Thursday, I had my best medium range, mixed- walk day ……EVER!
I walked/racewalked 10.2 miles ( 16.5 K) in 1:56 . That’s an overall pace of 11 min/mile with the racewalking portions in the 7s and 8’s …….Not bad for a walker , and not bad for a 10 mile walk …with hills.
Even more important than the pace though, is the fact that I was able to racewalk about 25% percent of the distance, or more concise , I maintained a racewalking / regular walk ratio of about 1:4 for the ENTIRE distance.
Besides lucking out with an extraordinary breathing day, I think what made this particular walk so special, is that everything clicked into place–It just felt right!
The drills that I’ve been practicing religiously, are starting to paying off.
Thanks to the coaching skills of , Dave Mc Govern and Steve P , I’ve also begun to focus more of my training on the one physical advantage that I have over a lot of other racewalkers—my short powerful legs! By increasing my cadence and decreasing my stride length, I’ve noticed that I’ve become a much faster and fluid walker, albeit in very short intervals.
Not only am I walking more “legal” now, but I’m finally starting to get that seamless transition from the driving phase to the vaulting phase.( the motion that makes a good racewalker appear to glide over the ground). I’m punching through better with my knees and hips, and I’m even getting a little bit of a hop in there.
As Dave would say …” If you get the timing just right…. It’s fast, efficient and Man….does it feel cool! ”
Dave…. you are Sooooo Right!
Now, having said all of the above, it has also become very clear to me , that 10 miles is pretty much the maximum distance that I can push myself hard without risking respiratory consequences and /or leg cramps. Any walking beyond that distance requires me to reduce my pace dramatically in order to minimize air-trapping and stay in the game–It’s a trade off that I literally have to live with. More on that subject in my next post.
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