WALK! Magazine

Speed

2012-01-23T23:03:00.002-05:00

I had a great speed workout tonight!

When I got home it wasn't dark yet, but it did look like it might rain again. I rushed outside in light walking pants, a light long-sleeved shirt and wind-resistant jacket. While walking my warm up lap, I realized the temps had dropped in the amount of time it took me to change and head outside. I went home to grab gloves and a hat -- I was cold!

Though the total workout was only 36 minutes, it was intense 3 min fast, 2 min of rest repeated six times. After the first few laps, I was sweating pretty hard. And I was able to finish before it started raining again!

Though it can be hard to maintain my training this time of year, I have been working hard to keep up with the speed workouts. I have to admit, following the Olympic 50K Racewalk Trials yesterday did make it a little easier to get out for a speed workout today.

A New Look

2012-01-16T12:28:00.001-05:00

I've been frustrated with the look of this blog over the last year mostly because the old look was so stiff. I was unable to have more than two columns. I felt many of the items in the side column were so far down no one would ever see them.

Though this new design is not perfect, I do like the colors and it does give me just a little more flexibility. (It is hard to find the right shade of green to go with the logo.)

That said, don't be surprised if you see more changes in the next few weeks as I play with it and get a feel for what I like and don't like about this one. If you have suggestions, feel free to pass them along!

Resolutions

2012-01-15T22:55:00.001-05:00

I know everyone is tired of reading about resolutions, but it's January and we all write about them in January.

I have a really hard time with resolutions. For years I refused to even think about them because I thought it was stupid, setting people up for failure.

Over the years, I discovered that if I don't set a definite goal with a plan to achieve it and a deadline, nothing happens. And when I don't come up with resolutions, my life doesn't necessarily progress in the direction I want it to go.

That is especially true with health and fitness resolutions. If you don't set a measurable goal with a plan, you won't achieve it.

With all of that in mind, here are some of my 2012 resolutions.

1. Train for and enter four half marathons.
2. Finish at least two of them faster than 2:57. (My PR is 2:57:11.) I know I can walk one faster than 2:55.
3. Build upper body strength. (As soon as the knots in my back allow it.)
4. Do a better job of tracking actual mileage walked. In addition, do a better job of replacing my walking shoes when I've put enough miles on them.
5. Lose that pesky last 5 lbs.
6. Get the WALK! Newsletter started.
7. Start a podcast.

Anyone else setting resolutions?

Starting 2012 right!

2012-01-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

Me with Elaine, Deb, Laura and Cheryl before the race.

Today I entered the runcbus New Year's Day River Run. Doing a race on New Year's Day is a great way to start a new year!

If the weather cooperates, it can be a lot of fun -- if it doesn't, it can be miserable. Today's weather is best described as bipolar -- it was horrible and great at different times.

Nine Buckeye Striders entered the race and we gathered in a doorway before the race to get out of the wind. It sprinkled a little bit, but had stopped right before the race started.

The race is on a bike path that starts at the North Bank Park Pavilion in downtown Columbus and goes south along the Scioto River. Much of the race course is pretty narrow -- it is the width of a typical bike path. I thought the crowd thinned out quickly, but then again, I am a walker. I imagine runners felt bunched up for awhile.

The only point of the race that was way too narrow was in that first mile on the sidewalk of a bridge. There was enough room for only one person going each direction. Luckily the crowds had thinned quite a bit, and the runners heading back were the leaders, so they just trickled by us. If there were a lot of people hitting this point at the same time, it would feel VERY narrow.

The first mile was chilly, but as we walked, I warmed up pretty well. In the second mile, the sun came out. We had been walking hard and the sun made me so hot, I had to take off my gloves and unzip my jacket! Regardless, it was beautiful, so we were not complaining. As we passed the only water stop, they were folding up and had run out of water.

Unfortunately, the sun didn't last. It went behind some dark clouds, the wind picked up, and with about 1/4 mile to go, it started raining hard. The rain encouraged me to pick up my pace. I crossed the finish line with the clock reading 43:39.

At the end of the race, I was handed a card to fill out for entry in the drawing to get free entry in the Columbus Marathon, we received a plastic cup from New Balance and there was pizza and bread sticks. As I got to the pizza the rain started coming down harder, everyone was huddled under a small tent and the food was getting soaked.

While we waited for Jack to finish, the race staff encouraged the finishers to take the last few pieces of pizza (even though there were people on the course) and tried to close up as much as possible. A couple of us grabbed pizza for Jack and tried to fill out our entry cards while we tried to keep from getting more wet. (It is hard to write on wet cardboard.)

We all waited for Jack, made sure he had pizza (he asked if there were any cookies left, but we never saw cookies) and because we were cold and wet, we left right away. (Sorry, Jack!)

Here is what I think about this race:
1) The entry fee was very low at only $25.
2) This year we got a technical shirt, but the fabric is very thin -- not sure I will wear it.
3) The course was not bad. There were only two small hills.
4) The water stop ran out of water. More than 23 walkers finished after me.
5) They ran out of food for the last finishers. (It was raining, so they were trying to close up early.)
6) The posted results for the walkers are wrong. I definitely did not walk a 9:55 mile.
7) There was a walking division, and if the order of finishers is correct, I won my age group. (There were only 30+ walkers. It would be hard not to win your age group.) I sent an email asking if there are awards for walkers.
8) There were only 400 people entered in this race, but it could not handle many more.

I was irritated that there was no water on the course, and that they did not save food for the last finishers, but then again, we paid only $25 to register. Did my friends who entered a different 5K for $20 more enjoy the race more? Though the shirt is not better, the food was and I'm confident there was plenty of it at the end of the race.

On the other hand, this race does have a walker division and it looks as if there are age awards.

So, trying to balance the cost to the benefit, there were glitches, but were they worth the $20 difference in price for just a 5K? Probably not. (Edited 1-2-12.)

Regardless, I had a great race on New Year's Day with friends, and that is a great way to start a year.

Sunshine and Walking in Late December

2011-12-26T18:40:00.000-05:00

Now that Christmas is over, things are less hectic and I'm hoping I'll be able to get back into my regular walking (and blogging) routine. I'll begin training for the Xenia Half Marathon next week, so that does give me an added incentive.

I woke up this morning to sunshine and mild temperatures. It was so pretty, I decided to drive to Antrim Park to get in some calorie-burning miles. (I ate a lot of junk yesterday.)

Antrim was every bit as beautiful as I hoped it would be! There were not many people, the lake was smooth with a few ducks swimming, no wind and the sun felt wonderful! In fact, instead of alternating directions, I walked each loop in the same direction to take advantage of as much sun as possible on my face.

I ended up walking three loops for 3.6 miles and a 14-min mile average.

I often suffer from seasonal depression. Gray, cold Ohio winters really do a number on my moods. Days like today help me to fight off depression for just a little bit longer. What a difference a little sunshine and exercise makes!

Do it Better

2011-12-11T15:12:00.001-05:00

My husband and I have a good friend named Ed. Because both of our parents are gone, and Ed is close to the age my in-laws would be, we occasionally have fatherly conversations with him. This father of six, grandfather of 24 and great-grandfather to 24 has a lot of experience with these types of conversations.

The other night when we were talking to Ed, WALK! Magazine came up in conversation. After explaining how hard I had worked, etc., and how sad I was that I had to fold it, he turned to me and said, "Do it again."

I was stunned. Did he not hear what I had told him? Didn't he understand? I said, "I can't because..." and gave him a long list of reasons why I could not possibly restart WALK! Magazine. He repeated, "Do it again." I started to repeat my list and he stopped me.

"Do you have any idea how many times I have failed? I have failed A LOT! And after each failure I would figure out what I did wrong and do it better the next time." He talked about how he could have gone the easy route and worked for a big company like so many of his friends. Yes, they made lots of money, but they worked long hours and never got to see their families. And basically, though he made less money than his friends, he made more than enough and he felt he had a happier life.

After his story of failure and success, he said, "You know what you did wrong. Do it better."

Many of you former subscribers to WALK! Magazine know me and know how hard the folding of the magazine was for me. It has been two years and I have tried very hard to let the idea go, but I can't. The truth is, I LOVED publishing the magazine! It was the best thing I have ever done, it was some of my best writing ever. I met some great people -- subscribers, athletes, race directors and average walkers like me. I received help from so many people who volunteered to write, who occasionally paid my hotel bill, who traveled with me to keep me company, stood in my booth for hours or just listened to my every idea or vent.

I also missed a lot of sleep as I worked 80 hours a week for 4 years, and I incurred a "little" bit of debt, but I still loved it.

So now, taking my friend Ed's advice, I hope to "Do it better."

Right now, I can't do another print publication. I don't know if I ever will. But, I can gather great information about walkers, health and fitness, nutrition and more. And I can write about people who are interesting, great places to walk, fitness products... And I can find new, maybe better, ways of connecting with other walkers.

I hope all of you will join me as I try to follow Ed's advice.
__________

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Inspiring People One Step at a Time

2011-12-04T21:18:00.001-05:00

Have you ever wanted to stay in bed all day with the covers over your head?

It's easy to get overwhelmed with life's problems.

When I feel like that, all I have to do is read about someone inspiring, such as Karen Stewart, and I realize I am a wimp and need to put my petty little stresses into perspective.

You see, Karen has recurring relapsing MS. There are times when her brain and hands don't communicate all that well. She may want to pick up a pencil, she may even tell her hand to pick up that pencil, but it doesn't always work. There are days when she just cannot pick up even a pencil.

In a story that I found about Karen online, it says she has spent plenty of time in wheelchairs, with walkers and with canes and then one day decided to "embrace" her disease and make it her "friend." She was going to find a way to use her illness to make herself stronger.

She started walking a little bit at a time until she finally was inspired to walk a marathon. After finishing her first marathon, she was motivated to keep going, and going and going... Here is a quote from the news story about her that I loved: "Not everybody is motivated to do marathons, but everybody can do something. ... you never know if today my story will inspire someone else to get off their duff and do something."

Karen recently finished her 47th marathon in Savannah, GA! She hopes to complete her 50th in February 2012! (Shoot -- I've done only two full marathons.)

I find Karen to be extremely motivating! Here is a woman who has been stuck in a wheelchair and she was still able to walk 47 marathons! Wow! If she can deal with a horrible disease like MS, what can't she do? If she can do all of this, what excuse do I have not to try harder to meet my personal goals.

This is all of the information I was able to get from this interview by WSAV-TV (http://www2.wsav.com/news/2011/nov/03/one-step-time-ar-2651781/). There are so many questions I have that this story didn't answer.

I have never met Karen, but I hope I will. My goal is to interview her and write a more complete story about her with first-hand information instead of the work of other journalists.

The Flying Feather was Fun!

2011-11-25T16:42:00.001-05:00

On Thanksgiving, I did the Flying Feather -- a 4-mile race here in central Ohio. My sister had signed up for it first, and because this was her first running race in well over 10 years, I decided to enter it, too. As it turned out, three other Buckeye Striders and one of our adult "kids" and her boyfriend were also entered.

The temps were in the mid-30s -- much more chilly and windy out in Dublin than it was at home! Before the race started, we stood next to a building to reduce the wind to help stay warm.

My little sister Cathy and Me.
She is a runner, but I still like her.
(I'm wearing the hat that was
in the race packet.)

We separated at the starting line based on how fast we thought we would be. Barbara and I went back to the 13-min mile area. These types of events attract people and families who don't enter a lot of races, and don't know they should be near the back. We almost went back farther, but decided 13 was close enough and would reduce the number of people we would have to pass.

There were huge speakers all along the starting corrals and the music was loud and great!

Immediately, Barbara and I were passing people left and right. The first mile was on a wide road, so everyone was spread out and it was easy to maneuver. I finally looked at my watch, saw that 18 minutes had gone by and realized I missed the first mile marker! (The mile markers were huge yellow flags that could be seen from more than half a mile away. I don't know how we missed it.)

The race progressed into Glacier Ridge Metro Park where the wide road turned into a narrow path. It was a little more difficult to pass people and we got stuck a few times with nowhere to go. In the park, there were trees near most of the path, so the wind was blocked pretty well. There is a section of this park we call the plains, and though it is usually pretty windy here, it wasn't this time! Both Barbara and I started to get a little bit over-heated. At the second mile marker, our time was 28:28. I knew we were way too slow.

Buckeye Striders Sharon, Barbara, Me and
Steve before the Flying Feather. (It was cold.)

We picked up the pace as the crowd thinned a little and we moved back onto wider streets to head to the finish line. We did the third mile in 13:26. This felt like a much better pace for me. The closer we got to the finish I tried to pick up the pace a tiny bit. About half a mile away, I asked Barbara if she could go a little faster and she accused me of trying to kill her -- again. (The first time was during the Air Force Half Marathon a couple of years ago.) Still, she picked up the pace a little!

As we turned onto the final stretch, there were two slow runners right in front of us and I refused to let them beat me. I went into my real race mode and passed them a few yards before the finish line! Our final mile was 13:16! (Barbara was 4 seconds behind me.)

At the end we were given a finisher's medal, bottled water, Nutri Grain bars and a bottle of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages 2009. There were holiday cookies for those under the age of 21.

Because it was still chilly, and my sister was freezing, (she had been waiting around for me for 15 minutes) we left quickly and walked the half-mile to the high school where we had parked.

A Thanksgiving race is a great way to start a holiday devoted to food! This one is well organized and the course is not difficult. With the registration we received a technical shirt, a fleece hat, toss-away gloves, a finisher's medal and a tasty bottle of wine. The shirt is a little bit ugly even though it is a technical shirt. (The earlier races gave cuter shirts.) But I'll wear the hat and the wine was good! So, overall, it was a positive experience and I'll probably do the race again.
___________________________

Hints for this race:
1) The shirts are in men's sizes only. The size small shirt will be big on a small woman.
2) Sometimes they run out of size small shirts early. It is a good idea to pick up your packet on one of the first days, just to be sure. My sister was able to exchange her large for a small on race day, so there were plenty this year.
3) Parking can be tight, so plan to arrive early. I like to get to this race 45 minutes to an hour before the start.
4) It is OK to line up a little closer to the starting line than you would in a typical race (if you normally line up at your real pace). There will be many people strolling in blue jeans and walking with small children lined up too close to the starting line, and you will have to pass them. Do not expect to PR in this race.
5) In previous years, the volunteers were more careful about making sure each person received just one bottle of wine. We saw several people walking away with more than one bottle (one with a whole box!) and there were still plenty of people behind me. Get your wine as soon as possible after crossing the finish line to be sure you get a bottle. After all, if you don't get the wine, you might was well do any other Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving!

As the Days Get Shorter -- Be Safe!

2011-11-22T22:18:00.000-05:00

Though I tend to talk about safety nearly every year after the time change, it probably cannot be repeated too often.

In the Northern Hemisphere, each day gets shorter until about December 21. And the end of Daylight Saving Time in late October or early November means it is darker in the evening all of the sudden. (Yuck!)

You could try walking in the morning, if you don't already. It's just a temporary fix though since it gets progressively darker in the mornings, too. If you have the right employer (or work at home, or are retired...), you could walk over your lunch hour. However, depending on how hard you walk, that might require access to a locker room or showers.

If you are like me, the only time of day available to seriously walk is the evening. (It is hard enough already for me to wake up in the morning -- I cannot get up any earlier!) And that means we need to be extra careful.

First, be careful where you walk. If I am alone, I will not venture into the city parks at night. There are too many dark secluded spots. Lucky for me, my neighborhood is safe and I'm comfortable walking there alone at any time.

Wear light-colored clothing if possible. My winter coat is dark purple, and all of my long pants are black, but I try to wear a white hat when I can. Regardless, in the dark, the purple might as well be black.

Reflective vests can be cute!

Wear some type of reflective clothing. Many athletic shoes have reflective spots, but that is not enough. If your jacket or pants do not have a reflective feature, be sure to wear a vest or some other safety garment. The other day, I saw reflective cuffs to wear around the biceps, reflective hats and even suspender-like straps to wear over a jacket instead of a complete vest. I wear a vest over my dark jacket.

Wear a light. I wear a headlamp. Most people in our neighborhood have lights in front of their houses, so the sidewalks are somewhat lit, but a headlamp does help me see uneven spots. But the real reason I wear a light is so that vehicles will see me when I cross the street. If you do not have access to sidewalks, a flashing red or yellow light on your back will also make you much more visible to vehicles! Don't forget to walk facing traffic if possible! (Find headlamps here: http://www.consumersearch.com/headlamps and headlamps and reflective gear here: http://walking.about.com/od/lights/Lights_and_Reflective_Gear.htm.)

One of my headlamps
clips to my hat.

Keep your ears open. I always have an MP3 player with me, but especially at night I use just one ear bud. With the volume at a reasonable level, this allows me to hear other pedestrians or vehicles.

Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back. If you live with other people, this is not a problem. Living alone makes it a little more difficult. If you know your neighbors well enough, let one of them know what your plans are, then check back in when you return home. Otherwise, I have been known to call friends to let them know where I'm walking, and call again when I'm home. Anyone who supports your healthy lifestyle should be willing to do this for you!

Carry a cell phone. I know, I hate carrying the extra weight, too. Still, it is a minor inconvenience to be a little bit safer.

Darkness, rain, snow and wind are not good reasons to let your healthy lifestyle slide. With a little bit of planning and common sense, you should be able to walk outside year-round!

Let me know if any of you have any additional suggestions.

Here Comes the Sun....

2011-11-17T21:53:00.001-05:00

On the far side of Antrim lake. Though I saw a few people a couple of times, most of the two laps I was completely alone.

Today, I was lucky enough to be free for the day at about 3:45 p.m. Though chilly and windy, the sun was shining and I rushed to change my clothes so I could get in a couple of miles in the sun.

Not to be too repetitive, but I am very affected by weather and daylight, and the lack of sun in Ohio this time of year really messes with me. To be as proactive as possible, I get outside in the sun as much as possible. And if I get the chance to generate a few endorphins at the same time, all the better!

I was able to change my clothes and be on my way to one of my favorite parks before 4. I wore just two technical shirts with long pants, a windproof jacket and gloves and earmuffs. It was the perfect amount of layers!

On my first lap, I saw two men in olive green jackets who looked somewhat official. As I walked past them, I noticed the logo said something about being community security, which made me feel great! I did only two 1.2 mile loops before the sun started to get low. I was afraid it would be too dark too quickly to make it around one more time. Even with security, I wouldn't want to be on the other side of the lake in the dark.

I pushed steadily and I could feel my breathing, but I was not breathing too hard. In fact, it felt like a medium effort. That said, my heart rate topped out at only 143 BPM and my pace was 13:04 per mile for the first lap and 12:45 for the second!

Though I'm pretty happy about my speed, I'm even happier I had the opportunity to be outside in the sunshine generating endorphins! (If it never got dark any later than it did today, I'd be fine all winter.)

I hope those reading this post had a chance to be out in the sun today, too!

Fall Morning Walks

2011-11-13T22:42:00.001-05:00

This time of year, I get really excited when I have the chance to get in my miles in the morning. I don't know what it is about crisp, sunny, fall mornings, but walking in them is great!

Saturday the Buckeye Striders met at Whetstone Park near the Park of Roses at 8 a.m. for our weekly one-hour walk. A beautiful morning walking with friends is a great way to start the weekend.

In fact, it felt so good, I went out for another walk Sunday morning in my neighborhood. Sunday was not nearly as pretty -- it was very cloudy and windy -- but that was OK. I really enjoy starting a morning outside if possible.

Though neither walk was overly eventful, they were both wonderful in a different way. I spend way too much time inside and having two mornings in a row where I can walk outside (and the weather cooperated), well, in Ohio, that is pretty wonderful!

Walking After the Time Change

2011-11-08T22:36:00.000-05:00

The sun was already pretty low before
I even started my 3-mile walk.

One of the biggest problems with training outside after the Fall time change is that it starts to get dark so early. In fact, it will get darker every day until about December 21. The time change just gives the early darkness a sudden jump making it a hard immediately.

Monday evening on my way home, I stopped at a park along the river to get in a few miles while the sun was still up. I thought there would be plenty of time to get in a few miles before it got dark.

Because the painted mile markers are starting to fade, I sometimes miss them. On this day, I saw every one of them on my way out -- 1.5 miles -- but I missed them on the way back. Regardless, after only 3 miles, the sun was already behind the trees and it was starting to get dark. It wasn't so dark I needed to stop, but it was getting close. I decided to stop.

I don't mind walking in the dark if I'm in my neighborhood and I feel safe -- I bought new batteries for my headlamp and found my reflective vest -- but who wants to walk in just their own neighborhood for a couple of months? (Not me.)

Until it is absolutely necessary for me to limit my walks to the neighborhood, I will keep trying to squeeze a few in local parks and with luck will be able to enjoy a few hours of sunshine.

Seen Today -- Seriously?

2011-11-01T22:52:00.000-04:00

Turkey lights put up in a neighbor's yard the
day after Halloween!

Can you believe it? The day after Halloween and someone in our neighborhood had a Thanksgiving decoration out already! (The photo is difficult to see, but the white lights are in the shape of a turkey.)

Walking While Traveling

2011-10-27T00:55:00.001-04:00

Edited to add photos 10/27/11.

Walking in Palm Springs.
Palm trees make me smile.

I'm currently in Palm Springs, CA for work. I was supposed to arrive on Sunday with the plan to spend the afternoon walking and and maybe hiking up the mountain a little. As it turned out, our plane had mechanical problems and we were not able to fly out until Monday morning. I had meetings scheduled for all day Monday, missed a couple of them and showed up in time to catch the last few.

Tuesday I also had meetings all day. I ended up with a short break at one point and was able to walk outside for about 50 min. Nearly an hour in the California sunshine in October was fantastic! Ohio can be pretty gray and dreary this time of year. The sunshine has done a lot for my mood.

Today I had a few hours free as my last meeting ended early. I walked down to the art museum, which was nice, but left before seeing everything just to be in the sun. One thing I noticed is, the temperatures change dramatically once the sun goes behind the mountain! I was a little toasty walking around in my blue jeans, but once the sun went behind a peak the temps dropped dramatically!

Andrew Wyeth painting at Palm
Springs Art Museum. I got
in trouble for taking this
photo.

If you lived here year-round, it would be necessary to plan training walks around the sun. Since I just did the Columbus Half Marathon this month, at least I didn't have to try to fit in training walks while here.

I'm heading to the Palm Springs airport at 5 a.m. and will end up spending about 3 hrs in the Dallas airport. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do a little walking there -- just as I did on our way out here.

OK, this posting is a little rambling and starting to get off topic, plus I forgot to bring my iPod cable down to the hotel lobby with me, so I'm not able to post photos. I'm heading off to bed ~~and with luck, I'll be able to add some walking information and photos tomorrow~~.

Hints for the Columbus Half Marathon

2011-10-22T21:56:00.003-04:00


The race shirts are available in women's sizes -- and they fit!

After completing this year's Columbus Half Marathon, here are some tips for next year's event.

If you are planning to enter as a "competitive" walker, read the registration information carefully. For this year's race, walkers needed to go to a separate registration table to get a second bib to wear on the back. The bib said "Competitive Walker." At the same table we were given a big orange sticker to put on the front to indicate we were walkers. Things may change next year, so be sure to read carefully.
Reserve a parking space online. My friend Deb does this every year and it makes race morning much easier!
The last few years this race has provided shirts in women's sizes. I tend to wear a small and the small fits. Based on my experience, I think the sizing is accurate.
The best time to go to the expo is during the Buckeye game. Yeah, most of the locals will be watching the game.
This race gets bigger every year -- arrive early! I heard stories about people not being able to park, the port-a-john lines at the start were very long and we also heard some people had trouble getting to the right corral because of the crowds.
The weather for this race can be very cold or very hot. And even if it is chilly in the morning it will warm up as the sun comes out. Bring a shirt or sweatshirt to toss once it warms up.
And don't forget the people in the corrals ahead of you will also be tossing shirts. Watch your step for at least the first mile.
At the end of this year's race, it was difficult to find the tent in Celebration Village where we were to turn in our "Competitive Walker" bibs to be counted. You may have to really search.
This year's after-race food was pretty skim and all junk. With any luck, it will be different in future years. There was food for sale at the after-race party. Either bring money to buy something more substantial, or have something in your car to eat after the race.
Be sure to follow the Columbus Marathon on Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes the staff announces special events or opportunities to win prizes or entry fees. They often ask for opinions on issues.
Don't forget to register early for the least expensive registration fees.

This is a well organized and fun event! If you are ready for some of the issues associated with a large event, it will help you have a successful race.

Columbus Marathon Review

2011-10-19T22:57:00.001-04:00

Sunday's Columbus Marathon Half was fantastic!

The temps were in the low 50s when we arrived at the starting line. Because I am always way too cold, I was wearing a throw-away sweat shirt and a trash bag over my long-sleeved technical shirt. Deb did convince me to wear shorts.

As soon as we got there, we noticed the lines for the Port-a-johns were horrible! I was really worried we wouldn't get through before the start of the race. We must have picked the right line because we both got through relatively quickly. (Whew!)

While waiting for the start of the race, the sound system was great! In Corral F -- right before the last corral -- we could hear the Danger Brothers playing, we heard the National Anthem and we heard the start! (Well, a cannon was shot off, so I would hope we would hear it regardless.) The coolest part was the fireworks going off!

As participants approached the actual starting line, a live feed of all of us crossing the starting line was broadcast on a big screen across from the band stage. I raised my arms and waved, but I didn't see me in the crowd. Very cool!

The first mile of any race is rough. Too many walkers and runners who do not know how slow they are and too many runners go too far back. Add to this that lots of people in the front corrals tossed clothes, and we had to watch our step. Still, we hit mile marker one in 13:48.

Early on I tossed my sweatshirt.

As we went up Broad St., we passed the walking pacers who obviously lined up in the wrong spot. None of us walkers in the back could find pacers (other than 2:45) before the race.

In Bexley, the 3:00 pacer passed us and was at a slightly faster pace to make up for being behind early on. (He got stuck in a back corral and had trouble picking up his pace.) We could not maintain his acceleration pace at this point, we let him pass but we kept him in sight for the entire rest of the race. At this point Deb and I met a really nice woman named Debbie, who also wanted to finish in under 3 hours and couldn't keep up with the pacer either. She ended up staying with me till the end.

Somewhere before mile 8, Deb started to slow and said to go ahead. We had an agreement before the race, and it was OK with her that I went on ahead. I turned around periodically and did see her for a while.

In Olde Town there were tons of people on the porch of one house partying and cheering. It was neat that all of those neighbors got together to cheer us on!

Somewhere around Olde Town, we heard sirens and a firetruck and two squads were given the right of way and we were moved onto the sidewalk for a short stretch. We saw paramedics working on a man, but I just couldn't look. I never did hear what happened or how he did.

The rest of the race was very fun and uneventful. We saw great water stops, heard great music and there were plenty of great signs held by cheering crowds. One of my favorites held by a little boy said "Worst Parade Ever." (So cute!) There seemed to be much more crowd support this year than in previous years. We saw a couple different groups of people more than once, which was fun.

We turned onto High Street and the wind picked up. Lucky for us, it was at our back and almost helped us move faster. It did feel quite a bit colder than earlier in the race. Most of High Street is a slight uphill. Despite this, we kept up the pace and kept the 3-hour pacer in our sights!

At mile 12, I decided to see if I could go faster. I pushed hard and when I made that left-hand turn to the finish line, pushed even harder. Debbie tried to keep up with me and ended up jogging a few steps to pick up her pace. We did mile 13 in only 12:25! Really excited at that point, I crossed the finish line with a watch time of 2:57:19! More than 2 minutes under my goal of 3 hours!

With me after the race are Deb (middle) and Pat.

We got our medals and silver blankets (really needed), grabbed water and I ran into other Buckeye Striders who finished in about the same amount of time I did, but were just enough ahead of me in the corral that I never caught them.

The food line was efficient. We were each handed a bag with food in it. However, the food in the bag was not very exciting. I had a bag of cheese curls, a chocolate cookie, an orange, granola bar and some energy chews. We did get chocolate milk which is one of my favorite recovery foods! Though I appreciate that we got food at all, I didn't eat any of it -- I just drank the milk.

There was a security guard working hard to keep family and friends from blocking the exit out of the food area. The exit was huge, so I cannot believe that there were so many people standing there that we still could not get out. It was so much better than last year and the guard was doing his best.

It took quite a while to find where we were supposed to turn in our Competitive Walker bibs. When we finally found it, the process was easy. I can't wait to see how it is going to work. The results haven't been posted yet.

The after-race party in Celebration Village was very crowded. A band was playing and it could have been fun, but we were cold and it was difficult to get around, so we left fairly early.

Overall, the Columbus Marathon Half was a great event! Though there were a couple hiccups with pacers and after-race food, there is a lot to like about this race.

What I especially like is that the race director listens to the participants. He heard people complain about the food distribution last year with early finishers taking too much, and he tried something new. He heard that it was hard to get out of the food area, and he tried something new. He heard that the participants in the last corrals couldn't hear the music and he tried something new. Walkers asked for awards and he tried something new.

Even if everything that is tried doesn't work, you have to admire a race director who listens and is willing to make efforts to make a race better.

And I think that is why this race gets better every year.
___________

NOTE: Because I took pictures with my iPod, many of the low-light photos did not turn out. And, because I had a speed goal, I didn't stop to take photos mid-race like I usually do.

The Day Before a Big Race

2011-10-15T18:45:00.000-04:00

In honor of my walking the Columbus Marathon Half tomorrow, this blog post will feature hints for what to do the day before a big race.

Get plenty of rest. If you are like me, you will not sleep well the night before the race. Because of that, I went to bed early last night and I feel pretty good!
Try not to be on your feet too much. After picking up your bib at the expo, find a place to sit down.
Don't eat anything unusual today. It is so tempting when you are traveling to try foods you've never had before. Save that for after the race.
Check the most up-to-date weather for tomorrow. By today, the forecast should be fairly accurate.
Plan what you will wear and make sure it is ready. Is your favorite shirt clean? Do you have your socks selected? Will you take a "throwaway" shirt? If it is raining, will you take a garbage bag? (Remember, don't wear anything new and untested.)
Put your race number on your shirt or racing belt. If you have a timing chip, put it on your shoe.
Plan what you will eat in the morning. I eat a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread before every race. I will make the sandwich tonight.
Do you carry gels or an MP3 player? Pack your Spibelt with your necessities.
Finally, go to bed at a reasonable time.

Races in my home town feel different from races that require travel. I like being in a hotel right across the street from the start line. I also like having planned what I'm going to wear a couple of days in advance.

At the same time, I sleep better in my own bed and I like being able to change my mind regarding clothes if necessary. (I took the totally wrong clothes to the Big Sur Marathon and I froze!)

Regardless, there is always a lot of excitement before a big race and the morning will go much smoother if you plan early.

Good luck to everyone doing a fall race!

(If I left anything out, please let me know!)

Taper Week

2011-10-10T21:40:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure if this is an egret, heron or crane,
but I saw it today.

I was scheduled to walk just 30 min. at an easy pace today. Because it was beautiful this evening I went to Griggs Reservoir to walk along the river. I love days like this!

Race Pace

2011-10-09T21:24:00.001-04:00

My plan for Saturday's 8-mile training walk was to try to maintain a 14-min mile for the first 5 miles, then increase my speed to race pace for the last 3 miles. I also used the walk to try out a new heart rate monitor.

The first 2 miles were over 14 min. each -- darn! We were able to pick up the pace for the next 3 miles moving between 13:40 and 13:50. So the first few miles evened out.

We tried to pick up the pace to go as much below the 13:45 pace as possible. That 6th mile we only managed 13:50, but we also slowed down for Deb to use the water fountain. (I'm OK with that. I want her to drink water.) Unfortunately, after that mile I hit the wrong button stopping the chronograph. Argh! According to Nancy's GPS we went from a 13:30 pace to a 12:26 pace per mile -- I'm just not sure what the specific pace was for each mile. I need to be able to average faster than 13:45 per mile, so if I go slower for the first 2 miles, obviously I will need to go faster for the last few miles.

I'm VERY excited! After I warmed up, moving faster that 13:30 was not that bad. Now I just have to figure out how to warm up quicker.

Testing a HR Monitor

2011-10-04T22:58:00.000-04:00

Today I was testing a heart rate monitor by Sportline. The watch part is very cute and I was excited to give it a good workout with either long distance or speed intervals. (This is the one I planned to test Sunday.)

The buttons on watches all work differently. It's one of the reasons I'm hesitant to switch between sport watches.

So today, I inadvertently stopped the chrono after my 5-minute warm up. I have no idea how long I walked for my first interval before I noticed the time didn't change. Somehow I did the same thing right before my last interval.

When I'm used to the buttons, I'll do a full review. For right now, I like it. The watch is cute, the chest strap is comfortable and a good design, the stop watch will do up to 50 laps...

That's probably enough teaser for now.

My Workout
Despite the user error, I had a good workout. I ended up doing 8 intervals of 3 minutes fast alternating with 2 minutes of rest. When I finished the first interval, I marked my finish spot with a stick so I could compare how I did on other laps, and was pretty close just about every time.

My stride did not feel smooth today and it was an effort to move fast. In fact, though I was not breathing overly hard, I just could not get my legs to move any faster. I knew I was not working my hardest because my heart rate did not even get above 144. (During a recent race I paced myself using 150 bpm.)

Regardless, it was a good workout. I'm planning to keep up the speed workouts even after the Columbus half in less than 2 weeks.

I Didn't Want to Walk Today

2011-10-02T22:45:00.001-04:00

The changing leaves are a sure sign of fall.

It was so hard to get out of bed this morning to walk. The weather was rotten Friday and Saturday with lots of rain and clouds, and I expected it to be just as bad today. As I laid in bed, I was thinking about where I could walk where I would be least likely to quit halfway through. (Sharon Woods with the 3.8-mile loop.)

When I finally got out of bed, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sun! It was a little chilly, but there was sun.

One of my goals today was to walk faster than I have on my last few long days and try to maintain close to my intended race pace. I also hoped to pay more attention to my heart rate so I'll use my heart rate monitor better on race day. Halfway to the park I realized I left the chest strap to the HR monitor at home. Darn!

Without the monitor, I decided to just try to walk at a pace close to a 14-min. mile. I always start a little slow and it takes at least a mile for me to warm up. My first mile was 14:44 and I sped up to 14:09 for mile 2 and 14:01 for mile 3. I stayed near that pace until the last two miles which were 13:49 and 13:43. Though I was breathing a little bit hard, I could have easily maintained a conversation. It felt good.

In order to break the 3-hour mark, I'm going to have to walk all 13 miles faster than 13:45. If I can get warmed up sufficiently, I think I'll be able to do it. However, there are only two weeks left and I won't have another long-distance pace day to practice.I'll just have to be confident my training has paid off.

Not Quite as Scheduled

2011-09-28T22:58:00.000-04:00

Monday I planned to do my regular speed workout. I didn't sleep well the night before and I did an intense 12 miles Saturday, so I was a little more tired on Monday than usual. So, I altered my plan from the scheduled eight laps of 3 min. fast alternating with 2 min. of rest to six laps. After I started walking, I discovered I was much more tired than I realized. After four laps I was done.

Though I feel somewhat bad about ending my speed workout early, I've heard from several people I respect that sometimes it is best to do that. As Bonnie Stein always says, if you don't feel like walking, walk for 10 min. If after 10 min. you don't feel like continuing, then it is OK to stop. So, after 20+ min. I just could not continue -- it was time to stop.

Today I was scheduled for 45 min. easy. I knew it was going to rain and was trying to get out of the house before it hit. By the time I got out, it was cloudy and was just starting to sprinkle. The more I walked, the harder it rained. On my way back home, about a block away, it was raining harder and I was getting soaked. Those who know me know -- I do not do rain when it is cold! Rain in September is something I hate.

I finally decided to just run.

Yeah, I hate running. But my dislike of getting rained on was just a little bit stronger.

Last Long Walk Before Half Marathon

2011-09-25T23:02:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was our longest walk before the Columbus Marathon (Half) in October. Deb and I wanted to do 12 miles, so our plan was to walk straight out on the Alum Creek Trail for 90 min. and turn around for a total of 3 hours. We estimated that even if we walked slowly, we would walk at least 12.

We started out with a few other walkers planning to do just 8 miles. (Don't you love it when I say "just" 8?)

Our first detour was a small group of deer. The doe and fawn crossed the trail in front of us, but the buck waited and watched. The closer we got to where the two deer crossed, the more upset the buck got. He even ran at us a little. (I suggested we NOT make eye contact and walk faster.)

When we got to one part of the trail that goes under a busy road, the trail was closed due to construction. We had to go up to the street and cross. Luckily at a little after 7:00, there were few cars.

After the others left us, Deb and I walked farther than we have gone on this trail -- almost all the way to Easton! After trying to map the trail on Map My Walk, I think we walked about 6.28 miles out then turned around.

After we turned around, the trail looked very different. We also forgot how many times the trail veered off. At one point we were totally lost, it just was not obvious which way kept us on the main trail.

When we hit the one intersection with a traffic light and then had to cross the busy street, the traffic was heavier and it was harder to cross. We ended up back at our cars after 3:04, so we definitely took longer to get back.

So, it was a beautiful morning, and despite a few obstacles we walked for more than 12 miles. It was a good beginning to the day!

9/30/11 Edited to add: I forgot to mention that two huge apples or hedge apples dropped from a really tall tree and landed inches from our feet! We both jumped (and yelped) and laughed so hard, we had to stop walking for a minute. If we had been a second faster, we both would have been hit in the head by the falling fruit.

Walking Division Prizes at Columbus Marathon

2011-09-21T20:50:00.000-04:00

The Columbus Marathon just announced that there will be prizes for walkers who sign up to be in the competitive walker division!

From the Columbus Marathon website http://www.columbusmarathon.com/race-information/walkers:

Competitive Walker Division Rules
All participants in the Competitive Walker Division must wear a special sticker on the front of their shirt and a special bib on the back of their shirt on Race Day. Judges will be located on the course. Any participant in the Competitive Walker Division seen running will be ineligible for Competitive Walking Division Awards.

The Competitive Walking Division stickers & bibs can be picked up at the Competiive Walking Division table at the Expo. This table will be located next to Number Pick-up. ONLY those walkers interested in competing for awards must wear the sticker & bib; walkers taking part in the marathon and 1/2 marathon who are not competing in the Competitive Walking Division do NOT need a sticker or bib.

Following the Race, all participants in the Competitive Walker Division will be required to write their name and race number on their back bib, and turn it in to the information table in Celebration Village for verification. Those participants who fail to turn in their bib will be ineligible for awards.

I'm excited!

A 10-Mile Saturday

2011-09-17T18:18:00.000-04:00

I'll admit it -- today a lot of the Buckeye Striders were going to be out of town, so Deb and I went to a different location for the Saturday morning walk. (I know, it was divisive.)

We were scheduled to do 8 miles, but because we didn't get up to 10 miles last week, we left 10 as an option.

We went to Sharon Woods at 7 a.m. and it was still dark and it was cold! I hate dark and cold mornings! This park has a 3.8-mile loop and large mile markers. It always takes me a while to get warmed up enough that I can walk fast comfortably. Our first mile I thought Deb had set too fast of a pace, but it took us just 14:09, not too fast at all. We tried to hover around that pace, and even got down to 13:58 for mile 3.

The first lap was uneventful except the park was beautiful! The second lap we really slowed with our slowest mile 14:25 (Deb stopped to get a drink from the fountain, so I slowed to wait for her). After 8 miles we felt great, so we decided to do two more miles. I made the executive decision to pick up the pace for mile 9 to see how fast we could get. Though she was not entirely sold on the idea, Deb hung in there, and I would not let her slow down. We did that mile in 13:38! Because she was such a good sport, we used the last mile as our cool down and finished it in a very slow 15 min.

It was a beautiful morning! The temps were perfect, though I can't stand being cold first thing in the morning. And though we did not see any deer, we did see the flock of wild turkeys. (No, wild turkeys are NOT cute!)

I'm glad Deb talked me into leaving my jacket in the car, and she is glad I talked her into walking mile 9 fast -- and that is why we train so well together!

Speed Workouts with Motion Traxx

2011-09-14T23:10:00.002-04:00

For years I have listened to audiobooks to keep me going on my long walks. Over the years I've been told music is better for maintaining a fast pace. I'm not really into current music, so it has been difficult for me to figure out which songs are good for what pace.

Recently I discovered a podcast called Motion Traxx. Deekron the Fitness DJ puts together play lists at a specific pace for set amounts of time. There are sets as short as about 30 minutes and as long as an hour or so. There are sets as slow as 120 beats per minute (BPM) and as fast as 180 BPM. Some are a steady pace and others increase gradually.

I downloaded a couple of podcasts to try for my speed workouts. Because I had never used anything like this before, I wasn't sure how fast I would need and guessed at 160 BPM.

The music is "techno" and most of the songs have an exaggerated beat. Most of the songs in the sets I downloaded do not have lyrics, however, the credits do list the artists.

At the beginning of one set, the beat was very heavy, and I found myself flinging back my right elbow with each beat. There was something about such a heavy beat that felt as if it needed more than just normal arm movement. And of course, pushing my right elbow back caused my left elbow to go back harder and made my feet keep the beat better.

What I discovered is that music with a consistent strong beat did keep me walking at a strong consistent pace. During my eight intervals or fartleks of 3 min. each, I ended at almost the exact same point for each interval. When walking with audiobooks, I am never this consistent.

I also found out that I hate techno music. Well, I knew this all along, but I really, really do not like techno music. But by using music with such a strong beat, I can keep the volume low and use just one ear of my earphones and still benefit.

When doing intervals, 160 BPM ended up being too slow. I found myself trying to go just a little faster than the music. For my next experiment I'll try something a little fast, like maybe 170.

There are several other options for pace music including more podcasts and applications such as Podrunner. (The few sections I listened to on Podrunner were less mechanical sounding.) I'm going to keep experimenting until I find music I like at a pace that will keep me going.

If you have tried programs such as Motions Traxx, let me know if it was helpful.

Back to Training

2011-09-06T23:03:00.003-04:00

It was cold and wet Monday morning, so I postponed my training walk until nearly noon. I was scheduled to do 8 miles and just could not do that much mileage in my neighborhood. I finally went to Antrim Park which has a 1.2-mile loop and did six laps for a total of 7.2 miles. Because I had not walked hard since the Parkersburg Half Marathon, I felt comfortable with that distance.

I started slow, walking the first lap in 17:32 for a 14:36 per mile pace. Each lap was progressively faster ending with a 16:19 lap, or 13:35 per mile pace! I'm pretty excited about that. I averaged 14:09 per mile, which is not fast enough to break a 3-hour half marathon, but 13:35 is.

Considering that I finished feeling strong and I was not breathing overly hard, I think I should be able to maintain that pace to achieve my goal. And with any luck, I will be able to do it at the Columbus Marathon Half in October.

Fiber One 80 Calories Cereal

2011-09-04T17:36:00.000-04:00

As a participant in the General Mills Pssst... program, I periodically receive samples of General Mills' products to try and to review. Recently I received a box of Fiber One 80 Calories cereal. It was the Honey Squares flavor.

The cereal had a nice flavor and texture. If I didn't know it was a high-fiber cereal, I would not have guessed based on the texture or taste. I also liked the fact it was not overly sweet like garbage cereals. Because I use skim milk, I have almost given up eating cereal -- most get way too soggy too quickly in skim milk. Though this cereal did start to get soggy near the bottom of the bowl, it stayed fairly crisp for a while.

I am not a nutritionist or dietitian, so I'm not going to give a full nutritional review of the cereal. That said, here are some things from the label: 3/4 cup provides 10 grams of fiber and 1 gram of protein. With 1/2 cup of skim milk, it provides 50% of the calcium needed in a day. It provides 25% of many other nutrients. Though the label says it has no trans fat, it does provide 0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat. Because it also says it has 1 gram of total fat there has to be some somewhere else that doesn't get reported because it is below a certain level. (I don't remember the rules on that.)

There are just a couple of things I don't like about this cereal: the serving size is only 3/4 of a cup, it gets soggy, the smell is more of a chemical duplication of honey rather than the smell of real honey. The soggy thing is going to happen with almost all cereals, so I just need to eat faster. The serving size bothers me a little bit.

I measured out 3/4 cup of cereal -- I was still hungry. When I "eyeballed" a serving, I tended to pour closer to 1 cup. I compared the serving size to other cereals in our cupboard: Grape-Nuts 1/2 cup, Honey Nut Cheerios 3/4 cup, Multi-Grain Cheerios 1 cup, Kashi Golden Goodness 1 1/4 cup. Grape-Nuts is pretty dense and heavy. Kashi is pretty light. I have no idea why different flavors of Cheerios would have different serving sizes.

The fake honey smell did not bother me until I re-opened the box to write this review. At that moment it hit me that it was odd.

In my opinion, Fiber One 80 Calories cereal is not bad. The flavor is pretty good and it does not get soggy as fast as other cereals I have eaten. The 10 grams of fiber is quite a bit more than any other cereal I buy. If you are concerned about your fiber intake, this is a pretty good low-calorie choice. If you tend to get hungry in the middle of the morning, I would suggest eating more than the recommended serving size. If you prefer the taste of whole, unprocessed foods, this might not be a good choice for you.

How the Altras Handled a Half

2011-08-26T16:31:00.003-04:00

Too close to my most recent half marathon, I bought my first pair of zero-drop shoes made by Altra -- the Intuition. In theory, I knew they would be light and flexible enough for racewalking. (The brochure says they are designed for "toe off.") I wasn't sure they would have enough support for me to make it through an entire half marathon without killing my feet. (I've tried other lightweight shoes before and around mile 10 my feet were killing me!)

Zero drop means that the sole of the shoe is flat -- the heel and toes are the same distance off the ground. This pair is extremely flexible and is intended to encourage a natural foot motion. To learn more specifics about the shoe, read my July 31 blog post.

I was a little bit worried about blisters. The back of the shoe rubs a little along the top. In training walks, I felt a hot spot on the left foot and ended up with a small blister on my right foot. To be proactive, I applied Body Glide on my right foot and a Blister Blocker patch on my left. The Blister Blocker was pretty old, and didn't adhere quite right, but I didn't know for sure until after the race.

For the most part, these shoes performed great! It is difficult to walk in them if I am not attempting to racewalk. I could tell almost immediately if I wasn't using proper form and I was able to make adjustments before going too far "plodding" as opposed to "floating." (As if I ever really float!) I was especially amazed at how they performed on hills. They are so flexible, my feet seemed to roll with every step uphill. It felt like a very natural motion.

Going downhill was a little bit different. My feet seemed to slap the ground more than I would have liked. But that could have been more my fault than the shoes.

At about the eight-mile mark, I picked up the pace. As I approached the 10-mile mark, I started to get nervous. I could "feel" my feet a little bit, but there was no pain. As I continued, pushing when not going uphill, I felt OK.

But the test is often how you feel AFTER the race. I did not have blisters on either foot. I could still feel my feet, but I did not have pain or an overwhelming need to rip my shoes off. I would not have wanted to go much farther, though. More mileage would have started to get rough. My feet did feel much better when I finally put on my Croc sandals, but they always do. The next morning, my feet were sore when I first got out of bed, but that is pretty typical for me, too.

The main reason I need a little support is that my right ankle can be wobbly, causing my ankle bones to rub in a bad way. (I discovered this at mile 19 of my first marathon.) I did not feel any of that rubbing pain, though my ankle has been popping more than usual since finishing the half.

So, in conclusion, the Altra Intuition is great for short-distance racewalking and is also pretty good for distances as long as a half marathon. Because I was proactive, I didn't get blisters. Because they are light, I felt the need to work harder to use racewalking form and did not plod as much as typical for me. It is possible that my feet hurt less because I was plodding less. Either way, it is a good thing. As long as there are no major negative changes to these shoes, I will most likely buy another pair.

__________

NOTE: The Altra Intuition comes with two different insoles: Strengthen and Support. For obvious reasons, I have been using the Support insoles. They have a little bit of arch support and are a little bit stiffer. I am currently doing ankle-strengthening exercises. If my right ankle ends up no longer needing support, I will try the lighter strengthening insoles.

I had a pair of lightweight trainers I wore in the Country Music Half Marathon a few years back. By mile 10 my feet hurt so bad, I was miserable. I picked up the pace to finish as fast as possible just to get off my feet. Even walking back to the hotel was miserable. Since then, I have been a little more cautious about buying light shoes.

Parkersburg Half Marathon Review

2011-08-21T16:06:00.001-04:00

I love the color!

The Parkersburg News and Sentinel Half Marathon is one of my favorite races! Not only are the race fees very reasonable, but the entire town gets behind the race. The volunteers and the people in the town are friendly and welcoming.

For the $45 registration fee you get: pre-race pasta dinner, post-race pizza lunch, technical shirt, finisher medal, ice-cold wet towel at the finish line and awards for walkers. There was more than one water stop per mile (closer together near the finish line), Gatorade at many water stops and ice at many water stops! There were even wet sponges at two or three stops. The finish line offered cold bottles of water, soft drinks, fruit, Panera bagels and free massages.

Along the course, there were monitors to verify that the more than 140 walkers all walked the entire race. The walker bibs were a different color and we wore two bibs -- one on both the front and the back for easy identification. That makes the fact that awards are given to walkers much more meaningful.

Most of this course is very scenic. Walking through historic neighborhoods, or along the river, looking out over the hills of West Virginia, crossing bridges -- you almost forget that it is very hilly and sometimes pretty darn hot.

The flag was lowered as trumpets played the
National Anthem.

At the start of this year's race, a giant U.S. flag was lowered from the roof of a downtown building as trumpeters from the high school band played the National Anthem. It was beautiful!

The temps were in the high 60s and the day was expected to be sunny and a little bit warm.

Deb and I did a pretty good job of walking at a quick pace, averaging 14:20 to 14:30 per mile for the first eight miles. Around mile eight, Deb was slowing a little bit and I was ready to pick up the pace, so I went on ahead. Mile nine was 13:41 for me! From there I slowed with mile 10 14:07, 11 was 14:11 and mile 12 (with the huge hill) was 14:46. The last 1.1 miles I really tried to push, passing people left and right. It took 15:13, which ends up being a 13:49 pace. I love it when I have enough left at the end to really push!

I felt good the vast majority of the race until the hill between 11 and 12. It took me a couple of minutes to recover and catch my breath.

The temps got into the mid-80s, which is pretty hot for a hilly race. The ice was a wonderful addition to the water stops! Though I chewed a few pieces, most of it ended up in my hat. (How do you explain to your doctor that you got frostbite on the top of your head in the middle of August?)

One of my favorite parts of this race is, as you approach the finish line, there are people lining the streets cheering. It is great hearing the announcer say, "From Columbus, OH, one of our racewalkers, Cindi Leeman!" And the crowd goes wild! It makes you feel like an Olympic athlete! (I am sure they didn't quite go "wild," but there was cheering.)

Though the people on the street are really waiting for the parade that starts after the race, they are familiar with racewalking and do a great job of encouraging us back-of-the-packers to finish strong. It is a lot of fun!

There were just a couple of places where traffic could be an issue. The local police did a great job of stopping the cars for us. On two roads cars drove past us in the other lane, but because of the bike patrols and the traffic cops, I felt totally safe.

The only thing I would change about this race is the shirt. The shirts are offered in men's sizes only and even the smalls are too big for small women. In the overall scheme of things, that is not such a big deal.

So, if you are tired of the over-the-top costs of destination races that do not even acknowledge walkers, I would highly recommend trying this race. I can almost guarantee that you will come back.
______________

For this race, I paid $45 for the entry fee, half the hotel room rate of $75 and $14 for gas. We bought no food until we stopped to pick up drinks on our way back home.

Great Idea! Saving Food for the Final Race Finishers

2011-08-19T10:19:00.000-04:00

At the end of a long race, I want my bagel!

It happens to us walkers all of the time. We get to the finish line of a runner-dominated race, and there is nothing left -- no bagels, no water, not a banana to be found.

Though not having food by itself is frustrating, the attitude of the early finishers and the race directors is what is most frustrating. Often, complaining does nothing. It doesn't stop me from complaining, but it usually does no good.

Rather than re-hash a bad situation, I'm going to fast forward to 2011 to recognize a race doing something I think will be great!

In this month's email newsletter, the Columbus Marathon announced that new this year, "More, easier-to-carry finish line food – we will have it packed in a bag for you!"

I'm sure many people read that and didn't think a thing about it. My first reaction was, "Wow! They listened!" If you are one of those you do not get the significance, let me explain. When there are just open tables of food, early finishers grab all of the good stuff, more than enough for one person sharing it with their non-racing friends and family, meaning the people at the back of the pack who actually paid to be in the race and need food get nothing. (I'm sorry. I am not going to re-hash.)

When finishers can go through the food line and just be handed a bag of food -- one of each item, enough for one person -- then there is plenty of food for everyone, and the people at the end of the race (who paid to be in the race) get food too!

My friends and I saw the success of this type of finish line food distribution at the Detroit FreePress Marathon. (Back when I was boycotting the Columbus Marathon.) We finished the race, entered the food line and each of us was handed a bag with a bagel and other goodies, we grabbed a bottle of water, and then we moved to an area to rest. Somewhere along the food line, a volunteer put a mark on your race bib indicating you had received food and you could not get back in line. It worked great!

To some this will seem a little severe. What if you don't want a bagel, but you would rather have two bags of chips instead? And I hate to think about the number of volunteer hours that will be needed to make this work.

But measures like this ARE necessary if we want to have large races with people taking as long as 7 or 8 hours to finish. As long as you have 4-hour marathon finishers who see the TONS of food and think it won't matter if they take a couple of extra things for their friends, we need strict regulation of finish-line food.

I thank the Columbus Marathon for listening to those of us who take a little longer to finish! I really appreciate your trying to make a tough situation work for everyone. And I especially appreciate your putting such a positive spin on this new program. Thank you!

First you offer shirts in women's sizes and now you are working to make sure everyone gets food! It just keeps getting better and better!

PS: To the guy at last year's race who walked off with a BOX of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and ignored me when I said, "Someone behind you might like a doughnut, too" -- plans like this are because of you!

The Week Before the Half

2011-08-14T14:26:00.000-04:00

You gotta love a taper week!

Yesterday we stepped down our training miles to only 8. (I just LOVE saying I walked ONLY 8 miles.) Yep, this is the official taper week before the Parkersburg Half Marathon!

At 7 a.m. we started walking along the Alum Creek trail 4 miles out and back. We couldn't find enough mile markers to be accurate, and not one of the three of us has GPS, so we decided to walk straight out for 1 hour then turn around. We tend to be faster than a 15-min mile on most days, so it should work out that we walked a little farther than 8 miles.

The temps were perfect for a long-distance day! It was warm enough that we could wear shorts and a T-shirt, but chilly enough to keep us from getting over-heated. The skies were overcast and we even had some pretty light sprinkles that didn't last long.

At one point I asked Deb and Elaine if I was going too slow. (For some reason I was setting the pace that morning.) They both said no, I was going too fast. Though I had forgotten to wear my heart rate monitor, I wasn't breathing hard at all and I felt I was not working hard enough. What a nice switch for me!

With about 2 miles left to go, we joined up with the Buckeye Striders who started after us, and Elaine and I did pick up the pace a little bit. We ended up finishing the walk in about 58 min. Though I'm sure our faster pace did add to our faster than 2-hour finish time, I think the amount of time we spent waiting for one traffic light to turn green also had an impact. We crossed the road easier on our way back than we did on our way out.

It was a nice, early Saturday morning walk. We've trained harder than we typically do for a half marathon, and it will be very interesting to see how it affects next week's race.

Best Hill Workout!

2011-08-10T23:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I decided to do a more intense hill workout than typical. The hills at Sharon Woods are my closest option, plus the park is pretty.

The hills are within the first 2 miles of my usual starting point, but the rest of the loop is pretty flat. My plan was to walk 2 miles out, turn around and walk the 2 miles back for 4 miles of hills. However, when I got to the top of the last hill, I estimated I had walked only about 1.5 miles. Because my goal was to walk hills, I just wasn't interested in walking an extra half mile with no hills. Here's where I made an easy decision, but it is a little bit hard to explain.

At the top of that last hill, I decided to turn around, repeat the last half mile of hills then go back to the 1.5-mile point. I turned around and went back to my starting point for a total of 4 miles. (I know it is confusing, but I can't figure out a clear way to explain this.)

The workout was great! The hills were challenging and today I even felt a little bit sore. A "you did a good workout the day before" sore. I thought I was ready for the Parkerburg Half Marathon before this, but after this hill workout, I feel even better.
__________

NOTE: Sharon Woods doesn't have half-mile markers, just mile markers. When I got to the top of that last hill, I had walked 7:36 min past the mile marker. Though I walked the first mile in 14:30 and the last mile in 14:00, I decided to estimate that 7:36 was a half mile just to make my life easier. I'm sure I walked a little farther that 4 miles.

Tapering to "Only" 10 Miles

2011-08-08T21:47:00.003-04:00

This weekend's 10-mile training walk was moved from Saturday to Sunday. Though Deb did 8 miles Saturday, she agreed to do 10 more with me on Sunday at Sharon Woods! Now that is a good training partner! (And part of the reason we do so many races together.)

It was humid and the air felt thick, but it was not as hot as it has been for the past few weeks. It was overcast and we thought that it might rain.

We started out at our goal pace of 14:30-mile and tried to maintain that the entire time. The pace was easy for us to maintain and we did a good job of it until the last mile or so. (On long slow days, we have no problem going slow.)

Less than a mile from our starting point, we saw a flock of wild turkeys! Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me. There were 10 turkeys and it looked as if four of them were adults -- I think two were adult Toms. I had never seen turkeys at this park before -- in fact I have never seen wild turkeys before -- but Deb saw the flock on the other end of the park at least once prior to this. (For the record, each time we saw the turkeys, we slowed a little bit.)

After about 7-miles Deb ended up with a stitch in her side, and we slowed a little. We were not out to beat a speed record, and besides, she walked 8 miles the day before, so I had no problem slowing until the pain subsided.

Toward the end of our last lap at Sharon Woods, we had to decide which direction we would go to complete the last 2 miles -- toward the hills or toward the flat section we just finished. (Sharon Woods has a 3.8-mile loop.) Because we are preparing for Parkersburg, we decided to head toward the hills. In this direction, you go down a fairly steep hill, then at the 1-mile mark, you turn around and go back up that same steep hill. We felt great climbing back up! It was not nearly as difficult as these same hills earlier in the workout!

It didn't rain, but in those last two miles the sun came out. Though that would normally be a good thing, this day it just made the air thicker, muggier and the temps hotter. Thank goodness we were nearly done.

It was a good walk at a good pace! It was nice cutting back to "only" 10 miles. Next weekend we cut back to just 8. I am feeling very ready for Parkersburg!

Hills Again

2011-08-02T22:38:00.000-04:00

Until after the Parkersburg Half Marathon, I have replaced speed workouts with hill workouts. Usually when I do hills with my walking friends, we do four repeats -- up one hill, down the other side, then turnaround to go back up the hill and down to the starting point.

The temps were a little milder today, making it much easier to do hills. In fact, I felt so good after the usual four repeats, I did an extra one!

After 12 miles Saturday and hills today, I know I am ready for Parkersburg! (Now if only I can figure out which shoes I'll wear.)

New Shoes -- Altras

2011-07-31T09:48:00.000-04:00

I have a love/hate relationship with shoes. I love having a great pair, but I hate the buying process -- never knowing for sure if the shoes are right until after you have worn them a few miles.

What adds to the difficulty for me is that I wait until my shoes are way too worn out before buying a new pair. Under these circumstances, EVERY pair of shoes feels great!

This week I went to one of my favorite running shoe stores to get half marathon shoes. There is a difference between the shoes you wear for short fast distances and longer distances. The short-distance shoes can be super light and very flexible with no padding. The long-distance shoes (for me) need to have some support and more padding. But when in the shoe store, the more supportive shoes can feel very clunky, making it hard to know if they are right.

Altra "zero drop" shoes. Look at that low heel!

After trying on some clunky shoes, my sales guy asked if I had ever tried "zero-drop" shoes. He explained that these shoes have a very low heel -- in fact the sole is the same height almost the entire length of the shoe. Since racewalkers prefer a low heel, he thought I should try them.

As soon as I put these shoes on, I loved them! It is really difficult for me to walk in them and NOT use racewalking form. It feels natural to hit the heel and roll my foot. And my foot really can roll in these shoes. The toe box is huge so the toes can spread out and grab the ground. Of course, this is supposed to be for runners trying to run more naturally, but it feels pretty good for walking too.

My main concern with these shoes is there is very little support or padding, which is why my feel roll so well. How will my feet feel after a couple of miles? I had a bad experience during the Country Music Marathon starting at mile 10 in too-light shoes.

Despite these concerns, I bought the Altras. So far I have worn them for about 8 miles, 2 to 3 miles at a time. The manufacturer recommends gradually adding mileage because the shoes are so different. I can tell that my shins feel different. They are pushing harder when I walk, which is a good thing. It also feels as if the very back of the shoe might end up with rubbing issues. I'm keeping an eye on that. If I'm setting my feet down in a racewalking "floaty" step, I think they will be fine. However, if I get into a plodding motion, as I do sometimes, I think my feet will hurt.

So, here I am just three weeks from the half marathon without shoes for the race. I can either wear a pair of old, worn out clunky shoes, or I can try these super light "will probably make my feet hurt" shoes. Or, I could buy another pair of shoes and hope I can break them in in time for the race.

I'll let you know what I decide.

12 Miles

2011-07-30T17:00:00.000-04:00

A group of Buckeye Striders met at 7 this morning at Griggs Reservoir. We all had different goals today, ranging from simply finishing 12 miles to getting in a fast 6 or 8. It was a pretty casual workout. We started at a very slow pace of about a 15-min mile picking up to about 14:30. As we walked, a few people would stop to use the restroom and we all slowed down. As people reached their mileage goals for the day, they would peel off. Eventually, the only ones left were me and Deb! We were the only 12 milers.

We neared our cars with 3 miles left, so I stopped to switch shoes to give my new Altras (zero-drop shoes) a few miles.

Near the police station we stopped to get water from the drinking fountain thinking it would be cooler than what we were carrying, but it wasn't. A guy resting near the fountain offered to give me a cold drink from his car, but I declined. We had just 2 miles to go, and there was cold water and Powerade in my car.

Though it was extremely humid this morning, it wasn't overly hot until that last couple miles when we climbed the hill. Before that, the skies had been overcast -- near the end the sun popped out and the temps rose quickly. We ended up slowing even more, turning this into a casual walk for the last half mile. But that was OK. Our goal was to finish, not finish fast.

Despite the heat and humidity, we felt pretty good at the end! We didn't walk very hard and that was OK. (Normally it would drive me nuts to slow down while people used the rest room or to switch shoes.) My HR monitor indicated I didn't go above 144, which is way below race pace. With all of the slowing down and stopping, etc., we still averaged about a 15-min per mile pace! That was much better than what I thought.

So, it was a good workout in heat! I think we will be ready August 20th!

NOTE: Though I do lots of half marathons, I don't recall completing a 12-mile training walk before. Usually we top out at 10 miles. Ten is enough to finish a half marathon, but I'm trying to break the 3-hour mark. I'm hoping that by increasing our longest day to 12, it will help me to have more stamina and finish faster.

Walking This Week

2011-07-26T23:07:00.000-04:00

Lots top catch up on!

Saturday we did 8 miles on a multi-use trail along the Olentangy River. It was hot and we took it easy. I tried to sprint for the last 1/4 mile and did OK. The Parkersburg Half Marathon will be hot and I like to finish a race strong. Sprinting at the end should be good practice.

Monday I switched out my speed workout for hills. Parkersburg is hilly -- I think hills are a little more important than speed right now. And as many of you know, hills will help with speed, too.

Today I did 30 min. easy in a new pair of shoes. (I love easy days!) The interesting thing is, it is hard to walk in the new shoes without racewalking. Hmmmm. I'll post about the shoes tomorrow.

My training is going well, and I'm getting excited about the race!

My Favorite Piece of Fitness Equipment

2011-07-21T23:09:00.001-04:00

I am not the most techno-savvy athlete. Though I use sport watches and a HR monitor, one of the many reasons I like walking is that it doesn't require a lot of gadgets. With a good pair of shoes and good socks I can walk out my front door.

Because of this, it is surprising to me that I am becoming obsessed with my new favorite piece of fitness equipment -- my iPod Touch.

Just like with my old MP3 players, I use my iPod to listen to audio books on my long-mileage days; however, it is the many other features and applications that make this such a valuable fitness tool. With my iPod and a good Wi-Fi connection, I have access to all kinds of great health, nutrition and fitness products and information -- much of it free.

Apps
Apps (applications for those of you who live in a cave) are great! Some of the options include calorie counters, exercise trackers, recipe apps, health magazines, exercise workout programs, progress trackers, calculators for calories burned and apps for specific gym chains so you can check out what classes and programs are available in any city.

Podcasts
These "mini-radio" programs also cover a variety of topics: nutrition, diet books, beginning running, marathon training, yoga, stretching and exercise in general. There are talk-show formats featuring well known fitness experts. There are even programs featuring music to use in training: some for mood, others to help set a pace using a set number of beats per minute. If you have ever tried to create your own music "mix" to maintain a pace, you know it is hard to do well.

Though at first I was hesitant to switch from a cheap, sturdy, who cares if it breaks MP3 player to an iPod, the access to all of the available fitness tools makes it invaluable! I wish I had given in years earlier.

NOTE: Over the next couple of weeks I will review some of my favorite apps and podcasts.

Hills in Heat

2011-07-19T23:02:00.001-04:00

In preparation for Parkersburg, I have replaced speed days for hill workouts. Parkersburg is very hilly, and the half marathon is August 20. It will be hot.

With that in mind, I followed through with my plan to do hills at Griggs Reservoir tonight even though the temps were in the 90s. My goal was to do four sets at an easy pace so I could get the workout in, but not be over-exerted in this heat.

Going up the first side of the hill was not too bad because it isn't very big. Heading down the other side was really nice! There was plenty of shade so it was a couple of degrees cooler. I didn't even mind turning around and going back up, even though this side of the hill is steeper and much harder to climb.

The workout lasted about 55 minutes and my heart rate didn't go above 144, so I know I did not overdo it. And though my legs felt heavy when I started out because of the 10 miles on Sunday, after that first hill, I felt great.

Today, I'm glad I did hills in the heat. In August, I know I'll be even happier I followed through with today's hills.
_______

When I started, the temperature was 91 degrees and when I finished it had cooled to only 86. Woo hoo!

10 Miles -- Again

2011-07-17T23:03:00.001-04:00

Because I do a lot of half marathons, I always get a thrill when I reach the 10-mile training days!

There are several reasons:

Not just anyone can walk 10 miles.
It takes training and dedication to work my way up to 10.
It is one of the first true measures of how I will do in the half marathon. If I do well with 10, I know I'm on track. If I don't do well? I need to do something quick to make a change.

Today's 10 started a tiny bit too fast because I was with three other walkers. Laura and Catherine went ahead pretty early on. Nancy decided to make it a slow day for her and stayed at my pace. We did slow down a little after a couple of miles, but I didn't realize until about mile 7 that we probably slowed too much. But for long slow days, that is OK.

We were heading north on the bike trail between the Park of Roses and Antrim Park. Nancy and I decided to do a couple of laps around Antrim then head back to the Park of Roses. I think this is where Laura and Catherine went past us without our seeing them.

We turned back, realized we had not walked a full 10 miles, went south a little more than half a mile, then went back to the start.

10.38 miles in 2:30 -- a 14:30 pace average (what I was hoping for), but I think we were slower overall. We sprinted for the last quarter mile, and I think that made our overall average more respectable.

Speed Days and Easy Days

2011-07-14T23:02:00.000-04:00

Tuesday's speed workout was 8 X 1/4 miles. (Though typically they are 400s on a track, I have mental issues with tracks.) Though not a fan of intervals, I know doing them is the only way I will get faster.

My goal this week was to start out slow, build gradually and shoot for breaking the 3-minute mark.

Started out way too slow at 3:20, got gradually faster and went up to 3:04 and back down. But in that last interval I was at 3:01! Didn't hit my goal -- this week, but it will not be long!

Today I did my scheduled 45-minutes easy and it felt great! I took an easy walk to the library, did one lap around the park, then walked home for a total of 3.2 miles. For me, these easy days are so much better after successfully completing some difficult intervals.

So, I'm getting faster, the easy days are easier and I'm happy!

When Motivation and Weather Conspire

2011-07-11T22:30:00.003-04:00

Even though preparing for a race keeps me motivated over the long-haul, sometimes I still have those days when I just do not want to get in my training miles.

In my case, it is the speed workouts -- or interval training -- that cause the most problems. Though when I did full marathons, the long slow distance days were the hardest part.

Today was one of those days -- but in my defense I started out with good reasons.

There was a heat advisory and air advisory for today. Under these conditions, if I have a tough workout planned, I might tone it down -- planning a shorter distance or switch a speed workout with a lighter workout. If I'm feeling uninspired, I might not workout at all.

Imagine my surprise when we had thunder storms in the early afternoon and when I left work the temps were perfect and the air was clear! At that point, I had already made an early evening appointment and couldn't walk. By the time my appointment was over, and I got back home, it started raining again!

Luckily, half marathon training is a couple of months long and my schedule includes one extra day a week. Missing one is not the end of the world.

And now I have to figure out how I'm going to get psyched up to do this speed workout on Tuesday.

Who Knows How Long I Took to do 8 Miles

2011-07-07T23:13:00.000-04:00

Sunday Deb and I were able to squeeze in our scheduled 8-miles -- one day late. It was very hot and humid -- the exact weather I'm expecting for the Parkersburg Half Marathon in August.

Because it was so hot and humid, we decided to take it easy and try to hover around a 14:30 to 14-min mile. From what I remember, we did pretty well. There is just one problem -- I inadvertently erased the chronograph on my watch before I wrote down my splits. Argh!

I hate when I do that!

Tonight it was still hot and humid so I waited until 7 to head out for my workout. I was scheduled to do 3 X 1 mile, but I was not in the mood to head to the park that is measured, so I went to Antrim. It is 1.2 miles around the lake. My plan was to walk for 16 min (longer than it takes me to do a mile), rest for 3 min., repeat until I've done about 3 miles.

It felt pretty good and, because I did not use a "measured mile," again I have no idea what my pace was.

Oh, well -- at least I got my miles in.

New Training Routine

2011-06-23T23:36:00.000-04:00

Though I have completed more than 20 half marathons, I'm not good at training. Let me clarify -- I'm very good at getting in the weekly long-distance mileage, I'm horrible at getting in the mid-week speed workouts.

So this year, because I am only doing a couple of halves, I decided to follow an intermediate training schedule as closely as possible and see what it does for my speed.

So far this week, I finished 8 X 400s as fast as possible, one 45-min "easy" day and tonight I did 3 X 1 mile at half marathon pace. Tonight's workout was difficult because 1) I had never done 1-mile intervals before, 2) I wasn't quite sure what half marathon pace would feel like if I wasn't in a race. I'm assuming that by the time the race rolls around, I will know exactly what my race pace feels like.

My splits were 13:04, 12:55 and 12:50. I'm so excited that I got faster for each split. The other cool thing is, I have done half marathons in that pace range.

I missed one "easy" day this week due to rain and I'll miss another easy day tomorrow because I have tickets to a concert. But I think I can make that up -- it's still early.

8 X 400 -- Kinda

2011-06-21T23:10:00.000-04:00

It was raining when I got off work yesterday, so I didn't go to the high school to do my 8 X 400s. In fact, I was expecting to not do them at all. But it was fairly early when the rain stopped and I decided to act like an adult and follow my training plan.

I haven't measured out 400 m in my neighborhood, but I know it took me a little more than 3 min for each lap last Monday. So, I went to the cul de sac across the street from my house, picked a starting point and walked as hard as I could for 3 min. I made a mark in the mud near the curb, then walked easy for two more minutes as a rest. As it turns out, that got me back to my front yard where I could grab a swig of water and do it all over again.

Most of the eight laps were progressively faster and I zoomed past that first mud mark. Unfortunately, I had two laps where I just could not pick up the speed, but that's OK.

To tell the truth, I preferred doing intervals in my neighborhood as opposed to on a track. There is something about walking around a track that can be mentally tough for me. OK, it is just plain boring. Of course walking around the cul de sac was boring too, but for some reason I was able to keep going.

Regardless, though I'm not a fan of intervals, I will try to keep them up this entire training season.

Kill the Hill

2011-06-19T22:00:00.001-04:00

Saturday, the Buckeye Striders took a road trip to Chillicothe to walk with our good friend Pat and her new walking friends. The park we started in near the Adena Mansion was beautiful!

As we went along, we enjoyed walking through the town seeing the local neighborhoods. The people out in their yards were so friendly and all greeted us. It was very fun. But I should have been a little worried when the nice lady in her front yard asked, "Are you going to 'kill the hill?'"

Not sure what she said I just agreed and said "yeah" as we walked by. If I had really been paying attention, I would have been worried.

Shortly after, we turned a corner and caught sight of "the hill". Oh my goodness it was big!

We all tried to attack it in a smart way. All of us slowed -- some of us slowed a LOT! The walkers from Chillicothe were not nearly as fazed as the rest of us. And it wasn't until we were halfway up that we heard the stories about the very challenging race called Kill the Hill.

I found the hill so challenging, I started walking backward. (It sounds silly, but it does help because you are working your muscles just a little differently.) And at the top it did take a little while for us to recover.

The funny thing was, after the grueling hill, the locals got a little turned around. They weren't quite sure what the best way to get back to our cars was and we ended up with a couple of short backtracks and walking for nearly 20 min longer than we had expected.

The good news is, many of us had 6 miles scheduled for Saturday and we walked 5 -- with the hill I think we were even. Unfortunately, several were not acclimated and had not expected the extra mile. They were having a little difficulty.

But once we got to iHop and were able to relax and eat, we were fine!

Thanks to the Chillicothe members of the Buckeye Striders for hosting a fun walk and breakfast meeting! I'm sure we'll be back -- though I think we can skip the hill next time.

First Day of Half Marathon Training

2011-06-13T23:20:00.000-04:00

Today was my first day training for the Parkersburg Half Marathon slated for mid-August.

Though I have trained for and completed a LOT of half marathons, I usually adjust the training schedule to fit my personality. I don't really like doing speed workouts, so I usually replace them with something less challenging. Because one of my goals is to get faster, I plan to include speed workouts in future schedules.

The scheduled workout was 8 X 400 with 2 min rest between each. I recently learned that the local high school track is frequently open for public use, and since lane 1 is 400 meters, I thought it would be worth trying to do these workouts on the track.

I walked to the high school for my warm up, but my shins did not really get warmed up enough. My first lap my shins burned. Though speed was the main purpose, I did try to remember to use proper racewalking form and to push my arms back.

I completed eight laps ranging from 3:02 (the last lap) to 3:09. Not too bad for my first time. The only problem is, doing these types of laps is extremely boring! And this school's track is in such bad shape, it has not hosted a home track meet in two years. (I think that is why the track is open to the public.)

Though it was boring, I know these types of training days are important to be able to build speed. Maybe on future days I can talk some of my Buckeye Strider friends into joining me.

3 Miles in 95 Degrees

2011-06-08T22:13:00.001-04:00

It was pretty hot when I stopped at a park to do 3 miles on my way home tonight. But because of my lack of exercise this week, I knew I needed to get outside and move. And we all know how it goes -- if we don't exercise early, we get distracted and don't do it at all.

The only good thing about exercising in the heat is, I don't have to worry about my speed -- I know I won't be fast so there is no stress when I'm not fast.

So I took it easy and kept my pace at a 15-minute mile. (It was not hard to walk that slow.)

It felt good to move the muscles -- I worked a lot of the stiffness out. And in an odd way, it even felt good to sweat!

Photos -- Warrior Dash

2011-06-07T19:10:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I didn't take photos of the cargo-net wall, the planks or the mud pit, but I didn't. So, here are the couple of pictures I have. Unfortunately, my husband insisted he get washed off before we went to get our bags, which had the camera. Oh, well. (I have a good before photo I'll add tomorrow. It's on a different computer.)

The crew after the race. Cathy and Angel finished earlier than us and cleaned up a little. Many of these clothes did not make it home -- they were tossed.

I really thought the helmet would look cuter than this.
The rhinestones on my sunglasses don't help the look at all.

How she could crawl through mud and still be clean, I don't know.

After a race like this, you need a turkey leg.

This is just one of the many piles of shoes collected to give to charity. The volunteer we talked to said they get cleaned and are given to people around the world who need shoes. Hmmm. Not sure I would be thankful to receive any of these pairs.

I Survived the Warrior Dash -- Woo Hoo

2011-06-06T23:14:00.002-04:00

(Edited June 7 to add finish times and fix typos.)

Yesterday I completed Ohio's first Warrior Dash and I am a Warrior! (I will not remember all of the obstacles or the order of them, so just bear with me.)

Nestled in the hills (mountains?) of Logan, Ohio, the course was extremely challenging, but I think the obstacles supplied by Mother Nature were worse than anything the Red Frog Company thought up.

The participants start the race in heats of 500 every half hour beginning around 8 a.m. and ending at 7 p.m. We started at 3 p.m., and it was sunny, very hot and very humid. As you cross under the official starting gate, flames shoot from the top of it. It was surprising that being under the gate we could feel the heat from the flames!

The start was a bottleneck as everyone tried to run, but the course immediately funneled to a trail just a few feet wide. Walking and jogging a little bit, we soon hit the first obstacle -- a huge hill, and the trail was covered with several inches of mud. I'm not a strong runner and I knew it was silly to even try to run up hill like my team all did. I think I started walking first, but my husband and our friend Curtis were soon right there with me. (OK, they were way ahead of me, but I caught up since we were all walking.) This hill was grueling -- my heart was pounding, I was gasping for air, it was hot and humid with no air in the trees -- I pretty much was ready to quit. To me, this hill was as horrible as the worst hill in the Big Sur Marathon -- with the addition of several inches of mud.

At some point it flattened out a little, there was a somewhat dry trail, so we (from here on "we" will mean Lenny, Curtis and me) jogged to a bend in the trail, and then just a little farther to the first obstacle. We ran through a bunch of tires hanging from ropes. Easy, it slowed us down, we caught our breath.

More up and down hills and lots of mud.

We came to walls and barbed wired. The walls were about 4 feet high, so they took a little effort to climb over. Between the walls were strings of barbed wire we had to crawl under. Being short, I took a little longer getting over the walls, but I had the advantage going under the wire.

Eventually we came to a water hole. There were logs across the water chained in place so you had to go over them. I anticipated walking through the water, but realized after a step of two I was going to have to swim. Ugh! It is not easy to swim in shoes.

When we got out of the water, my legs felt like lead! And the soggy shoes! The good thing is we got cooled off, we washed the mud off and there was a water stop which we desperately needed. Turns out, this was the halfway point.

As we went along, we climbed over wrecked cars separated by large sections of old tires, then more cars, then more tires. Somewhere along here was the tunnel of doom which ripped up my knees pretty good. There were bungee-type cords strung through some trees we had to get through at the top of a hill.

The course looped near the starting line to a two-story cargo-net wall. While we were waiting for our heat to start we watched people climb over it and I was a little bit nervous about it. It looks a lot taller when you are standing next to it. I thought -- what will be worse, saying I didn't try or getting to the top and being scared to death. I made it over and Lenny even waited at the top for me to be sure I could get over.

We jogged a few feet to some planks that went up and down. My knees were so shaky from successfully climbing the cargo net, I thought I would fall off. I ended up having to crawl for part of it. (Oh, well, I got over.) We came to a HUGE wall that required ropes to climb. I was exhausted and couldn't do it. (After the fact, Len said he could have gotten me over, but he was a few steps ahead of me during this part and didn't notice when I was lagging behind.)

There were more cargo nets hung horizontally, we waded through a deep creek, turned the corner and we were at the fire pits. After the creek my legs were heavy, but I ran, leaped over both fire pits, crawled though the mud under more barbed wire, ran the last few yards through several more inches (feet?) of mud and we finished to the cheers of the crowd!

The race was a lot of fun! Some of the obstacles were harder than I would have expected. For example, that final rope wall -- much higher than what I saw on the website and I just didn't have the strength at that point to do it. And there is a real knack to going across horizontal cargo nets -- I don't have the knack. The hills were really horrible -- and I do lots of races that have hills.

Red Frog did a great job with this race. Though many of the obstacles were different from what was advertised, the course had plenty of them. I like the fact we could watch people do the cargo-net wall and the planks while waiting for the start. They also set up the final leg so spectators can watch participants leap over fire and crawl through the mud. The cheers at the end kept me going.

There are a few things I would do differently: 1) work on upper body strength, 2) plan to do it earlier in the day before it was so hot and humid, 3) protect my knees (they are SO scraped up!), 4) zoom ahead of my husband when I had the opportunity, 5) start my annual hill workouts earlier and 6) wear a costume.

Finish times (Added June 7, 2011):
Angel was 47 in his age group with 29:15
Cathy was 36th in her age group with a time of 42:19
I was 61st in my age group with a finish of 58:53
Lenny was 99th in his age with 58:35
Curtis was 101 in the same age with 58:55

Preparing for Tomorrow's Warrior Dash

2011-06-04T23:53:00.000-04:00

Well, the Warrior Dash I have kinda sorta been training for is tomorrow in Southern Ohio. Though I have no illusions that I am really ready, I am excited.

My cousin's son ran the event today. The photos she posted online made it look great. Though I have to admit -- the cargo net wall we have to climb over is a little higher than I had expected. (My hands are already starting to sweat.)

The things that have me worried include the fact that I still cannot run a full mile, even after training for over a month. (I know I could racewalk 10 miles tomorrow if I had to.) Also, I haven't done any upper body strengthening since we signed up. Oops!

So, I'm heading to this race with an overall fitness level that is way above average, with a good attitude, good friends and confidence I will have fun no matter what.
____________________

Things I am taking with me:
Shoes to throw away, flip flops to wear after.
A shirt to throw away, a good solid-colored sports bra so I can change my shirt in public.
A hat I don't like.
A gym bag large enough to hold my warrior helmet.
Trash bags, old towels and blankets to cover the seats in Curtis' car.

4 Miles Today

2011-06-01T23:09:00.000-04:00

I went to Griggs Reservoir by myself after work today to get back into the routine of walking in the middle of the week. I'm planning to enter a half marathon in August and that means my training needs to start pretty soon (I also need to do hills).

The temps were in the mid-80s and it felt hot. When I get more acclimated, the mid-80s will not be bad at all, but right now, it made me feel very slow.

In fact, I was somewhat slow and I couldn't get my HR over 142. That's a sign I wasn't moving much. The first mile was 14:46, then I got a little faster at 14:16, 14:23 and 14:20. Not nearly as fast as I've been during our group walks on Saturday mornings.

So, four days in a row I've been walking or jogging. Feeling pretty good.

First Speedoman Sighting!

2011-05-31T23:00:00.000-04:00

Today I again went to the park by the river for lunch hoping I would see Speedoman. After sitting there about 10 minutes I decided to walk half a mile -- I sit all day, and even though it wasn't an "exercise" walk, it was still moving. (There are quarter mile markers painted on the street.)

Even after walking the quarter mile to the end of the park and back, I still did not see Speedoman. Over the years, I have usually seen him somewhere around noon.

But, when I got back to my car and started driving, I was thrilled to pass Speedoman! Again, I got so excited I almost waved. The thing is, he doesn't know me. I'm just a weird stalking/blogger.

He is looking older. He wasn't running at all -- in fact he was walking VERY slowly. And because he only wears a Speedo, it was obvious he has put on weight.

So, though I am worried about him -- he doesn't look as spry -- I'm thrilled he is still out there! And he is still an inspiration to me. I love the fact that, though he is no longer running, he is still out there doing what he can do.

Oh, and this year's Speedo is purple. If I remember correctly, that is the same color as last year.

Back to my Old Self

2011-05-30T14:40:00.000-04:00

Once it dawned on me that my dislike of running is why I haven't been exercising enough, I've felt better! Sometimes knowledge is power.

And I'm feeling like I am back to my old self again. Today I woke up excited about getting in three laps at Antrim Park.

Saturday, I walked for an hour with the Buckeye Striders. Yesterday I kind of ran with my husband and son for about 2.5 miles. Today I walked for another 3.6 miles. Woo hoo!

Today the walking was a little bit hard. Because of some freelance editing I needed to get done early, I didn't leave the house til nearly 10:30 -- it was already starting to get warm. I could also "feel" my legs from working my muscles differently during yesterday's run. Unfortunately, I had chosen to wear my Air Force Marathon shirt (one of my favorites) but wasn't thinking about how heavy the fabric is -- it lets in no breeze! Still my average pace was 14:06 per mile.

I felt much slower than that! So, I guess that is an indication that my fitness level and speed are both increasing. And exercising for three days straight is an indication that my mental attitude is improving, too.
_____________

My 17-year-old son went with me to the park today. I expected him to run off and see me at the end. Shortly after I started my second lap, he was finishing running his second. He decided to do my last two laps with me. It was pretty funny because he can't walk as fast as I can, but he can't jog as slowly as I walk either. He ended up jogging slightly ahead, then walking until he was behind, then jogging ahead. It was really nice having him make the effort to hang with me!

Darn! I should have taken a picture!

Running's Affect on Me

2011-05-29T12:29:00.001-04:00

Not sure why I have been having so much trouble blogging lately. Though if I really think about it, it probably has something to do with the fact I've been doing a little running.

For me, running is not fun: it doesn't feel good, it is hard and I just don't like it. These feelings about running are probably why I don't do it enough and why I still cannot run a mile without stopping. I believe my training for next week's Warrior Dash has fallen flat because I simply don't enjoy running.

I'm also disappointed that running is not getting better any faster. Well, let me clarify -- it is a little bit easier. I no longer feel as if I'm going to have a heart attack and die within the first 10 seconds. And I am no longer gasping for air like a fish out of water. But I still can run no farther than about 2 minutes at a time. Then I need to take a huge walking break before I can run for less than 2 minutes.

The reason I'm not getting better faster is because I'm not training as I should. I'm just not running enough to get better.

There have been days when I have sat in my family room thinking, "Oh, no. I have to run today!" Then I would have an ongoing internal argument with myself until it is just too late to go or it has started raining or something else comes up to prevent me from going. In my own sick little world, I have celebrated when I have talked or tricked myself out of running. (And because I am not exercising, I'm gaining weight.)

Here is what I have learned from this running experiment. If someone does not like the exercise chosen, she won't do it. It is that simple.

I don't like running, hence I don't run. Even with a race looming over my head, I'm not training hard enough to have met my bare minimum goal of being able to run 1 mile before race day. I've had months to prepare for this, it was a goal that was attainable, but I have talked myself out of it. And because I'm not running, I'm not racewalking either.

OK, the Warrior Dash is strictly for the fun of it. But part of what makes a race fun is being physically capable of completing it, right? Would I plan to racewalk a marathon with this little preparation? No.

So, I will go out for a run shortly because it is nice out right now and I know it will get hot soon. I will even try to run a couple more times before next Sunday. I know I will have fun at the race because the people going are fun. And maybe I'll even do better than I think I will.

Still, I'm a little disappointed that I was unable to meet my minimum goal of running just one measly mile.

Seeking Speedoman

2011-05-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

If you look, you can see the rain hitting the river.

The other day I talked a co-worker into having lunch with me in the park by the river. I didn't tell him in advance, but part of my motivation was to see if Speedoman was still around. For those of you who do not know, Speedoman is an older man (80s maybe) who runs at this park daily in just a Speedo and running shoes. At least, when the weather is nice that is what he wears. If he runs year round, which I assume he does, I'm sure he wears more when it is cold out.

Though it was beautiful in the morning when we made our plans, it started to get cloudy just as we left for lunch. Partway to the park, it started to sprinkle. There are plenty of picnic shelters, so I wasn't that worried. Just as we reached the park, it started to rain. I let Brian pick the shelter, so we decided to take the one closest to the river to have a good view -- plus I could park right up next to it.

One of the filthy tables.

We walked in and noticed immediately that there were a LOT of birds in the rafters. Of course, lots of birds mean, well, lots of bird droppings all over the tables. At this point, it had started raining pretty hard, so we found a fairly clean spot and decided to stay. Luckily I had extra paper towels to cover the table where I was eating. After a few minutes, Brian got up and stood in the middle of the shelter while I finished eating. I was about to ask him why when the answer became obvious -- big drops of water were landing all around me. Looking up I saw the roof was holier than Swiss cheese! I finished eating standing up, we ran for the car and drove around the park until it was time to head back to work.

Wouldn't you know, just as it was time to head back to work, the rain stopped and the sun came out. By the time we got near our office, the streets were totally dry!

Well, I didn't get to see Speedoman that day, but eating in the bird-infested shelter was an adventure -- one I don't plan to repeat. And if I come down with some weird illness in the next week or so, I'm sure it will be some type of bird flu.

Disappointing Myself

2011-05-24T23:02:00.001-04:00

Sunday I was entered in a 3000 m racewalk here in Columbus. I was excited and nervous -- I'm not very confident in my racewalking form, and I was looking forward to seeing if I was legal in a less intimidating format.

I arrived at 9:30 (would have been there earlier, but I got turned around). As Jack and I sat around, waiting, we watched literally a million kids run the 100 dash. About 11:30, we decided to see how long it would take until our event.

The nice official said we had at least two more hours! Wow!

Though I wanted to do the event, I had not intended to sit around watching other people run for four hours.

Here is what I learned: when entering a track meet, it is a good idea to find out early about the timing of the events. There were about 50 heats of the 100 and more for the 200. That is a lot of races!!!

And though I would have gone ahead and done the race under different circumstances, I do feel bad about leaving. It's not that the race officials were disappointed that I left, I'm disappointed I didn't compete. In my defense, I really had not intended to spend the entire day waiting for a 20-min race.

Next time I'll know.

Teaching Little Girls the Wrong Things

2011-05-18T16:15:00.001-04:00

Two things I learned about this week have appalled me for somewhat the same reason -- teaching little girls the wrong things about appearance, health and fitness.

Botox
Like many people across the country, I was shocked to learn about the mom giving her 8-year-old daughter Botox injections because of wrinkles in her forehead. After reading several different stories about this family, I learned the little girl "wants" the Botox and even searches her face for wrinkles, she wants to have breast enlargement surgery and a nose job, and she participates in beauty pageants. I also learned the little girl gets waxed, but my husband and I read conflicting stories on what parts of this girl's body are being waxed.

Those of us who were lucky enough NOT to be raised by this mother know that 8-year-old girls do not "want" any of this stuff. The only reason this little girl thinks she needs these types of improvements is because someone has already taught her that no matter what, her own personal beauty will not be good enough.

I have very strong feelings about the damage that beauty pageants inflict on little girls -- just watch one episode of Toddlers & Tiaras -- but I'll save that for another day. (Don't watch more than one episode, we don't want to encourage them.)

Butt
The other item I find appalling is butt-toning shoes for little girls. Seriously, should a little girl be worried about what she looks like from the back?

It doesn't even matter that these shoes do not work (they don't), what kind of message does this send? What kind of parent would buy these impractical shoes for a little girl?

The Truth
OK, any parents out there who are seriously worried about whether their children are fat, or unhealthy or whatever, here are some tips for you:

Stop eating at fast food restaurants -- stop feeding your kids fast food meals.
Provide healthy home-cooked meals for your children, and limit the junk food in your house.
Encourage your children to get natural exercise by playing outside.
Encourage your children to try new sports.
Take your children to the park or on a walk.
Be a good example. Eat healthy foods and get exercise yourself.

And if you encourage your kids by talking about eating healthy foods and being healthy, then they won't be obsessed with their looks and especially their weight.

We do have an obesity problem in this country. But making little girls feel that they are not good enough, that they are not pretty enough or that there is a quick fix is not the solution.
_________________

I have had a personal semi-boycott against a specific fast-food restaurant chain for years. It got really fired up when the company introduced salads to its menu, but the salads were worse than a high-calorie hamburger. My kids wanted to eat there, but I usually would say no and explained that the foods were not healthy. (The truth is, we did eat there on rare occasions, but they knew it was a big deal to be there.)

One day on my way home from work I was dying for a Diet Coke. This chain had a great price on a huge soft drink, so I bought one. (I have since given up Diet Coke.)

When I walked in the door with the cup from that chain, my daughter went ballistic! She recited back to me all of my complaints about fat and calories and nutrition.

I explained to her that it was just a drink and that I did not buy any food, but she pointed out that it didn't matter, I was still encouraging them. She was right!

Let me point out that I am not a nutrition nut. We do sometimes eat fast food and that includes French fries. (I love French fries!) But you can be healthy if you eat junk only in moderation.

Here's Your Sign

2011-05-11T19:18:00.000-04:00

Early yesterday afternoon, I was sitting in front of my computer, working hard, when suddenly my 2009 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon poster fell off my wall and bounced off my head. (The Flying Pig posters are always on a heavier stock of paper than most race posters, so it did actually bounce off.)

For a variety of reasons -- ranging from sore shins to being very busy -- I have not been getting enough exercise the last few weeks. I know these aren't good reasons (except the shin pain) but sometimes our lives do prevent us from doing as well as we should.

Then every once in a while you get a sign -- a big old fat sign -- and well, how can you ignore a race poster bouncing off your head?

And that is one of the reasons I did more than 3 miles yesterday at Antrim Park.

Three More Miles Today

2011-05-10T19:58:00.000-04:00

I took a short walk over lunch today to see how I would feel. My legs felt very heavy which had me a little worried, but I felt no pain so I planned to walk at Antrim Park this evening.

Still, I wasn't sure how my shins would feel -- my running on Saturday was so unsuccessful I was afraid to try. I allowed enough time that I could walk all three laps at Antrim just in case the shin pain was not gone. (I haven't run or really walked in days.)

The first lap was a little slow at 18:05. I felt good, so I picked up the pace a tiny bit to 17:22.

After those two laps, everything felt warmed up, so I decided to run. I felt fantastic! I felt so good, I was beginning to think I was going to make it halfway around the lake without stopping! Well, I was very, very wrong about that, but the point is, I felt good and I ran farther than ever before. This lap was run/walked in 14:37.

Walking and Running

2011-05-05T22:56:00.001-04:00

I have been so busy lately that not only have I not been blogging, I haven't been exercising either. (Lots of negatives in that sentence.)

It dawned on me today that I am entered in a 3-mile race June 5, and I will need to run (yes, run) at least 1 mile nonstop before that date. Because it is an obstacle course, I don't think running farther than 1 mile will be necessary because we will be stopping to climb walls, crawl through mud and leap over fire. (http://warriordash.com/register2011_ohio.php)

At the same time, I'm thinking about entering a judged racewalk later this month. The track and field event includes 1500 and 5000 meter races. Running and proper racewalking form do not necessarily go together. (I know lots of racewalkers run, but probably not when they are working on form.)

Add in the fact that it did not rain today -- which lately is a big deal. With all of that in mind, I went to Antrim Park to get in a few laps. My plan was to do three laps -- two racewalking, one running.

I started the first lap slow because I was feeling a little bit stiff. As soon as I warmed up, I picked up the pace, though my heart rate was not going as high as I would like. The second lap, I picked up the pace more, but my heart rate still did not go as high as I would like. I finished in 17:05 and 16:32.

I started running the moment I began the third lap. Unfortunately for me, I planned poorly. The direction I picked to go included the only uphill on the entire loop! When you have no endurance for running, even a small hill like this can be very challenging. I did a run/walk, but I didn't time the intervals. I just ran as far as I could until I got tired, rested, then ran some more. The first few running intervals were pretty tough and short, but the more intervals I did, the longer they got! Near the end I felt my endurance was really improving. I completed that lap in 14:32 and my heart rate got up to 168!

And though running is still pretty difficult for me, and I know I will never be a real runner, it is getting easier.

So, today was an especially good day. The sun was shining, I was at a beautiful park, I finished over 3 miles and feel that I got some really good cardio exercise. And my endurance is improving.
______

Pace per mile: First lap 14:14, second lap 13:46 and my final jogging lap was 12:06. You may remember I was walking faster than that more than a week ago.

I felt so good after this workout, I had fresh veggies and hummus for dinner.

Picking up Speed!

2011-04-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, when walking with the Buckeye Striders, I again ended up out front with the faster people. I was a little worried about keeping up with Catherine this week because I just have not been walking enough. (Rain.)

The pace picked up as we walked, which is usual. Imagine my surprise, though, when Catherine reported that according to her GPS we were walking at an 11:58 per mile pace! I've done that on a treadmill before, but never outside.

I was breathing hard (though I could still talk) and my legs were moving as fast as they could go. I kept it up as long as I could, but when Catherine said she was going to go faster, I told her to go ahead without me. I know I did not keep up the pace for a mile, but I'm not sure how far I went. Shortly after Catherine took off, I had to slow a little.

From my estimate, when Catherine went on ahead we were 2 miles from the end. When I finished, I was just 2 minutes behind her! We walked 4.3 to 4.4 miles and I finished in under 59 minutes. That averages to somewhere around 13:20 to 13:35 per mile!

I wonder if I'm picking up speed because I'm not working on distance. I don't have any races scheduled right now, so my training walks have all been shorter.

Now matter what the reason, I'm happy with the result!

It's Officially Spring!

2011-04-18T22:48:00.000-04:00

Today I tried to fit in a quick walk between a few important things I had to do.

This time of year, you never know what the weather will be like, especially in Ohio. (If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes, it will change.) We have had snow this late in the year before, so I tend to be cautious when it comes to predicting spring. To tell the truth, the appearance of crocus or daffodils means nothing!

But today as I walked around the block, I noticed forsythia! I LOVE forsythia! The yellow of these flowers makes me smile. And what I really like is, it rarely snows after forsythia bloom.

Yep, this is a sure sign spring is here to stay! Woo hoo!

Bad Timing

2011-04-16T20:24:00.000-04:00

It was supposed to rain this morning, so I opted not to walk with the Buckeye Striders at 8. I didn't set my alarm clock and when I rolled out of bed at 7:30, the sun was shining and it looked great! Hmmm, maybe I made the wrong decision.

As the morning progressed the skies got gray, the sun shined, the skies got gray, the sun shined ... Then there was a huge line of deep black clouds moving in. If I was going to get outside, I was going to have to get out quick.

Because the black clouds were moving fast, and partly because my friend Curtis has been running more than I have, I decided to try to run today. (I'm still training for the Warrior Dash.) I walked quickly to the "big block" and began running. I did a run/walk and was excited that I was able to run farther between walking breaks than I did the last time I ran.

About three-quarters of the way around the block, the rain started so I tried to run harder. Just as I was about finished with my first lap, the hail started! Hail! I began to run home, but realized that by the time I got there the hail would stop and I would be less inclined to go back out.

It's spring and there are no leaves on the trees in my neighborhood. Still, I stood with my back up against a big tree and tried to use the trunk to block the wind. After just a few minutes the hail stopped and the rain slowed.

At this point I just wanted to finish my two laps as quickly as possible. I started running again, trying to pick up the pace and maybe run a little farther between walking breaks. It didn't work.

My legs were not tired -- in fact, based on how my legs felt, I could have easily run a mile non-stop today. The problem was my lungs! They burned, I gasped for air and just could not catch my breath. My heart pounded pretty hard, too. I hate this feeling! (The only other times I have felt this way have been at the end of long-distance races when I am racewalking as hard as possible, or when I am trying to keep up with some of the fastest Buckeye Striders.)

Just a couple of minutes after I made it back home, the rain stopped and the sun came out again.

Here is what I learned today:

I am the last person who should pick when to workout outside. Many times I choose the worst weather of the day. (If my friend Deb is out, it is almost guaranteed to be the best weather of the day.)
I probably do not walk hard enough when I racewalk. I'm definitely not getting my heart rate up as high as I do when running.
I really need to practice running more if I'm going to be able to run 3 miles for the Warrior Dash.
Though I still do not enjoy running, I don't hate it anymore. Though it is hard, and I don't like the pounding, I really like going faster than when I racewalk. It's nice to finish just a little faster, too.
When I run, I can tell that I have regained 3 lbs. -- I can feel my stomach jiggle each time a foot hits the ground. That definitely does NOT happen when I racewalk. Maybe if I run more, I'll be disturbed enough by this I'll eat healthy more consistently again.

Changing my Mind for the Better

2011-04-13T22:57:00.000-04:00

Earlier today I was feeling so lethargic, all I wanted to do was to go home, sit in a comfortable chair and eat potato chips. I even have potato chips at home.

But a weird thing happened. While driving in the sunshine, I gained some energy! The more I was in the sun, the more I wanted to be outside. Gradually potato chips were not sounding all that great -- I wanted to go for a walk.

By the time I arrived home and changed my clothes I was excited. My plan was to walk to the library, do one lap around the park and head home. Though this route is only 3.2 miles, because of the traffic lights it usually takes more than 55 minutes. Today I was able to do the 1 mile to the library in just over 16 minutes! I must have hit the lights right for a change.

The park was beautiful and there were tons of people there either playing sports, watching sports, or walking around the park -- just like me!

I was testing a new heart rate monitor and had not read the instructions all the way through so I didn't get the chronograph working quite right. Despite that, I'm pretty sure I did the entire route in just under 50 minutes. It felt great!

And a side benefit -- when I got home, the craving for chips was entirely gone.

No Wonder Runners Don't Smile

2011-04-10T10:46:00.000-04:00

Running is hard! I have no clue why anyone would voluntarily run.

I say this as a fairly fit person who racewalked nearly 4.5 miles yesterday at a good pace. I say this as a person who has racewalked two full marathons and about 25 half marathons -- six halves last year.

But I need to be able to run 3 miles in June. My family, friends and I have entered a race called the Warrior Dash. Because of the nature of this obstacle course race, I feel I should run it as opposed to racewalking it. (Seriously, I think racewalking to a climbing wall would look a little bit silly -- and I'm used to looking silly.) We have 8 weeks to get ready.

So, when I got up this morning, I put on my cushiest running shoes and went out the door. I walked the 2 min it takes to get to the "big block," hit my stopwatch and started jogging. The plan was to go as far as I could, walk for 1 min, then repeat.

When I was huffing and puffing and I thought my heart would burst, I hit my stopwatch and stopped running. -- 2 min and 51 sec. That was it? I ran for only 2 min and 51 sec? If I had been running as fast as my son, that would have been half a mile. Unfortunately, it wasn't even half a block!

After a minute of walking I wasn't ready to start up again, so I walked another minute. This time I ran for only 1:14 before I had to stop. Slap of reality here -- I had been overly ambitious. I was not going to be running for several minutes and resting for only one. I was going to have to start from scratch just like any other non-runner and run for 1 min and walk for more. (I think this officially makes me a Galloweenie*!)

I continued with something close to running 1 min, walking 2 min until I had gone around the block twice. I ran/jogged for a total of only 8 min and walked for 18 min.

What I like about running is that I cover more ground. Even jogging at this slow pace, I'm faster than when I racewalk outside. (On a treadmill, I was able to racewalk as fast as this jog.) Maybe I can eventually walk faster than I can jog. That would be great!

What I don't like about running is the pounding. I feel like a several ton elephant every time my foot hits the ground -- huge, heavy and not very graceful. Does that ever go away?
_____________________

*Galloway is a running guru who trains people to run/walk long-distance events. When you are near them during a marathon or half marathon they are extremely annoying! It never fails, a group of them will jog past you then suddenly stop running inches in front of you and walk very slowly. At that point you are moving must faster than they are, and you either run into them or have to go around. After a minute or so, they pass you again, get slightly ahead of you and stop -- again! This leap frogging will continue until someone gets far enough ahead of the other to stop it.

Dave McGovern calls them Galloweenies.

Get Faster by Walking with Fast People

2011-04-09T22:26:00.000-04:00

Dave McGovern says something similar to: in order to walk faster, practice walking faster. A corollary to that is: walk with people who are faster than you are. I did exactly that today.

Catherine is one of the faster members of the Buckeye Striders. What makes me laugh is: 1) She doesn't realize how fast she is, 2) Her stride is so smooth and her attitude so casual, it seems effortless. I walked with Catherine today.

We started out at a faster pace than what I usually do. I didn't get to warm up and was feeling slightly stiff. Still, I let Catherine set the pace and I kept up with her. After about 5 min I made a comment about how I couldn't go any faster and if she wanted to go ahead, that was fine. She laughed and said she didn't normally start that fast and was thinking that my pace had really improved.

Though we decided to slow slightly, it didn't work. I'm sure she didn't realize that she immediately picked up the pace. I continued to keep up with her and though I was working hard, we were able to hold to conversation. (On long slow days, I don't like to go so fast, I can't have a conversation.)

When we walk on the Olentangy Trail, we start near the Park of Roses, walk straight out for 30 min, then turn around. Because of where we start, we weren't near a mile marker and walked for 11 min before we reached one. Now here is the exciting news to me -- we walked that measurable mile in 13:52! After we turned around, we walked that same measurable mile in 13:29! According to the Cool Running Pace Calculator, if we averaged 13:52 per mile, we walked 4:397 miles. (If I were editing a textbook, I'd round that up to 4.4 miles.)

Though I try to walk fast when alone, I think this shows how I can work harder and faster when I'm with someone who pushes me. (Or did she "pull" me.)

Thanks, Catherine!
___________

The weather was good! Temps in the mid-50s and partly cloudy.

The Slug is Gone!

2011-04-06T22:35:00.002-04:00

It might have been the lack of rain today. It might have been the fact I could see the sun! It might also be that I have not exercised much recently, and my body knows it needs it.

Whatever the reason, I am thrilled to say I did three laps (about 1.2 miles each) at Antrim Park today!

The first two laps I was racewalking -- the last lap I did the dreaded run/walk. (I hate being behind people in a race who do the run/walk.) My first lap was in 17:28 for a pace of 14:33. Considering how long it has been since I have walked hard, I can't believe I was that fast. The second lap was in 17:10 for a 14:18 pace. Wow!

Believe it or not, my run/walk lap was 2 min faster! I'll explain about that later.

So, after doing 3.6 miles in 50 min, my legs were throbbing and I felt great! And the side benefit of healthy exercise in sunshine, I was craving a giant healthy salad. I did not have salad ingredients at home, but at least I was again craving healthy foods. That is half the battle afterall.

So I can safely say, the slug is gone! Woo hoo!
__________

Some friends and family members have signed up to run a 3-mile Warrior Dash in June. (Warrior Dash is an obstacle course race.) I'm starting to train to be able to run 3 miles by then. So today, I ran until I needed to stop, walked until I recovered, then ran some more. I'm pretty sure I ran 75% of the 1.2 mile loop. I can't wait until I can run a mile nonstop. And just to clarify, no I am not giving up racewalking.

Walkable San Francisco

2011-03-27T11:10:00.003-04:00

Lombard Street.

From my experience last week, San Francisco is a very walkable city. Even if you are not interested in walking the entire city, the availability of trolleys, buses, BART and even tuk tuks give affordable transportation to interesting walkable sections.

I feel as if I walked a major portion of the city and I didn't walk half as much as my friend Deb did! But because of Deb's adventurousness and planning, I got to see major highlights by foot and trolley.

By taking a trolley up Embarcadero to a major cross street, we walked to Lombard Street -- the crookedest street in America. Though mentioned in a previous post, let me just say walking up Lombard is somewhat challenging and we wondered how the residents of this block deal with it (let alone how they deal with all of the tourists). I imagine their legs are very strong.

From Lombard Street, we walked through some very interesting neighborhoods, went to an open house (it was beautiful), and made our way to Coit Tower. Located on Telegraph Hill, it was built in 1933 at the bequest of Lillie Hitchcock Coit to beautify the city of San Francisco. Because it was built during the depression, it helped employ people, which I think adds to why the tower is cool. The view from the top is worth the $5 fee. We did not see a lot of green space in San Francisco -- very few parks of any size, no real lawns -- but the area around the tower is green and well landscaped. Definitely worth the visit.

From Coit Tower: the city, the bay and Alcatraz.

China Gate in the pouring rain.

On one evening, Deb and I walked to Chinatown. I had never been to a Chinatown before and was surprised at how quickly you feel as if you have stepped into a foreign country. Deb said the best time to visit was in the morning when the produce vendors are in the streets, but because of meetings and weather, I didn't get to do that. At night the street is lit up and pretty, but many of the shops are closed. The China Gate is great.

Though there is not much green space in the city, there are a few small parks. Each time we encountered one, we were surprised. Later I discovered we had a map that included walking routes which highlight each of these parks. I had planned to visit several, but on my one day off it was pouring rain and I just couldn't do it.

I wish I remembered
which park this was in.

We did a lot of walking around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, both big tourist areas. There were plenty of street performers here (and in other parts of the city) and it almost felt as if our visit had a soundtrack! The crowds were big and the people-watching was fun. I like the human statues, though they also creep me out a little. We visited a museum of old pinball-type games (I can't remember the name) which was also near the submarine Pampanito, built entirely by women -- Rosie the Riveters. There is an Aquarium we didn't visit, but we did see the famous sea lions near the pier.

Warhol self portrait.

Though not intense walking inside, when the weather was really bad we separately visited the Museum of Modern Art and the Ferry Building. I spent about 3 hours in the museum and nearly dried out before heading back outside. There are four other interesting museums I didn't visit. The Ferry Building was on Embarcadero near our hotel, so was easy to get to. There is a farmers markets there on weekends and the shops inside were nice. Lots of organic restaurants, coffee shops and cooking shops. Later in the week I walked along the water from the Ferry Building toward the double decker bridge. It is very pretty this way with fewer tourists and several nice pieces of public art.

There are plenty of other activities we didn't try, such as renting bikes to cross the Golden Gate Bridge and a tour of Alcatraz. (I'm not sure how much walking is involved in visiting Alcatraz.) There are also plenty of nice stores within walking distance of each other if shopping is an interest. (Deb and I are not big shoppers.)

The double decker bridge.

Disclaimer: San Francisco is extremely hilly. There were plenty of times that we adjusted our walking route to avoid streets because of the hills. At other times, such as on our way to Coit Tower, there was no choice -- we had to climb some pretty steep streets. We just took our time, stopped when we needed to and tried to distract ourselves with sights we couldn't find in Ohio. Though it worked for us, I have to admit that at the end of the day, my legs could tell we walked a lot of hills. I should also point out that Deb and I walk a lot -- though if you are reading this blog about walking, you probably already know that. One final point -- there seem to be a lot of homeless people who can be aggressive with their panhandling. Once it started getting dark we felt much more comfortable riding trolleys.

That being said, I was very pleasantly surprised at how walkable the city was! For the most part we were comfortable walking just about anywhere we wanted to go during the day. And when we did get tired, or the rain was too intense, we hopped on a trolley. I hope I can go back someday when I have more free time and the weather is more cooperative.

At Starbucks Too Long

2011-03-23T22:15:00.003-04:00

I think I have officially been at Starbucks WAY TOO LONG! My chai tea latte is ice cold. Not one person here now was here when I arrived. The staff rolled the city trash bins through the restaurant and out the front door to the street. People are starting to look at me weird. My iPod and laptop batteries are starting to die. (I moved twice already and still am not near a power source, and felt weird moving again.) I know that about 75% of the people who come here pull the door handle even though it says "push". Yes, I need to leave. But first a little bit of San Fran.

One of my original intentions coming here was to post photos from walking the city over the past couple of days. I don't have enough time to do that now, but I want to share this photo of Deb and me at the top of Lombard Street. Lombard is the crookedest street in America and the incline is pretty steep. We had to rest several times on our way up.

At the top of Lombard Street in San Francisco.

What I want to point out in this photo is the tower on top of the hill way in the background. That is Coit Tower. (I know, I never heard of it before either. History lesson on a different date.) It looks pretty far away, right? Well, we walked from Lombard all the way to that tower. Not a direct route, either. From there we walked back to the main street of Embarcadero where we caught a trolley to our hotel.

By the way, all of that walking happened AFTER we finished the 12K race earlier that morning.

Now back to my hotel to have dinner.

12K Across the Golden Gate Bridge was Fun

2011-03-21T18:30:00.005-04:00

Walking toward the Golden Gate Bridge about a mile into the race. The hill from down here up to the bridge was grueling!

Though it was cloudy when we left the hotel for the Emerald Across the Bay 12K Race Sunday, we were pleasantly surprised it wasn't raining. (It poured the night before, we got soaked and had been pretty cold when out sightseeing.)

We took a trolley to Aquatic Park to catch a shuttle to Sausalito where the race started. The race would return us to the same place where we caught the shuttles. We arrived earlier than needed because we aren't used to relying on shuttles. Luckily, there were lots of busses, and though the volunteers made sure the participants in the first wave got on first, it didn't take long for us to board and head across the bay. (A few participants who had done the race before said the crowds were much smaller this year.)

The drive to the start was beautiful.

The bus dropped us off, and as we approached the start, there were several groups of port-a-johns and a table with water. We could only progress so far toward the starting line until there was a “wave checkpoint.” Only those participants in the first wave, wearing yellow race bibs, were able to pass. After that wave started the race, then those in the second wave were able to pass. After the second wave started the race, we were able to head to the starting line. It was so well organized and made for a lot less congestion throughout the entire event.

While we were standing around, the sun came out, and I warmed up pretty well, especially since I was wearing a black trash bag.

At the start, local doctors led us in warm ups and stretches! It was fun! Some of the announcements were different. The heavy rains the night before washed out gravel in a few places, and there were branches down, so be careful.

The first half mile or so was downhill with wet roads and lots of huge nuts all over meaning we had to be careful where we stepped. Shortly after the start, the rain began. I can't remember whether it was sprinkles or what, but it was raining at at one point early on, a huge gust of wind blew Deb's hat right off her head!

The biggest hill of the race led up to the Golden Gate Bridge and started less than a mile into the race. The hill was so steep I needed to rest on the way up! This was about the time the rain started again.

We finally made it to the top and were able to get onto the bridge. Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge was very cool! We could see sunshine off in the distance and knew eventually the rain would stop. At the beginning of the bridge it was chilly – the wind gusts and blowing rain were horrible!!! It seemed as if we were on the bridge forever and since it is 1.7 miles long, well it was a good chunk of the race. Near the middle the rain eventually stopped and we could see sun off in the distance. (We were hopeful!) We did notice there were several suicide hotline phones on the bridge and luckily, neither of us felt the desire to jump or the need to use the phone.

After we left the bridge, we went below it to go past Fort Point, past a nature preserve and along the ocean (Crissy Field) and the Presidio. It was very pretty. As we progressed there were tons of walking paths along the shore and beautiful homes across the street from the water. If I lived here, I think I would walk along the water here all of the time.

At some point along this side of the bay there are photographers who take pictures with the bridge behind you. As we turned the corner, we were looking stupid and missed the photographers. So, we asked for a “do over,” and went back, came around the corner and smiled and tried to look like we were racewalking! The photographers were great and took a ton of shots of us!

From there it was a straight shot to Aquatic Park and the after-race party! At the finish line we were just directed to the party. As we approached, there were tables with finisher shirts and there were plenty of sizes left. The long-sleeved cotton shirts are cute, and I decided to take a small. (I'll try to remember not to put it in the dryer.) We received a bottle of water, then walked around the soggy park and received bags of Emerald nuts, Kettle chips (baked), and a few other samples. There was music playing and I heard there was beer available, though I didn't see any. There were not many people hanging around but I think when the weather is nice, people probably stay longer.

At the after race party. The sky
is VERY gray, getting ready to rain.

We had our picture taken near the ocean, got a picture or two of Alcatraz which we could see well from the shore, then it started raining. Actually, it started pouring!

We rushed off as fast as we could to catch a trolley and went back to the hotel.

According to my watch, our finish time was 1:55+. Considering more than two miles we were slower than 16 minutes per mile, I'm not really surprised. Actually I was more surprised that we walked two miles under 15 minutes! Our fastest was 14:10! Since it is still technically winter in Ohio, we had not done any hill training and it has been a little while since I've done any speed.

This is probably one of the best organized races I have ever completed! The waves were done well, they moved a lot of people very efficiently on the shuttles, there were plenty of port-a-johns at the beginning. We were told that there we not as many people as typical for this race, which could add to the fact they handled the crowds well. When we finished there were plenty of shirts in a variety of sizes, too – I have to wonder if that would be the case if there were more people.

Despite the rain, it was a good race and I would recommend it for anyone wanting a chance to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Good Message at the Right Time

2011-03-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I walk alone, I get discouraged. When I'm out and I'm not able to walk as hard as I want, or I feel more tired than expected.

Yesterday, was one of those days. Luckily I had walked straight out more than 3 miles so there was no way I could cut my walk short. (Sometimes you do have to trick yourself to get in all of your miles.) On the return trip, I was getting tired and was feeling a little down. I wished I had someone with me to distract me more than Christopher Moore could. (I was listening to his book "Fool.")

At my lowest point, I was walking under I-270 when I noticed a message penned on the wall of the underpass. I read it, walked past, then turned around and took a picture.

The author was absolutely right! And the truth is, it was exactly what I needed! I immediately picked up my pace and walked stronger, thinking about how that workout was going to impact the race in San Francisco next week.

In addition, I thought about this for quite a while after I passed those words. And it wasn't just about that day's walk -- this relates to my whole life. Yes, I do control my own fate -- and what am I going to do about it.

So, I will take this tagger's words to heart and with any luck I will think about them often.

Being in the Wrong Place

2011-03-12T19:33:00.007-05:00

One of the bridges crossing Alum Creek.

It was about 7:29 this morning when I realized I was in the wrong place. I was at Alum Creek Park Trail in Westerville and my friends were all somewhere else -- waiting for me. None of them ever has their cell phones on, so I couldn't reach anyone to let them know I was in the wrong place. (We do joke about this. I even tried calling. No one answered.)

For a moment, I thought about heading home or going to a park closer to home. Then I decided I was already at the start of a beautiful walking trail, why not go ahead and walk.

This is not the type of trail I would normally walk alone. It has a lot of secluded sections and often there are not many people on it. Not an ideal place for a woman walking alone -- even if it is a Saturday morning. I didn't have any underlying feelings of fear, so I went ahead. The temps were in the high 20s when I started, so I wore gloves, but limited myself to just one long-sleeved shirt under my wind-resistant jacket. I was chilly, but I knew I would be OK.

This trail is beautiful. It follows Alum Creek with bridges crossing over it in several locations. There are tons of trees, a pond with geese, and other than crossing under Schrock Rd. and 270, you feel as if you are somewhere farther outside of the city on much of the trail. And if you pay attention, you'll notice extras such as the plaques on some of the trees identifying the type, artwork posted on utility poles, some small flower beds or benches made from huge pieces of rock (granite?).

Look for the art.

My plan was to head out for 45 min. then turn around to guarantee I walked at least 6 miles. Because my pace has been getting progressively faster, I had no doubt I would walk faster than a 15-minute mile.

Mentally, I had trouble today. I kept checking my watch to see how long I had been out. That makes for a rough walk. I picked up the pace and tried to keep my heart rate higher -- near 150 -- for most of the walk. That was pretty easy on the way out. Heading back I got slower and my heart rate was closer to about 144 for most of the way. Still, I felt I had a good balance of working hard, yet maintaining endurance to finish.

Though I felt bad about missing my friends, for the most part I enjoyed my walk alone. The course was beautiful and as the sun rose and the temperatures got a little warmer, my mood really lifted. (I live in Ohio and we have a lot of gray days this time of year. A sunny morning is a real treat!)

On the way home, that 70's Dr. John song ran through my mind:

I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd of said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line...

__________

Note to my Buckeye Strider friends: This error was entirely my fault! And I really do think it is funny that none of you turn on your phones.

How Much Seaweed?

2011-03-05T19:32:00.003-05:00

Trader Joe's roasted seaweed.

I admit it, I'm becoming a little obsessed about seaweed. I bought several different kinds and I keep trying to find more information about how to use it to effectively to reduce fat absorption.

Last night, it finally dawned on me how obsessed I had become. While out I spent a lot of time talking about it to our friends who came out simply to enjoy an adult beverage. (I'm pretty sure they did not want to hear about seaweed.)

Despite this obsession, I still could not find out how much seaweed it is necessary to consume to make a difference. Though the package of roasted nori I found said a serving is half a package -- about 5 grams -- I wasn't sure what that meant for fat absorption or even when to eat the seaweed for the best results. Even then, how would I know for sure it was even working?

So today, after reading the exact same information from Newcastle University on several different websites, I was frustrated. I know the seaweed will absorb up to 75% of the fat consumed and has been determined to be as effective as the drug Alli -- but how much to eat and when? (You all know that I would never take a weight loss drug like Alli -- for so many reasons, but the final is the horrible side effects.)

Finally, I found something close to what I was looking for -- according to an Active.com article, eating only 1.5 grams will make an impact. Still, I'm not sure how much of an impact. How much fat will it absorb? And better yet, how will I know if it is working?

Because Trader Joe's roasted nori sheets are so light, 5 grams is a lot of seaweed! I'm not confident I can eat that much at a time. In fact, because I'm not really fond of the fish flavor (though I am getting a little used to it), I found if I stuff several pieces in my mouth at one time, it's a lot less difficult than eating several individual sheets.

So, though I don't have definite answers to all of my questions yet, I think I will continue eating a little nori before some of my bigger meals. From everything I've read, it won't hurt me, and if the professed benefits are true, then all the better!
_______________________

BTW: I am working hard to eat healthier. I've been increasing the number of fruits and vegetables I eat and reducing the amount of red meat and unhealthy fats. I'm hoping adding a little seaweed will help me achieve my health and fitness (and weight loss) goals just a little bit quicker.

Walking in Sunshine, Oh Yeah

2011-03-02T23:06:00.002-05:00

It was beautiful in Ohio today! The sun was bright and the temps were in the mid-40s with almost no breeze. I couldn't wait to get home to walk.

My original plan was to head to Antrim Park and do 4 laps around the lake. I was a little worried that by the time I drove there I wouldn't have time to walk as far as I wanted since it starts to get dark a little after 6. I don't feel safe near Antrim in the dark.

At the last minute I decided to walk to the library instead. That way I wouldn't be wasting time driving to a starting location and if it started to get dark on my way home, I would feel fairly safe on the busy street that leads to my neighborhood.

Temps were in the mid-40s when I left the house. I was chilly and my hands were cold, but I refused to go back home to add layers or gloves. I wanted to work hard enough I would get overheated.

On the way to the library, I decided to do two laps of the park for a total of 4.4 miles walked. Halfway through the first lap, I decided the sun was setting too fast and I would do just one lap. Being the decisive person I am, I changed my mind again -- as I finished that lap I decided to do the second one.

As the sun got lower, so did the temperatures. My hands were pretty cold even though my core was warm and I was sweating under the jacket.

I picked up the pace and my heart rate was well over 150. Though it was a much harder effort than I have been walking lately, it didn't feel like I was working too hard. It felt very comfortable.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long at any of the traffic lights, so I felt I was able to keep a good pace.

So, I walked the 4.4 miles in 1:05, 2 minutes faster than I walked the same route Sunday! Even with stopping a little for lights, my average pace was 14:46. My fastest loop was at a 13:24 minute mile! Not bad at all.

Though I am glad I was walking at a pretty good pace, and my IT bands felt great, the highlight of the day was walking in the sun. It has been so gray in Ohio, I really needed it! Because I was out, I will be much better able to deal with whatever grayness the day has to offer tomorrow.
______________________

Mile 1 - 17:01 (Traffic lights.)
Mile 2.2 - 16:11 (13:29 per mile pace.)
Mile 3.2 - 16:05 (13:24 per mile pace.)
Mile 4 - 16:22 (Traffic lights.)

Picking up Distance

2011-02-28T18:11:00.004-05:00

Because I'm entered in the Emerald Across the Bay 12K March 20, I need to pick up my training distance a little. 12K is only 7.46 miles -- I know I could walk that distance tomorrow, but I haven't in a while.

I wasn't able to walk with the Buckeye Striders on Saturday, so I did a 4-mile route on my own Sunday. Not in the mood to drive anywhere, I left from our house, walked to the library 1-mile, did two 1.2-mile loops at the park, then walked home. It was relatively warm, though gray, and it felt good to be out.

The thing I don't like about walking this route is the traffic and traffic lights on the main street between my house and the library. Sometimes the cars can be loud, which is annoying, and if I hit the lights wrong, I end up standing at intersections longer than I would like. For example, heading to the library took over 17 min., but it took only 16 min. to return.

My goal was to make this a true long slow distance day. I didn't walk very hard, keeping my heart rate below 140. The main purpose was just to finish the distance.

So, that said, I walked 4.4 miles in 1:07, which would have been a 15:13 pace if I didn't have to wait at traffic lights. I'm happy with that. Speed workouts in the near future.

Eat Seaweed for Weightloss?

2011-02-21T23:04:00.001-05:00

On RealAge.com, http://www.realage.com/tips/roasted-seaweed-snacks-fat-blockers?eid=1098930009&memberid=12259079 there is an article about eating seaweed helping to block the absorption of fat. Now I won't take fad drugs or weight loss drugs that claim the same thing, but eating seaweed to block fat -- that doesn't sound like a bad thing.

So, excited about this idea, I went to the Asian market down the street to find toasted nori. There were two problems with this plan: 1) I don't read Japanese or Chinese and most of the products in the store had very little English on them. 2) I have no idea what toasted nori looks like or where it would be.

I walked around the store for a while -- totally conspicuous as the only non-Asian person there. I looked in the snack aisle (I think it was the snack aisle), I looked at cookies, crackers and other treats, then I saw tons of different types of noodles, there were lots of packages of green stuff that could have been seaweed, but the only nori I found was a jar of shreded seaweed that might be for cooking. I bought it.

After getting it home I popped a big handful of shreds into my mouth. The texture wasn't bad, but the taste -- fishy! I don't think this is the "snack" I was looking for.

I'm not giving up. I'll try again and next time I will ask. In the meantime, I might try putting the seaweed I have into a soup -- a fish-based soup.

Taking it Easy

2011-02-20T18:00:00.001-05:00

Because I have been stiff and my IT bands have been sore, I decided to take it a little easy Saturday morning when walking with the Buckeye Striders. I was happy there were a couple people I haven't seen in a while and decided I would walk at Barbara's pace. We had a great time catching up and walking at a comfortable pace.

The funny thing was, at 32 degrees, it felt cold! We've had a pretty hard winter and temps have been much lower than average. Then this past week, the temps got up in the 50s and the snow melted. Now after being used to frigid temps, 32 feels cold.

Regardless, the easy pace did a great job of helping to relax my sore muscles. And later I was even able to get my husband to use The Stick on my IT bands.

It was a good walk both mentally and physically!

The Stick is my Friend!

2011-02-17T22:53:00.001-05:00

My legs are stiff! A few Nike Club Workouts, a couple intense walking sessions, ineffective stretching ... My legs are tight and stiff.

So after today's walk around Antrim Lake in the sun, I was sitting around feeling stiff thinking about how I need a massage, when it ocurred to me -- I have The Stick!

I have a love/hate relationship with The Stick. First, if used correctly, it is great for relieving the pain and stiffness in muscles. Second, in order to get that kind of relief, you have to really dig in with it, and that really, really HURTS! Is the cure worse than the ailment? I don't know.

The problem is, I can't apply enough pressure to get that total relief. When it starts to hurt, I stop. I can't help it -- I'm a wimp. What I really need is to get someone who doesn't mind causing me pain to roll out my legs. Before all of you come running to volunteer, I was thinking I would ask my husband.

But it's a Good Sore

2011-02-13T21:34:00.000-05:00

My entire body is sore -- my legs and hips, shoulders, abs and even my biceps. This is from a combination of Nike Training Club workouts and yesterday's racewalk workout. Whew!

To loosen up my legs, and maybe release some of the stiffness, I decided to take a casual walk outside in the sun. The temps were in the high 40s, the sun was shining and the day was beautiful!

There was one problem -- as I walked, the muscles in my legs and hips didn't loosen up. More than an hour later, I still did not felt any better.

Sounds like it is a good day to take off from exercise and it might be time for a little ibuprofen and stretching.

Getting Faster

2011-02-13T10:34:00.002-05:00

I did another indoor track workout Saturday and it was great!

Because it has been extra cold this winter, I have not been outside as much as usual. This time of year I tend to not focus on speed, but just work on getting outside even if it is just in a heavy winter coat and boots. That is why access to an indoor track is so nice! Not burdened with winter wear, we can work on speed. And Deb and I both want to be faster.

We walked in the middle of the track. I have to admit -- I HATE being in the first two lanes. You have to go around so many more times to do the same distance. I would rather be in the outside lane (not practical with all of the people there hanging out on the edge), but the middle seems to be a good compromise. As we did last week, Deb was one lane closer to the middle and I tried to pick up the pace on the curves to keep up with her as she maintained a steady pace.

We started out a little faster than I should have. Still a little stiff and sore from the Nike Training Club workouts I did this week, I probably needed to warm up more. We picked up the pace and both of us were breathing hard while we walked. I kept up with Deb for the most part. There were only a few times when she got ahead of me on the curves and I had to work harder to catch up. It was great!

The only thing I didn't do is one lap as fast as possible. I typically like to finish with a fast lap to train myself to finish a race strong. It definitely helps -- I usually get a second wind near the end of a race and can go faster at the finish.

So, I think Larry would be proud of us! Two weeks in a row Deb and I have been working hard. We have faster leg turnover and I think we are faster too. (Yes, Larry, I am pumping my arms!)

I really hope I can keep up this faster pace for a long distance. I'm looking forward to breaking a 3-hour half marathon this year!
__________

I wore the Chinese racewalking shoes. They are great because they are so light and flexible. This weekend my right ankle started to feel wobbly in them. I think ankle strengthening exercises are in order.

I wore my heart rate monitor yesterday. It indicated my peak HR was only 141. Hmmmm. It sure felt as if I was working harder than that. We used the 140 benchmark as our "pace" for a couple of half marathons last year. I felt as if we were walking much harder than we did in those races.

Track Workout Saturday

2011-02-06T18:36:00.000-05:00

You know the weather is bad when you are looking forward to walking on an indoor track. Yep, it is winter in Ohio and the track at Capital University sounded wonderful for the Buckeye Striders' weekly walk yesterday!

My plan was to work on speed and form since it is so much easier for me to do that inside. Deb walked in Lane 2 or 3, Cheryl tended to be in Lane 3 or 4, and I was mostly in Lane 5. When we reached the curve of the track, I picked up my pace to try to keep up with Deb. It was challenging, especially when she and Cheryl started picking up the pace on the curves so I had to work a little bit harder. (Funny!) Despite the teasing, I was able to keep up -- most of the time.

I did feel faster and when I did my last half-loop sprint, I felt my form held up pretty well, too! I'm pretty excited because it felt good and Deb said she thought I was faster. (Thanks, Deb!)

In addition to the positive vibes and positive feedback, I can tell I had a good workout -- I'm stiff today. I'm stiff enough that I am limiting the number of times I make myself go upstairs for anything! (Ouch!)

So, though I'm looking forward to some sunny days and outside workouts, I'm really enjoying the occasional trip to the indoor track.

The Sea Monster is Gone!

2011-02-03T23:09:00.000-05:00

Today there was a little sunshine, so I decided it is time for me to get back outside to walk. Because it was only 20 degrees out, I bundled up in my heavy winter coat, some winter shoes and went out into the neighborhood in blue jeans.

I'm one of those people who walk the same route quite a bit. When I plan to be out for just a quick walk, like today, I usually head north and then do a quick loop around the "big block." When I do just one loop, I usually go a little bit farther down one block and loop back. It doesn't add much distance, but I like to go by the house with the great lawn decoration -- a giant sea monster. What I love about the sea monster is that it is in several pieces, and when put in the grass correctly, it looks as if it is swimming through the yard with parts of the body breaking the surface as it swims. I have wanted to get pictures of this guy for several months, but keep thinking I'll do it next time.

Well today, I was looking forward to seeing the sea monster gliding through the snow. I walked down the north side of the street, crossed over to where the sea monster lives, looked up and he was gone! The monster has been in that yard for so long, I can't remember him not being there. I could see the patches of green grass where the pieces used to sit with footprints leading toward the house. Darn! I never got a photo of it!

So I was somewhat depressed as I walked through the rest of the neighborhood, dodging ice patches and trying to avoid cars (because many of the sidewalks were horrible).

The good news is, I have broken the chain of dark grey cold days preventing me from going outside. It is time for me to get acclimated again, and this is the start.

Still, I'm going to really miss that sea monster!

The Rule Is ...

2011-01-16T19:29:00.000-05:00

Even though today was colder than yesterday (low 20s) I was so worried about being overdressed, I made a concerted effort not to be. So with one long-sleeved technical shirt under my windproof jacket and a single weight pair of yoga pants, I head outside into the crisp, sunny morning.

The rule is -- you should feel a little bit cold when you start out or you are overdressed. (I have tried this rule on a number of occasions, and I am frequently wrong.) I was a little bit cold when I left the house today. I made it to the end of the block and realized I was not going to warm up enough, so I went back home, added a short-sleeved shirt over my technical shirt, and went back out. Perfect! Though my face was cold, I was determined not to use a gaiter today.

The streets were pretty clear and dry, so I did not have to worry much about ice and snow. Still, it was a little bit difficult moving my legs as fast as I wanted to. They just would not go faster. In addition, my heart rate would not go above 144 -- probably because I could not move my legs faster.

I adjusted my route so that three loops around the big block was a little bit farther than yesterday's workout and I ended up being out for 51 min.

Here are things I learned today: I did not need the gaiter, though I would have liked it for the first 30 mins. Two shirts under the jacket was enough when one shirt was heavier than a standard technical shirt. I needed to wear either my thermal pants instead or a pair of leggings under the yoga pants. I am pretty sure one of the reasons I could not move my legs faster is because my legs were just a little bit too cold. The shoes I wore today were a little bit stiffer than the Chinese racewalking shoes and I think that might be the other reason I couldn't move faster -- I was not very efficient rolling my feet.

It's not a good idea to work on speed every single day anyway, so the fact I couldn't go faster is not really a concern. I probably should have stayed out a little bit longer so I could say my long day was actually somewhat long. (51 min is not very long.)

Despite the few minor negatives, overall it was just a really good morning to be out in the sunshine walking!

Walking Outside in the Winter

2011-01-15T14:13:00.001-05:00

Today I decided to walk outside. I haven't done that much since Christmas and I really missed it. Because I have not been outside much, I wasn't as experienced planning what to wear as I used to be.

I went down the street and around the big block. My main focus was to have good form and practice pushing off with my toes since I haven't figured out how to do that on a treadmill. I don't know why, but I have difficulty maintaining that smooth (not bouncing) feeling outside. As long as I was focusing on it, I was fine. As soon as I started thinking about something else I noticed bouncing and not feeling smooth.

After one loop around the big block, I was way too hot and starting to sweat. I opened the vents of my jacket and ended up unzipping the neck beneath my gaiter. Hmmm. Maybe I didn't need the gaiter. (I hate having a cold neck!)

After my planned three loops I went home to find my husband had taken the truck to buy a newspaper (my fault it wasn't delivered -- long story) and my stainless steel water bottle that had been sitting on the back bumper was somewhere in the street between our house and the gas station. Thank goodness I found it in the street about half a block away. It has a new dent and lots more scratches, but is otherwise unharmed.

So, I'm not sure how cold it was, but I definitely was overdressed today. I probably just need to walk outside a little more often to get re-acclimated.
________

I walked for 37 min. My max heart rate was 173 and I averaged about 155. I'm beginning to think that my race heart rate should be higher than 140 -- the milestone I used last year to PR during the Air Force half marathon.

Thoughts on Gyms

2011-01-13T22:52:00.001-05:00

Though I am enjoying the one-month gym membership my sister gave me as a gift, I'm not sure it is really me.

First, being outside year-round helps my mental attitude. Sun in the winter, or a walk in fluffy or crunchy snow are fun! Walking outside helps to keep me from getting depressed.

The nice thing about the gym is it doesn't matter how cold it is, I can still get in some major miles. Plus, I love the fact I can work on form next to a mirror. It is so much easier to feel walking smooth and not bouncing while on a treadmill, though I am having a hard time pushing off with my toes.

It is really difficult to do major miles on a treadmill. Even though I did only 35 min today, and I even did intervals to break up the monotony, it was still hard to finish. I just get bored too easily.

I really like the weight-lifting equipment. At the same time, we have a bunch of free weights at home and I can probably work up a good routine there.

So, I can see the benefit of gym membership, and I am enjoying it. I just don't think it is something I would be able to keep up because of boredom.
____________

Today I walked for about 40 min total -- 5 min as warmup before weightlifting, then 35 min after. I used the first 5 min as warmup, then alternated a 1-min sprint at a 12-min-mile pace with 3 min at a 15-min-mile. I ended up walking 2.33 miles. My peak heart rate was 173, average heart rate was 133. The treadmill said I burned about 200 calories.

Did I Keep my 2010 Resolutions?

2011-01-05T23:04:00.003-05:00

Though my resolutions did not make it to this blog, I'm going to use this venue to let you know how successful I was:

• Lose that pesky 10 lbs I’ve been fighting for a while.
Yes I did! I actually lost 12 lbs, though I'm working on losing the 2 I gained back over the holidays. I was told by losing that small amount of weight, I had a good chance at being faster. I am getting faster, so maybe there is something to it.

• Purge clothes I don’t wear and get rid of stuff I don’t need. Buy clothes that fit. Did this one, too, though there are a few more things in my drawers I could probably still throw away. The biggest thing was getting rid of the stuff that was too big so I won't be tempted to gain the weight back again. It was also key to buy clothes that fit. I had been walking around too long with safety pins holding my pants up. Had a good shopping spree at the end of the year!

• Have my hair professionally colored all year long to avoid the orange brassy color I am known for. Do it more often to avoid the skunk look. Yes! I had only one month where I went too long.

• Stop procrastinating – like waiting until January 3 to write a list of resolutions.
I'm still working on this, but I am getting better (though I have not written this year's resolutions yet).

• Follow through with all of the physicals and medical checkups I should be doing every year.
Partially successful. I found a new doctor and went. I have an appointment for a physical early this year. I still have two regular health tests to schedule, but I had to wait until after the first of the year.

• Take out the trash. (I don’t know why, but I can let a trash can overflow for days!) Again, I'm getting better and no longer require a reward when I do take out the trash.

• Try to spend a few minutes in silence every day.
Absolutely not! Now that I have a new iPod, not likely to happen.

• Be more patient, less judgmental and say fewer negative things. Be friendlier.
Though doing better, there is always room for improvement.

• Have more fun. Play with my dogs more often.
Yes!

• Be more generous with my time and money.
Yes, but I still need more work when it comes to giving time. Luckily, we have friends who need to recruit volunteers, and we always jump to help them.

• Sleep more. Eat better. Exercise more.
Did not do so well with sleep, but I am eating better (which is why I lost weight) and I have been exercising regularly.

• Read for fun.
I read several books!

• Have a good beer once in a while.
Yep! I still drink cheap beer, but I will splurge on a good one a little more often.

• Plant daffodils.
It was the last day in December when the soil was still thawed enough, but I finally did it. This spring I will be so happy I did!

• Reduce stress – especially about turning 50.
Yes, it is getting better. I can even say "I am 50" aloud without cringing!

I'm still working on this year's resolutions. I hope to post them soon!

Now What?

2011-01-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

Now that I have both a new 1 mile and 5K PR, I'm not quite sure what to do. Do I rest a few days? Do I immediately work on speed? How slow is slow for a long slow workout?

There are a few things I know:

I have been training at too slow of a pace for way too long. I've been working on distance and endurance, not speed.
Speed is not easy.
I need to find a happy medium between speed and endurance.
I need to focus more on form, too.

Today, my legs are still a little sore. My 35-min walk was not intended to be for speed, but I did notice today's slow pace was faster than last week's slow pace.

My plan is to go through some old training schedules and make sure I add in weekly speed workouts and train for real this entire year. I'm sure it will be part of my resolution list -- once I write it.

Yesterday's Official PR!

2011-01-02T22:08:00.002-05:00

I was finally able to access Athlinks today and it is official -- my 5K PR was yesterday at 41:16! In addition, my 1 mile PR was yesterday, too!

My previous 5K personal record was 42:50, so yesterday I cut 1 min and 34 sec from that finish time. My previous fastest mile was 13:26 (during the News and Sentinel Half Marathon). My current 1 mile PR is now 13:14.

What is more impressive to me about the 1 mile speed is that lately I've been averaging about 14 min per mile and when I sprint it has been about 13:40 to 13:50.

Yes, I'm pretty excited!

UPDATE: According to the race website, my finish time yesterday was 39:37 with an average pace of 12:49. I'm not sure how they got that since according to my watch, my fastest mile was 13:14.

First Race of the Year -- New Year's River Run

2011-01-01T14:41:00.002-05:00

NOTE: Photo was added 1-2-11.


Me after the New Year's River Run 5K.

It was raining with temps in the mid-50s when I arrived at the New Year's Day River Run 5K today. There were several members of the Buckeye Striders at the race: Steve and Sharon, Jack, Catherine, Laura, Cheryl and her husband John.

The race was not chip timed, still I felt funny about moving any closer to the front of the pack. I know starting back will affect my official finish time, but I was not expecting to win any awards.

We were pretty fortunate. While we were waiting for the race to start, the rain became a light drizzle and it had stopped entirely by the time the race started. The course was an out and back on the bike trail along the Olentangy River downtown.

I have been training for speed on a treadmill over the last week and wanted to see how fast I could go. Though I started out with some of my faster friends, they left me in the dust pretty early. (Or should I say, they left me in goose droppings.) I did the first mile in 13:24. There was a runner behind me shuffling her feet in a really annoying way, so I tried to pick up the pace and move away from her. There was a tall woman running ahead of me I was also trying to catch. The second mile was 13:18! Woo hoo! I passed the runner and had my sights on catching Cheryl, who was not too far ahead of me. The last 1.1 miles was in 14:34, which is about a 13:14 mile! By my watch I finished in 41:16! Added 1-2: I believe 13:14 is my fastest mile ever and 41:16 my fastest 5K! (According to our watches, I finished just 1 sec behind Cheryl.)

In the last leg of the race, the tall runner passed me back and I could not catch her again. Though I got much closer to Cheryl, I couldn't catch her either. On the good side, I did pass a couple more runners and I was pushing pretty hard and feeling strong despite a late night last night.

There was pizza at the end of the race and plenty of water (though no water on the course). After standing around for a little bit, we hurried to our cars to avoid the heavy rain that came back.

For only a $20 race fee, I was happy with this race. The cotton T-shirts are nice and sometimes I prefer a nice cotton shirt as opposed to a cheap technical shirt. The course was out and back, which was OK with the number of people in this event, but if it gets much bigger, it would not work on this bike trail. The goose droppings everywhere were annoying, but the race directors cannot control that. Because of the rain, there were a few huge puddles on the course and some muddy spots. Still, rain on January 1 is much better than snow.

Overall, not a bad 5K.
____________

Truth in blogging here: I did stay out way too late last night, drank too much coffee before heading home and ended up not able to sleep once I got to bed. I woke up feeling totally tired and was not expecting to do as well as I did. Imagine if I had slept well! Photos to come!

Walk Outside? Go to Gym?

2010-12-30T22:40:00.000-05:00

Though it was sunny and beautiful outside today, I ended up going to the gym rather than walk outside. Since the membership is good for only 30 days, I feel I have to use use it whenever I have the time.

And, because membership is only for a month, I decided to work too many machines today. I know you should work only one set of major muscles at a time and alternate days. Today I worked ALL of them!

I'm a little achy and I'm pretty tired. Tomorrow will be walking only as I get ready for New Year's Eve and the New Year's Day race I'm entered in. I wonder how fast I'll be able to go?

Breaking Speed Records -- Treadmill Sprints

2010-12-28T22:57:00.000-05:00

After warming up for 10 min on a treadmill today, I did 1-min long sprints at a 12-min per mile pace followed by 3 mins at a 15-min per mile pace! And I did this about six times. As far as I know, this is the fastest I have ever walked!

Throughout the workout, I tried to maintain proper racewalking form, working very hard to be smooth and avoid bouncing and pounding. When I got distracted, I did tend to lose the "smooth" feeling and thud too much.

My original plan was to do as many sprints as possible, then walk at a reasonable pace for an entire hour. After 30-min, I really thought I would go mad if I kept at it. Still, I decided to do my best to stick it out for 45 min. Even watching TV, listening to a book on my iPod and changing the pace did not help much. Those last few minutes were pretty tough mentally.

After a few minutes of rest, I decided to see what my absolute fastest pace is. I maintained an 11-min mile for about 15 secs and then got down below 11! I was pumping my arms and legs so fast, I'm not sure what the actual pace was, but it was faster than 11! Woo hoo!

So, being that I was on a treadmill where the "ground" was moving and all I had to do was pick up my feet, I'm not sure how that will translate to walking outside. Still, I think having the opportunity to do this type of intense sprint workout in the winter should help my race pace.

I can't wait to find out!

Becoming a Gym Rat?

2010-12-27T23:10:00.000-05:00

My sister gave me a one-month membership to her gym for Christmas. Though I belonged to a gym many years ago, I cancelled that membership because I didn't use it -- well, that and the fact it was a crappy gym. I know she really likes this place, so I was excited to give it a try.

Today I met her there so she could show me around and we could work out. Wow, was this place nice!

First it was clean and did not have a weird odor like the previous gym I went to. Second it is huge! There was plenty of everything so there was very little waiting for machines.

We did several machines for shoulders and abs and then went on the treadmills for a while. TONS of treadmills! I started out racewalking at 15-min miles, then got progressively faster. I got down to racewalking a 12-min mile, but for just 5 min. Still, I was excited. That is the fastest I have ever walked! Woo hoo!

Because we are planning to run a warrior race in June, I am going to have to run 3 miles. So I tried running, too. I was able to run for about 5 min., two times. Boy, is running easier on a treadmill than it is outside. Sunday when I ran half a block, I felt as heavy as an elephant and when I hit the ground, I thudded. On the treadmill, I felt much lighter and wasn't thudding at all.

So, the gym is pretty cool and has some great amentities. The equipment is great, in good condition and there are plenty of machines. Racewalking and running on the treadmill was so much easier than outside.

My knees are a little sore from running yesterday and I can tell my shoulders and and abs will be sore tomorrow. Still, other than the knees, it's a good sore. And if I play it right, maybe I'll be able to actually work on speed this winter instead of just hoping to not to lose any ground I've gained throughout the year.

So, in the meantime, ice and ibuprofen are my friends as I work on strengthening my knees.

Gift Ideas for Walkers -- Part II

2010-12-19T20:06:00.004-05:00

No bad photography with this half of the list as it continues:

6) Books about Walking, Health and Fitness or Healthy Eating -- There are lots of books about walking, but if the person you are buying for is trying marathon walking or racewalking, you need to check out the books written by Dave McGovern. He is smart and a very good writer. For books on nutrition, try any of Nancy Clark's books. I just purchased her book on sports nutrition for my son (who does not read my blog) and her book on nutrition for marathoners for me. The Dr. Oz books titled "You" are also good. Though not about walking, I loved the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.

7) Heart Rate Monitor -- Heart rate monitors are great! They give you a much better idea of the amount of effort you are putting forth. I have PR'd twice this year by basing my race pace on my heart rate. I have a low-end Timex that is very easy to use, but does not store information. It is enough for me. Friends of mine have really high-end models that store results for a month and can download workouts to their computer or special web sites. Those are also great, but are much more expensive.

8) Water Bottle -- I'm not talking about one of those cheap plastic water bottles that cause dangerous chemicals to enter your drinking water. I have a great Nathan brand stainless steel water bottle that I love! It doesn't work in the water bottle carrier I use for distance workouts, but I use it for hiking, when driving around the city, baseball games, or just about any situation other than carrying it in my water bottle carrier.

9) Race Registration -- If you know your walker would love to do a race, pay the registration fee. It's a great way to inspire your walker and give him or her a reason to train all year. FYI -- for anyone planning to buy me a gift, I'd love to enter a race in Hawaii.:-) Can you include airfare, too?

10) SPI Belt -- SPI Belt was the original, but there are other brands of small bags that go around the waist for carrying essentials during a race. What I love is that the belt is elastic, so it can get tight enough that it won't bounce. The bag stretches to carry everything from a cell phone or camera, your keys and a gel or Clif Shot Bloks. The SPI Belt brand also has clips to attach your race number, so you don't have to put safety pin holes in your favorite shirt or jacket. I use mine for training walks in the summer when I don't have pockets and for races.

11) Wind-proof Jacket -- I can walk all year round if I can just stop the wind. I have a great jacket by asics that is both wind-proof and water resistant! With the right amount of layers, it is great for most of the winter. In the spring and fall it helps protect me from the rain and wind. Mine has plenty of vents I can open when needed to prevent overheating. I might be unusual, but I prefer a light jacket I can add layers under to a heavy jacket.

12) New Shoes -- No, you probably cannot go out and buy new shoes for your favorite walker. But, you can purchase a gift card to their favorite running and walking store. And if your favorite walker is not buying his or her shoes from a good running/walking store, now is the time to get them started. It is very important to have a professional fit shoes to your feet based on the type of walking you do. A good pair of walking shoes can range from $80 to over $100.

So, without dropping too many brand names, and without enough photos, I hope these two blog postings will help you to shop (even at the last minute) for your favorite walker!

Gift Ideas for Walkers -- Part I

2010-12-07T14:34:00.005-05:00

When WALK! Magazine was still around, every winter I would come up with a gift-giving guide. Back then, I would get ideas from readers and I would get samples to try ... it was really fun trying and selecting items. I don't have the same input I used to have from other sources, so this year's Gift Ideas for Walkers includes either items I've received or would like to receive. Here goes:

1) Wicking sport socks. There are tons of options for wicking socks: double layer, padded, seamless, wool, thick and cushioned, thin and tight, even "toe socks". My favorites are double-layered socks (Wright Socks) because they help prevent blisters, but are not so thick they make my shoes too tight. I also like wool socks, by Smart Wool, when it is cold out. (I can't wear wool socks when it is hot.) The good thing is, even if your walker already wears wicking socks, buying the same brand he or she currently wears is still a good idea. People often forget their socks wear out!

My fleece flap mittens buttoned open.

2) Mittens with a flap. These are perfect for fast walkers who don't want to stuff mittens in their pockets after they warm up. Wear them as regular mittens when you start out, then when your hands are too hot, flip them open. The pair I have is fleece and have a button at the tip of the fingers to keep them open. They were purchased at Target a couple of years back. (I also have a great wool pair from Argentina.) You can find a variety of styles at J Crew, Land's End, K-Mart, and some heavy pairs at LL Bean.

3) Neck gaiter. Scarves are a pain in the neck. (I couldn't resist.) They are bulky, get tangled, come untied, the ends get in the way... Because I hate having a cold neck, I LOVE my gaiter! It's fleece and made by Polartec. I bought it a couple years ago, but I forget where. There are lots of style and fabric options for neck gaiters and they can be purchased at outdoor sports stores, running stores and even LL Bean and other websites. Once you have used one, you won't want to do any winter walking without it.

Headlamp attached to brim of hat.

4) Headlamp. In the winter I often do not get the chance to walk outside until after it is dark. I feel a whole lot safer walking at night wearing a headlamp. Lighting up my path is not nearly as important as being seen. When wearing a lamp, I know any cars can see me as qucikly as I can see them. I have a couple different types: one clips to the brim of a baseball-style hat and is a lot brighter than the others; another has an elastic band to go around my head and hold the light to my forehead; the third hooks over an ear. My favorite is the one with the elastic band since I can use it whether I'm wearing a hat or not.

Crash Wear reflective vest.

5) Reflective vest. This goes with the headlamp and helps cars to see you when it is dark. I have two. One is just a generic orange reflective vest. The other, made by Crashwear, is really cute! The body of mine is bright yellow and the reflective patches are in the shape of flowers. They also come in orange, pink or black. If you don't like flowers, they have a more manly version with a circle design. It has Velco-close pockets on the inside (to protect my MP3 player) and outside. Because they were originally designed for scooter riders, they offer some wind and rain protection. The newest designs include a faux fur lining! I don't feel silly wearing it. It doesn't do any good to have protective gear if it isn't worn.

That is all for now. Part II will be posted in a couple of days.

Stomp the Grapes Shirt

2010-12-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

I almost forgot to post a photo of the Stomp the Grapes shirt, hat and socks! The shirt is a great purple and the design is pretty. (Hard to tell from the photo I took.) Both the hat and the socks are wicking. It's a shame the shirt doesn't fit.

Walking Before the Snow

2010-12-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

This time of year the decision to walk (or not) is more affected by the weather than other times of the year. Snow, ice, freezing temps and strong winds can keep even the most hardy of us inside. That is why we end up glued to the Weather Channel and talk about our walking plans up to the very last minute.

Deb is usually right when it comes to weather. (Well, she is often right about other things, too, but when it comes to weather I take her opinion as gospel.) She assured us that yesterday's snow would not arrive until after we were done walking, and that most likely it would hit south of Columbus.

It was about 27 degrees when we started at 8 a.m. at Sharon Woods park. Lucky for us, there was no wind. We had about 14 members of our club walking -- it was great!

I ended up with the fast group. (I know. Funny, huh?) I told them upfront that if they wanted to go faster it was fine with me. Lucky for me they did not. (I was with Elaine, Nancy, Catherine and our new member Vince.)

The good part about being with the fast group is they pushed me! Our first mile was 13:45. That is often my race pace. Then the two women in front slowed a little and we did 1 mile at about 14 and the last miles were faster.

We did nearly 4 miles in 55 minutes! I'm pretty happy! (The 4-mile mark we use is not really accurate, but I don't have GPS. If it had been 4 miles, that would have been a 13:45 pace for each mile. I know that didn't happen.)

The really good news is, the snow did not even start until we left the restaurant after breakfast. We ended up with just a light dusting though it seemed to fall for several hours. Deb was right again! It waited until after we walked and most of the precipitation was south of us.
_______

For 27 degrees I wore two long-sleeved shirts, thermal pants, windproof jacket, ear muffs and gloves. Because there was no wind, I ended up being overdressed. Last week wearing this few layers at the same temp, I froze! Either I'm getting used to it or the lack of wind made all of the difference.

Over-dressed

2010-11-28T10:51:00.001-05:00

Because I froze Friday when it was 27 degrees, I decided I needed an extra layer of fleece for this morning's walk in 22 degrees. What I had not anticipated was that I was walking in the neighborhood, not at the windy lake.

In my defense, I had planned to just add a fleece vest under my windproof jacket, but I couldn't find it. I ended up adding a fleece long-sleeved jacket, which was way too much!

My plan was to do four laps around the big block at the end of our street or an hour -- whichever came first. After the first lap, I was roasting! I had my jacket mostly unzipped and the vents in the front of the jacket open. During the second lap, the flaps on my gloves were open. In the third lap my fleece jacket was also unzipped. The fourth lap, I just hurried and roasted.

I was a little faster than usual around that block finishing in just 48 minutes -- not bad! And considering how hard I was pushing, I know I went farther than 3 miles.

I have just about burned off all of the extra calories from Thanksgiving and the OSU vs Michigan potluck!

Cold This Morning!

2010-11-26T15:33:00.004-05:00

Since I bailed on my plans to walk at Antrim Park Thanksgiving morning, I decided to head out there today and do the 3 miles I had planned.

First, my car door would not open. I ended up climbing in from the passenger side. I felt pretty silly at the gas station climbing over the passenger seat to get out and then get back in my car. While pumping the gas, I realized it was a LOT colder than I thought it was. The wind was blowing and I was freezing!

I ended up going back home and picking up gloves, ear muffs and my gaiter to wear around my neck. (I hate when my neck is cold.) Again I climbed over the passenger seat to get out and get back in the car, then went off to Antrim.

I parked the car with the driver side door in the sun, hoping it would thaw by the time I finished walking. By the time I got to the start of the bike trail, I was frozen. Though it was 27 degrees, it felt colder. I knew if I walked for at least 10 minutes I would start to warm up and be fine. Let me rephrase that -- I THOUGHT if I walked for 10 minutes I would warm up.

The first thing I noticed was there were fewer than 10 people walking and running on the trail. (I thought that was odd.) At the same time there were about 20 fisherman scattered around the lake. Though it was pretty chilly I turned to my right for the first lap.

As is usual in this park and around this lake, in the shade I froze, in the sun I warmed up, and in the areas where there is no tree coverage the wind made me even colder. I thought I would be warmer than I was after the first lap. There was no way I could justify quitting after only one lap! So, despite being uncomfortable I did the second lap. OK, I was still cold and I was uncomfortable enough to justify going home. So, I walked back to my car -- the door had thawed -- and I went home.

What I don't like about this time of year is, when it is cold, it is shockingly cold. There is no real chance to get acclimated -- the temps vary too much. Because of this, I never know how to dress. Today I was obviously under-dressed.