Coffee Date “Walk-Fessions”
Hello there! Usually on the last Friday of the month I link up with Marcia for her monthly “Runfessions.” However, this week I’ve been doing a lot of walking (note the return of the dumpster fire mug) and I have THINGS TO SAY. Pour yourself a nice cup of coffee and I’ll tell you all about it. There are two types of running injuries- the kind where you can’t even walk without limping (um, sprained ankle, for example) and the kind where you can do pretty much EVERYTHING ELSE, except run. My calf “issue” falls into the second category, and while it’s frustrating, I am definitely appreciating the fact that I can at least get out and walk. As a matter of fact, I had intended to work on my walking this training cycle! Not instead of running, of course, but… let’s just say I’m embracing the opportunity. In the 2 1/2 (ahem) ultras I’ve run, I’ve become aware of how people walk. Everyone walks at some point- it’s part of ultra races- but I’ve seen some people walking REALLY FAST. I always thought I walked pretty fast, but these people are really booking it. I remember hearing someone talking about their ultra training on a podcast, and their coach would periodically have a day where they WALK a 5K as fast as they can, and then a month or so later do it again, trying to improve their time. Well, perfect time for me to try this. On Sunday I walked 3 miles and finished in 44:20, with an average mile pace of 14:46. Today I tried it again and was able to improve my average mile pace to 14:10. My last mile was a PR, at 13:59! Seems kind of fast, right? Now, did you know that race walking is an Olympic sport? How fast do you think those athletes are walking? Go ahead… take a guess. In the Tokyo Olympics, the men’s gold medalist in the 20K distance finished in 1:21:05, or a pace of a 6-minute, 31-second mile. WHAT????!!!!!!! HOW is that possible? Even in my youth, at my fastest, I’m not sure I could have run one mile at that pace. I DEFINITELY couldn’t come anywhere close now. How can they walk that fast? And more importantly, why would you, well… want to? Walking fast is so uncomfortable- it gets to the point where it would be so much easier to just break into a nice jog. At what point in a person’s athletic career do they say “My dream is to be an Olympic walker?” There’s also a 50K race walk in the Olympics! The men’s winner in Tokyo finished in 3:50:08. Now I just have to laugh- does anyone remember how long it took me to finish my last 50k (where I was mostly running?) If you don’t remember, well, let’s just say I’d rather not discuss it, in light of this new information. Speaking of the Olympics… I’ve been watching as much of the track and field trials as I can, and loving every second of it. Heal up fast, calf! I want to stop walking and start running again. Do you know your mile walking PR? – Don’t be afraid of hurting my feelings- I’m still working on it! Are you watching the Olympic trials? Have you ever watched a race walking event?