a long time. About a mile into my walk I started to see the aura that usually precedes a migraine. I was glad to have the Chocolate Outrage GU along because it has caffeine in it. Caffeine is a quick cure for a migraine. It only took a few minutes for the aura to go away. Did I mention that I was walking up and down hills? It’s funny that Bellville is only 12 miles north of Sealy and it is so much hillier. My goal for Mohican is to average 17mpm, including stops, I want to finish in 28 ½ hours. I was doing great and walking in the grassy shoulders of the roads when I could, and on the pavement when I had to. I made the first loop, then walked around the block and then reversed the loop. The loop also goes around a park where I can practice dodging tree roots, I made it to the park at about 4 miles and that is where I stopped for about 4 minutes to stretch during the second loop. My first AID STATION stop was at 6.7 miles, the end of loop #2. I refilled my handheld water bottle and ate some of the real food. It took me about 4 minutes, not too bad. The walk was going well, and I didn’t start to feel bad at all until about mile 12. I still had a little more than a mile to get back to the AID STATION, so I slowed down a little until I got there. I refilled the water bottle, ate the rest of the PBJ, orange slices and Fritos and brought the fig newtons for the road. After refueling, I felt better. I really could have used that GU at mile 12, but I used the only one I had with me to combat the migraine. Mental note… bring extra GU. I walked mile 15 and 16 at an average pace of 14:45, so I was able to finish the walk strong.
Anyhow, I made it. There was app 2,000 feet of elevation gain and loss over the 16 miles. I didn't stop my timer when I stopped to refuel, but I did keep track of how much time it took me at each stop and when I stopped to stretch at mile 4. Total time (incl 15 minutes dawdle time) 4:09:28, total distance 16.34 miles for an average pace 15:16. So, if I take out the stopped time, my actual walking pace was around 14:20. Average HR 69%, max HR (achieved at mile 12) 78%. This was a really good test. I plan to start doing this hilly LSD every other weekend. I have also started taking yoga to strengthen my core. Once a week after yoga, since I have to drive to Bellville for the class, I will do a hilly weekday walk.
I really thought that hilly 16 miler was going to tear me up, but I went to walk at the track today after work and walked a quick 6.11 miles. It looked like it was going to rain, so I drove to the track instead of walking. I figured if there was a quick downpour, I could always hide under the bleachers for a few minutes until it passed. Well, it didn't rain at all. I usually walk fast when I go to the track for a workout, and today was no different. I'll call it a tempo walk, because the first 5 miles were done in 1:02:27 with an average HR of 153 or 79% and I achieved 175 or what I believe to be 90% at the end of mile 5. The last 1.11 miles were done slow for cool down.
I think the hilly walk on Sunday helped the tight hamstrings rather than hurt them like I expected.
I guess that’s enough for now, except to say that I am walking in Angie's Half Crazy half marathon in Clear Lake Texas on Sunday. It is going to be a fun race, because as I always say... it's better to be crazy than lazy!
Labels:
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Sunday, March 8, 2009
Gulf Championship 20k Racewalk March 8, 2009
First things first. I looked at some information on the linear progression of pace as race distance increases. I am by no means an elite athlete, and probably never will be, but I believe the linear progression will hold true with most people - but at their individual level. I had a huge 90 second pr at the 5k distance last weekend (6:47mpk or 10:55mpm). So, I used a formula to calculate what I thought my pace should be by adding 5% to my 5k pace to get a projected pace for 10k (7:08mpk or 11:29mpm), and another 5% for 20k (7:30mpk or 12:04mpm) which should have had me finishing 20k in 2:30:00.
Second… Judging. There was only one judge present, and I know if there had been 3 judges I would have been disqualified. When I took Dave’s clinic in Mesa, I only had a little time with Dave, and he helped me to improve my form to a point where I could probably do a judged 5k without too much trouble. Well, this was 20k. The judge told me today that during the first part of the race, I was looking pretty good. This is what I expected, to start out doing really well, then to kind of fall apart little by little towards the end of the race. Knowing this in advance and still doing the judged race was the hard part. I had no way of knowing that only one judge would be present on the course, but I still went. I had a great time, and really worked hard at keeping the knees straight.
Miles 1-6, I was feeling pretty good… Mile 7 was my slowest mile (12:48), then I decided that I wasn’t going to finish at my projected pace if I didn’t get my butt in gear. During miles 8-11, I walked progressively faster each mile with the exception of mile 11, and mile 12 was the fastest mile of the whole race. The last 4/10 was only a little slower than mile 12.
Anyway, my finish time was 2:32:04 (7:36mpk or 12:14mpm), only 2:04 off my projection which is 6 seconds slower per kilometer, and 10 seconds slower per mile.
I did my last 20k two years ago, the day after I had raced a 10k in Houston. I came away with a pretty sore right hamstring that interfered with my training for several months. That was probably one of the dumbest things I have ever done, and won’t do again. My finish time at that 20k was 2:47:26. So, today’s race, done smarter, was a 15:22 pr at this distance.
I realize that I still have lots of work to do to improve my form, and get my pace down to where I can really compete seriously at the local level; although I am still proud of this performance… I looked at the age grading calculator at http://www.philsport.com/narf/aagegrdc.htm, and a 47 year old female with a finish time of 2:32:04 for 20k is age graded at 61.77%
Second… Judging. There was only one judge present, and I know if there had been 3 judges I would have been disqualified. When I took Dave’s clinic in Mesa, I only had a little time with Dave, and he helped me to improve my form to a point where I could probably do a judged 5k without too much trouble. Well, this was 20k. The judge told me today that during the first part of the race, I was looking pretty good. This is what I expected, to start out doing really well, then to kind of fall apart little by little towards the end of the race. Knowing this in advance and still doing the judged race was the hard part. I had no way of knowing that only one judge would be present on the course, but I still went. I had a great time, and really worked hard at keeping the knees straight.
Miles 1-6, I was feeling pretty good… Mile 7 was my slowest mile (12:48), then I decided that I wasn’t going to finish at my projected pace if I didn’t get my butt in gear. During miles 8-11, I walked progressively faster each mile with the exception of mile 11, and mile 12 was the fastest mile of the whole race. The last 4/10 was only a little slower than mile 12.
Anyway, my finish time was 2:32:04 (7:36mpk or 12:14mpm), only 2:04 off my projection which is 6 seconds slower per kilometer, and 10 seconds slower per mile.
I did my last 20k two years ago, the day after I had raced a 10k in Houston. I came away with a pretty sore right hamstring that interfered with my training for several months. That was probably one of the dumbest things I have ever done, and won’t do again. My finish time at that 20k was 2:47:26. So, today’s race, done smarter, was a 15:22 pr at this distance.
I realize that I still have lots of work to do to improve my form, and get my pace down to where I can really compete seriously at the local level; although I am still proud of this performance… I looked at the age grading calculator at http://www.philsport.com/narf/aagegrdc.htm, and a 47 year old female with a finish time of 2:32:04 for 20k is age graded at 61.77%
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Silver Classic 5k Race Report - March 1
So, I went all the way to Killeen Texas from Sealy Texas (a 3 hour drive) to walk in a 5k that promised age group awards for walkers. I saw several people I know and have raced with in Houston. There was a change of plans from the race organizers. They decided to give ‘certificates’ to the walkers…
It was really cold and windy this morning, so I only warmed up for about a mile or so and stretched before the race. The start was crowded, so I wasn’t able to get any real speed going until about 200 or 300 meters from the start. Then I started passing the slowpokes. My Garmin is set to alert me to slow down if my pace gets below 11:21mpm. Well, it alerted me all the way through the race.
Dave McGovern told me that since I wasn’t able to participate in the HR test at the racewalking clinic in Mesa that I should race a 5k, and send him my HR from about the 2 mile mark. There were a couple of pretty good sized hills starting at around 1.5 miles. My HR got up as high as 184 at the top of the second hill. I am sure my max HR I use to figure my workout zones is going to need to be adjusted higher.
Anyhow, back to the race. I was keeping another walker, Dave Gwyn, in sight to make sure I didn’t back off of my pace at all. I even planned to try and catch him at the end, but that wasn’t in my cards for the day.
I was very excited when I made the final turn and saw 33:xx on the clock, so I tried to get another gear. I crossed the timing mats at 33:54, a whole 90 seconds better than my best to date. (I am also 16 pounds lighter.)
After a while I went to look at the results. I was lumped together with the runners and my time showed correctly as 4th in my age group. The organizers gave out the awards for the runners, and then started to give out the certificates to the walkers. I was never mentioned, and neither were a couple of others who had speedy times. I am not sure, but in my age group, I think they called the winner a woman who had walked 44:xx?
I simply chose not to make a fuss, and neither did the other walker who was basically cheated out of his ‘certificate’. I just know in future to do a little more research about a race before I travel 3 hours for a 5k.
Maryann
It was really cold and windy this morning, so I only warmed up for about a mile or so and stretched before the race. The start was crowded, so I wasn’t able to get any real speed going until about 200 or 300 meters from the start. Then I started passing the slowpokes. My Garmin is set to alert me to slow down if my pace gets below 11:21mpm. Well, it alerted me all the way through the race.
Dave McGovern told me that since I wasn’t able to participate in the HR test at the racewalking clinic in Mesa that I should race a 5k, and send him my HR from about the 2 mile mark. There were a couple of pretty good sized hills starting at around 1.5 miles. My HR got up as high as 184 at the top of the second hill. I am sure my max HR I use to figure my workout zones is going to need to be adjusted higher.
Anyhow, back to the race. I was keeping another walker, Dave Gwyn, in sight to make sure I didn’t back off of my pace at all. I even planned to try and catch him at the end, but that wasn’t in my cards for the day.
I was very excited when I made the final turn and saw 33:xx on the clock, so I tried to get another gear. I crossed the timing mats at 33:54, a whole 90 seconds better than my best to date. (I am also 16 pounds lighter.)
After a while I went to look at the results. I was lumped together with the runners and my time showed correctly as 4th in my age group. The organizers gave out the awards for the runners, and then started to give out the certificates to the walkers. I was never mentioned, and neither were a couple of others who had speedy times. I am not sure, but in my age group, I think they called the winner a woman who had walked 44:xx?
I simply chose not to make a fuss, and neither did the other walker who was basically cheated out of his ‘certificate’. I just know in future to do a little more research about a race before I travel 3 hours for a 5k.
Maryann
Labels:
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Race Report,
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Monday, February 16, 2009
February 16, 2009 - Random Things
So, I haven’t been blogging regularly lately. The main reason for my blog is to track workouts, so that other interested parties know what I am up to in the workout department.
There hasn’t been much to tell the past couple of weeks. I took a few days to recover from my marathon on January 31, and then I did the 50 mile trail race on February 7. After that, I needed a few more days to recover. My legs were hurting a little after the 50, and I was contemplating changing my mind about the 100 miler in June. I even went so far as to tell my mom I wasn’t going to do it.
A few days passed, and Wednesday I went for a 3.19 mile walk. All right, I was feeling a little better. I walked 5 miles on Sunday, after a few more days of rest. I tried a little racewalking each day.
Sunday afternoon after I was finished with my 5 mile walk, I realized that the cutoff for early registration for the Mohican 100 was here. Either I was registering on Sunday, or I was going to pay $35.00 more. The prospect of wasting $35.00, and the encouragement of a lot of my online supporters, made me do it. When I told my mom I registered for the 100 miler, she said, I already called the family and told them we weren't coming. I told her to remember not to listen to anything I say immediately after I complete any race of 50 miles or more. She will just have to give me a few days to get my thoughts together.
I am also registered for a 5k on March 1. I won’t try to racewalk the whole 5k, but I will do my level best to make a good showing. My 5k pr is 35:25, and it would tickle the heck out of me to best that. I am not sure I have it in me, 3 weeks after a 50 mile trail race, but we shall see.
Rambling on, I am walking a half marathon on March 29 and a full marathon on April 26. This is all in training for the Mohican 100 mile race on June 20.
Bad thing: I never got any relief from my three visits to the chiropractor before my trip to Phoenix. My retired doctor had asked me to report back after seeing the chiropractor, so I called him. Good thing: The retired doctor is going to see me one day this week. I thanked him very much, and reminded him that I still feel like I am imposing on him. He said, “You are.” I told him it wouldn’t feel so much like I am imposing if he would let me pay for the treatment. I guess I’ll see what happens.
I guess that’s all for now.
There hasn’t been much to tell the past couple of weeks. I took a few days to recover from my marathon on January 31, and then I did the 50 mile trail race on February 7. After that, I needed a few more days to recover. My legs were hurting a little after the 50, and I was contemplating changing my mind about the 100 miler in June. I even went so far as to tell my mom I wasn’t going to do it.
A few days passed, and Wednesday I went for a 3.19 mile walk. All right, I was feeling a little better. I walked 5 miles on Sunday, after a few more days of rest. I tried a little racewalking each day.
Sunday afternoon after I was finished with my 5 mile walk, I realized that the cutoff for early registration for the Mohican 100 was here. Either I was registering on Sunday, or I was going to pay $35.00 more. The prospect of wasting $35.00, and the encouragement of a lot of my online supporters, made me do it. When I told my mom I registered for the 100 miler, she said, I already called the family and told them we weren't coming. I told her to remember not to listen to anything I say immediately after I complete any race of 50 miles or more. She will just have to give me a few days to get my thoughts together.
I am also registered for a 5k on March 1. I won’t try to racewalk the whole 5k, but I will do my level best to make a good showing. My 5k pr is 35:25, and it would tickle the heck out of me to best that. I am not sure I have it in me, 3 weeks after a 50 mile trail race, but we shall see.
Rambling on, I am walking a half marathon on March 29 and a full marathon on April 26. This is all in training for the Mohican 100 mile race on June 20.
Bad thing: I never got any relief from my three visits to the chiropractor before my trip to Phoenix. My retired doctor had asked me to report back after seeing the chiropractor, so I called him. Good thing: The retired doctor is going to see me one day this week. I thanked him very much, and reminded him that I still feel like I am imposing on him. He said, “You are.” I told him it wouldn’t feel so much like I am imposing if he would let me pay for the treatment. I guess I’ll see what happens.
I guess that’s all for now.
Labels:
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
January 20 - Training Walk
I didn't get started until about 5:30 pm, and the wind was really blowing. I decided I was going to the school track near my house to walk around in circles so that I could work on speed a little. Turns out there was a high school soccer game going on (new sport for our school - does that mean there is hope for a racewalking team???).
I had my flashlight along, just in case, so I headed away from the school and around the neighborhood again. I was dressed in layers, so not too cold. It ended up being a good tempo walk, 6.04 miles in 1:16:16 for an average pace of about 12:37mpm, average HR 77%, max HR 84%. Once I was home, I stretched really well. The right side is finally starting to loosen up.
I had my flashlight along, just in case, so I headed away from the school and around the neighborhood again. I was dressed in layers, so not too cold. It ended up being a good tempo walk, 6.04 miles in 1:16:16 for an average pace of about 12:37mpm, average HR 77%, max HR 84%. Once I was home, I stretched really well. The right side is finally starting to loosen up.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Recovery
Recovery walks are just as important as speed workouts, long distance workouts and all other types of workouts. I have kind of been neglecting to get these done lately. So, having walked around in circles for 4 hours and 5o minutes yesterday, I was in desperate need of a recovery walk today.
4.48 miles in 1 hour. Average HR 70%, max HR 77%. Oh, by the way, I didn't walk at the track today. I thought about it, then I thought it better to go around the neighborhood.
4.48 miles in 1 hour. Average HR 70%, max HR 77%. Oh, by the way, I didn't walk at the track today. I thought about it, then I thought it better to go around the neighborhood.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Walking around in Circles.
So, the Chiropractor told me I should do my long distance walk at the high school track today. I looked at www.philsport.com to check the distance of each lane on the track, and how many laps I would have to walk in order to get 20 miles. I chose to walk in lane 8 because that was ONLY 72.019 laps. I put on the Garmin, because I wanted to keep track of my HR during the workout. I used the Timex Chronograph to keep track of the number of laps walked. Funny, everyone says that a Garmin doesn’t work real well on a track because of the turns, or maybe it is just too small an area to be accurate. When I uploaded the workout to my computer, the map looked really screwed up, but the total distance covered was accurate. I don’t know how, but it was.
Everything was aching a little when I started out, since my last walk was last Saturday, and that was a hilly 12 miler. So, I walked 4 miles, and then stopped to stretch and get some flexibility drills done. The stretching took about 7m30s. After that I just got to work. I didn’t have to carry my water of electrolyte drink, because I passed it every .278 miles. I carried my GU, Clif Bar, Clif Shot Blocks, and sectioned Clementines a small fanny pack that I carry behind me. I slide it around when I need to get something out of it.
When I first arrived, there were a few people walking, jogging, etc. They left after I had walked about 10 laps. Then a few others showed up, but they only stayed a short time. So, I just kept going and going and going. At 36 laps, or half way, I changed directions. When I was at around 17 miles, my head started messing with me. Come on, just go home. This is too difficult, just walking around in circles. Then someone else showed up and gave me renewed strength to finish. He was jogging in the opposite direction as I was walking, so I actually had human contact twice each lap. I thanked him for showing up when he did. When he asked me if I had been about to pack it in, I said yes because I needed to finish 20 miles and it was getting tough. When we met up a half a lap later, he asked me if I had said 20 laps. When I assured him I said 20 miles and I only had 3 laps to go to finish, he said I was the craziest person he had ever met. I told him thanks because I had accomplished what I set out to do today. I didn’t bother to tell him there are folks who walk a whole lot farther than 20 miles at a time!
Time for 20 miles today was 4:50:10 for an average pace of 14:30 (this includes time spent stretching because I did not stop the timer). Not fast enough but at least I got it done!
Everything was aching a little when I started out, since my last walk was last Saturday, and that was a hilly 12 miler. So, I walked 4 miles, and then stopped to stretch and get some flexibility drills done. The stretching took about 7m30s. After that I just got to work. I didn’t have to carry my water of electrolyte drink, because I passed it every .278 miles. I carried my GU, Clif Bar, Clif Shot Blocks, and sectioned Clementines a small fanny pack that I carry behind me. I slide it around when I need to get something out of it.
When I first arrived, there were a few people walking, jogging, etc. They left after I had walked about 10 laps. Then a few others showed up, but they only stayed a short time. So, I just kept going and going and going. At 36 laps, or half way, I changed directions. When I was at around 17 miles, my head started messing with me. Come on, just go home. This is too difficult, just walking around in circles. Then someone else showed up and gave me renewed strength to finish. He was jogging in the opposite direction as I was walking, so I actually had human contact twice each lap. I thanked him for showing up when he did. When he asked me if I had been about to pack it in, I said yes because I needed to finish 20 miles and it was getting tough. When we met up a half a lap later, he asked me if I had said 20 laps. When I assured him I said 20 miles and I only had 3 laps to go to finish, he said I was the craziest person he had ever met. I told him thanks because I had accomplished what I set out to do today. I didn’t bother to tell him there are folks who walk a whole lot farther than 20 miles at a time!
Time for 20 miles today was 4:50:10 for an average pace of 14:30 (this includes time spent stretching because I did not stop the timer). Not fast enough but at least I got it done!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
John Evans 50k/20k/5k Bear Creek Park Houston Texas
January 11, 2009
I started out at about 7:20 yesterday morning, and man the wind was really blowing! I ordered a new beanie from UA, and I was really glad to have it today. The wind would have blown the regular cap right off my head. Hilly miles are really hard for me when I haven't done any since Sunmart. 11.82 miles 2:42:28, average pace 13:44, average hr 72%
I decided not to try to race at all today, I just went to volunteer. I still planned to walk 12 miles, I just didn't want to be judged at this point in my walking. My right hip/hamstring/sciatica is still acting up. I have a call in to a friend to ask her about her chiropractor. I want to be in the best of condition for the marathon/clinic/50 miler coming up and racing today was not the best way to insure that.
I didn't walk at all today, even the planned 12 miles. I got up at 4:30 am, left for Bear Creek Park in Houston at 5:45 am. Helped set up an aid station at/near the start/finish line, and manned it all day. So, I jumped up and down, jogged around in small circles and paced back and forth all day, trying to stay warm. I finally ended up wearing a trash bag over my layers and layers of clothing to stay protected from the wind.
There was a nice group of racers from various places, and only 1dq (20k) and 1dnf (50k) for the day. I was fortunate to meet AC Jaime from South Texas, and also several of the Houston racewalkers. AC Jaime brought some fantastic young talent to participate in the 5k. It was great to see teens participating in a sport I most often associate with older people like myself. There were also plenty of volunteers and spectators.
I needed to make a quick change to this post. There were actually 2 dnf in the 50k. One of the competitors was having trouble breathing and dropped out after only a few laps.
I started out at about 7:20 yesterday morning, and man the wind was really blowing! I ordered a new beanie from UA, and I was really glad to have it today. The wind would have blown the regular cap right off my head. Hilly miles are really hard for me when I haven't done any since Sunmart. 11.82 miles 2:42:28, average pace 13:44, average hr 72%
I decided not to try to race at all today, I just went to volunteer. I still planned to walk 12 miles, I just didn't want to be judged at this point in my walking. My right hip/hamstring/sciatica is still acting up. I have a call in to a friend to ask her about her chiropractor. I want to be in the best of condition for the marathon/clinic/50 miler coming up and racing today was not the best way to insure that.
I didn't walk at all today, even the planned 12 miles. I got up at 4:30 am, left for Bear Creek Park in Houston at 5:45 am. Helped set up an aid station at/near the start/finish line, and manned it all day. So, I jumped up and down, jogged around in small circles and paced back and forth all day, trying to stay warm. I finally ended up wearing a trash bag over my layers and layers of clothing to stay protected from the wind.
There was a nice group of racers from various places, and only 1dq (20k) and 1dnf (50k) for the day. I was fortunate to meet AC Jaime from South Texas, and also several of the Houston racewalkers. AC Jaime brought some fantastic young talent to participate in the 5k. It was great to see teens participating in a sport I most often associate with older people like myself. There were also plenty of volunteers and spectators.
I needed to make a quick change to this post. There were actually 2 dnf in the 50k. One of the competitors was having trouble breathing and dropped out after only a few laps.
Labels:
aid station,
racewalking,
ultra,
ultrawalking,
volunteer
Friday, January 9, 2009
Another Race - John Evans 50k, 20k and 5k
I just can’t resist another race on the schedule. I was planning to go to Bear Creek Park in Houston on Sunday to help out at the race. I also need to get in a long distance walk of somewhere over 12 miles at target marathon pace this weekend. The race is a judged racewalk, from which I will probably be disqualified. I am not a really legal racewalker, having problems keeping the knee on my advancing leg straight until it passes under my body.
I talked to the race director last night, and he talked me into entering. He said if I get the dq, I can finish my walk away from the race area, this is a large park, and still do the volunteer stuff when I am finished. I plan to get there at 6am and help them get everything set up, then do the 20k (12.4 miles) when it starts, and finish up the day at the 50k awards ceremony.
I also have to do a long distance walk tomorrow. This is what I call a back to back weekend. So, I will do the 12 miles tomorrow at a slower pace and really push it on Sunday. My racewalking is getting better as I pick it up to a faster pace. But I will let the judges decide, then at the end of the month, Dave McGovern will show me what I really look like when racewalking with a video taping session. I am sure there is lots of room for improvement.
I talked to the race director last night, and he talked me into entering. He said if I get the dq, I can finish my walk away from the race area, this is a large park, and still do the volunteer stuff when I am finished. I plan to get there at 6am and help them get everything set up, then do the 20k (12.4 miles) when it starts, and finish up the day at the 50k awards ceremony.
I also have to do a long distance walk tomorrow. This is what I call a back to back weekend. So, I will do the 12 miles tomorrow at a slower pace and really push it on Sunday. My racewalking is getting better as I pick it up to a faster pace. But I will let the judges decide, then at the end of the month, Dave McGovern will show me what I really look like when racewalking with a video taping session. I am sure there is lots of room for improvement.
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