Interesting stuff

Lots of interesting facts about walking here...

"A pound of fat equals 3500 calories. To lose 1 pound a week you will need to expend 3500 more calories than you eat that week, whether through increased activity or decreased eating or both. Losing 1-2 pounds of fat a week is a sensible goal, and so you will want to use the combination of increased activity and eating less that will total 3500 calories for 7 days."

Since I am usually walking at a speed of 4.5 mph. I burn 138 calories per mile. Yesterday's 7.38 walk burned off 1,018 calories. Or a big lunch...

Is that fog?

It looks like fog outside? Well, I have to get out and get walking this morning, no matter what the weather looks like. I’m hoping for a 10 mile day and at a comfortable pace. Distance is the target and not performance. I did 7.38 miles yesterday and those were easy enough. I kept my pace right around 13.5 minutes per mile; a good fitness level.

The forecast for race day is great. Sunshine and a high in the 60’s. But…the truth is I was hoping it was going to rain. Since I’m not at the level of training I would like to be at, I was hoping for a good excuse for a slow day. Any excuse will do, but rain would be perfect; not my fault! So now it looks like I will have to grin and bear it. After all, I know I won’t be last.

The blahs

Once again I am getting ready for the Bidwell ½ marathon; that's coming up this next weekend. Will I be ready? Maybe not physically, but I’m hoping that the mental preparation will carry me through the tough spots. The course is very familiar and I know pretty much just how long it takes to go from point A to point B and then to C, etc, etc.

And I have been training; sort of. I have the wintertime blahs and I really need an attitude transplant. The other day I did a 5 mile plus walk and at a good speed, but I started out with the usual mental complaints and it wasn’t until I had gone about 2 miles before I began to feel a little more positive about what I was training for. Even then, although I had done a 37 minute 5K just the week before, I could only manage a 38.5 minute 5K time.

I really need to relax and not stress about my performance. It’s all about my health, my level of fitness, and not whether I can beat someone to the finish line. All I have to do is remember that there are thousands of people in the Chico area that didn’t even think about walking 13.1 miles on Saturday…and if they had, they wouldn’t.

Next?

A great morning! I always feel this way after doing better than expected in an event. Yes, I have done faster 5K races, but since I wasn’t expecting to beat last years time, it was sweet to have done just that. Especially after such slow practice times leading up to the race. Now I have to get ready for the Bidwell Classic in less than two weeks. Just doing a couple of ten milers during this time should get me back in shape for the longer distance. But after Bidwell? What will my goal be? I better start looking for some more races for spring... and summer.

Race Day

I’m back from a successful morning in Durham. After an ‘unexpected’ start; (the gun went off about 3 minutes early.) I quickly got out into the traffic and began looking for some clear space to maneuver. And after about 2 minutes the road cleared up and I could see my first competitor ahead of me, an older gentleman racewalking at a good pace. But not as good as mine. In fact I checked the pace and I was at 5.3 mph, a bit too fast. And after passing him, I decided to slow it down to right around 5 mph. (12 minute miles) As I approached the 1 mile marker, a woman passed me and asked if I knew what the split time was for the mile? I did; it was 12.1. She then accelerated away.

That was when I decided that she was going to be my ‘rabbit’ and I took off after her. Pretty soon I was about 10 feet behind her and she knew it. We kept that distance for the next mile and sure enough, another 12.1 split time for us at 2 miles. I tried to make a run on her a couple of times, but when she saw my shadow or heard my steps, she was off. I think we finally settled into about a 20 foot spread for the rest of the race, though I did try once more, at the very end, to close the gap, but without success.

I went across at 37.20 for the 5K. That’s an average of 12 minute miles for 3.1 miles. And if I were to get technical…I did have about 3 seconds from the time the gun went off until I crossed the starting line. Let’s call it 37.17 and that would make it 11.990322 minute miles. Woo Hoo!

Short story…once again I won male overall and first in my age group. (60-70) Last year I did it in 37.49. So I’m really happy about today. And I talked to the woman that beat me; thanking her very much for the great competition. I couldn’t have done it without her. We high-fived each other and made a date to do it again next year.

It's Good For You

It's OK, no one has to know you're looking at the AARP website. Lot's of good walking advise here.

Race Time Coming

I’ve just come back from a good walk in the park, doing a 5K walk in 38:44. Last year, I did the Durham Almond Blossom 5K in a time of 37:49. So it looks like I’m on track to do as well as last year, despite a woeful lack of training time. (It’s only woeful because I have neglected it…)

This morning’s walk started out in the usual manner, with my wondering; why I was doing this? This is painful! It’s been about 3 weeks since I last raced and it showed in my heavy breathing for the first half mile. Then the mood altering began as I went further and faster. By the time I had finished doing a total of 5.29 miles (in 69 minutes…13.04 minute/miles) I was feeling pretty positive about the workout. Now I have to see how much I weigh. This is the scary part! Oops…207.8. Shame on me.

Now I have a goal. Lose the 10 pounds I gained since the Portland marathon in October of last year. With 7 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild, I have lots of additional reasons to lose the weight and stay fit. I really would like to see them all grow up and to be present at the important events in their lives.