Sunday 22 April - Home to Karori and return
It was a lovely day today and Philip suggested a walk through Wilton's Bush. Many of the tracks there are hilly so I suggested that instead we walk there from home so that we could get in plenty of race walking. There was a lot of downhill walking on the way. We stopped at Karori for some lunch (about 7.5 km) then headed back to the bush where we took park in a tour to show off some of the fungus in the reserve. We then walked home - not all of which was race walking due to the steepness of the terrain.
Saturday 21 April - Peter Tearle Trophy Race
This was the first race of the winter season and one in the all-rounder competition. It is a handicap race and my starting time was around 20 min after Peter Tearle, our oldest member after whom the race is named. We did almost 7 laps of a block in the suburb of Island Bay. I did an extra two laps as a warm up since my right hamstring was quite sore and needed plenty of warming. Peter had completed two laps before I started but I did pass him the first time on that first lap. I was happy with my pace and received some compliments on my style. Philip wasn't walking so he did a good job of reminding me of the technical things I needed to think about each time I passed him. By around two laps from the end I had managed to get myself onto the same lap as everyone else and did manage to pull a few people in near to the end. The winner was probably only 50 m ahead of me but it wasn't possible to catch him up. I finished 4th with an average pace of 6:04 /km and received a prize for being closest to the handicapper's estimated time. I also got a prize for winner the summer all-rounder competition and won the Race Walking NZ raffle draw for the month with Philip getting the third prize. It was a good afternoon for us!
Wednesday 18 April - 8 km Training Walk
My leg was feeling stiff and sore but I was determined to get out for a walk. My initial pace was around 7:30 so I was pleased to get that down to under 7:00 especially considering the reasonably strong wind.
Sunday 15 April - 8 km Training Walk
Philip and I parked the car at work and walked around the waterfront to the cafe at Greta Point. We had a long break for a coffee and read of the paper before returning into town to buy some vegetables at the market.
Monday 9 April - Australian Masters 10 km Road Race
This was the final race for me of the championship and the most challenging. It was 5 x 2 km laps along a diagonal path in a mid-Melbourne park. There were probably around 45 walkers with the men starting 2 minutes before the women. I thought I settled into a reasonable rhythm but Jim was telling me to tuck my butt every time I passed him so I knew he was concerned about my technique. I got a lifting warning in the first lap and had my first card at the 4 km point. I received another card at around the 6 km point so was pleased to finish the event in my second best ever time without being pulled off.
Unfortunately the chief judge found me after a few minutes and told me I had been disqualified. The board was showing three knee cards but the sheet showed my first card was actually for lifting. Whilst it was disappointing not to make it through all my races I felt I had made huge progress on my technique in a short time and was not upset.
It was a huge advantage to have Jim's coaching throughout this championship. Thanks so much Jim!
Saturday 7 April - Australian Masters 5 km Track Race
I was pleased to draw a place in the middle of the track for this race. Walkers with the high numbers had to start on the outside edge of the track. I tucked in behind two other walkers from my age group but before long felt I needed to pass them to maintain the pace I wanted. I passed one in the finishing straight of the first 200 m and the other about 200 m later. Each lap Jim was encouraging me to pull my left shoulder back and to stand upright. I was aware that I picked up two cards by around the 4 km mark so I concentrated hard on holding my technique. With 200m to go Jim encouraged me to work hard to finish under 30 min. I responded and managed a personal best time of 29:54, gaining a silver medal in the W50 age group. I was on edge for a few minutes after finishing in case another card came in but I must have done enough to convince the judges.
Friday 6 April - Australian Masters 1500 m Track Race
It was a warm afternoon by New Zealand standards so I was glad this was a short race. With around 20 starters in this race I was surprised that there was not a split start. I was given 10th place on the start line and was grateful not to be out wide. After about 150 m I almost stepped on the heel of the walker in front of me and decided I would have to pass her and the walker in front of her. Apparently I got a lifting warning as I did that but I did not see that. On the next lap I saw a judge approaching with a knee warning in hand but it was actually for the walker behind me. I didn't see any other warnings during the race and went as hard as I could in the last lap. I finished second in my age group in a time of 8:20, a 20 sec pb, and a raspy feeling in my throat. I don't think I've managed to go fast enough previously to feel as taxed as I did at the end of this race. It was great to know that I did not receive any penalties from the judges in this race.
Keep an eye out for some photos which I will try to add to this site in the next day or so.
Congrats to you on your success in Aussie. It was fantastic to hear you had gotten medals and such great times.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up!
I hope you will come to the Pan Pacific Games in the Gold Coast in Nov this year....and I will get to see you again.