Long Workout, End of the Cycle

I’ll be busy with work next week, not much cahnce to train. So this was the end of a 3-week endurance cycle. Next week will be a recovery period. Saturday I ran for 65 minutes on trails. Sunday (today) I racewalked 45 km (about 28 miles) in 4:18:40. I did 196 laps indoors (7 laps per 1600) plus most of another lap for the final 200m. My 10k times were 56:40, 54:24, 54:17, 62:34, plus the last 5k in 30:35. I had planned to do 50k, but I didnt have money for a scond can of Coke, so after hitting the wall around 25 miles, I decided to wrap up early, and actually finished with a good last mile.

My 1600m splits (through 44,800m) were: 9;23, 920, 922, 905, 846, 834, 841, 845, 849, 854, 840 (drinking first Coke),  833, 823 (too fast!), 831, 834, 839, 843, 853, 912 (need more sugar!!), 925, 941, 953, 10:05, 1017, 1048, 1051, 946 (decided to quit early, so sped up with about 3 k to go), 8:49.

I think 11:00 per 2k would be sustainable now, especially after I lose a little weight. I need to lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks to gain 10 minutes.

Speed work

Last night at the indoor track, I warmed up for a few minutes, and then walked 10 X 100m in 29, 28, 26, 24, 23, 22, 21, 21, 20, 20, and  5 X 200m in 48, 45, 44, 42,3, 42.5. Unorthodox for a 50 year old 50 k walker, admittedly. I think I’d have a pretty good chance at doing well in the world masters indoor meet in Canada in March, maybe 12:40 for 3000m, but I’m going to skip it and concentrate on the 50k. Still, I walk some of the fast stuff so that I will be able to be efficient at 5:00 per km in the long race.

Tonight, maybe 16.667 km with the weight vest.

Tuesday Ski Walking

Nice day again, warm (55) and clear, no wind.

I joined Kai’s ski team workout — they did 8 times up Ripley Ski hill, 4 minutes ski walking, 4 minute jogging down. I did 9 reps. very hard, HR zooming last 2 minutes. I will be sore tomorrow.

A quick weekend report, more later….

7.5 hours aerobic training.

 4:42 (26 miles) slow race walk on roads Saturday, lovely weather, just wandered around Houghton. Stopped for a coke at 2 hours and a strawberry milk at 3:30.

2:50 on trails mostly and some road Sunday, about 15 miles with jogging on downhills, ski bounding on ups, and race walking most places. From about 10 to 13 miles, I was on road and did 15 times one minute at 5:00 per km pace, with minute intervals.

No time to train today until dark. another sunny day. This week looks good for outdoor training. A little miracle.

13 weeks to my next race. just laying in a good base after a couple fallow years.

Weight, weight, don’t tell me

Hi!, I went back to town tonight and just did 10k at the SDC track (7 laps per 1600m outside lane 5) in 51:15 — with full sweats AND the 10 pound weight vest. It’s like a fishing vest with weights in the pockets. Looks a little like a bullet proof vest. I was expecting maybe 60 minutes for 10 km (6.21 miles, 43.75 laps of my course). I did the first lap in 1:20, and soon was clipping off 1:10s as I warmed up.  My 1600m splits were 8:39, 16:55, 25:06 (26:07 at 5k), 33:16, 41:20, 49:16 (last 400m in 1:59, last 1600m 7:54, last 5000m 25:08).  A very short warm up and cool down. Good hip rotation, low arms driving well.

I feel great.

Tuesday’s Child is…

I got away at lunch for a light workout. All my core exercises (abs, lower back) in the weight room, then a few kms of slow walking.

Tomorrow I’ll probably manage an hour or so with full sweat clothes and weight vest, as much as I can stand with hat and impermeable rain suit, and then lighten the load and walk 5k in 25:00, and finish with 10 X 100m in 24 or so. We’ll see… stay tuned.

Monday workout

My favorite Monday workout; my routine: I went to the indoor track, put on tights, 3 shirts, rain top and pants, ski hat, hood. I ran. I like to run the day after a long walk, or rather after hard training Saturday and Sunday. I get bored running laps indoors. I should go outside — good for the soul. But I stay indoors, sweat, acclimate for the warm races.  I ran a few minutes warmup, then 3 X 800m with short jogging recovery intervals, in 3:18, 3:14, 3:03. Fast enough for a 50 year old race walker with heavy layers on. I will be doing them under 3:00 in a few weeks. Not sprinting, just running smooth. After 20 minutes I was done, and then did my first skipping drills of the year, a form of plyometrics (bounding). 60 m straights skipping, walk the turns. Working on forward motion, not upward, for the ankle flexion. About 35 minutes into the workout, after running and drills and jogging, I did my sit ups and other core exercises and that was all I had time for.  Listened to The White Stripes “Elephant.” “Be like the squirrel, girl, be like the squirrel.”

Forward Progress, with 14 weeks to go

I had a good training week, the first week of preparation for next year’s USATF 50 km. I have overcome inertia and am in the training habit now, just in time to get ready for a good 50k next February, say 4 hours, 25 minutes or so.

Last Sunday, I walked a slow 3 hours on roads and trails with the dogs. On the steep uphills I did some nordic ski walking/bounding. Tuesday, I walked a slow hour and then a 2,000m effort in 9:40 (5:02/4;38).  Wednesday through Friday I did short and slow workouts. Saturday I walked 16.667 meters indoors (one third of a 50k) in 1:25:54, with 2k splits of 10:59, 10:41, 1034, 1023, 1015, 1012, 1001, 9:49 (just over 83 minutes at 10 miles). My last 5k was around 25:00. A strong effort

Yesterday I walked 40k indoors, 175 laps of a 230m (7 lap per 1600m) course. My 1600m times were: 9:43, 939, 937, 932, 928, 924, 921, 921, 924, 922, 929, 926, 924, 917, 918, 913, 856, 854, 851, 848, 843, 848, 824, 804, 755. My 10k splits were 59:50, 58.48, 57:01, 53;00, for a time of 3:48:39. Very hard work the last hour; fun to finish strong like that.

I will start posting every day now.

New Job

Reorganizing at work, I am taking over newly funded efforts to promote physical activity and healthy eating through changes to policy and the built environment at the community level — bike routes, walking paths, playgrounds, farmers markets, community gardens, safe routes to school.

I will be hiring someone to take over most of my emergency preparedness work.

More time for training, less stress, doing something I love.

Next year will be my best ever in race walking.

One hour race report

Here is a report on the USATF One Hour Race Walk Championship in Waltham Mass. last Sunday.  Since I broke my collar bone and got too busy at work, there has not been much to say, except for finishing the Ironman and winning the 40k. I will bring you up to date here.

I did not do much physical activity of any kind in the last 4 weeks since the 40k. I am driving the kids to school, so no biking. At least 5 or 6 times, I picked up the kids from cross-country practice or a meet, went home from 7-10 for dinner and homework help, and then back to the office till 3 or 4 a.m. I race walked a few times, but mostly 1-2 miles with the dogs in the dark.

I flew to Boston Friday night, ostensibly to race the one hour, but also to visit an old friend Saturday who has not been feeling well, courageous soul who inspired me to race well on Sunday. I woke to race, very short on sleep and energy, but stretched well and got myself mentally prepared for battle. Beth Katcher, a walker from the area, went out of her way to give me a ride to the race at Bentley College. Thanks, Beth.

The college has great athletic facilities including a beautiful red all-weather track. Race Director Steve Vaitones, Justin Kuo, and all the volunteers put on a fantastic event, and with perfect weather — cool, sunny and a breeze.

Teresa Vaill asserted her dominance in the women’s race from the first strides, and went on to an easy win. Erin Taylor walked beautifully, with very good technique, for second place, and Lauren Forgues walked a very determined race in third after a year of major injuries and illnesses.

I warmed up in jeans over my tights because of the cold. I wanted to walk a 100m in the warm up in 30.00, in jeans and training shoes, just to see if I was ready for 2 minute laps and my goal of 12,000m in the hour (5:00 per km pace). I walked the easy 100m in 29.97. OK

The race began, with a couple masters walkers bolting into the lead ahead of Tim Seaman. What’s the point? They must have covered the first 50m in under 12 seconds. When you consider that they ended up averaging about 18 seconds per 50m pace, you can see the absurdity. But I have done the same thing many times myself. You feel so great to be alive, it just bursts forth like that.

Tim, of course, took over the lead and never trailed, and ended up walking steady 4:30 per k pace for a distance of about 13,300 in the hour. This was Tim’s 40th win in a national event. Tim hopes to win the 30k on “Lon Gisland” this week, tie the legendary Henry Laskau’s national title total at Millrose Gmes, and surpass it in at indoor nationals. Good luck Tim.

I had planned to start at 2:00 per lap and then perhaps crank out some 1:57s at the end to pull away from Theron Kissinger and Matt Forgues. But Theron didn’t show up, and I started a bit fast, feeling loose and inspired, so I walked at 1:51 to 1:53 per lap through 5 km in 23:30. Fast for me, considering I haven’t done very much training since, well, truth be told, Feb. 11, 2008. I had good technique — good posture, arms low and driving, hips moving front to back, no side to side motion in the upper body, feet and ankles strong and active. Matt was racing tough, only yielding about 10 meters per lap to me, but by half way I had half a lap on him and knew I would place second. Not much drama from there. I walked mostly 1:57 per lap in the second half, split 47:55 at 10k, and finished with 12,449 meters. That would be a bit slower than 1:36 per 20k, 4:01 per 50k pace.

Now the work begins. I am getting ready to race the national 50k Feb 7 in Phoenix. I still believe I can break my lifetime PB of 4:21:06. I turn 50 on November 25. We shall see.