Today my boss had said I can leave work early so that I could make it to a race that was being held at Griffth Uni. I think these races are being put on by the Gold Coast Victory club - you have to wear QA numbers and a club shirt so they are official. Its open class but still fun to enter.
Sadly numbers were down as many had work commitments. Its hard to make a 4:15 pm race during the week.
I still did my usual 5km in the morning and felt really good through that. I feel great during the walk....its during the day that my right hip flexor and bursa were niggling me a bit - funny how walking normally can leave me hurting but racewalking is fine. Sigh....anyhow..... it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't walk tonight. I spent a good 20mins warming up and felt so much better for it. Even encouraged the young ones to stop yakking and warm up their legs. LOL As we all walked around to the start line I was chatting to all the girls and reminded them all that a 3000m is not won in the first 400m and to be careful that they dont all head out too fast and blow up before they get half way.
The gun goes off and sure enough.............4 girls all surge off at a great rate of knots! I kept to my own pace and set off after them. By the second lap I had picked off two of the girls and happily set my sights on the next two. Approx 60 - 80 m ahead of me. I went through my first km in 5:30 which surprised me as I didnt feel I was going that fast. It took another km to pick off my next walker and then I set my sights on the lead walker. I love how everyone cheers you on around the track. We all had friends and family in the stands cheering us on and also in the throws too. It really helps :)
Just as we started on our last km I saw she had slowed ALOT and started holding her side, as I closed in I could hear she was crying....I slowed up as I caught up and gave her some advice.... STITCH SUXS .... told her to dig her nails into one of her palms and to slow down her breathing as she was panicking and panting. As I got about 15m ahead of her I could still hear her breathing so again I called back and said to control your air in and to stand up not hunch..... (everyone tells me that she did as I said and she picked back up again) I really did expect her to catch me back up again and I am pretty sure she was gaining on me in the last lap. I couldn't have been prouder of our young walkers today....they all walked superbly and all achieving PB's...how good is that!
I crossed the line in 16:29 ...... WAHOOOO thats gotta be a season best for me.... I am thrilled. Looking at my lap splits (which i had left my watch on auto lap) but working them out...I was pretty consistant at 5:29 or 5:30 each km. AWESOME!!!
3000m data
Friday, September 26, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Track and daily walking
Shane and I had decided that we would get up every morning and do a 30 min ish walk. For me its more a 33min walk as I like to do a complete distance. So where he walks for 17 mins and then turns, I carry on ahead and turn at 2.5km. The idea being that we will both finish at the same time and then head back up to the apartment for breakfast together. I really want to help encourage hubby to come out and walk but I have found in the past that if I walk with him I tend to end up hurt??? but he is happy for me to racewalk and so its a great way for me to add in EXTRA km's for my week.
So the plan is that I walk slower than I normally do and really work on technique...on getting my hips to move forward and to roll off my back toe. Monday day 1 = 31:06 Tuesday day 2 = 32:09 Plus Tuesday night is Track night. I really want to be more around the 32 to 33min mark for my morning walks so I dont fatigue or hurt myself. I am thrilled to say that since the 24km the only part of me to hurt was my toes. Thats a huge PLUS for me.
Track tonight is 10 x 400m
2.18.1
2.12.9
2.08.9
2.11.7
2.13.5
2.12.9
2.09.3
2.09.6
2.09.9
2.10.3
max heart rate was 169 - this shows that I am getting fitter. YUS!
so all going well I have 3 more days of 5km and one 8km gentle - this will give me a total of 42km. My walking week is Sunday to Saturday - I may yet do a walk on saturday but I am thinking at this stage I will use it as a rest day. Sunday I plan to do 20km.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
5000m Masters Race
Headed to the track this morning for a 5000m track race. I was really hoping to test out my speed and fitness. Paul was going to be racing today and he and I are friendly competitive so I was hoping he would push me to a good time.
So few walkers today....more than last week though. Myself, Kay, Debbie, Paul and Richard. Why dont Brisbane Masters come up and walk with us in the track season? I must ask someone why this is.
Race got underway by the watchful eye of Alf. I felt good and was being careful not to go out too quick. My toes were not hurting -- thank god!! and I was trying to drop my hip and get good stride length. My breathing was hard but not gasping. I went through 3km in 17:01 ... pleased with that. I kept expecting Paul to sneak up .. but today was not his day as he had worked late the night before and was feeling a bit fatigued.
One final push for home as I heard the bell I tried to pick up the pace...my legs were feeling a bit tired now. I hit stop as I crossed the line..... and then looked at my time. Whoop whooop.....28:39
I am totally THRILLED with that.
5000m data
So few walkers today....more than last week though. Myself, Kay, Debbie, Paul and Richard. Why dont Brisbane Masters come up and walk with us in the track season? I must ask someone why this is.
Race got underway by the watchful eye of Alf. I felt good and was being careful not to go out too quick. My toes were not hurting -- thank god!! and I was trying to drop my hip and get good stride length. My breathing was hard but not gasping. I went through 3km in 17:01 ... pleased with that. I kept expecting Paul to sneak up .. but today was not his day as he had worked late the night before and was feeling a bit fatigued.
One final push for home as I heard the bell I tried to pick up the pace...my legs were feeling a bit tired now. I hit stop as I crossed the line..... and then looked at my time. Whoop whooop.....28:39
I am totally THRILLED with that.
5000m data
Seaway 2 Seaway - 24km charity walk
Kay suggested this event to me and the more I looked at it the more I liked it. Kay was planning on powerwalking and completing the whole event which is a 35km walk.
Its a charity walk so 95% of the entrants were walking. A small handful were running and jogging. When we started off I decided to try to stick close to a couple of the joggers....this was a good decision as they were ticking along at 6.30 mins per km and I felt I could keep that up. I was planning on getting to Burleigh and stopping at around 20km.
I was really enjoying the walk along through Surfers Paradise....we went through there at 6.30am and it was so peaceful and quiet. The two joggers veered off at Surfers for a quick pit stop but they caught me back up again at Broadbeach for the first pit stop. Sadly - no one was ready for anyone to be coming through. Luckily they had the water and poweraide out so I grabbed a poweraide to carry with me. The guy setting up grabbed two muesli bars for me so I put them in my pockets for later.
I headed off first and left the two joggers behind me but I was hoping they would catch up as they were great company. Next up was the short but steep hill at Nobbys Beach..... trying to get my legs to go up those stairs was a challenge to say the least. I carried on along the beach front to the next pit stop at Burleigh. Approx 18km. There were two girls sitting on chairs under some flags. I stopped and asked if they were the next pit stop, they said yes but that I would have to wait until 8am as they were not going to set up the foot massager etc until then. I asked if they had water or poweraide and they replied no they have not brought it down from the other pit stops. They had NO clue how far to the next stop or where it was.
I figured I would carry on a little further. So now I am heading up over Burleigh Hill. The signs were less to be desired and I got lost twice. The hill was hard going and my legs were dead as. A lady saw me looking at the map board and told me its a loop so either way would still get me to the same point. She did tell me that going right was up hill and left was downhill.... I went LEFT!!! once I got down into Palm Beach I was feeling really lost. Signs to follow were confussing and it was not that my toes were REALLY hurting. So much so that I was trying to curl my toes on one foot to keep the pressure off them. I eventually stopped and called Kay. I needed to know where the next stop was. She explained how to find it and as it was only 2km up the road I carried on.
when I walked into the car park, the yellow van had just pulled up and was getting the tents and tables out. My two joggers had just caught me and so we all walked over and asked if they had water. the Guy was so shocked that we were there so early, he ran off and brought us water. He was a top bloke. I wished the joggers well and said I was stopping. I hear that they finished and in great style.
2:44 was my total time and I am happy with that
24km data here
Its a charity walk so 95% of the entrants were walking. A small handful were running and jogging. When we started off I decided to try to stick close to a couple of the joggers....this was a good decision as they were ticking along at 6.30 mins per km and I felt I could keep that up. I was planning on getting to Burleigh and stopping at around 20km.
I was really enjoying the walk along through Surfers Paradise....we went through there at 6.30am and it was so peaceful and quiet. The two joggers veered off at Surfers for a quick pit stop but they caught me back up again at Broadbeach for the first pit stop. Sadly - no one was ready for anyone to be coming through. Luckily they had the water and poweraide out so I grabbed a poweraide to carry with me. The guy setting up grabbed two muesli bars for me so I put them in my pockets for later.
I headed off first and left the two joggers behind me but I was hoping they would catch up as they were great company. Next up was the short but steep hill at Nobbys Beach..... trying to get my legs to go up those stairs was a challenge to say the least. I carried on along the beach front to the next pit stop at Burleigh. Approx 18km. There were two girls sitting on chairs under some flags. I stopped and asked if they were the next pit stop, they said yes but that I would have to wait until 8am as they were not going to set up the foot massager etc until then. I asked if they had water or poweraide and they replied no they have not brought it down from the other pit stops. They had NO clue how far to the next stop or where it was.
I figured I would carry on a little further. So now I am heading up over Burleigh Hill. The signs were less to be desired and I got lost twice. The hill was hard going and my legs were dead as. A lady saw me looking at the map board and told me its a loop so either way would still get me to the same point. She did tell me that going right was up hill and left was downhill.... I went LEFT!!! once I got down into Palm Beach I was feeling really lost. Signs to follow were confussing and it was not that my toes were REALLY hurting. So much so that I was trying to curl my toes on one foot to keep the pressure off them. I eventually stopped and called Kay. I needed to know where the next stop was. She explained how to find it and as it was only 2km up the road I carried on.
when I walked into the car park, the yellow van had just pulled up and was getting the tents and tables out. My two joggers had just caught me and so we all walked over and asked if they had water. the Guy was so shocked that we were there so early, he ran off and brought us water. He was a top bloke. I wished the joggers well and said I was stopping. I hear that they finished and in great style.
2:44 was my total time and I am happy with that
24km data here
Tuesday, September 09, 2014
11 x 400m
I got to the track and was going to do a straight 5km but after I warmed up... Paul, Kay and Deb were all going to do 10 x 400m and at the last minute I thought stuff it I will give it a crack too.
Today I was testing out my new shoes - Type A5 saucony and wow are they light and low.
Paul had already done 1 x 400m so I jumped in after them and figured I would just do one more at the end on my own. I felt really good and felt like I had my flow back today. My hips felt like they had movement in and my shoes were just so nice. I checked some of the video Robyn took of me and I could see my hips had more movement and that I looked good and strong. On my 3rd 400m, I slowed to help pace Paul and gave him some tips on how to keep his pace in check. He was dropping more than 10secs after the 200m so I suggested he slow the first 200 by 1 or 2 secs and then push a little for the last 200m and it evened out his times and he didnt feel so thrashed....and sure enough after 4 more he was back up to speed and kicking my butt again.
I felt pretty good with mine for tonight. I stayed pretty consistent and felt good and strong. I cant wait to see how my video looks in Coaches Eye. :)
2:11:1
2:10:6
2:19:1
2:09:4
2:05:9
2:09:9
2:10:8
2:11:8
2:13:3
2:08:8
2:11:0
well as you can see and count............we all lost count and I ended up doing 11 ... so the last one is a nice bonus for me :)
11 x 400m
Sunday, September 07, 2014
Weekend of racing
Saturday I decided to head along to the track and enter the racing that was being held there. It was more to add up numbers and it was not a race that would gain me anything...its called the PB meet and all I knew was that the junior walkers all needed to get times to qualify for upcoming races.
I was not too worried about how fast I would or wouldn't be. I was more looking at this as a training walk and one to let me practice getting "more twist" When I got to the track I was surprised to find that there was only one walker doing 5 km......she was MOST happy to see me. I have not seen Kenza for awhile and turns out she has not walked in nearly a year. She was hoping for a 32 min 5 km. I was going to be thrilled with a 30 min one so she was going to try and stick by me.
Racing mid afternoon was weird and I am very glad that it was not hot...but the gusty breeze was annoying. The race itself was uneventful. Kenza did exactly what she hope NOT to do and went out way to fast and slowed just a rapidly. I manged to stay pretty even for the whole walk and paced my self well. I couldn't have gone much faster anyway. I was really pleased to finish with a 29.17 so I will take that as my bench mark for the track season and try to improve on that.
Sunday was the Masters first track walk for the season. It was an early one so I gave up my sleep in and headed out at 6.30 am for the track. It was a little disappointing that only myself and Richard was there for the walks.... but with it being fathers day and Bridge to Brisbane race on too you can expect numbers to be down. I was feeling a bit tired and a little sore but still keen to do the 3000 m. Its get practice for the Pan Pacs where the race format is 5000 m Sat, 10km Sun, 3000 m Mon. So I need to get used to 3 days in a row training and also pushing for racing too.
I am pleased to note that nothing ached and once I really warmed up I got faster. I think I walked better today than I did yesterday. Total time for 3000 m was 17:20
Later today we headed out to Harbour town and went to the movies. While we were there we decided to stop in at the shop that sells Saucony shoes just to see if they had any decent racing flats....and wouldn't you know it. Today they did, they had the Type 4 Racing flats on sale for $60.00 so I brought a pair to try and if they are really good.... I will head back this weekend and buy 2 or 3 more.
5000m data
3000m data
I was not too worried about how fast I would or wouldn't be. I was more looking at this as a training walk and one to let me practice getting "more twist" When I got to the track I was surprised to find that there was only one walker doing 5 km......she was MOST happy to see me. I have not seen Kenza for awhile and turns out she has not walked in nearly a year. She was hoping for a 32 min 5 km. I was going to be thrilled with a 30 min one so she was going to try and stick by me.
Racing mid afternoon was weird and I am very glad that it was not hot...but the gusty breeze was annoying. The race itself was uneventful. Kenza did exactly what she hope NOT to do and went out way to fast and slowed just a rapidly. I manged to stay pretty even for the whole walk and paced my self well. I couldn't have gone much faster anyway. I was really pleased to finish with a 29.17 so I will take that as my bench mark for the track season and try to improve on that.
Sunday was the Masters first track walk for the season. It was an early one so I gave up my sleep in and headed out at 6.30 am for the track. It was a little disappointing that only myself and Richard was there for the walks.... but with it being fathers day and Bridge to Brisbane race on too you can expect numbers to be down. I was feeling a bit tired and a little sore but still keen to do the 3000 m. Its get practice for the Pan Pacs where the race format is 5000 m Sat, 10km Sun, 3000 m Mon. So I need to get used to 3 days in a row training and also pushing for racing too.
I am pleased to note that nothing ached and once I really warmed up I got faster. I think I walked better today than I did yesterday. Total time for 3000 m was 17:20
Later today we headed out to Harbour town and went to the movies. While we were there we decided to stop in at the shop that sells Saucony shoes just to see if they had any decent racing flats....and wouldn't you know it. Today they did, they had the Type 4 Racing flats on sale for $60.00 so I brought a pair to try and if they are really good.... I will head back this weekend and buy 2 or 3 more.
5000m data
3000m data
Thursday, September 04, 2014
8km walkway
8km is on the cards for tonight's walk. Was not too sure how it would go but I am not going to get any faster or fitter if I dont at least turn the feet over.
I guess leaping from the car and going straight into a racewalk is never ideal but its generally how my training walks go. Tonight I was tight and tender for the first 500m but once I warmed up - I felt really good.
I was trying hard to add more twist to my walk. I find that if I do 500m with twist and 500m relax it doesn't fatigue me so much. That way I dont end up too hurt after either.
As I was coming back on my 5th km, I passed an older portly gentleman who called out with a thick Russian accent. One moment, please...one moment. So I stopped and went back to him ... in very bad English he told me he was a racewalk coach. That he coaches top walkers - he said Vladimr (not sure how to spell it or it it is even that...its just what it sounded like) He tells me ... good posture, good arms ... MORE twist. ( I was in my relax mode when he saw me) I nodded and demonstrated more twist. He gave me two thumbs up and said 'Much Better" LOL .... Guess you never know who you pass each day hey.
So I tried really hard to keep the more twist up for my next 3 km. Being warmed up did help and I did manage to put more twist in my walk - which showed in my last 3km split times.
Total time for tonight's walk was 49.53 for avg pace of 6:14 per km
8km data
I guess leaping from the car and going straight into a racewalk is never ideal but its generally how my training walks go. Tonight I was tight and tender for the first 500m but once I warmed up - I felt really good.
I was trying hard to add more twist to my walk. I find that if I do 500m with twist and 500m relax it doesn't fatigue me so much. That way I dont end up too hurt after either.
As I was coming back on my 5th km, I passed an older portly gentleman who called out with a thick Russian accent. One moment, please...one moment. So I stopped and went back to him ... in very bad English he told me he was a racewalk coach. That he coaches top walkers - he said Vladimr (not sure how to spell it or it it is even that...its just what it sounded like) He tells me ... good posture, good arms ... MORE twist. ( I was in my relax mode when he saw me) I nodded and demonstrated more twist. He gave me two thumbs up and said 'Much Better" LOL .... Guess you never know who you pass each day hey.
So I tried really hard to keep the more twist up for my next 3 km. Being warmed up did help and I did manage to put more twist in my walk - which showed in my last 3km split times.
Total time for tonight's walk was 49.53 for avg pace of 6:14 per km
8km data
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
5km around the track
Tuesday is my Track day.
I usually pick a speed walk of some sort for today .. but when I got to the track it was pretty windy and I was feeling pretty flat. So instead of the 5km or 6km fartlek I had planned.... I swapped to a pacing 5km.
I have two months until Pan Pacific Masters. I am really hoping to better my times from last year. I need to get my body working so that I can try to get some speed coming through. I am just finding it frustrating that I take two steps forward and have a GREAT week...then wake up 3 steps back and locked up again. Patience is not my best virtue so its something I need to learn. I am trying hard to stretch most days and that is helping.
My 5km was good. Nothing hurt (which is fantastic) hip just felt weak...but that will change as I strengthen it. I was feeling a bit flat today and thought if I can maintain 6 min kms I will be happy. I managed to do just that and it wasnt tooo much of a struggle.
total time was 29:53
Tomorrow I will do a 5 or 6km along the walkway and then Thursday it will be an 8km.
I have two races this weekend. Sat and Sun 5000m each day on the track. Will be interesting to see how I go back to back.
5km data
I usually pick a speed walk of some sort for today .. but when I got to the track it was pretty windy and I was feeling pretty flat. So instead of the 5km or 6km fartlek I had planned.... I swapped to a pacing 5km.
I have two months until Pan Pacific Masters. I am really hoping to better my times from last year. I need to get my body working so that I can try to get some speed coming through. I am just finding it frustrating that I take two steps forward and have a GREAT week...then wake up 3 steps back and locked up again. Patience is not my best virtue so its something I need to learn. I am trying hard to stretch most days and that is helping.
My 5km was good. Nothing hurt (which is fantastic) hip just felt weak...but that will change as I strengthen it. I was feeling a bit flat today and thought if I can maintain 6 min kms I will be happy. I managed to do just that and it wasnt tooo much of a struggle.
total time was 29:53
Tomorrow I will do a 5 or 6km along the walkway and then Thursday it will be an 8km.
I have two races this weekend. Sat and Sun 5000m each day on the track. Will be interesting to see how I go back to back.
5km data
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