20 km Training Walk

The weather forecast for today was pretty awful. In the early hours of the morning I listened to strong winds and heavy rain and was not looking forward to this walk. When I headed off from home at 11:00 am the rain had cleared but it was still cold and windy. I was surprised at how slow I was walking and seemed to do better when I was down on the flat. Philip joined me near the 12 km mark and we walked the last 8 km together. I'm not sure how I managed to be so slow but assume that doing the distance was beneficial despite the lack of speed.

20 km Training Walk

Saturday 12 May - Chocolate Race

I was scheduled to do 4 x 2 km sprints but did a 6 km race followed by a 2 km warm down instead. I estimated a time of 36:25 based on my result in the last 6 km race.  I started in 5th place and passed John during the downhill on the first leg. We were not allowed to wear watches but they called out our times at the end of the first 3 km leg. I was surprised to hear 17:47 since I didn't feel that I was working that hard. I was sure that I would slow on the next lap so wasn't too concerned about being ahead of my estimate. On the second downhill I caught up to Peter Baillie who has not walked for over six months and managed to pass him. About 500 m from the finish I also passed Natasha which was even more of a surprise. I continued on at a good pace only to find I finished in 35:54, 31 seconds faster than my estimate.

Two walkers managed to complete the race in exactly their estimated times so I suspect my result will be one of the worst. We all got a small chocolate bar and the winners got a block of chocolate for their prize.

Friday 12 May - 10 km with 2 x 5 min @ 10 k pace

It was raining a bit when I went out but I hate fast walking with a coat on so I decided to take a chance on getting wet. The wind was not too bad and I decided to do both fast spells on the outward leg in case the wind was worse on the way back.  I was really pleased with the pace I was getting on the non-sprint sections. This could have been due to me being pushed for time to get back to the office and have a shower in time to meet the 1:30 lunch date I had with Philip. My time for the 10 km was 1:05:07 which is better than one or two 10 km race times I have achieved. Average HR 144 bpm.


10 km with 2 x 5 min @ 10 km pace