Just wanted to send good vibes out to my friend and racewalking coach, Dave Mc Govern who will be competing this weekend at the World Cup championships in Chihuahua Mexico. Dave will be doing the 50K race ….that’s 31 miles!
I was checking the local weather report for Chihuahua, and the temperature for the 50K at race time on Saturday morning is expected to be 70 degrees F, and heating up to 89 degrees later in the day. Yikes.. that’s pretty warm weather to be doing a 31 mile racewalk in, but if anyone can do it, Dave can. Luckily the relative humidity is supposed to below at 25%.
Jeff Savage will be providing some commentary and photos of the event on his website RACEWALK.COM The IAAF will have the official results well.
USA Team Members
Ray Sharp (50K) , Dave McGovern (50K), Trevor Barron (10K Junior),DanSeriani(20K),JonathonMatthews(50K),MaryanneDaniel(MedicalStaff),AlexChavez(10K Junior), Solomiya Logan (20K),Tyler Sorensen (10K Junior), Patrick Stroupe (20K), Jolene Moore (Junior Coach), Philippe Gonzalez (Head Coach)
This was my 4th World Class racewalking clinic in 3 years, and as always, I got to meet some really nice people , had a great workout, a great time, and I learned a lot.
I wanna thank our wonderful host, Liz Shepard, for organizing this whole thing. Also a special thank you to Jim and Sally Shepard for welcoming us into their beautiful home for the weekend. And of course a big thank you to Dave, for showing us all how it’s done. He’s an awesome coach and a world class athlete.
And speaking of World Class Athletes, by placing 5th and walking under 4:45 at the USATF 50k in Surprise AZ on February 7th, Dave qualified to compete in the 2012 Olympic Trials, and also earned a spot on Team USA’s 5-man team going to the World Cup of Racewalking on May 15 – 16 in Chihua, Mexico. He was already going as the manager for the team, but since they didn’t have a full team, he was convinced to step down as manager to compete in the 50k. Pretty cool eh?
(Dave, Ms Lizzy and her parents, Sally and Dr Jim Shepard)
(Liz, yours truly and Melody)
(Dave’s classroom charts ..aka Original Dave Art)
Part of what happens at one of these clinics, is that Dave does a lot of video analysis. He will take a raw “before” video of each racewalker individually as they racewalk on the track. He shoots the video from different angles so he can see how your feet, knees, hips and upper body are all moving. After pointing out any obvious problems, he’ll take an “after” video. Later on during the classroom sessions he critiques the videos and points out what you’re doing right and what you’re not doing right. He then makes specific recommendations for improvement.
Anyways, when it came to my turn to be critiqued, Dave immediately spotted a major flaw in the way I was propelling(or I should I say NOT propelling) my left foot forward, which was slowing me down, shortening my stride length and making me look clunky and slow. After the horrible way I looked during the Solana beach clinic, I thought to myself… I give up. No matter how many of these classes I attend or how hard I try, I just can’t get this right. BUT WAIT!, then he went on to say, that there were other elements of my technique that were on par with elite racewalkers! and that my overall form was very good! (phewwww)
Coming from someone who coaches Olympians, that meant a lot. The advanced racewalkers in the group were very kind in their words as well. Who knows? Maybe there’s hope for me yet .
Here’s that “before” clip of me as I’m being raked over the coals by Dave ( I did much better on the “after clip”)
( What’s with the bobble head??)
Dave also noticed that I over-pronate quite a bit ( told you he was good) . So it looks like those nice ultra-lightweight green racing flats Ive been using for my marathon training will be shelved for the time being. Apparently I need a racewalking shoe that has a little more stability. On Monday I bought a pair of the Saucony Grid Fastwich IIIs online, which are what a lot of racewalkers are wearing nowadays. I hope to receive them and in time for next weekends 18 miler. I’m at that point in my marathon training where I only have a couple weeks left to break-in new shoes for the race.
After the video analysis, we headed back to the track where I went to work to correct that problem with my left leg. With just a few minutes of practice my form was already looking a lot better, and by the end of the first clinic day I was able to racewalk a 180 meters in near perfect form. I even managed to complete 2 legs of an 800 meter relay race that we did. I’m not very fast and that particular walk nearly killed me, but my team finished the race in 2nd place!
Part of the reason I have so many problems in trying to become a good racewalker, is that I simply can’t move my body fast enough and far enough for all the pieces to fit together smoothly. I have my lungs to thank for that. I think if it weren’t for my crappy lungs, I would be an awesome racewalker…possibly even one of the elites. Why I chose a sport I’ll never be good at, I’ll never know. Oh well, if I can walk “like” an elite racewalker , even if it’s only for a couple hundred meters, all the effort Ive put into this will be well worth it.
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Now for a special treat. A sneak peak at Dave warming up (yes, he’s walking). This is what I want to look like when I grow up.
Dave Mc Governs World Class Racewalking clinic comes to the San Francisco Bay Area March 5th-7th!
There’s only limited space left for this one, so reserve your spot today! Whether you’re a Newbie or a National champion of the sport, come and learn to racewalk from one of the best racewalking coaches in the world!
Join ME for an awesome weekend of racewalking fun in Tiburon, California. Dave rarely gets to SF bay area, so don’t miss this one. ( Bet you didn’t know racewalking was an Olympic sport? )
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And Congrats to Dave for his success at the USATF 50K racewalk in Surprise Arizona
He finished the 50K race in 4:42:14 ( That’s right, he WALKED 31 miles in under 4 3/4 hours!…holy s**t ! ) His finish qualifies him for his 7th Olympic Trials!
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Carmel Clinic 2007
[Oh...and who's that handsome devil in the middle?]
Pretty nice place for an early morning racewalking jaunt..eh?
Solana Beach, California;
The advanced clinic was awesome as I knew it would be. Dave always puts on a hell of a class and is one of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet. I don’t think Ive never been in the company of so many World Class racewalkers at one time. 3 time Olympian, Philip Dunn, was there along with a host of other National and International champions. Also attending the clinic was an up and coming young collegiate racewalker by the name of Jose Moncado . His coach is Chris Rael. Man o Man, can this kid walk fast! More like flying actually…
And speaking of Chris Rael, I finally got to meet him. Chris is the creator of Racewalk Planet TV. Ive been watching his racewalking videos for years (this is one of my favorites, though his son is actually the one who filmed it.). An accomplished racewalker and coach in his own right, Chris produces all kinds of racewalking media, including racewalking videos and podcasts. He wanted to interview me for one of his upcoming podcasts, but I had to skip out early on Sunday and missed the opportunity. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to hook up with him again.
Did I mention that I suck at racewalking? I don’t know what happened. I looked horrible on the video analysis. I was slow, clunky and actually looked worst than I did 2 years ago at the last clinic. I didn’t have that nice smooth roll- through that the good racewalkers usually have. My form was really off. I had what they call “soft knees”, meaning that my landing leg was bending prematurely through my stride. Ok for runners, but a violation for racewalkers. Despite my lackluster performance though, I’m very grateful I got to take part in the clinic. I’m humbled and learned a lot. As Dave pointed out , that’s why you attend clinics ….to get better! And really, how many people get the opportunity to have their racewalking skills analyzed and critiqued by Olympians and National Champions?
Another thing Dave told me, which made a lot of sense, is that training to “regular walk” too many marathons (which Ive obviously been doing the past 2 years), can actually make you a slower racewalker . When you train to walk a marathon you spend a lot of time doing fat- burning, long slower training walks to build your endurance(what they call LSD’s). You gain endurance , but you loose the fast twitch muscle response that you need to be a good racewalker over the shorter distances. He recommended doing more speed drills, making my feet more “active” in all phases of my stride, and stretching out my calves out so that I land on my heel better.
(here’s a shot of me where my form actually looks pretty good)
Anyways, now that I know what I’m doing wrong, I can work on making it better. Still, the biggest problem I face in trying to become proficient in a sport like this, is that I simply don’t have the lung capacity . You can practice on your technique till the cows come home, but if you don’t have good lungs , you really can’t put the whole thing together and you certainly can’t compete in races. For me though, it’s never been about competition. It’s about doing and learning as much as you can for something you have a passion for. If you’re going to walk for fitness, why not learn about the mechanics and science behind it. Why not hang out with people who love the sport as much as you do. I know I’ll never be great at racewalking, but I get out there anyway, because it makes me feel good about myself.
Advanced Clinic , Class of 2009>
Had to get Philip’s and Dave’s sponsor in the shot
For those who attended the clinic, it was an honor to meet you all. Here’s a link to some of the photos I took. Sorry, I have a slow camera and wasn’t able catch everyone in full-stride.
Nothing really interesting going on since I got out of the hospital. Though Ive taken a couple of short slow walks, overall Ive been trying to let my lungs heal as much as possible before jumping back into a physical fitness regimen full time. Been spending a lot of this post hospital recovery time doing non physical activities, including some asthma advocacy and research stuff. Keeping mentally busy, helps me cope with my breathlessness and the not so pleasant symptoms of prednisone withdrawal. The downtime has also allowed me to play catch up on some personal stuff.
Next Friday, Saturday and Sunday will hopefully, be a little more exciting and a little more normal for me. I’m supposed be going down to Solana beach ( near San Diego) for Dave’s advanced racewalking clinic. Ive been really run down lately from the steroid taper and its an awful long drive (450 mile each way), but I’m hoping that I’ll feel well enough by then to go.
If I do go, it will be mainly to hang out with other racewalkers and to meet some of the super stars of the sport. Three time Olympian, Philip Dun and two time Olympian Tim Seaman just to name a few, will be there coaching. Of course Dave Mc Govern , who’s a legend himself, will be running the whole show. My lungs are way too messed up to participate in much of the actual training, but sometimes just watching the elite walkers walk, and/or having my own racewalking form critiqued by them, provides me an adequate level of learning. Most of all though, I go to these weekend clinics because I have a passion for the sport and for the crazy people who engage in it.
In the coming weeks I have a ton of the usual medical appointments, but also a referral to a brand new service called “Symptom Management”. This new clinic is an off-chute of the Palliative care program over at UCSF. I’m going primarily, to see if there are any new therapies or strategies out there that can help me with my worsening dyspnea. To my knowledge, I’ll be the first asthmatic to receive treatment at this new clinic. I’ll be blogging more about the topic of palliative care in a future post.
Sunday was the Nike Womens Marathon. The last few miles of the marathon course passes by my old neighborhood at Ocean Beach in the outer Sunset. I know several people who are doing this years race. I hope they all had a great time!
Sorry, this race report is a little late in coming, but I didn’t want my little prison stint to over shadow all the good things about this race.
First let me say what a pleasure it was to finally meet the famousMiss Dizzy Lizzy and some of the other Mc Govern alumni who trekked in from all over the country to do this race. Talk about a ball of energy, Liz has enough enthusiasm for 100 racewalkers!
Liz and a friend of hers, Elizabeth and myself, all met up at the race Expo on Friday. Inside the Expo building they had this huge banner that actually had Lizzy’s photo on it, that they had captured at this very same Rock&Roll race 2 years ago. Naturally she had to take a picture of herself standing in front of the image of herself…..pretty cool.
We did a once through of the Expo, I didn’t buy anything, but Liz bought a pair of her favorite shoes .After that we all headed over to the hotel coffee shop and chit-chatted for a couple hours. It was great hearing everyones race stories.
On the morning of the race I managed to get to San Jose a little before 6:30 am. I parked over at the HP pavillion arena where there were already hundreds of people beginning to fill the parking lot. Good thing I got there an hour and a half early. From the parking lot, it was a full mile walk to the starting area of race.
This was a much bigger event than I thought it would be. They had something like 12,500 participants doing this race and the streets were filling fast. They had 13 starting corrals extending out about 4 blocks from the actual start line.One thing I noticed right off the bat, was how many Porta potties they had set up. I kid you not, there were hundreds of them lined up side by side , on both sides of the main street and dozens more on the side streets. This is the first event of this size Ive been too , where there were NO lines to use the johns! . At an event this size , you can usually expect to wait 30 minutes to use the toilets. In fact, thats one of the reasons I wanted to get here early. Hats off to the promoters for that one.
At about 15 minutes before the start , Liz called me and we all somehow managed to find each other in this massive crowd. Liz made it easier by wearing her famous “Ears”. After some quick photo taking, we all went over to our respective corrals ( which they packed like sardines) and waited for this huge sea of people to start moving. Once the gun went off, it took about 10 minutes for the runners in the 12th corral to make it across the starting line.
And were OFF….. As always ,I waited till the pack thinned out , which happened pretty fast, and then I pulled over to the left side of the road. I didn’t really have a chance to stretch before the race, so for the first mile or so, my shins were killing me. I knew though, that as I warmed up, the pain would diminish. The next couple of miles would be my warm up mode. This is usually the part of a race where I try to find a comfortable pace and the easiest position on the road itself to walk, usually the center or the crest of the road where its more even. If theres a yellow or white dividing line on the road , I’ll usually hug that line and racewalk right down the middle of it. ( it’s a good way to practice your technique too).
The course itself had a very suburban feel. It was basically flat and meandered in and out of various neighborhoods, most of them tree lined , upscale and very beautiful….Lots of mansions too. I can see now why people pay so much to live here.
Somewhere around the mile and a half mark , I passed Elizabeth. I was going to walk with her for a while, but decided that I needed to bank some time while I still had my lung power. I told her that she would probably pass me up in the last miles of the race. Some how that never happened, and I didn’t see her again until after the race.
It was about mile 2 where we hit the first watering station and thats when it really hits me, of just how long a 13 mile race really is. I would have to pass 6 more of these aid stations before finishing the race. It was also about this time, that I got in the mood to racewalk more and more. With my headphones and music cranked up, I was pretty much oblivious to what was happening around me. The diversion of music also gives me the courage to racewalk in huge crowds without getting too embarrassed. One runner lady who did pass me, tapped me on my shoulder and told me what a nice butt I had , and how she had been been watching my hips for the last 1/2 miles. I just laughed and continued to racewalk. I had seen lots of other walkers on the course swinging there arms, power walking or speed walking (which is not real racewalking), so I felt totally comfortable doing my thing. Mind you, I might not be the best racewalker, but I am a real racewalker. I follow all the rules.
The next 10 miles were actually pretty boring. To break up the monotony I decided I would racewalk the rest of the race. I racewalked on and off as much as I could and even when I would slow to a snails pace to catch my breath, I would try my best to stay in legal form (that’s racewalking lingo for, maintaining technique…ie forward knee locked and one foot on the ground at all times).
Miles 10 through 13 were the toughest. It was starting to get really warm , the sun was shining right in my face and I could actually feel myself overheating. I forced myself to drink both the electrolyte and plain water that was offered at each aid station, but I could still feel my calf muscles and left IT band wanting to spasm and lock up. I was also starting to breath pretty heavily, which is not a good thing for me, because it means that Im gonna be trapping a lot of air in my lungs. The problem with breathing fast, is that I cant exhale fast enough to make room for the next incoming breath. The longer this goes on, the more air that gets trapped in the smaller airways of my lung .Eventually my lungs will blowup like a balloon.
For most of the race I was averaging an inhaler hit about once every half mile, but that increased to about 2 hits every half mile the further into the race I got. In total, I used my puffer about 20 times. It sounds like a lot ..I know, but not unusual for me.
There was nothing really special about the finish line, except that I was very happy to see it. I tried to pace myself through the last 1/10th mile of the race , so that I could racewalk through the finish chute and look good on camera, but I ran out of steam just a few feet short of the finish mat and ended up just walking across it. Oh…well, they didn’t take my finish line photo anyway.
I walked into the finish area, a little disoriented and trying to catch my breath. I got my medal and made my way to the Family reunion area where I spotted Lizzy’s Mouse ears poking up in the distance. She had finished about 10 minutes ahead of me and looked as fresh as she did before the race. I, on the other hand, looked like crap! Anyway, we rested a little and waited for the others to arrive. Elizabeth came in about 15 minutes after I did and looked good as well. Both Lizz’s and the rest of the gang walked with me to pick up my gear bag, we took one last picture as a group, said our goodbyes..and that was it. My 9th half marathon…completed!
Due to a glitch in the electronic timing system, my actually finish time has to be manually verified , which will take a few more days, but I think I finished somewhere between 3:00-3:10, which is much faster than I anticipated. Not a PR for me, not even close, but considering everything, I think it a respectable finish time. I performed well in this race and I’m proud of myself.
Some after thoughts While it’s obvious that pushing myself too hard during this race may have contributed to my asthma exacerbation and hospitalization that followed, I’d like to point out to the naysayers ( the people who criticize my involvement as an asthmatic in these types of events) that out of the 14 races Ive done in 3 years ( 5 of those being full marathons), Ive only gotten sick 2 times as a result of them. Id also like to that say, that even “healthy” people get sick after doing marathons and MANY of them end up in a hospital! I train very hard for every race I do, and if I get sick now and then from over- doing it… big deal. I’m not going to stop doing what I love and what keeps me alive.
Sadly, 2 young runners died during this half marathon. Both collapsed close to the finish line.
Coming to the San Francisco Bay Area March 5th-7th, 2010
….Well actually, he’s doing the city of Tiburon in Marin county, which is just a stones throw from San Francisco Bay…. , but just the fact that he’s coming to my neck of the woods to do a weekend clinic…. is awesome!
Friend and fellow racewalking fanatic Lizzy has been kind enough to host one of Dave Mc Governs world famous racewalking clinics here in the San Francisco Bay Area March 5th-7th at her home in Tiburon,California. The $175.00 fee covers all 3 days of clinics and includes Friday nights pasta dinner. And of course I’ll be there.
You can download complete information and the registration form here. I’ll be posting more in the coming weeks, including info on nearby lodging.
Just as runners come in a variety of flavors (joggers, runners, sprinters, hurdlers, marathoners, ultramarathoners, etc.),not all walkers are alike. They also come in an assortment of flavors.
( Marciatori Racewalking Track… Circa 1900 )
(Italy’s Ugo Frigerio wins the 10-kilometer race walk at the 1924 Olympics)
By definition, “walking” requires one foot to be in contact with the ground at all times during the cycle. The contact requirement is what distinguishes walking from running–If the person’s feet both come off the ground, even momentarily during the step, then this is running ( also called”lifting” in racewalking or the “flight phase” in running).
Assuming you walk, you probably fall into one of my categories:
*Regular walkers simply walk to get from one place to another. They may even walk longer distances to avoid driving in heavy traffic, to cut down on pollution, or because they simply do not have any other acceptable form of transportation.
* Pleasure walkers walk for relaxation or to enjoy their surroundings. I highly recommend this type of walking to all types of walkers, even world-class racewalkers and ultra-distance walkers. Whether it is an “off” day, an “easy” day, or your second+ walk of the day, take a walk that has no measure–and stop and smell the daisies.
* Hikers are pleasure, fitness, or even long-distance walkers who generally do their walking on trails or remote terrain. They usually carry at least small packs for desired fluids and fuels (food), maps, or other supplies.
* Walking runners walk to catch their breath or minimize fatigue during a running event–though most of them do not show much “zip” in their walking. These include an increasing number of joggers who are paying coaches or charities to teach them how to do their first marathon. (They are the ones I love to pass in the latter stages of a marathon.)
* Fitness walkers
walk for health reasons, walk to lose weight and build fitness by increasing their speed, distance or frequency of walks. They may go so far as to become powerwalkers, speedwalkers, racewalkers, and/or long-distance walkers.
* Running walkers are a most interesting breed. They say they are runners and they look like runners, but there is insufficient evidence of their leaving the ground for a jury to convict them of running. Their failure to fly has very little to do with speed. I see many slow runners during training walks and running events who are clearly leaving the ground. As a formally trained racewalker with a good eye I could easily spot and flag the “running walkers” for bent knees, but I could not flag them for lifting.
I refer to some of these walkers as “trotters”.
* Powerwalkers are, by their own definition, seeking whole-body fitness. They tend to do that by exaggerating their step length–especially by planting their heels very far in front of their bodies; by exaggerating their arm movements; and/or by using hand weights, walking poles, and other devices to burn more calories. Some walk quite fast.
* Walk+Run walkers are few in number, but offer a very interesting format. Like runners who take walking breaks (to recover), walk+run walkers take running breaks to break the monotonous routine of a very long walk. It is not for the walking purist, but can make long training walks more enjoyable.
* Speedwalkers : The terms “speedwalk,” “speedwalker” and “speedwalking” are often used indiscriminately as generic terms for anyone who walks fast–including racewalkers. There are a few Web sites that address “speedwalking” but they can not even agree on the limits of speedwalking speed. Most give the slow end as about 17-minutes/mile pace (3½ mph) and some give the fast end as high as 12-minutes/mile pace. Regardless of the confusion, I have seen many, bent-knee walkers (who don’t care what you call them) pass all but the fastest racewalkers in an unjudged race–and walk a mile in less than 10 minutes.
* Racewalkers are easy to define. They are walkers who (1.) keep their knees straight from the time of ground contact with (usually) the heel until the supporting leg has passed under the torso of the body AND (2.) who want to be called racewalkers. (Some speedwalkers meet these requirements ,but would never consider themselves to be racewalkers.) While racewalkers are often the fastest walkers, there is absolutely no requirement for reaching a certain speed or for participating in judged racewalking events.
* Long-Distance Walkers are those who walk much farther than required for mobility or basic fitness, but who do not carry it to the degree of Ultra Walkers (noted below). This group includes those walking at least the half-marathon distance but not the 50-mile threshhold for Ultra Walkers.
* Ultra-Distance Walkers are very easy to define. They walk 50 miles or more in “ultra” events. Some of their events are defined by distance (generally no more than 500 kilometers / 310.7 miles), and some of their events are defined by time (generally from 12 hours to no more than 6 days). While they are identified by the distances they walk, there is usually an element of speed noted in how they report events (e.g., who reached 100 miles the fastest, how far someone walked in x hours or x days).
* Cause Walkers are those who walk extremely long distances to raise awareness for a cause. Transcontinental or round-the-world walks are typical. Such walkers often have a support team and regularly stop along the way to promote their cause.
*BreathinStephen’s Walking Style ,A hybrid of racewalker, long distance walker and fitness walker.
A great time was had by all this past Sunday , as racewalkers of all ages and abilities merged on the town of Seaside California to compete in this prestigious and USATF sanctioned 10K racewalking event.
Though Kelly appears to be airborne, her front heel is actually touching the ground .To a racewalking fan, her racewalking form… is a thing of beauty!
The Megawalk race is a tribute to my friend Hansi’s father, and racewalking legend, the late Giulio De Petra .
The event was conceived and put together by Hansi and her Monterey Peninsula walking club ” The Walk Walk Walk Club” back in 1981 . It’s been a must- do annual race ever since.
In addition to organizing this event, she also competes in it!
This women is amazing. She’ll be out there setting up tables, coning off streets and making sure everything gets done…then she’ll join the race herself!
As this that’s not enough, after the race… she cleans up the course and heads-off to a rented auditorium where she puts on an awards banquet….complete with hot lunch and desert! … it’s quite a production
But , alas.. all good things must come to an end. It was announced at the luncheon that this would be the last year for Megawalk.
As Hansi explains, ” As the years go by, fewer and fewer people remember my father, an continuing to put this elaborate event every year has just become to difficult”.
(Hansi, Rachel, Me, Brandon.)
Hansi will continue to compete in occasional racewalking events, as racewalking is in her blood. Hansi is also considered a world class runner and will continue to concentrate her efforts in that sport.
Thank You Hansi and the rest of the Walk Walk Walk club members for 25 years of MegaWalk.
You probably wouldn’t know it by looking at my slow finish results, but today, I’m a very …very happy and lucky person . I know this wasn’t my fastest marathon, nor was it my slowest , but it was by far… my Favorite marathon !
Having been in the hospital just two weeks earlier, and judging by how rocky my recovery had been , I decided that I would not push myself too hard, and that I would deliberately keep my speed down and my racewalking sprints to a minimum.
To summarize briefly…. I’m proud of my performance in this race and that of my friends. For the first time ever, I think I did more things right, then I did wrong . That doesn’t mean I didn’t do any stupid things (more about that later), but I started the race with a positive attitude, finished strong, and I had a whole lot of fun in between.
And get this… I didn’t have a single leg cramp–not even a twitch during the entire 7 hour walk.. ..Nadda, Ziltch..Not One! and no knee pain either. Weird huh?
Finally, and what always amazes me, is the kindness of the people of Portland.
That’s what keeps bringing me back.
Here’s how the weekend went down:
Friday, I flew up to Portland where I hooked up with my friends and Walkingfasterclub cohorts, Brandon and Rachel .
(Friends Rachel and Brandon)
We set up camp at a cool little motel just a mile from the starting line, hung out,relaxed and ate like pigs.
(part of the fun is picking out your racing clothes)
Saturday morning , We headed over to the Expo and picked up packets and all the free stuff we could find. Later that morning we attended a scheduled lecture by Olympic racewalker Philip Dunn , and walking fitness expert Judy Heller.
(Racewalk Olympian Philip Dunn and my walking buddy Brandon)
(Philip and Judy)
It was basically a pep talk/inspirational speech for first time marathoners and what to expect afterwards. Phillip actually did the 26 mile Nordic walk on Sunday– his first time for that sport.
Philip has also qualified for the 2008 Olympic trials. I sure wish there was a way to help fund our Olympic athletes training. ( that’s another blog post)
Anyways, at the end of the presentation , I talked Philip into racewalking across the room for us. …in his jeans no less…( you can’t take me anywhere)
I was so pumped up after meeting Phillip , there was no doubt in my mind….I was going to finish this race!Marathon morning, we left the motel at 6am to allow for the one mile walk to the starting line. We only got a few hundred yards away when a young couple driving by stopped, and asked us if we’d like a ride down to the starting area.(the first example of Portland kindness ) of course we accepted , and in less than 10 minutes , we were in our starting positions near the back of the back.
The Start, The race was delayed for a few minutes due to road construction, but the gun finally went off , and with an inhaler in each hand , I headed out into the wild blue yonder.
Despite worrying all weekend that it was going to rain during the marathon, it never materialized , and you couldn’t of asked for better temperatures…56 degrees at the start.
Miles 1-3, The first few miles were, as they always are….easy , but a little nerve racking. I mean that literally, because for some reason I tend to get butterflies in my stomach during those first few miles of any race, so I’m always scoping out the nearby terrain for an emergency pit stop if needed. Thank goodness the churning in my gut subsided and I made it to mile 3 without any problems.
Mile 3.5 , I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was fellow blogger and friend Mike Mc Bride who come all the way from Colorado do this race. He had started at the very back of the pack and was already passing me up. He was pulling a specially designed cart which holds all of his oxygen tanks– an astonishing feat when you consider that he has severe emphysema . Not only does he have to walk fast , but he has to pull a large cart behind him. What a treat it was to meet this special person.
I would find out later, that his oxygen system failed and that he was forced to quit the race at mile 13. That sucks…… I’m sure he was disappointed.
(Mike hauling his oxygen cart UP a hill)
Mile 3.75, Sure enough… There was Anita, standing on the side of the road in her bright yellow hazard vest. At first I thought she was one of the racewalking officials. But why would they be rooting me on and taking my pictures and asking me if there was anything I needed.? lol I’m not that much of a celebrity.
Anyways, this would be the first of many encounters with this one- women life-saving, mobile cheer leader!Mile 5-6 , A piece a cake . I was finally starting to feel good and sure that I had made the right decision to do this race. I even did a little racewalking to make up for the lost time that I had wasted in the porta potty lines earlier. As I was racewalking I ran into yet another Walkingfaster member, Jackie. Looking strong, turns out she beat all of us with a finish time of 6 hours. (You ROCK Jackie !)
Mile 7 , OK…..remember when I mentioned something about doing stupid things? Well, this would definitely qualify.
I was starting to get a little short breath and wheezy , so I go to use one of my inhalers and guess what? They’re no longer in my hands ! I lost not just one…but BOTH of my albuterol inhalers.! They must have slipped out of my hands somewhere between mile 7 and mile 8 . I think it happened while was reaching for water at one of the aid stations. I had been carrying that stupid rain poncho with one of the inhalers wrapped in side,it must of fell out.
Inhalers are my life blood during a long walk race. During a typical marathon I’ll use my albuterol at least 12 times, maybe more. They’re more important to me than water.
Without the medicine, I can’t exert myself. Simply put …..no inhalers , means no race!
At this point I started panicking, so I turned around and back tracked a full mile searching in vane for these two lost inhalers. I think they were swept up with the paper cups on the ground. I was so pissed off at myself.
How could I be so careless? I had extra inhalers in my room, but I’m the only one who had the keys.
By this time I had all but resigned myself to the fact the race was over for me.
Then it dawned on me….I could use an over the counter inhaler like Primatine mist. But how would I get it on the course. Then the light bulb went off again…….. Anita is out along the course somewhere…..with a moped.
I immediately called her an told her the situation. Without hesitation, she told me she’d get on her scooter and find a drug store ( remember we’re talking early Sunday morning) and would call me back in 20 minutes. At that point my hopes were up again, so I decided to resume my walking , but at a much slower pace so that my breathing wouldn’t get worse.
15 minutes later, she calls me and tells me that she found a drug store that has primatene mist, but that it’s locked behind the pharmacy counter until the pharmacy opens at 10 am. She told me she would wait for them to open and get the medicine to me at mile 12 . (That was as close as she could get to me because the course was closed to traffic after mile 12.) That would save the race for me, but was going to put me behind another 15 -20minutes . Hey, I’m not going to PR anyway, so what’s another 15 minutes. Well, wouldn’t you know it… Anita worked her magical powers by convincing the people at the store to have pity on this poor pathetic little asthmatic racewalker. They agreed to open up the counter early for her and by the time I got to mile 12, Anita AND Brandon were both waiting for me with the primatene mist.
Anita saved the day for me and I was back on track with a total loss of only 10 minutes! This is the second act of kindness I received this day from the people of Portland.
Miles 12-20, absolutely awesome ! Even the climb up to the dreaded St Johns bridge was relatively easy .
For the next 4 and a half hours my friend Brandon and I would , walk , racewalk ,talk and basically acted like fools. We were feeding off each others defiance of going against doctors wishes and those of other people in our lives who think we’re crazy and careless for doing what we do. Brandon with his bad knees and me with my bad lungs–rebels till the end. At the same time though, we made it a point to slow down and cheer on all the wonderful musical acts that were performing for us along the way, and to voice our appreciation to each and every volunteer that cheered us on along the way.
The primatine mist was also working well as a substitute, and I had only minimal breathing difficulties throughout the rest of the course.
Anita would continue to pop out of the woodwork at various points along the way, offering up water and refreshments, not only to us , but other slow poke walker as well.
Miles 20-26 , Those last few miles were tough, but I still felt incredibly strong. Though we had made up a lot of time that I had lost earlier in the race, by mile 20 it was pretty evident that a sub seven finish wasn’t in the cards, so we decided to make it 7.5 hours instead and cross the finish line together.
Well,that’s exactly what we did. We finished those last 6 miles within 2 minutes of our new goal time and crossed the finish line at the same moment at 7:32:55. We came in 255th to last place. Hey…better than last years 50th to last.
Had it not been for my carelessness with my inhalers, or the fact that I was critically ill two weeks earlier, we would both finished in the 6 hour range.
But you know what? I wouldn’t trade a 5 hour finish, for the good time I had on that course.
I finally got a chance to hook up with my good friend, and elite runner/racewalker , Hansi Rigney.
I met Hansi at one of Dave Mc Govern’s racewalking clinics back in 2006 , and we quickly became close friends.
With family and race commitments all over the world , she’s rarely in the country. So when she told me she’d be here for two weeks, I jumped at the chance to visit with her. I picked up my Mom in San Jose and we drove down to Carmel where Hansi has a home.
What can I say….except that I adore and admire this women! She’s traveled the globe and has run and racewalked in more races , in more countries, than anyone I’ve ever met. More important though, she’s a super person with an unmatched enthusiasm for life. I’m so lucky to have a friend like her.
She recently placed at Quad Dipsea ( her first trail race ) and will be doing the Berlin marathon followed by Chicago and New York. She’s place 1st at Boston two years in a row, placed 1st at Big Sur several times, and set a new course record at the CIM ( California International Marathon) last year. She arguably holds the American marathon record as the fastest women in her age division.
Thanks to Hansi and her husband Bob, I will be doing something next March , that I could only imagine in my wildest dreams. More about that when the plans are finalized…………
Usually , I do my City walks alone, but yesterday was special because I got the opportunity to walk with two very very cool people. PLUS…I was back in the green!
Fellow blogger and racewalking enthusiast Daniel Fort , who came all the way up from the Los Angeles area with his wife and nephew for a mini vacation, met up with me and my good friend Millicent over at the Palace of Fine Arts on the San Francisco Marina.
(What a Beautiful place to start and finish a walk)
For nearly two hours , we walked, talked and laughed non-stop. Due to time constraints ,we were only supposed to do 4 miles, but because we had racewalked a good portion of the distance , we had extra time and ended up doing an additional 3.5 miles. Time sure flies when you’re Racewalking the Marina!
Dan’s a great guy! very laid back , and in my opinion,… and excellent racewalker. He certainly kicked my ass. Dan ….you’re the MAN ! and Millicent…. you’re the Best! Thank you Both, for a memorable afternoon on the bay.
Broke my own rule and walked when I was in my yellow zone. Walked 8 miles yesterday, and now I'm paying for it with crappy peak flows and increased dyspnea. I just wanted to try my new shoes out. When will I learn.
Taking 2 days off from walking.
