Working a Water Stop

The Buckeye Striders and friends had a great time working a water stop at the Spirit of the Marathon Half Marathon today. We had just 9 people, though 11 volunteers are recommended. At first we were doing great keeping up with the number of runners. In the middle, when the crowd was at its largest, we were struggling a little to keep up. I don't know how people who work water stops at large races do it.

We could tell when the elite athletes had all passed our stop because we heard our first thank you!

The runners were friendly and appreciative. The 12 or so walkers in the race were even more happy to see us.

It was really nice to see the race from the other side of the table. I have a much better idea why some water stop volunteers get tired of waiting for walkers. Since we were between miles 4 and 5, there was not a huge gap between the leaders and the last people. It was a lot of fun!

12 Miles Today!

A small group of Buckeye Striders met at Sharon Woods for our 12-mile day. The New Albany Walking Club was there, too. (Hmmm, trying to take over our turf?) There's a half marathon in Columbus tomorrow, and both of these walking clubs are working water stops.

It was foggy, muggy and humid (redundant?) this morning when we started about 7:35. I was worried it would get unbearable as time went on. Lucky for us, in our last loop the sun came out and there was a great breeze! It was nice!

We started out too fast for a long slow day -- our first mile was 14:30. I was worried we were pushing too hard and would have trouble finishing strong if we kept at that pace. We slowed down for a couple miles, and eventually sped back up.

I'm not sure we were mentally ready for today's mileage. Early in our third loop, someone who shall remain nameless suggested we turn around where we were and walk just 10 miles today. I was strong and we kept going, and the others kept going, too. They didn't realize that if they had pushed just a little bit harder, I would have folded.

The cool thing is, when we finished everyone was glad that we walked the complete distance. (OK, truth in advertising here. We walked three 3.8 mile loops. It was really only 11.4 miles. But because we felt 12 miles was too long of a training distance for just a half marathon, we decided three loops would be enough.)

Because I messed up the 1-mile splits the last time we were at this park, I did just complete laps this time. OK, our laps were: 56:27; 57:33; 57:55. We averaged a 14:51 mile the first loop, which was what I was aiming for. I had hoped to pick up the pace a little on the next two, but we just couldn't do it.

Regardless, it was a great morning, a great workout and I know we'll be ready for the New Albany Walking Classic!

45 Minutes on Friday

Even though I had a high school football game to get to Friday night, I was able to fit a 45-min walk in. (I was pretty proud of myself.) As soon as I got home I changed my clothes and head out the door.

I am getting a little bored walking in the neighborhood, but it is quick and easy. I was a motivated walker, so location wasn't as important.

47-Min Walk tonight

I needed to get 45 min of walking in tonight. When I got home about 5:30 I quickly downloaded a new audio book on my MP3 player and went out the door. (OK, my daughter pushed me out the door! She was watching What Not to Wear, and I made the mistake of watching about 30 sec of it. It is SO addicting!)

It felt so good to be out walking, I decided to go 47:18! Yep! I'm unstoppable! (Sarcasm intended.)

Be Careful -- Please

This is disturbing.

Today a friend and I went to the park by the river for lunch. I noticed a bunch of flyers posted all over and walked over to read one.

Apparently, on a nearby street, a woman was flagged down by a pedestrian. He abducted her in her car, taking her to the park. I believe it might have been at gun point. He attempted to rape her in the car.

I missed the remaining details, but I do believe she is alive and was not raped -- thank goodness! That poor woman!

The ironic thing is, right before I even saw the poster I told my friend that a couple women I know felt unsafe walking alone in this park. (I never had.) Their fears were based on the fact that pedestrians walk on roads, and cars drive slowly through the park. They thought it would be easy to be abducted in some of the more isolated spots. Though this woman was not abducted from this park, it's stil pretty scary that she was taken there.

Anyway, again I want to point out how important it is to be aware of our surroundings. Pay attention to where you walk and what the people around you are doing. It is best not to wear headphones when walking, but if you do, keep an ear uncovered so you can hear anyone sneaking up behind you.

Also, be careful in your car! This woman was in her car when she was grabbed! My Dad always told me to check the backseat before I got in (I still do) and to drive with the doors locked. (I'll start doing that again tomorrow!)

The sad thing is, when we are in some of these great parks, we are pretty vulnerable, especially because we feel safe.

Hiking Anyone?

Part of my "job" as editor of WALK! Magazine is to try walking shoes. Normally, this goes two ways: 1) I go to a running store, try lots of shoes, buy the pair that is perfect for the type of walking I do, then write about them (and get my readers to do the same), 2) shoe manufacturers send me what they think are "walking" shoes, and I con my friends into trying pairs with me.

For the fall issue, I posted on HARO (Help a Reporter Out) that I was looking for shoes to review. A couple hiking shoe companies volunteered to send sample shoes. I wasn't sure if I should go that route, but what they heck. Hiking is walking, and we have lots of readers who hike. (Me included.) I am happy to say that my reviewers have liked every single pair of hiking shoes tried! How cool is that!

Tonight, I was out walking in the pair I'm reviewing, and I really like them! I hope you like that we've added hiking shoes to our fall shoes review section.

8 Miles Today

Did my 8 miles a little differently today. Normally I walk with my friend Deb or with my walking club. Today, for convenience sake, I didn't.

I left from my house, walked the 1 mile to the park by the library, did 5 loops at the park (1.2 miles each), then the 1 mile home.

After the second loop, I tried to come up with excuses to quit early. That is the danger in walking such short loops. When I walk longer loops, there is less of a temptation to cheat.

There are a couple of things that kept me walking today: 1) the fear of having to admit to Deb that I couldn't walk without her; 2) the fact that I post about my training here and in the Walking Team Discussion Group; 3) and wanting to be ready for the New Albany Walking Classic half marathon. Notice how being prepared for the race was the last item on the list? Peer presssure is actually much more important to me!

Still I was able to get my walk in early before it got hot. It was a beautiful morning, and I'm thrilled I finished my scheduled walk!

1st mile - 19:28 (Includes traffic lights)
1st loop - 18:05
2nd loop - 18:05
3rd loop - 18:10
4th loop - 18:03
5th loop - 17:56
last mile - 18:43 (Includes traffic lights)

Paul Newberry with AP Disses Racewalking!

Hey Paul Newberry with AP, you didn't really say this, did you?

On the other hand, synchronized swimming should look no more out of place at the Olympics than rhythmic gymnastics, where competitors prance around the mat using clubs, hoops, balls, ribbon and rope. Or race walking, which is sort of like letting those who can’t swim very well compete in the dog paddle.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/swimming/news?slug=ap-swm-allgelledup&prov=ap&type=lgns

Unfortunately, I am too tired right now to properly berate you for this asinine comment. I'm hoping that some racewalkers I know will do better.

Just let me ask you this: Have you ever tried racewalking? Do you know there are rules as to how you take each step, unlike running, which you can do any way you want? Are you aware that the 50K is the longest track and field event? Longer than the marathon?

OK people, let's locate this jerk's e-mail address and inundate him with complaints!!!!

Olympic Racewalkers Finally get Some Respect

Here is a great story about Olympic racewalking in Beijing that appeared on NPR!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93773028

Apparently, the original course for the 50K and 20K racewalks was granite. The walkers complained, including American Philip Dunn. From the story:

Race walkers say they don't get much respect for their sport to begin with, but this affront was too much.

"They would never do this to marathoners," says American race walker Philip Dunn.

The cool thing is that officials listened, and a 4-millimeter thick, 4-meter wide gray synthetic surface in a 2 KM loop was put down on the granite.

I'm truly impressed that something was done to correct the problem! Good luck racewalkers!

30 Minutes Tonight

I waited until almost 10 to get my 30 min in tonight. Because I was supposed to do just 45 min easy, I worked on form only tonight. I almost tripped a couple of times because the sidewalks are a little uneven. The good thing is the temps dropped dramatically, so it was great!

3 x 1 mile Sprints a Little Early

Though we were scheduled to do 45 min today, Deb and I moved our 3 X 1 mile sprints to today from Thursday. August temps have been unusually mild this year, but today was a little toasty. Still we did great!

We warmed up by walking for about 10 min, then did some heel and toe walking drills. After each mile we took a 2-min break.

Our times were:
1) 14:37
2) 14:11
3) 14:08

During the first mile, my shins were very tight, but after the 2-min rest, I felt much better.

Regardless, it was another great workout!

Great Column

I've been working on Dave McGovern's Fall 08 column all day. Normally it takes about 10 min to edit Dave and another 10 to lay out his column. Today I've been at this for hours. But I know all of the extra time I'm putting into it will be worth it.

Any of you who have been to one of Dave's clinics have probably learned a variety of drills to assist with building great racewalking muscles. This issue's column focuses on some of his most popular drills. And lucky for us, he took some fantastic photographs to go with it! (Even if you have never been to one of his clinics, you will benefit from these drills.)

So, when you get your Fall issue, be sure to think about how much extra work Dave caused me by going above and beyond the call of duty!

And hey, if you haven't yet subscribed to WALK, you still have time to sign up and get the Fall issue. Click here now:
http://store.walk-magazine.com/index.html.

Bad News for Kastor

Apparently Deena Kastor broke a bone in her foot during yesterday's Olympic marathon! I don't know how I missed it last night, except I was dozing during some of the coverage. I did wake in time to watch Torres and Phelps swim. (Amazing!)

The parts of the women's marathon I saw did not even mention Kastor, but I was watching after the first hour. If she was injured in the first 5K, it was old news by then.

From what I know about Kastor, she is an amazing athlete. (If you read Runner's World, you would think that with as much coverage as they traditionally give her.) I cannot imagine how disappointing this is for her.

10 Miles - Woo hoo!

It is really nice having a friend who is training for the same long-distance event. I needed to do 10 miles to train for the New Albany Walking Classic Half Marathon, and because of a local race this morning, I thought I'd have to walk alone. I've done long distance alone before, and I know I can do it, it just isn't as fun.

But last night Deb was able to change her schedule to walk with me starting at 7:30.

We met at Sharon Woods, one of our favorite parks. The trail is a 3.8 mile loop, which makes it very easy to keep track of distance. One cool thing is, they have installed new mile markers! It makes it easier for me to track splits.

We had a great time enjoying the beautiful morning and chatting. I was so glad she was with me. I've been feeling a little "draggy" this week from not getting enough miles in, and Deb helped me walk at a consistent pace.

I didn't realize that the mile markers were there right away, and we had that 0.2 mile to make up every lap, but here are our stats:
Total: 2:31 for 10 miles (That included using the last 0.2 as a cool down.)
First 2 miles in 30 min flat
Other miles in 14:52, 15:10, 14:46. The speed doesn't bother me because we were doing our long-slow day.

The other numbers just don't make sense. The 0.2 messed me up.

Regardless, we had great weather, the morning was beautiful, and the 10 miles was so much easier having Deb distract me.
_____________________

Note: I'm still trying to figure out which shoes to wear for long distance. The NB 903s are nice, but almost too light. The new Brooks I bought feel too heavy. I like the support, but there is no foot rolling going on. My feet almost slap the ground. Today I wore the pair of Brooks I bought for Big Sur, and they were OK, I'm not sure they will be right. Anyway, it is a good idea to try out shoes on long distances to be sure they will work for you.

The Other Side of This Morning's Walk

The temps were in the 60s, the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze when I head out this morning. Birds were singing, cicadas were buzzing, the high school marching band was practicing and everything felt right with the world. (Well, except the tug in my thigh.)

These are the days I live for. On mornings like this one I wish I had nothing better to do all day than to be outside enjoying the beautiful morning and walking. Well, there are other things I would love to do on mornings like this, like white water rafting, hiking in the woods, sleeping in a tent in the forest.... but I digress. I'm even sitting outside right now with my laptop writing this entry. I LOVE it!

Anyway, despite the tug in the muscle that kept my workout from being as good as I would have liked it to be, it was a great start to a really beautiful day.

OK, Cindi, back to work.

PS: I can actually tell what song the band is playing today! (Usually the sound doesn't carry that well.) It's the school fight song I played when I went there: "Go, fight for Centennial, stars ever brave and true..."

Tight Muscle

OK, I know better. You can't take two days off in a row during long-distance training and expect to have no ill affects.

I decided to walk this morning since scheduling my training in the evenings has been so unsuccessful this week. I got up around 7, and was out the door around 7:45.

The plan was to walk casually until I got to the big block at the end of the street, then start my racewalking training. As soon as I started to walk, I felt a tug in the front of my thigh muscle. I thought it would go away before I tried to racewalk, but it didn't. Even after reaching my starting point, I continued walking casually until the pain went away -- 20 min later. Again I attempted to racewalk, and it came right back. 10 more minutes of casually walking, and I was finally able to attempt racewalking form, but VERY slowly.

So out of a 45-min walk, I was able to racewalk about 15 min. Needless to say, my projected distance of about 3 miles was nowhere close to reality.

NOTE TO SELF: Do not get lazy and skip two workouts in a row ever again. It just is not worth it!

Open Letter to Oprah

Dear Oprah,

I would make a great guest for your show! I have all of the qualities you look for in a guest.

First: I am a formerly unfit person who has changed my life and my lifestyle. I walked a marathon for my 40th birthday and I haven't stopped. I could be an inspiration to other women who feel it is too late to get fit. I would be a great before and after!

Second: I have taken my passion and created a small business around it. In fact, I am now helping other people to set health and fitness goals and achieve them. It's a great magazine, and it is obvious from every issue that I believe in a fit lifestyle. This show's theme could be "Turning Your Dream into a Business."

Third: I'm a fellow magazine publisher. We magazine publishers need to stick together! The theme of this show could be "How to Successfully Publish Your Own Magazine."

Fourth: I'd really like to expand the magazine -- increase the number of issues, increase the size, do more PR, but that requires some investors. With your help, I'm confident I could find the perfect partner to assist with my expansion. I'm not asking for you to invest, but with your connections, I'm confident I could help change the world. Maybe the theme of this show could be "Helping out Small Businesses," or "Business Match Making."

Fifth: If you choose me to be on your show from a blog posting, it would make a great "How do We Select our Guests," show.

To help seal the deal, I would be happy to give all of your audience members a one-year subscription at no charge.

So, Oprah, thank you for taking the time to read this open letter. I'll be waiting for your phone call!

Cindi Leeman
Editor/Publisher
WALK Magazine

Weird Lunch

Periodically you just know the fast food restaurant has your order wrong before you even get to the window. Today was one of those days.

I had a bagel I packed and stopped to pick up a small salad and a Diet Coke from a drive thru. (I know it isn't good for me, but I love Diet Coke.)

After ordering I checked to see that the order screen said Diet Coke. And, when the woman at the window handed me my drink I asked, "Is this diet?" She said Yes.

I got to the park, picked a great table in the shade, took a big gulp of my drink -- ARGH! It was regular Coke. It isn't that I count calories, I just don't like the taste of regular Coke. I know -- it's weird, but regular pop tastes too sweet to me.

I opened my bag to start on the salad and discovered there were no croutons. Hmm. The fork and napkins were also missing! (I tried to eat the salad with my fingers, but it didn't work very well.) I wonder if it was the first week for that employee.

Anyway, I ended up eating the bagel without a drink and saving the salad for when I got back to my office. And luckily there was a Diet Coke waiting for me in the fridge.

Friendly People

The people at the trail around the lake were especially friendly today! There were also a lot of them -- a sure sign that it is marathon training season.

In the middle of one loop one walker (who passed me) said she loved my shirt! (Of course I'm wearing one of my "Why run slow ehn you can walk really fast," shirts.)

Then while stretching, a runner came up to me and said he liked my hat and asked where I got it. I looked at him and said "Which hat am I wearing?" I had no idea!

It was my USATF hat that I got for volunteering at the US Junior Nationals Racewalk. It is a very cool hat.

The weather was great, the sun was shining and there were tons of people out. It made walking that much more fun that people were friendly!

Oh, and I should have told that woman to buy my shirt!

2 hours for a 45-min walk?

How could I possibly have been gone for 2 hours when I walked for only 45 min!

I left the house about 6 p.m. and drove to the little lake I like. (I needed to feel I was going somewhere special, and I love this place.) I parked up by the softball field because my car is less likely to get broken into up there. It takes a couple of minutes to walk to the lake.

The first lap took 19:27. Wow! That long? My shins were killing me, and I was trying to get them to relax. I then spent about 2 min stretching, or at least trying to stretch my left shin.

The next two laps took a total of 36 min. (I forgot to stop the watch between laps.)

My shin felt tight the entire time I walked, so I focussed a little more on stretching afterward.

Then I walked and skipped and walked on my toes and my heels back to my car.

I drove back home and it was nearly 2 hours! How time flies when you are having a great time!