20 km training walk

It was a sunny spring day with a cool light breeze. I managed to convince Philip to walk with me by promising to walk 7:30/km but found that around 7 min was a more comfortable pace after the first km (we didn't warm up before starting the watch). After a few km I was starting to leave Philip behind me but figured I would pick him up on the way back. We parked the car near a cafe overlooking the ocean near Island Bay and headed around the bays. I estimated that I should turn around after about 9 km which would be roughly at the bottom of the Ataturk memorial.

The scenery was stunning with the South Island mountains visible in the distance and the white capped waves crashing on the rugged rocky coastline. The footpath ran out after 7 km and I walked most of one lap on a very uneven track, opting for the road after nearly going over on my ankle. The road was narrow and I didn't feel safe so I turned back after 8 km. One of the laps was into a strong wind and I made an effort to really push into my feet. This turned out to be my fastest lap. My pilates tutor has been saying 'Less is more' and I keep reminding myself of this. Sometimes reducing my cadence and relaxing into a better technique is giving me a good speed for much less effort. By the time 15 km came around I was really starting to tire - my glutes aren't used to this effort.

My best result in a judged 20 km event is 2:14. I was very happy with completing today's walk in 2:23. I concentrated on technique and managed a pretty good pace at the same time.

Tomorrow I have another 20 km walk. I am sure Jim didn't intend me to do two long walks in a row but the one hour race last Sunday meant I didn't get the 20 km in last weekend. I'm off for a long hot bath in the hope of loosening up for tomorrow's effort.

20 km training walk