10 km Training Walk

I had to go into work for a couple of hours then went for a walk along the waterfront. Once again I decided to to two laps rather than walk directly into a strong southerly wind. My average pace was 7:05 with average HR of 139 bpm. It was not fast but at least I do feel confident of completing 10 km without tiring too much.

10 km Training Walk

3 km Track Race

I should have been doing 7 x 1 km today but I wanted to support the weekly race at the track. I had thought that perhaps I would do another 4 x one km sprints after the race, depending on if I was still as stiff and slow as yesterday. I did at least 1 km warm up before the race and was struggling to go over 7 min/km. I thought perhaps I would finish behind a few of the walkers that I normally beat. I'm not sure quite what happened when the gun went off but somehow the sore muscles didn't hurt so much and I managed to get into a reasonable rhythm. I was surprised to get to 3 km in 18:29 since I had been concentrating on technique and had not walked at top speed. My average HR was 153 bpm. I did another km or so to warm down and then some stretches but I didn't think it was a good idea to do any more sprints.

3 km Track Race

Philip took some film of my walk today which I will post here.

12 km Training Walk

I had planned to do 7 x 1 km today but I knew as soon as I started to warm up that this would not be a good work out for me today. My hamstrings were extremely tight and I thought the chances of me getting up to sprint speed were not good. I decided to turn the watch on and to attempt to sprint once I reached the 1 km mark. I would then decide whether to sprint or to change to a 12 km walk, based on the result of that second km. When I only managed 7 min I didn't want to report that pace as a sprint so I changed to the longer walk. Conditions were good for walking with a light wind that did not affect pace too much. I concentrated on technique but tried to maintain some pace and completed the walk in 1:25:51 for an average pace of 7:09 and an average HR of 138 bpm. I only hope I can manage a sprint tomorrow. I will be looking for a massage tonight.

12 km Training Walk

15 km Training Walk

There were northerly gales blowing in Wellington today and I happened to have 15 km on my programme. Nothing for it - these could be exactly the conditions I have to race in at some stage so there is no use wimping out. I did decide not to go for an out and back course. That would have blown me down to Kilbernie and it would have been a huge battle to come back into the wind. Instead I did three and a bit 4 km laps along Oriental Parade, mostly with the wind at my side. I could not help gasping out a small squeal when I was dowsed by a wave washing over the footpath. I won't need to exfoliate for a while - the sand blowing across my skin did a good job of that. It took quite an effort to get the sand out of my hair afterwards too.

I felt my technique was good and I was pleased with the time I achieved in difficult conditions. 1:52:37 to complete 15 km for an average pace of 7:30 and an average HR of 129 bpm.

15 km Training Walk

Weekend Races, 10 km Training Walk

Tuesday 24 January - 10 km Training Walk

I did not walk on Sunday due to the races on the weekend so I needed to do one of the longer walks today. I arrived early at the usual 5 km race so I could pay my entry fee then head out and walk 4 km prior to the start. I averaged 6:52 for those first 4 km which was not a bad warm up. When the race started I wondered if I would be able to manage anything like a race pace and I was quite pleased with what I achieved. John did not race today so I lead from around the 200 m mark when I managed to pass Jackie who always gets off to a good start. It was good racing conditions today and I completed the 5 km race in around 31:50 and the 10 km in 1:07.

10 km Training Walk Including 5 km Race

Monday 23 January - Capital Classic 3 km Track Walk

A strong field of women entered this race. It is always great to see their strength and technique. Once again my focus was on getting past the judges so I walked well within what I am capable of in respect of speed. My hip isn't completely right yet so that would have limited my speed if I was going for it. It was an evening race and the weather was overcast and calm - great racing conditions. There were 5 judges and the meeting manager had decreed that disqualified walkers would be removed from the course.

I had emailed my entry days ahead of the closing date but I think my entry had been forgotten for a while because my name was not in the programme and I was given the widest spot on the starting line. All other walkers except Kate were in alphabetical order. I think we must have been the 'late' entries. It did not worry me - I learned years ago that it's not a good idea to rush off like a scared rabbit as soon as the gun goes. In my first ever race on the track I felt exhausted after the first 200 m. I had been unsure how to find a position on the inside lane so I went flat out to get to the front.

I walked a little wide for the first 100 m then tucked in behind John and Kevin. They might have been going slightly slower than I wanted but I wanted to settle in before attempting to pass. We did the first 200 in around 1:10 and the first km in around 6 min so it was an okay pace. I passed Kevin on the 3rd or 4th lap and then passed John a lap or two after that. There was quite a big distance between myself and Sue Hoskin who was the next walker in front of me. I noticed one penalty for me on the board at around the 4th lap. I had not seen any warning prior to that but I did get a warning from David on about the 5th lap. I concentrated hard on standing upright and pushing off my back toe. I finished the race in 18:30 and was very pleased to find out that I received just the single penalty. I was 7th woman and 8th overall.

The meeting results are here: http://www.athletics.org.nz/WELL/Resource.aspx?ID=13744

Capital Classic 3 km Track Walk

Saturday 21 January - 5 km Tack Walk

We were a wee way down the road heading to the track when I realised that my Garmin was not in my gear bag. It would have made it marginal to arrive on time if we went back and my aim for this race was primarily to get past the judges so I figured it really did not matter. My hip was still sore and I gave it a good long warm up.

There were only three judges for the race, one of whom was my husband. This was my first 5 km on the track this season so I had no idea how I would go. The day was hot and windy - not ideal race conditions. The first five placings were probably decided in the first 200 m - young Stuart in the front, Chris (just returned to racing having given up at the age of 20, now aged 42), Robyn, me, then Kevin. I haven't managed to keep up with Robyn in the last two or three years but I'd like to give it a good go this year. Not on this race though - I had to hold back and concentrate on form. Unfortunately the only judge I managed to convince was Philip so I finished with 2 red cards in a time of 31:18.

3 km, 2 km, 3 x 1 km

Theoretically I should be able to average 6 min /km on this workout. My right leg is still sore and the wind was reasonably strong so I figured that I would be happy with anything better than 6:30. I did a warm up of around 1 km before starting my watch. When the first 500 m took 3:29 I thought perhaps I should turn back at the 1.5 km mark and walk half of this lap with the wind behind me. The second 500 was 3:16 and the third 3:10 so I decided it would be okay to do the full 3 km into the wind. The average pace on the first 3 km was 6:21 and I figured I would be able to significantly reduce the average over the remaining laps which largely had the wind behind me. I walked slowly into the wind on the rest periods.

The 2 km lap took 12:20 but I seemed to flag after that. The 1 km laps were 6:21, 6:22 and 6:41. The last lap included turning a couple of times and walking 150 m into the wind. I was concentrating hard on pushing on the back foot and seemed to loose my sense of pace with the new technique. On seeing my pace on the first 500 m of laps 6 and 7, I was able to do the second 500 m 8 - 20 sec faster.

My overall average pace was 6:22 min/km and average HR 155 bpm.

3 km, 2 km, 3 x 1 km

8 km Training Walk (including 5 km race)

I had intending walking 1.5 - 2 km prior to this race but I was a bit late leaving work and only had time for 1 km. My right leg was sore - right at the top of the hamstring. It has been sore since about Thursday. I only managed around 6:50 for that warm up km and wondered if I'd even manage to keep up with Jackie who is 65 and has a PB of 32:15. When the race started I seemed to manage to get a bit more lift and that meant my leg was not hurting as much. I tried to forget about pace and to concentrate on pushing off my back toe. I think I largely achieved this. My 5 km time was an unmemorable 31:28. I had a quick drink then set off for the remaining 2 km. I wasn't pushing myself but finished the 8 km in 53:02 for an average pace of 6:37 and an average HR of 153.

Philip will massage my leg tonight but I will try to get a physio appointment in the next day to have it checked out before the two races this weekend. (The second race is on Monday which is part of our weekend since it is on Wellington Anniversary Day - a public holiday)

8 km Training Walk

Another 12 km Training Walk

It was a great day for walking today and the power went off at work so a longer walk seemed a good idea. From the first step my right hamstring was very sore and if it had continued like that I would have reduced the distance. Fortunately it did loosen up. I walked at a very easy pace and concentrated on a good heal strike and holding my toe. If my mind wandered off the job then the back toe didn't hold as long so there's quite a bit of work to do to get this ingrained. My overall pace was 7:21 which was better than yesterday and okay under the circumstances. Average HR 138 bpm.

12 km Training Walk

12 km Training Walk

We (Philip and I) left this walk until late afternoon. It had been windy all day and it didn't settle down at all. I suggested we walk along the Hutt River which I thought would be more sheltered than our usual round the bays route. After around 3 km we were walking directly into the gale and it was slow going. I made a determined effort to push off my back toe and I could certainly feel the difference.

It occurred to me that my right archilles hadn't been giving me any problems over the last 6 weeks or so. It was sore after today's walk are were my toes (My toe joints are lacking flexibility and I have neglected to do the regular stretching of these recommended by the podiatrist). That got me wondering if my technique went backward because I unconsciously found ways to reduce my discomfort in these things. I did walk better today but probably not when fighting my way into the gale.

We took around 1:32:30 for 12 km for an average pace of 7:43. I will add Garmin data later. Average HR 124 bpm.

12 km Training Walk

3 km Track Race

I was feeling very stiff before this race, particularly in my right hamstring. Jim tells me this is a sign that I have not been using my glutes properly. I did about three laps to try and loosen up but it didn't feel much better. With a moderate wind and hot day as well, I wasn't feeling confident of a good time. When the race started I went wide on the first bend to get to the front and it wasn't long before I was passed by young Stuart. I managed to stay within around 100 m of him throughout the whole race which was pleasing. With many of our officials still away on holidays there was no official judging of the race but three people did make notes to give us feedback after the race. My husband gave me a bent knee warning on lap 2 and my former coach did the same on lap three. I was pleased to get to the start/finish for 1 km in 5:42 and to complete 2 km in 11:34. Those 2 km sprints are paying off! I completed the 3 km in 17:21 which was 9 seconds faster than my last 3 km race in which I was DQ'd. The feedback from each of the unofficial judges was that they would have given me a red card which was disappointing.

Jim tells me I am leaning too far forward from the ankles. I am to concentrate on standing upright and holding my backstep to lengthen my stride. I will work hard on this the next few weeks since I really want to have a legal technique.

3 Km Track Race

I haven't had a chance to write up my last couple of training sessions so here they are:

Thursday 12 January - 3 x 2 km (3 min rest) + 2 x 1 km (2 min rest)

I have found that I struggle to do training sessions on four consecutive days and I was feeling a bit stiff this day. I wasn't looking forward to this session but I was determined to do it and have a rest day Friday prior to the race on Saturday. I did a warm up of around a km at a pretty slow pace and was resigned to the fact that I may not manage much better than 7 min/km. There was a reasonably strong wind blowing for my first and 3rd 2 km. To my surprise I managed an okay pace and finished the 8 km in 49:58 for an average pace of 6:15/km and average HR of 155 bpm.

Lap times were: 12:30, 12:07, 12:58, 6:15, 6:09

3 x 2 km with 3 min rest and 2 x 1 km with 2 min rest

Wednesday 11 January - 12 km Training Walk

This was my first day back at work after the Christmas break. My yoga class restarted today at 11:15 - 12:00 and I decided to go out to walk straight after that to save getting changed twice. (It did mean working until 6:30 pm after taking a 3 hour break). I felt pretty good after stretching out some stiffness in the yoga class and tried to walk at a steady pace and to concentrate on a good technique. The wind was very strong so I thought my average pace of 7:26 /km was not bad. My average heart rate was 135 bpm.

12 km Training Walk

8 km fartlek

I had 8 km to today but there was a 5 km race so I decided to do 2.5 km before the race and the other 500 m at the end. I was stiff after doing a good 20 km walk the previous day. It was quite windy so I was pleased to go under 6 min for the first km. There were just a few minutes between my first 2.5 km and the race. I started the race at a steady pace and was surprised to see John take off a long way ahead of me. I pulled him in over the first 2 km and passed him a couple of times on my faster 500 m stretches. He passed me again just before the turn and finished about a minute ahead. I was happy with my race result of 30:50 for the 5 km given that it was part of my 8 km fartlek. I took a quick drink before starting the last 500 m but I was hot and tired by then and didn't manage to achieve the sprint pace that was supposed to happen.

5:54

3:09 + 3:05 = 6 :14

3:13 + 2:57 = 6 :10

3:02 + 2:56 = 5 :58

3:06 + 3:04 = 6 :10

3:13 + 3:05 = 6 :18

3:16 + 3:06 = 6 :22

3:14 + 3:34 = 6 :48

8 km Fartlek

Monday 9 January - 20 km Training Walk

After my big effort on Saturday I had little energy for walking on Sunday and the stormy weather made it easy to decide to make that a rest day. It was still drizzly when I woke up this morning but by late afternoon it was fine with a moderate southerly wind. I had an appointment with John the podiatrist as my toes had become very sore with pressure bumps between the big toe and second toe. He trimmed these and gave my spacers to wear between the toes. He is going to meet me at the track on Saturday to see me walk and is considering making an adjustment to my orthotics to try an reduce the pressure between my toes caused by my large bunions.

I decided not to wear the spacers for this walk as they did not feel that comfortable and probably need some trimming. I drove down to the Hutt Road where I could walk into town and around the waterfront with just one road crossing. I was averaging 6:50/km for the first few kms even though I was walking into the wind. That was a relief after not being able to go under 8 min/km on my last 20 km attempt. I expected to pick up speed after turning at the 10 km mark but tiredness was starting to kick in so I didn't manage much change. At the 15 km mark my average pace was 7:02 but my last 2 km were particularly slow so my overall average was 7:10 and average HR 135 bpm.

20 km Training Walk

Saturday 7 January - 10 km fartlek

I was a bit apprehensive about this walk after the poor speed on my last walk which was why I had given myself a rest day on Friday. I left the walk until late afternoon and made sure I did a small warm up and a loo stop before starting. It was great to see the speed I achieved on the first km 5:39 - I don't remember ever doing a km faster than this. The first 4 km were with a tail wind and the next 4 km into the wind which was quite strong. I then did 1 km out and back. My starting point was not far from the apartment building where Alana Barber lives and I passed Alana waiting at the bus stop about 200 m from the end of my workout. I worked hard today and was pleased with the results. My overall time was 1:03:15, average pace 6:17/km and average HR 153 bpm.

5:39 tail wind
3:08 + 2:55 = 6:03
3:13 + 2:53 = 6:06
3:16 + 2:51 = 6:07
3:25 + 3:03 = 6:28 into wind
3:22 + 3:02 = 6:24
3:24 + 3:05 = 6:29
3:32 + 3:07 = 6:39
3:32 + 2:02 = 6:34 tail wind
3:36 + 3:06 = 6:42 into wind

10 km Fartlek

20 km Training Walk

I did not feel good about this walk before I went out, probably due to the slow speed of my sprints the previous day. There was a strong wind blowing and my muscles were feeling stiff. I started the walk from home which means up and down terrain for the first few km. Once on the flat I was only managing around 8:15 per km and that was with the wind behind me! I tried to relax and to concentrate on my core but things didn't improve. My glutes were feeling fatigued. As I did not want to turn and walk back into the wind I decided to walk into Newtown and to catch a bus home from there. I racewalked for 13.5 km at an average speed of 8:13 but could not racewalk for around 500 m up the hill into Newtown.

A Khandallah bus went past just before I was able to cross the road to get to the bus stop. The next bus was not due for 25 min so I decided to keep walking until the bus was due. My total distance walked was 16.86 km. I am surprised at how slow I was. I have walked faster and felt better in the second half of a marathon than today's effort. The Garmin site is down at the moment - probably a sign that posting my log for this walk is not a good idea.

Wednesday 4 January - 6 x 1 km with 2 min recovery

I probably should have done the 20 km today but I wasn't ready to walk until 5 pm and didn't want to be getting back after 7:30 pm so I chose the shorter but more intense speed session. There was a strong wind blowing which did limit the speed I was able to achieve (along with the 22 km walked in the past two days). I found this session harder than I expected to. On a good day I would expect to average around 5:50/km but only managed 6:23 with an average HR of 144.

6:23, 6:38, 6:25, 6:13, 6:22, 6:19

6 x 1 km with 2 min recovery

Tuesday 3 January - 10 km with 2 x 5 min @ 10 km pace

We drove into town at around 4:30 pm to do this walk around the waterfront. There were people everywhere which made finding a path to walk quite tricky at times. I decided to do my fast efforts at 2 km and at 6 km, the latter after I had turned and had a tail wind. I was feeling pretty good and was pleased with my average of 6:39 min /km. My average heart rate was 150 bpm.

10 km with 2 x 5 min @ 10 km pace

12 km Training Walk

I decided to drive to the Petone foreshore for today's walk which would also include the Hutt River. I have walked parts of this route in a number of different races. I was very tight today and couldn't relax into reasonable pace. I stopped after one km to take off my jacket and couldn't avoid pressing the lap button as I pulled the sleeve over my Garmin. I was pretty hot throughout the walk and was grateful for the breeze I was walking into on the far side of the river. Not a great session today with an average pace of 7:22 and average HR of 134 bpm.

12 km Training Walk





The photos and videos were taken by Philip when I did my sprint workout at the track on Christmas Eve. The photos show what my legs look like when they are as straight as I can get them. It's not surprising I get judged as having bent knees! The videos seem to show that as I concentrate on speed, my form suffers.

Happy New Year

I started the New Year with a champagne breakfast with my children, my sister and my brother-in-law. We then played some squash and tennis so no walking training happened today.

Saturday 31 December - 8 km Fartlek

It had been raining steadily for most of the day and I had put off going for a walk. Around 5 pm I decided to drive into town for a flat area to do my training session. Fortunately the rain had all but stopped by then. My first 500m was pretty slow but I did get into more of a sprint for the second 500m. It surprised me that I was able to keep my slower 500s at a good pace but I had to turn around and head back towards town to find a toilet. That explains the drop in heart rate at 3 km. I was a bit slow getting going again but then completed quite a good session with an average pace of 6:08/km and average HR of 157 bpm.

6:10
3:16 + 2:57 = 6:13
3:02 + 2:49 = 5:51
3:24 + 3:01 = 6:25
3:09 + 2:55 = 6:04
3:10 + 3:01 = 6:11
3:15 + 2:53 = 6:08
3:13 + 2:49 = 6:02


I must have forgotten to turn my watch off after finishing 8 km. The averages are over the 8 km only.

8 km Fartlek

Friday 30 December - 6 km Training Walk

The weather was miserable all day but there were only two days left in the week and I had two training sessions left to do, so staying in wasn't an option. I decided to pick the easier session and to wear my raincoat so I wasn't completely drenched. I didn't want to drive so I walked from home, mostly downhill to the Ngaio roundabout, meaning I had largely an uphill trek back. I tried to pick the least steep route on my return and ensured that my 6 km was finished before getting to my street which is too steep to be able to racewalk. I completed 6.25 km in 43:50 for an average pace of 7 min/km. It's not fast but better than some of my recent sessions.

6 km Training Walk