Podiatrist Visit

This consultation was long overdue. Jim had concluded that my DQ in the Long Distance Race had something to do with my right foot and I have been having pain in my first joint of the second and third toes for quite some time.

Sure enough - John was quite concerned about some thickening around these joints. He reiterated the importance of flexing these joints at least 5 times a day and built up my right orthotic to spread the load more evenly across my foot. One orthotic was unchanged to give a comparison. I was probably unwise to stop wearing my toe spacers. I no longer needed these to prevent callouses rubbing but they were still helping to keep the big toe straighter which is better for my foot mechanics.

I am going back in a couple of weeks for a further assessment. I will work hard on those joints in the interim.

Sunday 9th February - 20 km Training Walk

We approached this walk differently - starting at Island Bay and looking to go out and back to finish at the same point. It was a sunny day but there was a pretty strong wind blowing. We heading out to Owhiro Bay first then back through Island Bay and around to the back of the airport. I knew that when we returned to Island Bay I would still have 2 km to do but that seemed the simplest option. The Island Bay Carnival was on so Philip could look around that whilst I did the last 2 km.

I made a pretty good effort at the race the previous day and didn't have much left for this walk so I was pleased to finish with an average pace of 8:01. It had started out at around 8:30.  Average HR was 113 bpm. I wasn't able to put in more effort - the heart was willing but the legs were tight. Just as well Philip was with me since I was chasing him most of the way.

20 km Training Walk

Saturday 8th February - 5000m Track Race, 4 min rest, 4 km Walk

This should have been 2 x 5 km with 4 min rest but I wanted to do the scheduled 5000m race to get feedback from the judges. I played a tennis singles lasting over 2 hours, finishing about 1.5 hours before the race. It was a hot day but with a strong wind so I wasn't expecting a great time.  My Garmin showed that I was managing a consistent pace and I didn't see any warnings from the judges. I was pleased with a time of 31:02 for an average pace of 6:12 and average HR around 160.

I couldn't use the track for the next 5 km so I headed out onto the road towards Newtown. I found it hard to generate any pace but the wind was a factor as well as fatigue. I didn't want to cross over roads with traffic lights so I had to turn around all too soon and got back to the track after only 2 km. I did another 2 km around the outside of the track but the pace was slow and I wanted to have some energy left for the 20 km the next day so I flagged the last km. I would have to think of the 4 km as more of a long warm down than interval training but at least I made an effort. The last 4 km took 31:23 for an average pace of 7:51and average HR around 130.

5000m Track Race, 4 min rest, 4 km Training Walk