Catching Up

Sunday 11 December - 20 km Training Walk

Philip got me to drop him at the track at 8:30 am where he was officiating at the national Secondary School champs so I got an early start to my walk today. I parked near the French cafe at the bottom of the Ngaio Gorge thed walked out to the Ngauranga Gorge before turning to walk into town and around the bays. This out and back route would allow me to do 20 km with only a couple of road crossings. It was a perfect day for walking - overcast and calm. I wore a camelback today which is easier to walk with than my backpack and easier to drink from than grabbing the drink bottle. I got back to my starting point after 4.5 km and mentally calculated that with 15.5 km left to go, I should turn around after 12.75 km. That was wrong. Considering I have a honours degree in maths, my mental arithmetic should be better! I should have turned around at 12.25 so I ended up walking 21 km this morning. It wasn't as hard out there today as it was last Sunday but I was still feeling pretty fatigued for the last few km. I was pleased to average 7:28/km for the 21 km - that's much better than last week but still way below my capability. I have managed this pace for a whole marathon a number of times but that was before I got my glutes doing any of the work!

21km training walk

Saturday 10 December - 3 x 2 km with 3 min rest

My daughter had asked me to take her shopping this morning but I ended up buying more than she did. The one-hour of shopping extended to around 3 hours so it was 2 pm when I got home. I hadn't eaten since breakfast since I don't like to sprint on a full stomach so I was hoping that my late morning latte would be enough to keep me going. I didn't want to drive to a flat spot so I decided to do some laps outside a large resthome complex not too far from home. This is relatively flat and does not involve crossing roads. I was pleased to discover that it was around 600 m in length. It was very hot and sunny and I had decided not to carry water with me. I expected this workout to be difficult but wanted to give it a good go. I was pleased to see that I managed 12:22 for the first 2 km and even more pleased to manage 12:09 for the second 2 km. I was pretty drained after the second sprint so managed only 13:12 for the third 2 km. This made a total of 58 km for the past week - not a bad effort!

3 x 2 km with 30 sec rests

Friday 9 December - 12 km with 2 x 5 min @ 10 km pace

I had put in a good effort for the 15 km on Thursday and wasn't sure if I could manage the 12 km today. 2 km sprints didn't seem that much easier and I felt I would manage Sunday's 20 km better if I did only 6 km on Saturday rather than 12 km. The weather was good and I managed a better pace a the start than I had done the previous day. I decided to do my fast efforts early on - at the start of 3 km and 5 km, aiming for 6 min/km pace over these. I was pleased to maintain a pace of 6:40 over the first 10 km and delighted to average 6:45 for the full 12 km.

12 km with 2 x 5 min @ 10 km pace

15 km Training Walk

We had our team Christmas lunch today so I was feeling pretty full when I headed out a few hours later, despite being restrained at the restaurant. I had a slight stitch for the first km or so but I was able to settle into a rhythm after that. The weather was cool with a light southerly wind with the threat of rain that didn't eventuate. I was pleased to see my average pace dropping down as I continued the walk and finished the 15 km in 1:49 for an average pace of 7:15. I am feeling a bit stiff afterwards and my left ankle is quite tender.

15 km Training Walk

5 km Waterfront Race - Tuesday

I was still feeling the effects of the 20 km on Sunday so I knew I would not achieve a sub-30 minute time this night. It had been pretty wet for most of the day but cleared up before the race. Unfortunately the heavens opened up as we were standing on the start line so it was pretty wet for the first 500 m or so. I wasn't able to keep up with John but I tried to keep him in my sights and did manage to close the distance a bit in the second half. I reached half way at 15:16 so was pleased to capitalise on the southerly wind and finish in 30:27.

5 km Waterfront Race

20 km Training Walk - Sunday

The plan was to start out reasonably early in the day so that we would have most of the afternoon to do other things. We didn't get up until around 9:00 am so it was 10:30 before we finally got out the door and immediately we had to stop and put our raincoats on.

We live on a hill so there is a downhill at the start then undulations before we get to the big downhill to the Hutt Road. I had expected to get off to a slow start but to pick up speed once we got to the downhill. That didn't happen unfortunately.

As we were getting close to the city along the Hutt Road we saw a race walker coming towards us. We rarely come across other race walkers out training and were pleased to say 'Hello' to Alana Barber as she sped past us looking fresh and strong. By then the rain had stopped and I was able to put my coat in my backpack. I don't like training with a backpack on but I needed to carry water and a change of clothes in case we got drenched since we planned to catch a bus back home after the walk.

This was the first time I had walked from home to town wearing my GPS watch and I was surprised to find that the distance to my office was only around 7 km - I had previously estimated it to be 1 km further than that which means my speed had been less than I imagined when walking in over the years.

My legs felt stiff and heavy and I was struggling to get them moving. It was a good thing that Philip was with me because I felt tempted to cut the session short today. I needed to complete the 20 km to prove to myself that I can hold my core strong for all that time but I could not get any speed on this session. My heart rate remained very low throughout even though it was taking a huge effort for me to keep walking. Philip picked me up on my technique with about 3 km to go, showing I wasn't able to hold my shape as well as I intended. We finished the walk at the Maranui Surf Club which has a cafe with great food and a wonderful outlook over the sea. After a tasty lunch we walked a few km to Newtown from where we could catch our bus back to Khandallah.

The 20 km took 2:43 but I did do 4 races including 2 pb times in the previous 8 days so I guess I can be excused. I have 20 km to do each week for a while so I'm hoping that all the rest will be considerably better than this one.

20 km training walk

Bittersweet

I must have played the worst tennis ever in my interclub matches this morning. My head just wasn't in it, my timing off, first few steps to the ball at a snail's pace and the number of errors astronomical. To make matters worse my opponent was a good player who was quick around the court and made few unforced mistakes. The only good thing was that my singles and doubles were completed by just after 10:30 am so I was able to get to the race without a mad panic.

It turned out to be hot and sunny despite the brief shower that came over just as our tennis was starting. During the warm up it felt like the heat would take its toll and I would not do a good time. There were three walkers who were likely to finish ahead of me - Natasha Murrihi, Allanah Parker and Kevin Watson. I wanted to try and beat Kevin who is likely to be a close rival in our club's summer competition. I settled into third pace behind Kevin at the start but decided to pass him before I reached the start/finish line for the first time since I felt I could manage a quicker pace. My aim was for 2:24 laps so it was great to do the first 200 m in 1:11, the first 400 m in 2:16 and the first 1 km in 5:46. Unfortunately I missed hitting the lap button for three of the laps so I don't have a full break down. Allanah passed me after 1.5 laps and she passed Natasha a couple of laps after that to finish in first place.

I got a caution from Peter in my second lap which suggests that I was not walking well in the first 200 m and I received two more cautions within in the next two laps. With three laps to go I had one red card and a second one the next lap. I finished in third place in a time of 17:31 which was a 17 sec pb. I knew there was a good chance that a third card would come in and sure enough about 5 min after I finished, David informed me that I was disqualified.

It is clear that combining walking and tennis on the same day (or even on successive days) does not make for a good result for either sport. Tennis is a team sport and there are times I have to make myself available if other team members can't make it.

I may have got through the race without disqualification if I went a bit slower but I didn't feel strained at the speed I was doing and I don't want to always play safe. I won't know what I can achieve if I don't push the boundaries. I think today's issues were more in my head than anywhere else. I wan't concentrating as well as I needed to and I paid for it. I was pleased with the speed I achieved and feel that even better results will be possible in the future.

I will be put as the last finisher in our club competition as I was the only walker who was disqualified. I finished more than 30 sec ahead of Kevin but that counts for nothing. C'est la vie.

3 km race - Regional Meeting

20 min With Stride Outs

I just wanted a gentle walk today since I have tennis in the morning followed by a 3 km race if I can get there. I really need to leave at around 11:00 am to get to the race in plenty of time (the race is scheduled for 12:20) but my tennis sometimes doesn't finish until 1 pm. Let's hope our matches are short tomorrow and that I'm able to go on first to play my singles otherwise I may not make the race. It's part of a regional series and included in our club's summer series so I'd like to get there if possible.

20 min with stride outs

10 km Training Walk

The weather today was fine and sunny with a moderate northerly wind. I was feeling pretty good - not too stiff in the legs after a fast 5 km on Tuesday but a little sore in the ankles after tennis practice last night.

I had planned to aim for 7 min kms and to concentrate on technique today. At the start it seemed like I may only manage 7:30 min/km and I thought that was okay given how I had struggled to go under 8 min when I was training in Motueka. I stopped at the 1.5 km mark to turn on the auto-lap function which I had turned off for the weekend's races. I was walking at a comfortable pace and realised that I was going to average well under 7 min/km. I was pleased to be able to maintain my pace into the head wind. The last km is always slow with 4 road crossings and an uphill at the end but I did achieve my adjusted goal of 6:45 /km.

10 km Training Walk