This has been a week of ups and downs , for both my walking and my asthma.
But , today’s performance made up for all of that.. For the first time ever, I broke the 7 min/mile barrier! , *6:29 on the decent and *7:05 on the ascent, to be exact. And though I didn’t have a camera on me, I’m pretty sure I stayed legal . This pace of course, represents only the maximum pace I achieved during the 200 meter interval and it only lasted a few fleeting moments. The average pace for the distance was more like 9:50 but, HEY…I’ll take it. Oddly enough, my maximum pace on the flat over the same distance was only 7:25 (* data obtained via motionbased software)
Because I’m unable to run, I’ve learned to racewalk the hard way, practicing each element separately and then trying to put all the loose ends together. Aside from (the physical demands of the sport, its the tying together of those “loose ends” , that’s been so difficult for me to master. So, every time I set a new racewalk PR , even if it only lasts a few seconds, it tells me that I’m getting better at putting these racewalking elements together, especially the driving and vaulting phase . I know this is happening because my stride feels more fluid, its almost like running. It just feels right.
As Dave would say “ If you get the timing right, your heel should make contact with the ground very close to the body just as the leg becomes straight.——–It’s fast, efficient and man does it feel cool!” Well, that’s what happened to me today . And he is so right……….. It does feel cool !
Learning this sport would have been much easier if I had the instant feedback that a coach or training partner could provide, but that’s a luxury I’ll have to do without (at least until Dave’s next clinic). In the meantime, Ill just plug away trying to get more of that rush, that I experienced today.
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