Long Distance Championships

Sunday 21 October - Palmerston North

We decided to try out our new tent and sleep in the camping ground the night before the race. Unfortunately it was very close to the speedway track which was very loud until about 10:30 pm. I slept pretty well despite the rain and wind through the night.

The rain had stopped by the time I got to the race venue and there was plenty of time for a good warm up.  The start went well and my first km was faster than intended but not overly so. I was managing to keep under my target pace of 6:15 despite the strong wind.  I had a couple of warnings on lap 4 and some more the following lap. I forgot to check the board for a few laps and when I finally did check it was to see two bent knee signs against my name. I was relieved to go past the chief judge another time but that was short lived when he came across and withdrew me on the other side of the track just before the start/finish for 9 km.

I felt I had been walking well and I had lots of energy left so was pretty frustrated at not even getting to half way. I made a few disparaging remarks about the judges which I am sure they will forgive me for. The video clips here are not that convincing so I have to agree with their decisions and go back to the drawing board to work on the problems with Jim's help.

Long Distance Championships

The following videos are mostly for Jim (my coach) to analyse so he can tell me how to correct my technique.  I am walking into the wind on the more distant clips.

Friday 19 October

3 x 1 km @ 85% effort

It is never easy to determine was 85% effort is so I aimed to achieve a reasonable pace without going all out. The splits were 6:07, 5:58, 5:47 for an overall pace of 5:57 and average HR 162 bpm. My recoveries were 2 min. I am looking forward to doing some 3 km races on the track before too long because I am sure my pb of 17:48 will be well bettered.

3 x 1 km @ 85% effort

Tuesday 16 October

5 km Waterfront Race

This was the final event in the club's winter all-rounder series for walkers. I wanted to get a good time without over-exerting myself. I am writing this so long after the event that I can only remember that my result was much better than I expected. I finished the 5 km in 29:53 for an average pace of 5:59 and average HR 168 bpm.

5 km Waterfront Race