Wellington Masters 10 km Walk

This is never a well-supported race so I wasn't expecting many walkers to be there. We arrived in time for me to go once around the block as a warm up. There was a cool breeze but the warm up was enough for me to be able to take my sweat shirt off.

I pulled away right from the start and was managing a good pace of around 6:06.  The first half of the race went quite well but the head wind on the return took it's toll. After 500m I passed Philip who was leading the other walkers on their way out. It wan't too long before my left hip was starting to hurt the way that it did in the race last Sunday. I tried to keep working towards a good time but it was not easy to find the motivation. I managed a bit of extra speed towards the end, finishing in 62:31. The other competitors agreed with my Garmin that the course was around 120m too long this year. The course is on uneven footpaths and a cambered road so it is too much to expect a great time here.

My average pace was 6:11 and average HR 160 bpm.

Wellington Masters 10 km Walk

5 km Waterfront Race

I didn't expect to walk today since it was the walkers turn to run the event. When I arrived there were plenty of helpers and I was encouraged to participate in the race. It was a warm, sunny evening with a moderate northerly wind. I decided to walk at a comfortable pace with a good effort. It was pleasing to be passing some of the runners early on and to get to the turn-around in 14:40.

I was battling the wind on the return leg and was 20 seconds slower, completing the 5 km in 29:40. This was a pleasing result given that I was pretty sore when I finished the half marathon on Sunday.

I forgot my Garmin today so there is no link to the race data.

The following video is for Theresa Large. My email won't allow me to send files bigger than 25 mb.

Sunday 28 October

Napier Half Marathon

It was good to catch up with many fellow race walkers before the start of this event. I planned to walk at 6:15 pace - the same plan as for the long distance champs. That pace put me in the lead female position from the start, behind Graeme, Eric and Harry who disappeared from sight before too long.

I completed the first 5 km in 30:48, almost 30 seconds ahead of schedule. The outward leg was into a moderately strong wind and I was making a good effort to maintain my pace. The second 5 km took 31:40, 25 sec behind schedule. The half way point came up in 64:46. I was relieved to turn with the wind behind me but it was clear I was going to struggle to maintain pace.

It was at the 14 km mark that Vanessa passed me and she pulled away from me within the next km or so.  I was hurting quite a bit but determined to work hard to maintain the second placing. My 15 km time was 1:33:33 which is a PB time by over 90 sec.  When I passed the 10 km walkers with about 4 km to go, it was a pleasant surprise to see Philip in the lead along with a female walker.

It was with some relief that I crossed the finish line in 2:14:14 - only 7 sec over my PB for the distance.  I was second woman, first in my age group and 6th overall. My average pace was 6:23 and average HR 160 bpm.

The sorest part of me was on both hips. I'm wondering if this is the top of the IT band.

Napier Half Marathon

Thursday 25 October

4 km Fartlek

This week I was to take it easy with one speed session to prepare for the race on Saturday.  I was walking into a strong wind on the way out and had the advantage of it behind me on the return. I was surprised at how much I loosened up during the session and was pleased with the outcome.

I was very slow over the first 500m but then amazingly quick on the next 500m. I don't know what happened here since I was trying to maintain an even effort.

My splits were:
6:13
3:15 + 3:03 = 6:18
3:04 + 2:52 = 5:56
3:02 + 2:42 = 5:44

Overall pace 6:03 (I was not wearing my HR monitor)

4 km Fartlek

Long Distance Championships

Sunday 21 October - Palmerston North

We decided to try out our new tent and sleep in the camping ground the night before the race. Unfortunately it was very close to the speedway track which was very loud until about 10:30 pm. I slept pretty well despite the rain and wind through the night.

The rain had stopped by the time I got to the race venue and there was plenty of time for a good warm up.  The start went well and my first km was faster than intended but not overly so. I was managing to keep under my target pace of 6:15 despite the strong wind.  I had a couple of warnings on lap 4 and some more the following lap. I forgot to check the board for a few laps and when I finally did check it was to see two bent knee signs against my name. I was relieved to go past the chief judge another time but that was short lived when he came across and withdrew me on the other side of the track just before the start/finish for 9 km.

I felt I had been walking well and I had lots of energy left so was pretty frustrated at not even getting to half way. I made a few disparaging remarks about the judges which I am sure they will forgive me for. The video clips here are not that convincing so I have to agree with their decisions and go back to the drawing board to work on the problems with Jim's help.

Long Distance Championships

The following videos are mostly for Jim (my coach) to analyse so he can tell me how to correct my technique.  I am walking into the wind on the more distant clips.

Friday 19 October

3 x 1 km @ 85% effort

It is never easy to determine was 85% effort is so I aimed to achieve a reasonable pace without going all out. The splits were 6:07, 5:58, 5:47 for an overall pace of 5:57 and average HR 162 bpm. My recoveries were 2 min. I am looking forward to doing some 3 km races on the track before too long because I am sure my pb of 17:48 will be well bettered.

3 x 1 km @ 85% effort

Tuesday 16 October

5 km Waterfront Race

This was the final event in the club's winter all-rounder series for walkers. I wanted to get a good time without over-exerting myself. I am writing this so long after the event that I can only remember that my result was much better than I expected. I finished the 5 km in 29:53 for an average pace of 5:59 and average HR 168 bpm.

5 km Waterfront Race

10 km Training Walk

It was rainy when we first got up but the forecast was for the weather to clear later in the day. We had a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes and headed out just after midday. We drove down to Lower Hutt parked the car and headed up to the river bank. We walked into a strong wind for the first two km then along the Petone esplanade. There was a wind surfer and a kite surfer in the turbulent sea which were great to watch.

We shared the path with an event involving walkers, runners and cyclists. I was mistaken for the leading walker and was applauded by some of the other walkers, despite my lack of a number.

It was good to have the wind behind me for the last two km. My total time for the 10 km was 1:07:02 for an average pace of 6:41 and an average HR of 145 bpm.

10 km Training Walk

15 km and 10 km

Thursday 11 October - 15 km Kickdown

I decided to split this into 3 x 4 km + 3 km. The paces I aimed for were 7:00, 6:45, 6:30 and 6:15.  The weather was fine but with a strong head wind for most of the return journey.  I was feeling pretty good thanks to the massage Philip gave me on Tuesday and managed a consistent pace at the start. The wind was behind me on the second 4 km and I found myself walking faster than I intended. I slowed a bit for the second half of that leg, wanting to ensure I was able to pick up the pace further. I worked hard at the start of the third leg, determined to find more speed, despite walking into a strong wind. I was amazed at how fresh and good I felt at that point. The wind was at my side for some of the last lap but the last km was once again into the wind. I had plenty of energy left to increase the pace again for a very pleasing workout overall.

The pace splits I achieved were: 6:56, 6:41, 6:21, 6:09.
I completed the 15 km in 1:38:20 for an overall average pace of 6:33 and average HR 147. The half splits were 51:06 and 47:14 - I don't think I've ever had such a big negative split. It does make me consider starting conservatively in the race next Sunday.

15 km Kickdown

Tuesday 9 October - 10 km with 2 x 6 min @ 20 km pace

At the start I was still feeling stiff from the two long walks at the weekend so I wasn't sure how the session would go and whether I would find any speed for the faster laps.  After the first 500 m I settled into a reasonable pace and felt pretty good. I managed a 5:51 min km for my first fast lap starting at 3.5 km. That was with a fairly strong tail wind. I started the second fast spell at the 8 km mark, completing that km in 6:02 without the benefit of the wind.

My overall time was 66:02 for an average pace of 6:36 min/km and average HR 152 bpm.

Two longer walks

Sunday 7 October - 20 km Training Walk

I knew that it would be difficult to get a good pace on long walks two days in a row and that proved to be the case. I walked into town from home which is always slow with the uphills of the first 2 kms. The wind was blowing in the opposite direction from the previous day which meant I was walking into the wind most of the time.

There were plenty of people out enjoying the fine day. With the radio for company I maintained a steady speed and tried to concentrate on technique. I made a few stops along the way at the water fountains. I am using my glutamis medius much more than I used to and it has been getting a bit sore. I did enjoy a long hot bath when I got home.

My average pace was 7:42 and average HR 113 bpm.

20 km Training Walk

Saturday 6 October - 15 km Training Walk

This was the walk I planned for Thursday. The heaven's opened up when I was about to get changed and not long after that I received an urgent task to do at work.  We were celebrating my son's 20th birthday that night so walking after work was not an option.

Friday was a similar story and I didn't manage to get a walk in that day either. That meant I was determined to go out on Saturday. I considered trying to do the 4 x 2 km sprints then finishing off with 7 km to make up the 15 km but there was a strong wind and I wasn't feeling up to doing sprints.

I made a good effort and was pleased to average 6:53 min/km with an average HR of 138 bpm.

15 km Training Walk

10 km Fartlek - a training PB

Walking 24 km on Sunday had left me a little stiff so an intensive workout  such as a fartlek was likely to be a stretch.  I walked quietly for the 500 m or so down to the waterfront before starting.

The first km which is meant to be at sprint pace was into a strong wind and was a rather slow 6:26. I clearly warmed up after that because my other sprints into the wind were done in 3:05. I achieved some great sprint times with the wind behind me and although I was starting to tire after about 8 km it was obvious a good time was possible.  I maintained a good effort and completed the 10 km in 61:29 which is my third best ever 10 km time. Not a bad effort on a windy day only two days after a long workout. That's an average pace of 6:09 and average HR of 163 bpm.

The splits are:
6:26
3:23 + 2:50 = 6:13
3:10 + 2:44 = 5:54
3:19 + 3:05 = 6:24
3:11 + 3:05 = 6:16
3:17 + 2:50 = 6:07
3:04 + 2:51 = 5:55
3:09 + 2:54 = 6:03
3:06 + 2:57 = 6:03
3:15 + 2:52 = 6:07

10 km Fartlek