My right archillies was not feeling great before this race but I was feeling pretty good apart from that. The race was held by the reservoir in Wainuiomata. It is the same venue as last year but they moved the walking course a bit further up the road since the walkers struggled with the steepness last year.
I won the Wellington Champs in 2009 out at Trentham in a time of 61:00. That is my PB for 10 km and I didn't expect to go close to that time again until my technique is sorted. I knew there would be two women walkers in the race (Natasha and Alana) who would go well under 60 min. I was keen to beat Kevin who is my closest rival in the club 10 race winter series. I was prepared to consider going after Robyn in the last few laps if I could stay close enough to her but finishing free of red cards was a higher priority.
I stuck behind Robyn for the first few km. We passed Kevin in the first lap and I went through in 5:47 for the first km and 11:50 at the 2 km mark. I was disappointed at such a big fall off in speed although I knew I couldn't stay under 6 min/km pace for long. The uphill side of the course felt harder than last year even though the steepest part had been removed. The event was somewhat disorganised. The drinks table didn't appear until half way through and there was no board to display the penalties. The chief judge Peter was going to tell walkers if they were given a card.
I tried to concentrate very hard on my technique particularly when going past David, the A grade judge who was positioned just before the turn at the top of the course. It was disconcerting to realise that David was asking Peter about my technique and to see them both looking intently as I walked past. Robyn was gradually increasing the gap and I wasn't sure I would be able to catch her up. Although I hadn't even had any warnings at that stage I decided to put my effort into technique and to pull back on speed.
My finishing time was 62:09 and I finished with three bent leg warnings but no cards. After the race David told me that my knees never straightened 100% but that they were consistent and, as it was not giving me any advantage, he was happy to let it go. Unfortunately the judges at the nationals in two weeks time may not see it the same way.
Later last night I read feedback from Jim after seeing my video. He tells me I am sitting down on my hips and need to strengthen my core and butt a lot in order to improve things. I am pleased that there is something I can do to get better and I only hope that I can understand and master what it is I need to do.
It's a beautiful morning despite the weather forecast predicting rain so am off for my 130 min walk. I am feeling good - not much stiffness after the race yesterday.
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