15 km Training Walk

It was another warm day but with a bit more breeze that kept the temperature down a bit. I didn't expect to be fast so it seemed a good idea to meet up (after 2 km) with some of the club walkers who go out on a Thursday. I was expecting a speed of around 7:30 min/km but unfortunately I pulled away from them as soon as we started. I didn't want to go any slower so that was the last I saw of them.  I was glad the shade along the way and the tail wind that enabled two 5 minute bursts at a faster pace.

My time was 1:52:55 for an average pace of 7:32 and average HR of 131. My left ankle is feeling really tight and sore but my right hamstring is getting better. That injury has made me think about using my butt and not the hamstring which is all good.

15 km Training Walk

8 Km Fartlek

I should have been doing 10 km today but it was tempting to give training a miss. Work is busy, my right hamstring was sore, it was very hot and there was tennis practice at 6 pm.  With a bit of determination I got myself out the door and down to the waterfront. Being such a lovely day, the paths were busy with bikes, scooters, skateboarders, prams, runners and pedestrians so it was a challenge to find a way through at times. I was a bit pushed for time so decided to cut the walk back to 8 km. I flagged a lot over the last 2 km so that was a good decision.

My pace was not great but the Garmin data does show that I did try to speed up for those fast laps. I am happy with what I achieved today.  8 km in 54:32 for an average pace of 6:49 min/km and average HR 151 bpm.

8 km Fartlek

5 km Waterfront Run - Cross Training

I wanted to improve on my time from last week so I aimed to do 2:30 500m laps. I was doing okay at the start but felt a slight pull in my right buttock - probably something to do with our concentration on tightening those muscles in my yoga class yesterday.  I got to the turn around in 13 minutes flat but the heat was starting to get to me. My throat was feeling very dry and I didn't see any point in pushing myself too hard.  I stopped  a few seconds at a drinking fountain and carried on at a more moderate pace. I was glad to finish but my time of 27:02 was 39 seconds slower than two weeks ago.  It was an eye opener to find out how much I melted in the heat today. I think I need more practice in these conditions. Average pace 5:27, average HR 161.

5 km Waterfront Run

Sunday 27 January - 20 km training walk

I got to bed at 2:00 am after celebrating a friend's 50th but was woken at 7:30 when it was too hot and sunny to stay in bed. I decided to head out for my walk without bothering about breakfast but I did take a hydration pack. My Garmin ran out of power before I got to 500m. It had somehow been turned on after my race on Friday.

I walked a route from home to Island Bay that I have done on many occasions. I think the distance is 20 km.  It took me around 3 hours which is very slow but not bad given the circumstances. It was a lovely day and there were heaps of people around enjoying the coastline. Philip timed himself to arrive just as I finished and we had a picnic by the sea.

Friday 25 January - Capital Classic 3000m Track Walk

I was feeling a bit jaded before this race which I think was due to not getting to bed early enough over the week. I did get to the track in plenty of time and warmed up well. The new track has only just been finished and ours was the first event on it. The surface is very different to the previous one but it felt pretty good to me.  It was a warm afternoon with little wind - good conditions for walking really.  My time of 18:06 was a little disappointing - I was hoping to better my PB of 17:48 set a few years ago at this event.  The good thing was that I did not receive any cards and only one warning in the second to last lap. (There were 5 judges out there).

I will be a bit more prudent in the lead up to my next races and will take confidence from not attracting the attention of the judges.  I will also try to practice in the heat some more since I think that was a factor in my performance.

The Garmin data shows the race in the first 6 laps but then shows nonsense as the watch was accidentally turned on. My average HR sat around 165 bpm.

3000m Capital Classic

Leisurely Training Walk

It was a public holiday today but I worked until 1 pm then headed of to my first 'intermediate' yoga class. It was certainly more challenging than I was used to but very enjoyable.

I headed out for a walk after that but since I had left my Gamin at home I decided to go up to Newtown Park to see what the new track was looking like. That route has too many road crossings for a seriously timed walk but was quite a good distance for today - probably a bit more than 10 km for the return trip.

The track is looking good. The lanes are marked but they were doing some of the other markings around the 100m start. I thought there might have been a meeting today but it looks like it will actually only just be finished in time for the Capital Classic on Friday.

No statistics today. I made an effort to walk correctly and it was good not to be concerned about the pace.

Paekakariki Fun Walk

The forecast was for rain this morning but it has passed before the race started. The conditions were perfect - fine with no wind. The course was a bit up and down with some places where race walking was too difficult for me. I had a creeper on my shoulder for the whole event who thought he was walking. That made me put in more effort than I might have so I thanked him in the end. I managed to out-sprint him at the finish for a time 1 second ahead of him.

10.6 km 1:09:34. Average pace 6.33 min/km, average HR 159 bpm.

Paekakariki Fun Walk

Saturday 19 January - 3 km Road Race

I was running late so most walkers had already completed 1 km when I started this race. I went straight into it without a warm up and surprised myself with the speed I achieved given my effort in the 15 km walk the previous evening.

I am convinced that Geoff had the cones in a different spot to last week since my Garmin measured the total distance at 3.06 km and David's 3.08.  The Garmin says I did 3 km in 17:53 but the official time is 18:15. Average pace 5:57, HR 164.

This was meant to be a 10 km kickdown but I chose to go and have a coffee with the other walkers rather than stay for a longer session. I decided to do the 10.8 km race the next day instead of an 8 km training walk so that makes up some of the effort.  With the Capital Classic race next Friday I don't want to overdo things.

3 km Road Race

Friday 18 January - 15 km Training Walk with 2 x 5 min @ 20 km pace

The weather hadn't been great this week so it was nice to have some sunshine and not too much wind for this walk. The wind was a southerly which meant I would largely have it behind me on the return leg. I did try to do a fast session at the 2.5 km mark but didn't achieve my 20 km pace. It did lift my heart rate and settle me into a better pace so it was a good thing to do. My fast sessions were at the 9.5 km mark and again at 11 km. I tried to do another one at 12.5 km but I had turned into some wind by then.

Average pace 6:51, HR 152

15 km with 2 x 5 min @ 20 km pace

Wednesday 16 January - 2 x 2 km + 4 x 500 m with 2 min rests

I'm never sure when I go out for a sprint session if I will get anything near the 6 min/km pace that I want. My worse-case scenario is that I only manage 6:30 but luckily I have never been anywhere near that bad. This day there was a moderate wind but it could have been much worse and I kept most of my walk in a sheltered area. I was happy with my results:
12:21, 12:22, 3:02, 2:58, 3:12, 3:02

6 km in 36:58. Average pace 6:09, HR 159

2 x 2 km and 4 x 500 (2 min rests)

5 km Waterfront Run - Crosstraining

I want to support the 5 km race series but it does not fit in well with my training programme which needs a greater distance. I have finally figured out that the solution is to run the race as my cross training for the week.

My PB for the 5 km run is just under 24 mins which I achieved several years ago, not long after I started on a proper training programme for my walking. I didn't expect to get near that today, especially after a long, hard walk yesterday, but had hoped to go around 26 mins. My result of 26:23 wasn't far off that and was quite pleasing.

The km breakdowns were 5:12, 5:11, 5:25, 5:27, 5:09. The Garmin measured the course as 50 m short so the last km wasn't as fast as it seems. Average pace 5:19, average HR 161.

5 km Waterfront Run

Monday 14 January - 20 km Training Walk

We opted to drive to Masterton for a vineyard concert on Sunday and I wanted to fit the missed long walk in early in the week. It had rained heavily for most of the day but did seem to clear later in the afternnon. Unfortunately by the time I was ready to go out the rain had returned so I popped on my raincoat and went out anyway.  There was a blustery wind but not as bad as it has been recently.

I decided to head the opposite direction from home for 6.5 km then turn and walk all the way home, even though this involves going up hills too steep for racewalking.  I was averaging about 7:30 pace for the first 16 km but was no where near this on the hill.  I debated which route to take home and opted fro the shorter but steeper one which meant that I may end up quite a bit short of 20 km. I walked an extra block to ensure that I wasn't short and ended up over 20.5 km instead!

Average pace 8:09, average HR 130 bpm.

20 km Training Walk

Saturday 12 January - 3 km, 2 km, 3 x 1 km

It was pretty windy on Saturday (and sunny) but we had a family game of tennis doubles for about an hour in the morning. It's something we don't do that often and it was fun despite the conditions.

After that I hurriedly cooked the others some lunch then headed out to Trentham where a race had been organised since the track is not ready yet.  The distance hadn't been decided so I said that 3 km suited me since I could continue with the rest of my sprints afterwards. The others were happy with this, possibly since it was the first race after the holiday period.

It was good to have Stuart to lead the race out. I was a little surprised to find he didn't get that far ahead of me and I was even gaining on him in the last lap.  I completed the first 3 km in 18:23 on the measured course of 500 m laps although the Garmin records this as 18:47.  After a 2 min break I headed out for the 2 km whilst the last two walkers were finishing. My time was 12 :37.  This time I had a 3 min break in order to get some directions about where to go for afternoon tea - most important since I hadn't had lunch and was hungry!

The others packed up and left when I started my 1 km repeats. Once the cones disappeared I had to use the Garmin to measure the distance which means I was probably going more than 1 km since it is not accurate on short laps.  I was feeling the effects of too much relaxation and not enough training over the past few weeks so my 1 km times were not good: 6:42, 6:39, 6:47.

Overall average pace 6:27, average HR 156. After taking one wrong turn I found the right street but initially knocked on the wrong door before finding Robyn and Geoff's place. The tea and muffins hit the right spot!

3 km, 2 km and 3 x 1km

Happy New Year

I did not manage to get much of my training programme done over the holiday period but I am keen to settle back in to working hard. I'm in a new age group now so there are lots of goals to work towards. It's been very windy in the last month or so which has made it difficult to motivate myself to get out the door for training.

15 km Training Walk with 2 x 5 min at 20 km pace

It was a sunny day with strong winds.  I struggled to get up speed but did manage 3 fast sessions of 5 minutes when the wind was behind me. My glutamis medius muscles are fatigued so I'm hoping that is a sign of correct technique.

15 km Training Walk

Tuesday 8 January - 10 km Fartlek

I was reluctant to choose this workout because I have done little speed work in the past few months but there was no point in putting it off. Despite being slowed by the strong wind I was reasonably happy with my   average pace of 6:38 min/km

10 km Fartlek

Sunday 6 January - 21 km Training Walk

We stopped for lunch 2/3 of the way through this walk. I was unable to go at a speed I was happy with, averaging only 7:50 with HR 127 bpm. It is good to be getting some distance under my belt. Clearly my lack of training over the holiday period is having a serious impact.

21.4 km Training Walk

Sunday 23 December - Scottish Night of Miles

With the athletics track out of action, this event was held on the grass track at Lower Hutt. Bob gave me great competition in the one mile walk, forcing me to work hard to finish at the front of the small field. My time was 9:29 for an average pace of 5:48. This is not too bad for a grass track. My average HR was 162 bpm.

One Mile Walk

The Spiral Race handicap event followed immediately after the walk. This is an 8 lap event starting in lane 8 and moving in a lane after each lap for a total distance of 3.4 km. I had planned to walk it until I found I was starting with my sister who is a runner. After a lap or two I was passed by a runner in his 70s who set a very comfortable pace. I increased my speed in the final lap, passing him but was not quite able to catch the next runner. My average pace was 5:19. I was not wearing my heart rate strap.

3.4 km Spiral Race