Buller Half Marathon 2011

What an awesome lead up I have had to this race.  It would have to be one of the "MUST" do half marathons in New Zealand.  If not for the scenery then for the whole social aspect.  The whole town of Westport gets behind this.  They open their homes to billet competitors, they line the streets to clap and cheer you in and then they put on an all day party in the park.

We traveled down to Westport on Friday.  Its a nice 3 hour drive and on the way you drive over the whole course so I took a photo every 15 secs and I will stitch them together to make a video so you can see what the whole course looks like. 

I was very nervous about this years race.  I wanted to bet my time from the year before and of course win the race.  There was some stiff competition and I was sure it was going to be a hard one to win.  With some pep talks from my coach, I changed my focus on the race and just put my effort into focusing on my time.  2hours 11min was the time to bet and I was not sure that I could do that.  Buller is an undulating course and is tough.  I spent the night before the race massaging my leg and foot with ice gel as I had an injury surface in the few days leading into the race.  When I woke in the morning, my leg and foot was not feeling too bad.  Infact I took the strapping off as it was annoying me more than the injury its self.  I had my usual 2 weetbix for breakfast and headed back to bed for an hour.  Got up at 6.30am and headed down to catch the bus to the start line.  Everyone in my bus seemed to be first timers and they all had the "wide eyed possum" stare and they sat chatting nervously.  The group near me were from Melbourne and asked if I had done this before and when I said it was my 4th time, I instantly got pumped for details and tips. 

We all marched off the bus and made our way down to the start.  Runners were to line up first with walkers behind.  Walkers were to start 5mins after the runners ...... Note I said "meant to"  The first thing you notice when you get near the start line are the sand-flies...Westport is notorious for sand-flies and they joke that they are so big they can fly off with you.  They are hugly annoying.  The second is the huge ques for the 5 porta loos.  Its only 7am.....race starts at 8.30...you may as well join the que now as it will take over half hour to get though....unless you are brave like some of us and just zip into the bush and hide behind a tree.  The weather this year was PERFECT!!  low cloud, no wind and about 18degs...there were even a few little spits of rain.

8.30 comes and the gun goes off for the runners.  I had grabbed another walker, an English guy called Peter and told him to follow me to the front of the walkers as often they dont wait.  It was very lucky I did that, as just as the last of the runners sauntered over the start, they said...ok walkers way ya go.  I didnt hesitate, I hit the go on my watch and I was off.  Now the problem with this is.....................for the 1st couple of km's we are allowed to us up both lanes on the road.  A head of me is 800 runners spread out over 200ms as they slowly thin out.  It is like trying to walk through a wall ..... I was aggressive this year and just yelled at people to move or coming through...in the end I went up the grass verge and blasted past.  Runners dont like being passed by a walker and especially on a hill.  I got the whole range of comments.....some flattering ...some not so.... but you just ignore them and focus on getting through everyone.  My first km was 5:47 which was slower than last year due to hitting all the people so quickly.  It was here that the first racewalker passed me.  Wendy had caught me up and tore past me and headed off to take a healthy lead.  Peter from England come up next, we chatted very briefly and then he took chase after Wendy.  5km was passed through in 28:04 (hmmm a new pb I thought to my self)  I settled into my pace now and just kept pushing after Peter and Wendy.  My hamstrings were feeling a bit tight now and my foot was aching but not enough to hinder me too much.  I pushed through the 10km mark in 58:19secs (another pb!!)  but now I knew it was going to start getting tough.  I wanted to do the next 10km in under 60mins..........or as close to it.   I was more hungry for a 2hour time for the 20km mark.  The half way is on a long straight and I was able to look ahead and see that Peter had passed Wendy and that Wendy was about 300m a head of me.  I grabbed a drink and also grabbed my gel that I had in my back pocket.  I took half the gel and hoped to feel the effects quickly as I was starting to hurt and I knew that I had two km of undulating hills ahead of me.  At the 11.5km mark I looked ahead of me and noted that Wendy only seemed to be 100m in front of me.  I had not expected that to happen so quickly and oddly passed her by the 12km mark.  I pushed hard for the next km to put some distance as I was not sure if she had picked up to sit behind me or not (I dont look behind me in a race - no point if you are going as fast as you can)  I went up the last hill ...this is the 6km to go sign.....and you look down and see the town .. all you can think of is....Yay its all down hill now!!!!  and this was the point that my race was to start.  I picked up the pace and tried to do the math with what my time was now and what it might be when I finish..........but my mind was mush and I couldnt get it.  I hit the 20km mark in 1:58:34  OMG!!!! I have done it...I have finally broken my 2 hours..........I just had 1.1 km to go and its the longest 1km of the whole race......you walk down the main street and it just goes on and on.  All the people of Westport were out on the street, clapping and cheering.  They had groups of people with drums and they were drumming us in.  It really lifts you and helps you push for that last little bit.

I rounded the corner and new it was only 400m to the finish.  My legs were starting to buckle under me...I could hear people chanting my name.....I thought I was hearing things....but there was my friend and her family all waving and screaming and chanting "go nyle, go nyle".....so I dug it in for the last surge home.  Turned into the park pushed hard and nearly stumbled as you go up over the cycle lane into the park and it changes to grass for the last 20m.  I hit stop and was almost to scared to look at my time. 

2:05:32 is my official time .................Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!  thats 6mins off my time from last year.  I just cant believe it.  I kept looking at my watch in case I was seeing things and even had to get Shane to read it back to me.  My first txt was to my coach to thank him .......and he was very very pleased!!

Buller Half Marathon 2011

3 x 1km - railway reserve

Last work out before Buller Half Marathon.

My coach told me to go and do 3 x 1km at 85%......my question was.............what pace is that??? what time should I be aiming for ???? I just didn't get it.....85% of what???

But with talking to him last night he said no pace, no time.......just effort.....so thinking about race pace and then just do 85% of that.....hmmmmm this is really tough. I know it sounds so simple and so logical but to me it was tough as I have never done that before.

I decided that since it was just 3km in total and my coach had said to me earlier that I dont always have to go to the track or find a long stretch of road....just a section of 500m is enough or at best 1km even. Well the railway reserve that is up behind me is exactly 2km from end to end....but it also has a height dif of 88m from end to end. So I decided I would start in the middle and do my 1st km going down the walk way, the second coming back up the walk way and the 3rd would be 50/50..I would go down for 500m and turn and come back up for 500m..............my way of evening it out. The bonus of using this area is that it is under shade the whole way!!!

I started out and tried hard to gauge if what I was doing was 85% of what I would normally do. I decided fairly quickly that, I was not breathing hard ...in fact I was not finding hard at all...so yep....still had more if I needed. But it was down hill................the trick will be the second km.....coming back up. I pressed stop on my watch at the end of my first km and mucked around for 3mins for my recovery......hmmm not a bad time at all...... then it was time to head back up. I could certainly feel the difference and so I did push a little harder but again still new I had more there if I needed it so I settled in to that pace and kept an eye on my breathing which was getting more labored but that was to be expected. Again my time was looking pretty good.......hmmmm something is certainly working right.

Now it was time for my last km.....I mucked around again for 3mins and then headed off down the track.....I was well and truely warmed up now and was just gliding down and I had to double check myself that I was not pushing too hard but no I still felt that I had more to give, I turned back at the 500m mark and caught the up hill .... yep that go the breathing going and yes I might have increased my effort to 90% for that last part.....but to press stop and see my time for the whole 3km and knowing that one of them was done the whole way back up the walk way......was AWESOME!!!!!!

3km - total time - 17:06

1st km - 5:37 (down hill)
2nd km - 5:49 (up hill)
3rd km - 5:37 (50/50)

3 x 1km - railway reserve

10km out and back - railway reserve

My last long walk before the Buller Half Marathon this weekend.

10km - My coach told me to just go out and walk tonight ... just cruise. After such a hard walk last night I was expecting it to be a real slog.

The weather was nearly the opposite of last night. It was still muggy and about 23 degs but it was overcast and was going to rain at any moment....so it was very humid.

I switched my music on and started up the reserve. Its got a pretty good gain in height for the kilometre of walkway from home and I normally do it in anywhere between 6.25 (pushing hard) or 6:50 (taking it easy) First thing I noticed was how good I felt and I had a good rhythm going..........must have been the yummy whole grain sandwich for morning tea and the choc chip muffin (was told to start carbo loading...hehehehe) but I did the first km in 6:32. I decided then I was not going to look at my watch again and was just going to enjoy this walk and not go to nuts over times and pace etc.

I turned at the 5km mark and noted that there was a slight head wind (probably why I felt soo good coming up the walk way) but I kept to the pace I was going and just enjoyed the walk. I slowed my pace up the hill near home but decided to keep r/w rather than power walk....it was slower but it still felt great....in fact its the first time in days that my legs have felt strong and I had a good amount of energy. My breathing was never hard and I knew I had alot more there if I had wanted to push.

The rain started just as I hit the walk way 1 km from home. It felt sooooooo good......it was really warm rain and I almost carried on for extra km as I was enjoying it soo much.

I was quite surprised that my time was 1:02:29 with avg heart rate of143

10km out and back - railway reserve

8km Fartlek - Atawhai

Ok....we are in the middle of a heat wave....I kid you not!!!!

With Timaru (near the bottom of the south island) recording 40degs, Christchurch recording 38degs and Nelson 30degs (34 on our deck!!!) and what breeze there was .... was HOT!!!! They say its from fauhn wind and the cyclone yassi. I sat at home and silently implored my coach to say.....dont do it today....but I knew he wouldn't. Today was my last hard work out before Buller and most important that it be done today.

One of my wise friends reminded me that Sacramento will be approx 30degs and that I really should be out training in the heat of the day while I can seeing as I will be going from our winter to their summer. So I waited till it was later in the evening hoping that the temp would drop....it did but not by much. As it was only 8km I stupidly decided not to wear my waist camel pack. (it annoys the hell outta me BUT in hindsite....bla bla bla!!!!)

I started out at a good pace and felt good and strong. It was very hot and the air felt thick and sticky. I was breathing hard when I slowed for my first slow 500m and was having trouble recovering. I stepped it up for the next 500m and again it didnt take long before I was gasping for air. It was so dry that my throat was hurting from sucking back hot air. For the next slow 500m I slowed to a normal walk for a moment to catch my breath...I got back under control and carried on. By the time I hit the 3.5km mark I knew I was in trouble. I turned at the 4km which put me directly into the sun and I felt the heat on my face instantly. I started looking up driveways for taps or anyone to be out side so I could ask for water. 4.5km as I started the next fast 500m I stumbled and I felt my legs buckle, I thought I was going to fall. I righted myself and pushed to carry on but my eye sight had gone black...I just couldn't see anything. I knew I was near some small bushes so I hit stop and stopped fast. My vision came right but was sort of pulsing and all blurry. I stayed by the small bush for the shade for a moment. I knew I needed water and badly. I have never suffered the effects of dehydration before but I have heard enough from others to know that I was going to need water or I would be in trouble.

I had hoped my friend was home but as I went past her house the gates were locked and the car gone. I was starting to look out for puddles ... just anything. I would have run across the main road to the sea but the tide was out!!! All I could do was push for home and get it over with. I started up again and pushed for the fast 500m but I had given up caring about how slow the recovery's were. I had hoped to be under 6min kms for the whole thing but sadly that was not to be tonight. It is pretty rare that my heart rates hits up around the 170s but tonight it did.

So 8km was done in 48:53 probably not the time my coach was hoping for ... I know I was hoping for more but with the conditions ... I am happy with it.... I am happy I actually completed it!

8km Fartlek - Atawhai

3, 2, 1,1,500 & 500 track session

Its hot......its DAMN HOT.......Nelson is in a bit of a heat wave with the foehn winds that have hit us.  Our afternoon temperature just shoots up so quick.  Today it went from 22 to 32 in over an hour.  Today would have to be one of our hottest days and I am down at the track belted out my speed workout.

At the track they are finally working of the new pavilion so its a full on construction zone down there so I was the top entertainment for about 30 guys.  So with trucks rumbling past me and lots of dust I started out on this work out.  I still have a very full tummy from an early brunch and I do think this hindered me a lot.

It was so hot out on the track .. but I do need to get used to this.  I would guess that it will be like this at Sacramento and so I need to get used to training in it.  I was breathing hard and was feeling very out of shape.  Its only been two days??? what is going on.

My 2km started going even worse....my pace was just slowling winding down.  I was tired and hot and just unable to pick it up.  I must admit I was so pleased when I started the 1km reps as they are only 2.5laps and much easier.  I was starting to feel sick so I made sure I had more to drink between sets.  By now some of the guys were starting to call out as I would go past....."too hot for that" or "that looks bloody hard"  I would nod or smile and carry on.  The real struggle came when I was to do the 500m, I started getting spots in front of my eye and my vison started to "swim"....I pushed through and was so relieved when it was over.  This is not one of my fav workouts.

3km track         - 16:53    avg h/r 159
2km track      - 11:49  avg h/r 163
1km track      - 5:47    avg h/r 162
1km track      - 5:51    avg h/r 159
500m track   - 2:49   avg h/r 160
500m track   - 2:46   avg h/r 154

10km out and back - railway reserve

What a horrid and weird walk. I was just to do 10km...no expectations - no pace...just do the distance.

I got home from work at 1.30 so I had something to eat then with the plan of going out for my walk at 5pm. It was about 2pm when my daughter who has moved to Cairns contacted me to let me know that the flat she lives in has been evacuated, that it is now in the danger zone and that she and her boyfriend were going to go to the Table Lands with her other flat mates. It was a safe area - about 100km in land to where they live. She was trying hard to remain calm but I know my daughter and she was really scared. They had gone out to get supplies and had to wait for over an hour in ques and the traffic heading out of town was crawling. I am actually more worried about their trip to the table lands at this stage. So I checked out some weather sites and some of the bulletins - and instantly wished I hadnt. This Cyclone Yassa is going to be as big or bigger than Katrina that hit the USA. It is certainly the biggest cyclone to ever hit Australia. I am kind of relieved that she has left with her flat mates and wont be alone.

So when I headed out for my walk - my mind was else where and I was not really paying full attention to myself or my style. At 2.5 km after coming down the hill pretty quickly my right knee started hurting - A LOT!! to the point that I was limping while trying to walk.....I slowed the pace and thought it might be a spasm and walk through it.....it went at the 7km mark, just in time for the hills back to home.....nice! I racewalked about half way up but the pressure to lock my knee was starting to hurt it again so I just power walked the last 200m up.

So I did the very slow time of 1:04 and now have a rather sore knee to contend with . Ice and heat packs are in order and I think I will rub some volarain in too. My knee now hurts when I bend the leg (heel to touch hamstring) and when I lock it. Rather annoyed at my self over this.....but it was a catch 22....I had to do the 10km today!

10km out and back - railway reserve

10km out and back - railway reserve

What a horrid and weird walk. I was just to do 10km...no expectations - no pace...just do the distance.

I got home from work at 1.30 so I had something to eat then with the plan of going out for my walk at 5pm. It was about 2pm when my daughter who has moved to Cairns contacted me to let me know that the flat she lives in has been evacuated, that it is now in the danger zone and that she and her boyfriend were going to go to the Table Lands with her other flat mates. It was a safe area - about 100km in land to where they live. She was trying hard to remain calm but I know my daughter and she was really scared. They had gone out to get supplies and had to wait for over an hour in ques and the traffic heading out of town was crawling. I am actually more worried about their trip to the table lands at this stage. So I checked out some weather sites and some of the bulletins - and instantly wished I hadnt. This Cyclone Yassa is going to be as big or bigger than Katrina that hit the USA. It is certainly the biggest cyclone to ever hit Australia. I am kind of relieved that she has left with her flat mates and wont be alone.

So when I headed out for my walk - my mind was else where and I was not really paying full attention to myself or my style. At 2.5 km after coming down the hill pretty quickly my right knee started hurting - A LOT!! to the point that I was limping while trying to walk.....I slowed the pace and thought it might be a spasm and walk through it.....it went at the 7km mark, just in time for the hills back to home.....nice! I racewalked about half way up but the pressure to lock my knee was starting to hurt it again so I just power walked the last 200m up.

So I did the very slow time of 1:04 and now have a rather sore knee to contend with . Ice and heat packs are in order and I think I will rub some volarain in too. My knee now hurts when I bend the leg (heel to touch hamstring) and when I lock it. Rather annoyed at my self over this.....but it was a catch 22....I had to do the 10km today!

10km out and back - railway reserve

10km kickdown - atawhai b

POX ON THE WIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With wind warnings in force for the top of the South Island - people being told to not ride motor bikes or push bikes -here am I out there trying to do a kick down. Did that drip of enough irony?

Exert from The Stuff Site - News

"SEVERE WIND WARNING"

Drivers and cyclists were asked to take extreme care today. Ferocious winds felled trees, ripped off roof iron, tore apart a hangar and cut power in the top of the South Island this morning as a severe wind warning was issued for much of the country.

In hindsight - I should have parked my car out at Atawhai and done the first 5km back into town....but wouldn't that have been cheating????

No, I start at my usual sport and head out towards Atawahi with a huge tail wind that just whisked me a long. I am not putting much effort into the walk as I am meant to start out moderate and go a little faster each 2.5km.... HA! that was not going to happen today. My first km was on the right time target but after that I was out into the wind and was doing 6min/km with little effort.....oh crap...how was I going to beat that when I turned at the 5km point.

I did try to pick up my pace on the way back. It doesnt show that in the pace but at least my heart rate went up so it can be seen that I was trying. I was breathing pretty hard and pushing hard into the wind, but many times it felt like I was moving but not going any where.....it was so strong. The last 2km were the worst, as I rounded the bend I knew that I would be directly head on to it. I went through a small sheltered area and my pace picked up and then I walked out from the trees and WHAM!!! I have to admit that there was some colourful language muttered at this stage that will not be repeated on here and I am thankful that there was no one around to hear it.....

So sadly my kickdown was done in reverse and my time was not that flash...I was hoping to do it in 60mins today......instead it was 62:18

Oh well there is always tomorrow - hmmmm more wind I bet!

10km kickdown - atawhai

20km port - monaco loop

well thats my last 20km for a wee while!! thank goodness.

Only todays walk felt like I had wasted mine and my coaches time. We had gusty winds today - on the stuff site when I got home it said 40km/hr wind.....I would agree with that. What sucked the most was that I had it head on for 90% of my walk. I spent more time pushing into the wind and trying to walk a straight line than I did trying to keep to any sort of pace. Many times the wind knocked me off the path onto the road and then it knocked a cyclist off her bike right in front of me......I near walked right over the top of her. She was unhurt just very embarrassed. As I came round the port about 6km and started towards the beach, my face started stinging and as I got closer so did my legs and arms.....then I noticed my mouth was getting gritty. The wind was so strong it was blowing the sand from Tahuna Beach up along the road and foot path.....I was getting a pretty good sandblasting. By the 10km mark the wind was just doing my head in.....I can handle walking in rain, in heat, in some cold but I HATE wind. The next section of path way is totally un protected and is open to the sea and bay, the wind here was the worst and it was all I could do to racewalk....more like power walk by this stage. I turned and came down through the centre on the railway reserve thinking now the wind would be at my back.......it would have been but the walkway is sheltered by big trees and so they absorbed most of the wind except for little puffs here and there.

At the 17km mark I stopped at a local business and made use of their outside tap and had a much needed drink. The next 3km is the up hill section and the wind had turned again giving me another head wind...ugh.....off I went again. The only section in my whole walk were I got a good strong tail wind was the last km going up Beaston Road which is the steepest part of the whole walk......... I had images of me angrily shaking my fist at the wind and muttering obscenity's to my self.

Often when I do long distance the tips of my toes get very sore from impacting in the toe box of my shoe. It doesnt happen all the time but once they start hurting it takes a couple of days to settle them. So my last 5km was so painful as it felt like my toes had been hit by hammers. When I got home the nails had been bleeding and I was limping abit.

So in a very slow 2:13 the 20km has been done. I am sure my coach is as disappointed with my time as I am, but he said that it was more important that I do the distance.

20km port - monaco loop

hard track session - but worth it

Today I had a really tough session on the track.

I was to do 3 x 2km with 3min rest in between, 1 x 1km with 2mins rest and then 2 x 500m

Today was another stinking hot day and I had to do this after work which meant I was at the track at 2.30pm.  I had filled up my water bottle but left it in the car for the day....so by the time I got to the track it was hot water!!! yuck yuck yuck...but it was all I had.

I started out and remembered that my coach told me to take it easy on the first one as I had to conserve my energy for the whole workout.  So I eased back a little and got into my stride.....by the 4th lap I was breathing hard and had to keep telling my self...just once more round.  This repeated for the next 2km set but by the last 2km set ... I was had it so I decided not to look at my watch for the last 2km and just pressed lap as I went round....I was really surprised to get home and see it was the same time for my second 2km.....hmmmmm

Now I had the 1km to do... I had hoped to push out and get a good time but my energy was lacking and I was soooo thirsty.

But I did give it my all on the last sets .... 2 x 500m  I really stretched out and pushed hard and funnily enough they too ended up being the same time....

Here are the links to my data
1st 2km lap    - 11:22
2nd 2km lap   - 11:42
3rd 2km lap   -  11:42
1km lap          -  5:43
1st 500m lap   - 2:42
2nd 500m lap  - 2:42

10km out and back - railway reserve

I was to do 10km today. I had decided that I would do it later today as Shane and I planned to watch movies for a lazy day together. By 2pm our digital thermometer was reading outside temp as 29.5deg and by 4pm it was 32 deg. By now I realised that my decision to wait was not my best choice. I waited until 6pm and it had dropped to 26deg and some cloud had built up so that helped keep the sun at bay.

I kept to a fairly steady pace and just enjoyed my time out. I have a hard track session tomorrow that will have to be done at 2pm regardless of how hot it is. I finish work at 1pm but there is a track event on tomorrow from 4pm..... not much choice left for me.

My time out on this one was slow but I enjoyed it. 1:03

10km out and back - railway reserve

5km series - St James

My legs were still feeling a little stiff and sore from my walk up the hills but I was looking forward to doing the 5km tonight. It was meant to be the stairs course and I was going to just cruise.

I had my first day of work at my new job today and it was really fun. It will be a very easy job to do and I will soon be seeking further employment to boost my income.

It was such a nice warm day today and I had finished work early so I was ready to have a nice walk. I got out to richmond and found out that it was St James....this is actaully a fairly flat course with just a small sharp rise at the end. I have only done this course once before so was not really sure where I was going. Wendy and Pete were not there tonight so I had no one to follow or call back to if I got lost.

We started out and with in 500m my legs were feeling really good and I was comfortably ticking along feeling good. I didnt feel like I was going all that quick and my breathing was steady. I had forgotten to change my watch from 500m laps so it was bleeping every 500m so I didnt bother checking it until about 3km and was really surprised to see it was under 18min......at around the 4km mark I slowed down a little as I was unsure of what direction to head and had to look out for where the cones were placed up the street. I new we went up and through the church grounds but was not sure of which way around the church we went so I picked my way and eventually saw the cone and headed off towards it. Once back out on the street again I quickly got my bearings and then the runners started going past so I was able to pick up and follow after them.

I was really surprised to cross the line in 29:14

so it was another great walk............those fartleks must really set your muscles up for a great time.

5km series - St James

Bush Walk & 6km fartlek - Atawahi

Sunday - It was an awesome day and rather than sit around the house I suggested to Shane that we go out and doing something together. It was a day off for me from training so I thought why not go for a nice stroll. I remembered we mountain biked up to the Maitai Caves once and it was such a lovely spot I suggested we walk it.

It was a great day - it took 3 hours to walk up and back and we stopped lots at different streams and played around on the rocks like kids. What I couldnt believe was how sore I was when we got home. My knees were aching and the backs of my legs were just throbbing!!! Poor Shane was just as bad...he found it very amusing that the big walker was so sore for a stroll. hahaha

Monday - I was meant to do a 10km fartlek. I woke up with very stiff and sore legs and thought this is going to be a bit of a strugle. So I had a good breakfast and waited for a couple of hours and headed out to Atawahi were the the walkway is relatively flat and smooth. I started out ok and moved into my stride slowly. By the first 500m fast I was feeling good and thought that this one might actually go under 60mins for 10km. As I started on the second 500m I rounded the bend and saw signs up say track closed- there were road works and pot holes. Bugger...so I tried to pick my way through it all but by the time I got to the 3km mark I turned back as there was no way past. So I picked my way back through the muck and started up again. My fast 500m's were ok but still felt pretty tough. I could feel my legs getting stiffer and stiffer and by now they were starting to hurt a little. I did 5km in 30:04 and I was pleased with that. I had one last 500m to go and I picked up the pace for it, half way into it and I could feel my knee starting to hurt more, I eased up a little and it went away. 150m to go so I pushed again but my knee hurt more......in the last few strides I had sharp pains coming from the side of my left knee so I am pleased I got turned back as it would have been a long way to walk back with a sore knee.

All in all though my coach was pleased with my splits - stating that my fast 500m's were good. So I am icing and looking after my knee today and will see how it is tomorrow for the 5km series.

so 6km done in 36:07

6km fartlek - Atawahi

15km Around the Port

A nice recovery walk. It is an overcast day today and a little gusty at times. I decided that I would walk around the Port today. The footpaths are not the greatest and the camber is abit off but seeing as I was not to stick to any pace - just enjoy. I picked this as it has nice views over the sea.

My legs felt abit sore and sluggish...which is to be expected, but I ticked along happily at 6:20 - 6:30 pace which suited me just fine. I am still buzzing from my time yesterday, that totally took me by surprise and now proves to me that I can do it.

By going out this way it puts you in the public eye alot more as you are visible around the main roads, so it means alot more tooting and name calling....laughing and pointing, but I am learning to ignore that now. The only time today I felt odd was walking along the atawahi walkway and a drunk guy started waving, laughing and then abusing me, I had to walk past him and then turn back and come back past him....when I came back past him he got up off the bank he was sitting on and came running/staggering towards me hurling abuse at me........so I ran for the next 300m till I got within other people.

So I am pleased to be home and to have a rest day tomorrow. Time for this nice slow wander was 1:37:42

15km Around the Port

10km Wakefield Race

A PB!!!!

10km in 58:41

I cant believe that after such a terrible walk yesterday, I could do so well today. Perhaps having someone to chase was the incentive.

The Wakefield race is always known as Death Valley race.....you go up 88 Valley Road and its always HOT and DRY. They had a drink station at the 4km mark and the guy manning it even crossed over the road with water for us on the way back. Which I was so pleased he did because it felt like a heat wave came over me and my face went so hot that I thought I was going to faint.......but the water set me right again. I noticed that I was slowly gaining on the lead walker not enough to catch but just gaining.

It is always good when you reach the turn point in an out and back race.....you always seem to come back much faster as you know that every step gets you closer to the finish. I reached the 5km turn in 29:55 so I picked it up on the way back. I was so rapt when I crossed the line and stopped my watch to see that I had beaten my fastest road race time.

So the training is working, the new coach is a legend!!!

Here is the data for the race, its in 500m laps as I had forgotten to reset it back to 1km laps. Doh!!!

10km Wakefield Race

10km fartlek - Atawahi

This is an example of how NOT to do a fartlek.

For the record it was very windy with some good gusts that knocked me around alot. I think the website showed wind to be 25km/h

My heart and mind was not into this today and it showed and it felt it. With nearly quiting at 2.5km ... I pretty much forced myself to complete the 10km.  Done in 1:03

To my Coach - Sorry!

10km fartlek - Atawahi

10km out and back - railway reserve

Now this is more like it!!! 10km for 60:51

I woke up at 3am. My stomach was in knots and my mind was racing. Tonight at 6.30pm my daughter flys out to head off for a new life in Cairns and I dont know how long it will be before I see her again. Dont get me wrong, I am really happy for her and thrilled that she has taken the risk and is going. She has already got a job and an apartment plus her boyfriend is about a 30min drive away too. I am upset for my own selfish reasons - I will miss her. At 4am the local hedgehog was out sniffing around outside our window and so I ended up waking up Shane while I was hanging out the bedroom window with a torch trying to scare the thing off....not sure how got more of a fright.....Shane or the hedgehog! So we sat up and talked until 5.30am ..... I figured that seeing as I am awake I should have some breakfast so I can go for my walk in the morning. So I made a bowl of cereal and then went back to bed for a couple of hours sleep.

I got up and decided to head out along the reserve for this 10km as it gives me the hill to plow back up. I was not really planning on it being to quick as I had pushed a little faster than planned in the 5km last night. I was surprised to see I did 6:30 for my first km up the track as its got a good incline on it so I picked up the pace going down Beatson's Road and evened out my pace by doing 2km in 12:06.....so I figured....lets see what I can do for 5km as I was feeling ok....not amazing but ok. Well I pushed on up the railway reserve and again surprised myself by staying fairly consistent along here as it is slightly up hill. Just as I was about to make 5km I flicked a stone up into my shoe so the last 100m til I clicked 5km was a little painful. So I stopped my watch (but hit lap instead doh...then hit stop) hmmmm 29:41 thats not too bad considering its alittle up hill for a part of it. I flicked the stone out and started back. I knew I had 3km of uphill and that I would loose the time I had gained but I was still going to try and get my 10km done in 60 ish mins.....I figured that would be a good test for me as Buller is undulating and similar incline to what this walk way is like.

10km out and back - railway reserve

5km Series - Washbourn Drive

Wow, its amazing what some food and water can do.

I was not sure if I was going to do this 5km tonight. I did not have the best 15km walk this morning and after talking to my coach I can now see why. NO food, Tired and NO water - no energy stores to drive from. So I figured I would just go out tonight and tick along with the walkers and have some fun.

Well it did start out that way. The first km was nice and easy as it was up hill but then we came out onto some nice long down hill sections and I just couldn't help myself and stretched out picking up the pace quite a bit.....which surprised me as I thought I would be dead on my feet. So I decided to just tick along at a pace that felt easy to me and was most surprised to finish the 5km race in 29:57

So I have now learnt that eating and drinking water before working out is very important and that you should not jump out of bed and head straight out for a walk.

5km Series - Washbourn Drive

15km out and back - railway reserve

I mixed up my training program this week. For some stupid reason I thought yesterday was a x-train day and so spent the day watching movies with my son and my grand-daughter. I had every intention to do a gym work out for my x-training, but when checking my face-book my coach very kindly reminded me that I was meant to have done 15km. So I had to do it this morning to get back on track again.

The morning didn't start out well....I slept in. When I woke up at 9.30am, I shot out of bed - got changed - had a quick drink of water and was out the door. I was still half asleep and the body was still waking up too. First thing I noticed was the wind. No rain....but strong gusty wind. So I kicked my self again for not going out yesterday as I would rather walk in the rain than in wind. My first 7.5km was all into a gusty head wind and then when I turned to come home the wind turned a little so I had a side wind the way home. (which did not help my mood any either) I was also meant to do 2 bursts of race pace - I did try but my legs were empty today. The 10km and the 12km were my bursts...very short lived. I am guessing that no breakfast, not waking up properly all factored into this being a crappy walk. My heart rate was low and my breathing was fine, I just had NO energy and the further I walked the more grumpy I became at my self. I am sure I had a wee storm cloud above my head zapping lightening bolts everywhere by the time I got home. So my slow 15km time was 1:36:58..................I better get it together as I only have three more weeks.

15km out and back - railway reserve

3km, 2km, 2km, 1km, 500m & 500m at the track

Today I had to do a really tough track session.  I was not looking forward to this one as it was 9km in total and today was meant to be one of our hottest days.  At 9am it was already 23deg .... I got to the track at 10am and the huge sprinklers were going in the middle of the track...oh they were inviting.  I have no idea of what the temp was at the track but the air was so hot it was hard to breath and the bottoms of my feet got so hot.

I did a couple of laps to warm up and then quickly ran through the sprinklers.  I stood at the start line for about 30secs......just mentally trying to get into the mode and to will myself to do this.  I hit start and off I went, I was not pushing too hard this time as I new I had alot more reps to do this week and didnt want to bomb out after the first 3km.  But the time I came round to finish my 3km I was starting to struggle.  My head was throbbing, my legs had nothing in them and I was getting camp in my calfs and thighs.  I figured I was getting dehydrated so when I finished the last lap.  I went and stood in the big sprinklers and had a good drink from my water bottle that I actually remembered to bring.
3km track 1st rep  - 17:13 is an ok time....nothing to flash.

Now for then next set...2km..... I had my 4min recovery and went back out.  I bombed.....I was going slower and slower per lap and really struggled to keep pushing.  I was very aware that I still had another 2km to go so didn't try too hard to push for a good time.
2km track 2nd rep   - 12:01 not so flash.....only just 6min/km

Now for my 2nd 2km set....this was getting ugly.
I was really struggling to keep my legs going....it was hot, really hot and the sprinklers had just been turned off so I now didnt have the light relief of getting a small shower from them as I walked past.  At one point I almost stopped as my head was hurting really bad and I went really light headed at one point and felt a bit faint.  When I finish the last lap I stopped and took a longer drink and found a small patch of shade to stand in which helped.
2km track 3rd rep  - 12:06  .... oh dear, getting slower.

This lap was the 1km lap.  I started out and tried so hard to push for a faster lap, but I was pretty much spent.  My first 400m was a little quicker which did help give me a faster 1km time but I couldnt have held that pace for much longer.
1km track 4th rep

It was getting hotter and hotter and I still had two more reps left to do.....only small ones but still it was hard to get back out on the track and leave the shade.
500m - I did try a little hard to push through for this one but there really was nothing left.
500m 5th rep

LAST ONE............oh thank goodness
My last 500m rep and it was so hard to get my legs going.  But I pushed through and figured that if this was a race you cant just stop and take a break, you have to push through it and keep going.
500m 6th rep - 2:49


So in total I did 9km in 52:46..................hmmmm thats actually not too bad!! 

20km out and back - monaco-richmond

What a week I have had. My poor legs feel like lead bricks.

I did go out and do 10km yesterday, I just didn't blog about it as it was rather slow and uneventful - 1:07 for 10km.....sad really.

I got up this morning and really didn't feel like going out and doing 20km. I was tired and weary. I was trying to figure out which way I would go and in the end opted for the Monaco loop. Going this way gives me some different scenery to look at and so passes the time. The walk way is not too bad to walk on with a slight up hill gradient. Plus by diverting a little at the end I get to tackle the last hill with a slightly better gradient which is more like how Buller is.

So I started out up along the walk way and was really surprised to see my first km at 6:27 (normally its 6:50) so I thought to myself..."maybe this wont be such a bad walk"

I went through 5km in 30:35.....hmmmm if I can keep this pace up my coach will be really pleased with me. But then I slowed a little to go through 10km in 1:02 so I started working out in my head how long it was going to take me to get back as I had the 3km of up hill a head of me at the end. I sort of figured if I can get 20km done in under 2:08 I would be happy with that as it was still quicker than last week. It was starting to get tough now and I was starting to work hard to keep my form up and speed. I looked up ahead of me and gritted my teeth and pushed up the hills finally making it to the crest at the top of the track near home. Yes, its down hill for the last km and so I pushed myself to pick up the pace and raced towards home. I was so pleased to hear my watch chirp to say 20km.....I hit stop and looked at my time.........OMG....2:06:01 thats 3mins faster than last week.......Yay.....I was so thrilled. I finally feel my training has come together and that I have a good shot at Buller now.

20km out and back - monaco-richmond

Last Walk with Stephen

Today was the last time I would train with Stephen. He moves back to Dunedin tomorrow.

Last night we arranged to met up at Stephens house and do a 14km walk together. Peter joined us and it was like the old crew back together again. We just ambled along and chatted the whole way, none of us in any hurry to finish.

I owe a lot to Stephen. He moved up from Dunedin about 4 years ago and made his way out to one of our Richmond walks. We had all heard about a new walker and were keen to see what he was like. None of us expected him to be as fast as he was or as good. He soon became the focus of our racewalking in Nelson and it didnt take long before a race walk team was formed and we all started training for Edkin relay in Wellington and Harry Kerr 50,000m in Auckland.

Here we are for Harry Kerr - We even had track suits made - Team Tasman!!

 Stephen, Yvonne, Nyle, Sharon & Pete

But he took me under his wing and turned me from a recreational walker into a racewalker. With me picking up his militant style. As I became faster I became more competitive and started searching out events to travel to. This took me to Australia for the Oceania Masters in Townsville and then the following year to Sydney for the World Masters Games. For these events I asked him to be my coach which he took just as much delight in as I did. He was a hard task master and he certainly pushed me hard but it all paid off. Each competition I would make gains and better myself.

We all have some amazing memories for the last 4 years - training at night on the grass track with me wearing the only headlight, training in the pouring rain especially when it was me that was training he just came along for the fun, the road trips to our events - driving down to Mosgiel and back poor pete will never be the same again!, the drive back from Tauranga to Auckland where I was the driver and Stephen and Pete sat in the back and did wine trails the whole way back, the Auckland trial when we were late to the race as we got lost.

It wont be the same around here for some time...Stephen will leave a huge hole in racewalking for Nelson.

The last time Stephen and I went away to compete - chch 1 hour walk

So here is our data for the walk today - 1:33:09

14km out and back - Atawhai

5km series - Hart Road

Sadly it was our last 5km walk with Stephen. He leaves on Friday to move back to Dunedin. He will leave a huge hole in our race-walking group. He has been my coach, my mentor and my friend and he will be missed.

Our 5km tonight was Hart Road, this is a hilly start and then evens out for a nice down hill and then back to the start again. I walked with Pete and Stephen but as per normal ... we started at the back of the group and slowly weaved out way through everyone with the guise of "we are taking it easy tonight" ... we never do. First 2km was done in 14mins.....7min kms - yep thats nice and easy. But at the 2.5km mark Stephen had moved off a head of Pete and I and had caught up to another walker ahead of us..... Pete looked at me, raised an eyebrow and next thing we had picked up the pace and was flat out after them....it took about 1km to catch them. When we caught up to them Stephen powered off and Pete and I took chase. Dropping the pace down to 5.40/km I felt great....my legs responded and I took off after Stephen leaving Pete behind me. I didn't catch Stephen and crossed the 5km in 31:01 which is still very slow but considering our 2km mark was at 14mins...we had picked it up lots!

After the race we all meet and chat, work out our next meeting at the track etc. With Buller only 4 weeks away everyone is asking who is doing it. For the life of me I don't understand why people wont say that they are doing a race. It is obvious that they are...why would they be doing all the long distance training, so whats with the lies? When asked out right you get "oh I don't know...still haven't decided....not sure.....thinking about it...."................. come on....they know full well if they are doing it or not. Even those that know them join in with the same game when even they know full well that they will be racing. I am over it to be honest.

I am entering Buller!

5km series - Hart Road

3km, 2km & 1km reps at the track

I was not looking forward to todays walk.  I remembered how tough this was last week and this week I was going to do it by myself.  I find that I often have better work outs when there is no one to talk to or worry about.  So I figured that with this walk being pretty tough it will be a good guide for me to how I am doing and if I am able to still push myself.

I was to do 3km - rest/recover for 4mins - 2km - rest/recover for 3mins - 1km

I had decided to not look at my watch except to press lap each time I did 400m - that way it is me gauging my pace not the watch.  I started out and felt really good.  I felt light on my feet and was not breathing too hard.  By the 5th lap I was starting to feel tired and had to tell me self its only two more keep going......I pressed stop as I crossed the 3km mark and I didn't want to look.....I was sure it was slower than last week....OMG 16:50

I had 4 mins rest/recovery and then started out on my 2km.  My legs felt tired but again I settled into what felt like the same pace as before.  I checked my time split on lap 2 and again it showed I was doing 2:15 per lap....that felt great....I kept going and pressed stop as I crossed the 2km mark.......again I was really surprised 11:18

Then I had 3mins rest/recovery before starting out on my last 1km.  I was still feeling great, legs were tired but I didn't feel exhausted like last week and I didn't feel like I was struggling.  I pushed hard for the last 200m and finished my last km in 5:34

I felt like doing a little happy dance in the middle of the track.  I felt great, had a fantastic workout with bettering my times from last week all round.  Although this does put a little more pressure on for next weeks on.....but we shall see ....

3km data - 16:50
3km track 1st leg
2km data -11:18
2km track 2nd leg
1km data- 5:34
1km track 3rd leg

20km out and back - richmond

Today I was to do 20km at a steady pace and keep my heart rate between 135 - 145 b/m

It all sounded pretty easy.......it wasnt. My legs were tired from the 10km yesterday and so I was struggling to get a good pace going. Its not that easy to find a good "walking" 20km from where I live. No matter which way I go there will be a hill somewhere or a slow steady up hill gradient. Unless I want to go out to Atawahi and walk along the edge of the main road.....which is not that much fun nor is it very safe.

So I opted to head out to Richmond and turn back at 10km....only as I was to discover...its only 8km out there so I had to walk through and up along Hill Street (aptly named) until I had covered enough distance. It was a hot day again but I wore sunscreen today and now remember why I dont like to wear it.......IT STINGS WHEN YOU SWEAT AND IT GOES IN YOUR EYES!!!! but enough of my moaning. I didnt enjoy todays walk but it was quicker than last weeks... I slogged out 20km in 2:09:55 and avg heart rate was 141b/m so I think I got that part right.

20km out and back - richmond

10km out and back - atawhai

Well after such a disaster walk yesterday I was not really expecting anything to flash from the 10km this morning.

I had decided to get up early and do this at 8am but thanks to my darling daughter sitting up until 2am chatting to her boyfriend in Cairns on Skype, Cell & land phone....."sighs"..... I didnt get much sleep and so dragged myself out of bed at 9am. I figured that with no breakfast or much to drink it would just be a nice wander and I would be happy if I got the same times Stephen and I have been getting.

Something that arrived yesterday in the post was a pre xmas gift from Shane. He had brought me a power band - the ones with the hologram and you wear on your wrist. He had heard me talking about them and so he looked into them. He also saw that many people called them a sham etc but some people found benefit in wearing them. So I was still keen to try one and he found one on Ebay for a good price. So I started wearing it yesterday.

So I got up and drove down to the Atawhai walkway, tucked my key into my laces and started out. I was feeling pretty good surprisingly and just sat on a pace I felt comfortable at. I am trying hard to not look at my GPS watch all the time and to learn to feel what pace I am doing. So I decided I wouldnt look at my watch until I turned at the 5km mark. The nice thing about doing this walkway in the morning is for 3 & 4 km the sun has not come up over the hill so its nice and shaded, so I was feeling pretty good, not too breathless. I was not pushing hard but was just walking at a good pace. I was most surprised when I looked at the 5km mark 30:17.......YES!!! I was rapt. I turned and started back, by now my shade was gone and it was full sun the whole way back. Plus lots of cars out now with people heading to town and the market so I had to slow for all the road crossings.....I was hoping to finish my walk in under 61mins.....I would have been super pleased with that. I heard my watch churp for the 9km and thought why not push for the last km. I was tired now but just picked it up a little bit. I finished my 10km walk in 60:35.............WICKED!!!!

and now as I type this my sneezing has started again.....lol....and my nose has started to pour...............grrrrrr

10km out and back - atawhai

3km farlek at track

If ever there was a day I should have just stayed at home.....today was it.

I was down for a 8km fartlek and had arranged to do it out on the Atawhai Walkway at 4pm as I had family coming over from Blenheim that morning.

Well the temperature just kept climbing .... at 2pm it was already 30 degs in the City and 35degs out on our deck. Stephen sent me a text to say he was not walking....too hot and he had other things to do. So I decided the sensible thing to do was wait myself until later in the day for it too cool down. By 4pm the wind was picking up and by 5pm it was really blowing but still very very hot. So Shane suggested going down to the track and doing it there as he thought it would help with distance etc and that it might be more sheltered out there.

We got to the track and I had forgotten my key so we had to climb the fence. The wind was still there but no were as bad as out at Atawhai. I warmed up for doing a couple of quiet laps and then I started sneezing. The wind was blowing from Rabbit Island direction and you could smell the pollen on the wind. My eyes started to water and my sneezing got worse. I was not overly happy to be at the track but as Shane wanted to help felt I should give it a try. I started out and got the 1st km done in 5:35 and then started the 500m reps.....as I came round on my 2nd km I noticed people had started arriving. One of them called out that the Collgate Kids had booked the track and would be needing lane 1......I said I would finish up in 2 more laps....So in total I did 3km at the track. We jumped in the car and drove home, where by now I was sneezing and my nose was running flat out. I jumped on the treadmill and did 500m on 9.5km/hour and then 500m on 10.5km/hour.....but after 3km with my nose running flat out and my sneezing I had to stop.

I have now noticed that just being out in the sun for the 20mins I was I am blistered up my arms and across my shoulders. I have hayfever now - runny nose and red eyes.

So it will be up early tomorrow morning to do 10km. Thats got to go better than todays walk.

3km farlek at track

12km out and back - atawhai

I didn't do the 5km......in fact I didn't do any training.....instead I had decided to take my beautiful cat Gizmo to the vet.

It dawned on me Tuesday night that I had not seen him all day and actually couldn't remember if he had come in and even had his dinner the night before. So at 5pm Shakara and I went out side to call him and see if we could find him. We did, he was curled up in the corner of the garden and didn't look too good. I actually thought he had fallen off the fence and was a bit winded. I picked him up and brought him inside, he didn't want to eat anything and was having trouble walking. I picked him up and put him on our bed. Gizmo is not an inside cat nor is he a hugger. ... unless its on his terms, but he stayed on the bed ALL night and ALL day.....by 1pm I was getting worried as he had not drunk or eaten. I got a straw and fed him some water but it wasn't really enough to do much. I did another search on line and it all pointed to him eating poison....so I rang the vet and they suggested I bring him in but she did warn me that it didn't sound too good. Sadly, it wasn't good news. Poor Gizmo had kidney stones and she showed me straight away that he had a blocked penis and that his kidneys had shut down. She said he had probably been unwell for a while but just didn't show it. The only thing I could do for Gizmo was put him to sleep as the vet said he was in a lot of pain and that there was little they could do. It was so hard coming home with out him....there were tears....lots....and a few wines.....NO training.

Gizmo sitting on the square post of the fence watching me cooking tea. He would sit there for hours just watching us.  

So this morning I got up and headed out with Stephen at 9am.....into the wind and rain for 12km. Was slow going out as we had the head wind but about 5km it all calmed down and so we picked up the pace and came home a bit quicker than going out. 1:17:30 for an avg of 6:27 pace.

12km out and back - atawhai

3, 2, 1km reps

I have never done a work out like this before and was very nervous. I had no idea of what pace I should or could do.

It was certainly not my fastest ever 3km but I was happy with it never the less. Plus I was so pleased to have got that one out of the way, I was silly to think...yay its only going to get easier now.

The 2km things started to get a little ugly, my first km I was struggling to get my legs to work and my last km I was very disappointed to see how much I had slowed. It had helped me that Stephen was doing 1km reps and so at times was right behind me but on the two km as he came up behind me even he said...you are slowing down....and walked past me and pulled away. I couldn't sit behind him for that last part of the 2km.

So now it was my last one km. I started out and got to the first 100m mark and felt dead....my legs were like jelly and I thought that I was not going to be able to keep the pace up for 2 more laps. My saving grace was the fact that Stephen had timed one of his 1km reps to match my last rep so he was right behind me and pushed me to keep going. I didnt look at my watch this round and just pushed through the 400m, then the 800m. Stephen encouraged me to keep pushing and at the last 50m pulled out beside me and really made me push hard for the finish. I was so shocked to look at my watch and see my last km time. Wow......... now I need to learn how to push myself like that!!

so here are my splits

3km - 17:12
2Km - 11:32
1km - 5:36

total data for my work out is here. I did the km splits as I went.
3, 2, 1km reps by kyisis

20km Out and Back - Atawhai

Todays walk was UGLY!!!!

I tossed and turned all night - with neighbors dogs barking for hours and two very amorous hedgehogs getting jiggy with it out side - I got very little sleep. I did get up at 4am and make some weetbix so I at least had some food for energy.

I had made plans to meet up with Stephen and Pete but Pete had injured him self on the 10km and also other plans for the day. So Stephen joined me to keep me company. We agreed that I would set the pace and he would tick along beside me. I dont really know what time I thought I would do. In past months I had gone out and done 20km in 2hours 7min.....so I was aiming for 2:10 at least. The great thing about doing it at 8am was there was high cloud so we didnt get sun until the last 30mins....Yay.

By 2km I knew that was not going to happen. I was tired, really tired. My tips of my second toe were already hurting and there was 18km to go. UGH!!! Having Stephen there was a great distraction as I am sure I would have stopped at 10km and just thrown it in. So I was pretty consistent pace wise....it was just very slow. I really should not have done the 10km walk the day before.

So............a positive.............I did it.   In a very slow 2:13:41

Came home - showered and then headed to the Port Races (Motorbikes - Formular 1, Super motard and classics) after standing for 5 hours and sniffing in my fill of avgas, we headed for home and to the aircon as it is now stinking hot. Now I am resting with ice on my feet. Thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day.

20km Out and Back - Atawhai

New Years Day Shoe Clinic 10km - 2011

Today was my rest day, but I wanted to walk in the New Years Day Shoe Clinic 10km.  As I have to do 20km in the morning the deal was that I could walk it as a training walk.  Sweet!!!

Hind sight is a fabulous thing - I probably should have just helped out rather than walk it.  Everything went wrong leading up to this walk.  My daughter wanted to have something nice and different for New Years breakfast and want McDonalds Breakfast Bagel.  So after much debate and searching for what would be the better things for us to eat.  I settled on the hotcakes but no butter.  So by weight watcher standards - thats 8 points!!!  almost half of my daily allowance.....peachy!!!

After that Shane and I went out and mowed the lawns - takes a good 2 hours today.  Then we decided to get all the house work done in one hit....so another hour and that was all dusted over.  We thought how bout getting the groceries now....so off we went.  Funny how when you decide to eat healthy it doubles your grocery bill???? whats up with that!!!  So while we went through the check out I looked at my watch, oh its 3pm - shane asks when is your race??  oh 3.45pm start....so when we got home he unpacked the car and I raced inside to change.  I then checked the site to get the start time to find it was at 3.30.......and it was 3.15....EEEKKKKKKK so I grabbed my keys and flew out the door....half way to the race I realised I had left my bag, my wallet, my license and my GPS watch all at home.  GREAT...does it get any better. 

I made it to the start with 4mins to spare..phew.....So I had not eaten since 9am or drunk any water all day....oh dear this was going to be ugly, thank goodness I was not to race it.

The race starts and Wendy bolted off to the lead and Pete, Stephen and myself ticked along - passing 2km in 12:30 (I think thats what Stephen said)  Then the guys got competitive and started to pick up the pace so I dropped off to let them go.  To be honest I was struggling to keep up anyway.  I was tired!!  To me - my pace slowed and slowed till I felt like I was only just race walking and almost rec walking.  But I kept going having no idea of my time or my pace...it was really weird not having my watch on.  Funny how you come to rely on it so much.  I have started to try and work out how fast I thought I was going, the guys were ahead of me, Stephen had pulled a head of Pete....(wow I thought...sly ol fox)  I figured if they were hoping to do 62mins...and pete was a good 2 mins a head of me and stephen was another 2mins.....so I was thinking I was doing about 68mins...if I was lucky.  It just felt sooooo slow.

When I rounded the last part of the race and saw the finish I was rapt....I was tired and sore and my knee was starting to hurt.  I called out as I went across the line - whats my time???  1:02 was the response.  I thought he was kidding...............Wendy did 58 and Stephen also did 58 and nearly caught her.  wow, for someone who has only just started walking again after being injured and ill, thats bloody awesome!!

So I guess thats my first time for the year and its actually not too bad for a training walk of 10km.

10km Kick down - atawhai

Today was a busy day.

We had prepared the garage roof yesterday. Shane had gotten up and sanded back the rust and spray zinc stuff on it. Today we were to paint. We had decided to get up early and start painting while there was no wind and it was not too hot. But by 9am it was already 22deg with not a cloud in the sky. Needless to say we both got burnt to a crisp. The garage roof looks awesome again and the blue ends have been redone and so now it looks like new again.

We finished up by lunch time and came inside to sit out the heat of the day. I decided to go out and do the 10km at 4pm thinking it would have cooled off a little. It was 26deg when I went out....my goodness it was hot.

This one went fairly well. I think I started out a little slow but I had set my watch to record each lap at 2.5km and it shows good drops in pace for each one. So hopefully coach is happy with that.

lap 1 - 16:40
lap 2 - 15:55
lap 3 - 15:37
lap 4 - 14:52

total time 1:03:06

10km Kick down - atawhai

12 km out and back railway reserve

Funny how you can have an awesome walk one day and a terrible one the next day.

Perhaps it was due to lack of sleep, only having 12hours rest and for pushing to hard on the 5km.....anyhow...they are all excuses. It is was it is. I felt awful. My body felt like lead and my calf was really tight again. Nothing really epic to tell about this walk....only that it was done - all be it very slowly.

On the 9km I actually just walked normally up the hill as it hurt my calf to even try to race walk it.

So 12km done in 1:18:30


12 km out and back railway reserve

5km series - Kaitea Drive

Tonight's course was the fast flat Kaitea Drive. I hadn't intended on going to fast tonight as my legs were pretty tired after the 2km reps and I still have some long walks to go this week. But when we started out I felt great and felt that I had picked a nice easy pace. Every thing was going so perfect till about the 2.8km mark, as I stepped down over the curb I felt my calf twinge and I thought oh oh....It had been tight all day after the 2km reps but I thought it would be ok once it warmed up. I slowed down for the next km and it felt better but each time I tried to power on it would tweak again. So I opted to ease up again, I was guttered as I was looking at a really good 5km time too.

As I passed over the 4km mark, Pete my old training partner caught me and said "come on Nana, lets go" and so I thought I could just sit behind him and tick out the last km but as I pushed up behind him, he picked up the pace. He did ask me often how my calf was and I was surprised to realize that I had not felt it while I had him as a distraction. So Pete saved my last km.

I crossed the line in 29:04 - Even though my GPS says it was 4.90....it is a measured 5km course and many of the other GPS measured in at 5:02 or 5:04 only two of us got under 5km, so we think it was going under the trees at the underpass.

So here is my data for the 5km race.

5km series - Kaitea Drive

3 x 2km track work out

Well Christmas has come and gone and life now gets back to normal again.

As per normal I ate and drunk way too much and paid for it the next day. Being lactose intollerant you would think by now I would know what I can and cant eat. But I cant resist pavlova and cream. Yes ... the cream hit me with vengeance!!! I was unable to complete my 15km yesterday and only just made it to the 5km mark. I knew I had a very tough workout today and was concerned that I would not be able to cope.

With the massive storm that has hit NZ with Nelson/Tasman/Marlborough being hit the hardest - with heavy rain and huge winds. I knew it was going to be a hard walk. I went to the track at 4pm and it was raining when I got there, but by the time I had warmed up the rain lifted, sun came out and the wind stopped. GREAT!!!! I set out and got the first 2km done. Phew that was tough....I walked slowly around to the 200m mark and got ready to go again. This 2km was really hard...I felt awful. My legs felt weak, I wanted to throw up....I just didnt have anything in the tank to push with. I knew my time had dropped and it had started to rain again by the 1km mark. I walked back around to the next 200m mark and was telling myself....last one...its easy, its only 5 times round. Who am I kidding!!! when you feel sick, its raining and then the wind picks up - those 5 laps may as well be 50!!!!! So I hit my lap button and battled into the head wind and turned to have it behind me along the back straight. I didnt notice much benefit with it behind me and I was feeling very tired. I tried hard not to focus on the time and just push into the wind and keep my style together. Mentally I think you give up the moment you start to doubt yourself and its very hard to push through and pick your pace up again. (Something I need to work on) But the good news is that each 2km rep was under 6min/km pace.

so here are my 2km splits (I looked at my watch at the 1km so I would remember the 1km time)

1st lap - 1km 5:33 2km 5:38 for a total of 11:11
2nd lap - 1km 5:45 2km 5:49 for a total of 11:34
3rd lap - 1km 5:55 2km 5:53 for a total of 11:48

I was a little disappointed with my times but......as hubby pointed out to me....these are not that far off my personal best for 3km & 5km and that I had been doing speed work for 2 months leading up to those, so to be doing these times with little speed work and after being ill is actually a good thing.

here is my actual data from the walk
3 x 2km track work out

4 x 1km reps at the track

Today's training was to be 4 x 1km reps and I chose to do these at the track as its easier to get the distance right. I had a terrible nights sleep as my stomach decided to play up all day and all night giving me terrible stomach cramps and pains. So bad that they woke me through the night so I was lucky to have gotten 3 hours sleep.

I headed to the track at 9am and put out an email to all the other walkers to come and join me so they could do drills or track walk. Stephen came down but he was the only keen one.

After a few laps to warm up, I readjusted the settings on my watch so that it would show me "current lap", "last lap" and lap count..........but for some reason when I pressed lap it double pressed it??? not sure what was going on there.  *update, have just figured out what happened to my watch..I had not taken auto lap off so when the gps thought I had done 1km it took a time and then also when I pressed lap.  So have changed the lap splits to the correct time.

So I started out and I felt tired but ok, the pace felt quick but I was not gasping. I rounded the 200m in 1:01 and thought then hmmm this is a little quick but I will roll with it and see what comes. I kept going at this pace and pushed hard for the last 100m but when I pressed lap it told me 12 secs.....so I had no idea of what my time was. I kept this up for the next 3 all with the same end result. I had guessed each km was about 5.30 ish

I came home and helped mow the lawns and then weeded the garden so it will look nice for Xmas day when Shane's family arrive for the day. My family are getting together at my daughters place for a bbq lunch so I will hopefully catch up with them all later in the day. It may be the last time for a while that all three kids are together for xmas seeing as Shakara is heading to Cairns to live in January.

So I finally came inside and up loaded my data and was totally surprised to see the actual times for my reps.

km 1 - 5:26
km 2 - 5:27
km 3 - 5:34
km 4 - 5:31

So that shows me that my fitness is coming along nicely. Now to put all the kms in a row and still do that pace.

4 x 1km reps at the track

5km series - out and back

Its a hot dry and windy evening. You can smell the pollen from the Pine trees in the wind, and its playing havic with peoples asthma and eyes tonight.

Tonight is the Richmond 5km series and I shot out to have a good stretch out but I found out that it was the out and back course which has a couple of good wee hills that start at the 2km mark and you turn half way through them to repeat them again....

We started off and I sat on Wendy's heels for the first km or so but didnt have the fitness yet to stick to her all the way. Once we got to the Switch Back hills I had was pretty dry and my throat was pretty sore...so I walked up the hills.....normal walk/power walk and then blasted down the other side. I thought I would catch her up on the 2km straight to home but only managed to gain 20 or 30 m

I was pleased with my time as it was a sub 30min but all of us with GPS got a slightly shorter distance than 5km.....My time was 29:54

5km series - out and back Wensley

10 x 200m track speed work

Yay its not raining.......and the wind has stopped!!! ok, its still overcast and looks like it will rain any moment...but the track is dry for now.

I was meeting up with other walkers today at the track to go over drills and walking techniques. Stephen and I try to met up each Monday to help them and he is still Coaching many of the other walkers. As our first walker had canceled he helped me out with my 200m splits. As I was not 100% sure that I was legal when I was try to go fast he helped me out by judging me. It was great and he was really surprised at how much my style had changed.

I was nervous about doing 10 x 200m as last time I had gone out way too fast and wore myself out half way through the workout. So this time I decided to focus on style and technique and the speed will come. Funny thing is I was pretty consistent with my pace through out this time. I did miss hitting lap on about lap 6 - hitting the stop instead of lap so I lost 1 200m's data so I added another one at the end. Silly thing is I also lost count on how many I had done and I see now that I have data for 11 x 200m so I actually did 12 today...cant say I am not putting in the work now.... lol

so my 200m splits were :- 57, 56, 57, 58, 58, 58, 57, 58, 58, 56, 57 and my heart rate max was 163 which is not too bad. Showing that my fitness is starting to come together.

10 x 200m track speed work

112km out and back - atawhai walkway

I woke today to the sound of torrential rain. "Well thats track done for" was my first thought. I had arranged to met up at the track and go over drills and help out anyone who wants help with walking. Not much fun for them in the pouring rain. I knew I still had 12km to walk but opted to wait out the day and see if the weather improved a little.

So I spent the day sewing Barbie Doll Clothes - giving them to my Granddaughter for Xmas.

At 2.30pm Stephen called and asked if I was still heading out. The answer.....of course I was.....so we decided to met up at his place and head out along the walkway for 6km and turn back. It would be his longest walk since his accident but we were both fairly confident he would be fine. He had handled the 10km the other day and also had walked another the day before and felt fine. It was still pouring but it wasnt cold. I took my jacket this time though but wished I hadnt after the first couple of kms as it rubbed me under one arm. I did manage to adjust it and ignore it for the rest of the way.

The walk way was just one big puddle, with both of us splashing each other to the front and side.....so lots of giggling and we picked our way through puddle to puddle. Then we struck clay mudslides across the walk way and they were super slippery to walk over. Even though we were soaked it was not to bad, there was no wind and it wasnt cold. When we turned at the 6km mark, we noticed that there was a small patch of blue sky and that the rain was slowly easing up. By the 9km mark it had stopped raining and was starting to get a tad hot with a jacket on. We had one small stop on the way back as Stephen's hamstring tweaked a bit, but after a good stretch we were away again.

I really enjoyed today, time was not an issue and we rambled along chatting and laughing. So for 12km we did 1:20 - avg pace 6:40

12km out and back - atawhai walkway

4 x 1km track

Its pouring.............I mean, REALLY POURING. Not the I'm going to get a little wet kind but the I will be soaked by the time I get out of my car kind.......

I got down to the track and its totally deserted of people but I do have a large audience of Paradise Ducks, Oyster Catchers and Spur Wing Plovers! They were munching on worms in the centre of the track and didnt really seem to fussed that I was down there splashing around in the huge puddles......the track was just one puddle really. Its a brand new track and they are still sorting out drainage issues. So its a good inch or two deep of water in lane 1. The good news is ........NO WIND!!!!

So I decided to just get on with it. I was already wet so nothing worse was going to happen. It was tough going on the wet track as it feels kinda slippery but also drags on your feet. Jim had said not to compromise style for speed so I eased back a little (not that I was going that fast in the wet anyway) I was to do 800m then stop for 20secs and then sprint for the last 200. I was not sure on how to reflect this on my watch but after my first 800m I hit the pause instead of lap .. so thats how I kept doing it. So each of my 1km splits I have actually stopped for 20secs and then sprinted for the last 200m.

My Km splits are

1st km - 5:34
2nd km - 5:28
3rd km - 5:33
4th km - 5:32

4 x 1km track

10km out and back - atawahi walkway

Today I went out for a quiet wander with 2 mates - Stephen (My mentor) and Pete (My retired training partner)

As today was not going to be a fast pace it was really nice to tick along and chat with friends for company. I miss having someone to train with and keep pushing me.

We had a lot of fun and it felt like the old days when we all used to train together.....missing was Bubbles....then it would have been a full team. We joked about how 3 of us are now unemployed and able to train any time we like now.... but with me about to get a new program from my coach Jim...the chances of training together are once again remote as my work outs will not be that appealing to the guys who are not training for any goals other than fitness and enjoyment.

So our 10km was done in 1:06:12

10km out and back - atawahi walkway

5km Series - St James

Tonights course is the St James Walkway. I have not done this one before and again I had decided to walk with Stephen. He has been out walking abit and is starting to get fitter....gosh it wont be long before I cant keep up with him anymore - will be like old times haha.

It was a hot and muggy evening and we all really felt it out there. St James turns out to be one of the best course's. It is pretty much flat and nice and easy to walk. Stephen an I were chatting away as we headed out being very conservative and just making sure he was feeling ok. But as each km passed I noticed we were getting faster and faster and before long we had gone from 6.20/km to under 6/km - Yep I ended up doing a kick back work out.

So my 5km was done in 31.09 which really surprised us. Tomorrow I am going to meet up with Pete and Stephen and head off for a 10km walk...it will be so nice to have some company.

5km Series - St James

8 x 400m at the track

Tonights session was 8 x 400m with a 2-3min rest between the 400m's. I was also to ease up on the pace a little and get my technique sorted.

I felt more in control of my legs tonight and felt like things were starting to come together. My laps did get a second slower each time as fatigue set in but I am pleased with the over all result. Even my heart rate seemed to be more settled and not so erratic.

As I am getting used to my watch tonight I decided to just press the lap button....so it looks a little messy. Plus my 7th lap a real mix up lol

So my splits for tonight (to make it easy for those interested)
lap 1 - 2:05
lap 2 - 2:06
lap 3 - 2:07
lap 4 - 2:09
lap 5 - 2:10
lap 6 - 2:12
lap 7 - 2:12 (I think)
lap 8 - 2:08

8 x 400m at the track

12 km out and back - Atawahi by kyisis at Garmin Connect - Details

What a busy day I have had......
First - I went out to the Athletic Track and helped out with the first ever inter club 2km Race walk. I judged and also was there to encourage 3 girls that came to me and asked me for help. They are runners and hurdlers but for next year at the Colgate Games they want to enter the Race Walk as well. Two of them are naturals and make it look so easy and 1 will get there with time and coaching. (She reminds me of myself when I started out) They did really well considering that today was the first time they had actually race walked for 2km. The good news is that two of them made it past the judges with no warnings or cards and one got warnings and 2 cards...but she didn't get a dq so she also made it to the finish.
Second - I raced back to my daughters flat and helped her tidy up and drop off all her stuff to the dump. She is moving to Cairns to live in the new year. Plus while there we had Josh (Teagan's parnter) pop round to take away her double mattress. I helped him throw it up on to the car roof and then we tied it down through the front doors.....funny thing about doing that........... he couldn't open the door to get into the car and had to do a Dukes of Hazard approach to get in. Much to Katie-Mays delight and laughter at watching her daddy climb through the window to get into the car.
Third - I had to train and do 12km - by now it was 3pm and I was feeling rather pooped and my back was rather sore???? must have tweaked it while throwing the mattress around. I took some voltarane and headed out at 4pm. Hubby decided to come along with me on his bike and also suggested he take a water bottle, as he knows I tend to train with no water.

It was a hot muggy day and I was feeling very tired. I struggled to get any rhythm going and in the end just concentrated on style and forgot about the time. I also forgot that I had forgotten to change my GPS settings and so after two km I had to press lap....so my laps are a little all over the show. But all in all I was really pleased to finish this one and the time was ok. 1:17:08 which was not too much slower that the other night.

Here is my data is you are wanting to take a peek :0)

12 km out and back - Atawahi