Walked a New Route Today

Normally when we walk starting at Tuttle Park, we head north toward Clintonville and after half an hour we turn around. In fact, several of us decided we really don't like walking there for long distances because we always turned around after only 30 min. Today we intended to walk 11 miles, so we took a different route heading south toward downtown Columbus.

The Olentangy Trail in this direction is a lot less crowded than sections further north. No massive marathon training groups, fewer bikes and no rude bikers screaming at us.

We followed the Olentangy River past OSU all the way to downtown and the Broad Street bridge. It was great! We ended up walking across the river from the Santa Maria all the way to COSI.

It was nice walking a part of the trail we didn't know well. It was very scenic and fun walking through campus. The only thing I didn't like was having to wait for traffic to cross two major roads, and we got a little off track twice. When we ended up on sidewalks it was sometimes confusing to figure out where we should go to stay on the trail.

Regardless, it was a great walk. I'll definitely walk it again, though I would feel uncomfortable walking a lot of this trail alone.

Hey Larry, thanks for the recommendation!
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Though we had intended to do 11 miles, we did only 10. I had a hot spot on my left foot that ended up turning into a blister. Peggy, who was walking with me had a similar problem. I need new shoes, but this is going to sound lame, I'm having a hard time justifying spending the money right now. Tons of auto repairs, huge vet bill, wedding gifts.... And I have to admit I'm spoiled. Over the last few years, I'm used to getting shoes for free. Now that WALK! has folded, I don't get those free shoes.

I know, for the health of my feet I really need to get the shoes. I'm hoping I can hang in there just a little longer. In the meantime, I'm wearing shoes that are just a little too stiff, but have great padding and very little mileage on them and make my feet feel great. They just are not good for racewalking.

Woman Wins Chicago Half Marathon!!!

Kara Goucher won the first Rock N Roll Chicago Half Marathon on August 2! Let me clarify -- she didn't just win the women's division -- she won the entire half marathon beating out the next closest runner by 19 seconds! Her finish time was 1 hr 8 min and 5 secs.

I had hoped that one day we would see a woman win a major race. After all, the best women marathoners still beat out several thousand men. I have to admit, I just expected it would still be several years.

Read the story here: http://chicago.competitor.com/features/goucher-wins-inaugural-rock-%E2%80%98n%E2%80%99-roll-chicago-half-marathon/#more-1609

Tossing Out My Shoes

I'm pretty loyal to shoes. Too loyal at times.

I had a great pair of shoes a couple of models ago that I absolutely loved! They were light enough to roll my foot, but heavy enough that I could walk a half marathon in them. I loved the shoe.

As is typical, the manufacturer "upgraded" the shoe. There were some obvious improvements and on my short distance days, I liked them better than the original. I was happy.

The problem started when I started training for a long-distance event. Somewhere around 5 or 6 miles I got a blister on the inside edge of my right heel. Having been a former Blister Queen, I was confident I could work through it. These shoes were a little different. The more I wore them, the shorter the distance needed to develop a blister.

The manufacturer even sent me a new pair in a different size, and that pair also caused blisters. I've never encountered that before.

It's been a while since I have worn the shoes. Today I was short of time and decided to do just a short 2-mile walk with my husband. I thought it would be safe to wear the shoes. Before we were even close to being finished, I could feel a hot spot on each foot and ended up developing blisters on both!

OK, I give up. I'm not even close to having worn out the shoes. In fact, there is plenty of mileage left on them. I'm not sure if the problem is the shoes, my feet, or racewalking in these shoes instead of running.

So, through a local running store, FrontRunner, I've decided to donate both pairs to a group that gives shoes to needy runners. I hope a person with a different gait will fit these shoes better than I do.

Speed

Did my speed workout a little differently tonight. Instead of walking a quarter mile as fast as possible, I decided to walk as fast as possible for a set time.

Because I hovered around 3 minutes for a quarter mile last week, today I walked as fast as I could for 3 min then did a recovery walk for 2. There is a cul de sac across the street from my house which is pretty good for doing speed. After the sprint, the recovery walk takes me back to my house with enough time for a quick gulp of water before the next sprint.

Both methods have benefits. I like knowing that I'm walking a quarter mile faster each time. Yet, I also like knowing that as soon as my watch says 3 minutes, I can quit. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to really mark (or remember) where I stopped each time to see if I was able to walk farther.

My shin muscles worked pretty hard and my legs felt appropriately rubbery by the time I finished. And I probably should have spent more time cooling down and stretching afterward.
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It was nice and cool tonight! Perfect weather for walking. I wore the Chines racewalking shoes, which are great for being flexible and rolling my feet. They might be too light though. My heels were bothering me toward the end.

I did cough a little while walking, but I think it is OK. I was breathing deep and trying to clear out the last remnants of my cold. It should be totally gone any day now!

Easy Couple Miles Today

Just did a couple of easy miles today. The temps were perfect for walking! Nice and cool in the low 70s. Unfortunately, I was feeling somewhat wiped out from the day. I decided to listen to my tired self and take it easy.

I do plan to do my weekly speed workout tomorrow.

Missing Mile Markers - 10 Miles I Think

Those of us planning to do the Parkersburg Half Marathon this month did a 10-mile training walk yesterday. The weather was perfect! The temps were mild (slightly chilly) when we started at 6:45 and the morning was sunny and beautiful. We started at the Park of Roses in Whetstone Park and headed north toward Worthington Hills.

Because it was our long slow distance day, we had anticipated walking between 14:30 and 15 min per mile. I like to check every mile to be sure we are on track.

We started between mile markers. The first mile we could measure we were slower than we had planned at 15:09. The next couple were 14:55 and then 15:12. From this point out, I had trouble finding mile markers. I'm not sure if they were missing or if I just didn't see them.

In the event we couldn't find mile markers, we had planned to walk for 2 1/2 hours -- so after about 77 min, we turned around. As we got closer to our starting point, we started running into members of the Buckeye Striders Walking Club. Peggy was walking a little faster than us, so I tried to pick up the pace to walk with her.

When Peggy joined us, I pushed myself as she simply "strolled" beside me. The pace had to be good (for me), because by the time we returned to the starting point, I had walked for 2 hours and 27 min! 77 min out, yet a total of 2:27!

I felt great at the finish and only coughed when Deb made me laugh during our walk. Because I had not walked as much as my training schedule called for during the past week, I was thrilled to feel so good after walking 10 miles. However, driving home I started getting a headache which got progressively worse and lasted for hours! Not sure how it is related -- might not be at all.

My guess is that we walked somewhat close to 10 miles since we walked longer than 75 min out.
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I'm pretty sure I need new shoes. I really hate buying new shoes! I hate trying to figure what I need and whether the shoes on my feet will feel good after 13 miles.

Practicing What We eat During a Race

A friend did a solo 8-mile walk this past Sunday to get ready for the upcoming Parkersburg Half Marathon this August. I've been telling her how much I love Clif Shot Bloks, and she decided to try them during the walk.

After about 4 miles she popped a Cran Razz blok and immediately felt better. Unfortunately, a few minutes later she ended up with a stomach ache. At first she thought that she just needed to eat more, and eventually popped another blok. A little while later she had a terrible stomach ache! She felt pretty bad by the time she was done walking.

This is a good news/bad news situation. The bad news is the Clif Bloks I love don't work for her. The good news is, she found out now, several weeks BEFORE the race, not at mile 8 of the race.

She still has a couple of weeks to see what will work for her. She likes granola, and we have been talking about ways for her to get electrolytes if that is what she decides to eat during the race. I'm just relieved she discovered this problem with plenty of time to work it out.

Hills Tonight

We've been doing our hill workouts at Griggs Reservoir in Central Ohio for several months. I was curious how far we have actually been walking, since I don't have GPS (yet). I went to MapMyWalk and in the satellite view drew our route, mapped below.

So each rep -- up one hill, down the next and returning to start -- is half a mile! So each time we do 4 reps, we end up walking 2 miles. We go a little farther than half a mile warm up and cool down. Not a bad midweek workout.

From looking at the elevation, the hills are not intense, but repeating the hills has helped our in-race performance.

http://www.mapmywalk.com/route/us/oh/columbus/566124891933041041


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NOTE: Did not cough more than twice during walk. My lungs felt pretty good. But as soon as I got back into the car, coughing resumed. I'm considering heading to the doctor tomorrow.

667 Posts

I just noticed my last post was number 666. Needless to say, as soon as I saw it, I had to post something new. Whew! I'm at 667!

Next post will be more meaningful.

Walking Through my Cold

Took a short walk yesterday and ended up coughing hard. So today I tried to take it easy, yet I still wanted to get in a little bit of distance. My solution was to walk a slow 3 miles.

I walked the 1 mile to the library leaving the option open whether I would do a lap at the park or not. I felt fine, not tired at all, so I walked around the park then head on home.

About a quarter mile from home I decided to pick up the pace and see what would happen. Once I started breathing hard, the coughing fits started. The weird thing is, it actually felt good -- like it was good for my lungs to be clearing. (I'm sorry, that was gross.)

The good news is, I didn't feel tired. But like I said, it did cause coughing.

My plan is to gradually get back into my regular training program this week and be able to do distance on Saturday. So tomorrow let's see how I do on hills!

Importance of Hydration and Nutrition

Many Central Ohio walkers were at Fleet Feet last week for a nutrition and hydration clinic presented by Steven Devor of OSU. Dr. Devor is with the Health and Exercise Science Program, and Department of Physiology and Cell Biology and Department of Human Nutrition. I know that is a mouthful, but his credentials are important.

I was surprised to learn how much of an impact good hydration can have on performance. Not consuming enough water, carbs and electrolytes can negatively affect your performance by as much as 25%! Not being hydrated can also cause heat exhaustion.

He also said that it is important to consume an electrolyte replacement and carbs during a race. If you choose to drink Gatorade, diluting it will slow its absorption. If you don't like drinks, gels and other products are just as good.

Dr. Devor gave a lot more great information. Check out his PowerPoint presentation here.

Sidelined by Summer Cold

Who catches a cold in July? My husband -- who then proceeded to give it to me!

Yesterday, it was still a mild cold so I had planned to do my hill workout (not fast or hard). Since it was raining, I opted to skip it. Why add rain when I was already feeling iffy.

Normally, I continue to train through a cold. Most of the time a cold is a little stuffiness, a headache, etc., nothing serious.

Today this cold seems to have settled in my lungs causing a pretty nasty cough.

The rule of thumb is -- if all of your symptoms are above the neck, it can be OK to continue training. If symptoms are below the neck, rest is recommended. (For more detailed information, check out this article from Runner's World).

I Thought I Was Fast Before...

I coerced Elaine and Deb into doing a speed workout with me today.

Last week I started doing 1/4 mile sprints at Griggs Reservoir. That first day I did 6 reps. This week was a little harder -- the asphalt was hot, my shins were really tight and there was a little too much car traffic. We ended up doing only 4 reps.

We started with a slow 15:08 warm-up mile, then did our sprints: 2:57, 3:08, 3:11, 3:07. Does it make sense that our first 1/4 mile would have been 11:48 if we kept it up for a whole mile?! The second rep would be 12:32?!! Geez! Is it really possible that I could have been moving that fast? That is quite a bit faster than what I was last week. No wonder my shins were sore!

Afterward, we started out doing a one-mile cool down. After walking half a mile, we decided to go a little farther to make our total cool down closer to almost 1.5-miles.

I'm pretty excited I was able to walk so fast! I felt stiff and my shins were sore for most of the sprinting. During the last rep, I tried to relax a little and worked on being more "smooth." I felt a whole lot better, but still had a little shin pain.

Total mileage was a little over 3 miles and we finished our workout in exactly one hour.
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Note to me: Temps in the mid-70s, but it was hotter on the asphalt. I wore the Chinese racewalking shoes I use for speed, shorts and a technical shirt. Wish I had worn a tank. For the first 3 laps, I had intense shin pain, and just could not make my legs go faster. Felt stiff and uncomfortable trying to go faster. We took 3-min breaks between reps mostly because of my shins. Tried stretching in between, but it didn't seem to work.

Hills tomorrow.

Preparing to Walk in the Rain

Today my training schedule called for an easy 4 miles.

On my way home from work, I was positive it would rain while I was out walking. So, what should I wear in the rain? It was about 70 degrees and overcast, so getting wet would be cold. I opted for a short-sleeved technical shirt, shorts and a denim hat to keep off as much rain as possible.

Prepared for the weather, I head off to Antrim Park -- there are a lot of trees around the lake, giving me the best opportunity to avoid getting totally soaked.

The first lap's time means nothing -- I got distracted and didn't start it on time. The second 1.2-mile lap was 17:50 with the third 17:34. I did the last lap at a 14:38 pace. I was not pushing hard, just walking at a comfortable pace! On top of that, no rain!

The thunderstorm didn't hit until after I was home safe and sound. Maybe I should dress for the potential weather more often.

Note: Though the schedule said 4 miles, I walked 3.6 timed, and about 0.4 to and from the car. I use the distance to the car as my warm up and cool down. And I always use these slow days to practice racewalking form. It felt pretty smooth!

Tomorrow: Speed workout.

Great Salad Idea

When eating dinner at a friend's house the other night, I was introduced to a simple and somewhat low-calorie way to put dressing on a salad. After chopping up the veggies, she sprinkled on blue cheese crumbles and splashed everything with garlic-flavored rice vinegar. It was delicious!

Basically the blue cheese "melted" into the vinegar and was similar to a blue cheese dressing without all of the fat and calories.

I enjoyed the salad so much, I bought blue cheese and rice vinegar on my way home from walking this evening and made a salad at home. It was a great way to finish up a great walk.

8 miles and We Were Flying -- For Us

14:36 per mile is what I figured we did today. And that was for the entire 7.8 miles we timed. (We used 0.2 for cool down.)

This is not fast for many of you, but I have been hovering around a 15-min mile on and off for years. When I start to get faster, there always seems to be a roadblock that interferes or sets me back.

The temps were in the 60s this morning and the skies were overcast. If we had not been walking hard, it would have been chilly! (Chilly in July!) Though it is great for walking and racing, these cool temps are not going to help us get ready for an August half marathon. I'm worried about being acclimated.

Elaine, Deb and I walked together until the last 0.2 mile where I tried to pick up the pace. Though I was getting pretty far ahead of them, Elaine decided to sprint and hit the 4-mile mark a step before me. I knew Elaine was fast, but she really impressed me this morning!

Our times:
First lap
Mile 1 - 14:41
Mile 2 - 14:40 (hills)
Mile 3 - 14:32
Almost Mile 4 - 12:13 (0.8 mi)
Second lap
Mile 1 - 14:33
Mile 2 - 14:42 (hills)
Mile 3 - 14:42
Mile 4 - 14:19 (Sprinted at end)
Last 0.2 was cool down.
Total for 7.8 was 1:54.

I'm pretty excited! This has been my typical race pace for a couple of years. To be able to maintain it for 8 miles in a training walk is a big milestone for me.
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I've explained before that Sharon Woods is a 3.8-mile loop with mile markers along the way. If you do one loop, you can go beyond the finish 0.2 miles where there is a mark to indicate that last complete mile.

When I do more than one loop, the fourth "mile" is actually 0.8. The last loop is where we pick up the extra tenths by going past the end. When I did my marathon training here, after five laps I would sweat over whether to make up that mileage shortage. (Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn't.)

I went to Map My Walk and mapped out this route so you can see how great of a park it is. It looks as if the satellite photo was taken in late fall or early spring. There are not many leaves on the trees, making it easier to see the trail. (Note: When mapping the trail, I got a little disoriented from zooming in so close and put a water stop where there isn't one and I can't delete it. The water stop is actually after 2 miles.)

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Note to self: Temps in mid-60s. Wore Nike "half marathon" shoes, short-sleeved tech shirt and shorts. Felt fine for temps. Shoes need to be replaced -- started to get a blister on left heel. Otherwise my heels are feeling fine from wearing too light of shoes for long distance a couple weeks ago.

Felt really strong toward the end and was glad I tried to sprint.

Hills Again

This is starting to be old hat -- Wednesday is hills. But as long as my friends and I continue to sign up for half marathons that are hilly, we'll have to keep it up.

Though today was humid, it wasn't hot. I wore shoes that were halfway between the lightest shoes I have and the cushiest stiffest pair. I wore the cushy stiff pair last week as a way to recover from walking too far in the light pair, and it made my shins ache. To help with the normal shin pain I get trying to warm up, I walked for a while before Deb arrived and tried some new shin stretches. The pain wasn't bad.

Today's workout was pretty good! We did 4 reps on the hills with a half-mile warm up and half-mile cool down. We walked for about an hour total, but because it was hills I'm not quite sure of the distance.

I went to Map My Walk to check the mileage and I inadvertently created a new profile. Not sure how I screwed that up!

I'm hoping to get into a regular training schedule of speed, hills, LSD and tempo days.

Speedo Man Sighting!

Saw Speedo Man while walking yesterday evening about 5:30! He must be taking advantage of the cooler evening temps. I also noticed that he often stops to pick up trash when running.

Tonight when doing hills I think we saw him again wearing street clothes. It's hard to tell if it's him when he is fully dressed. Because I've never talked to him, if he isn't running or in a Speedo, I'm never sure if it is him.

I'm always happy to see him and know he is still hanging in there!

The Need for Speed

I've known for a while that the only way to be a faster walker is to practice walking faster. (Paraphrasing Dave McGovern.) I also know that if you do the exact same workouts every day, you will never get stronger. Knowing and doing are two different things.

Today I started doing speed workouts and plan to continue doing them once a week as part of my regular workouts.

Getting my shin muscles properly warmed up has been a problem lately, so I did a mile at a SLOW 15:45 pace with good racewalking form to try to warm up. The sprints were 1/4 mile and I did 6 reps with 2 or 3 min rests in between, depending on how my shins felt, with a half-mile cool down. My sprint times were: 3:18, 3:26, 3:22, 3:13, 3:15, 3:29 with 7:26 for the last half mile.

Despite the warm up, my shins were still tight during every sprint. During my slower times, I even felt pretty stiff as if it was an effort to get my legs to go that fast. I stretched pretty good when I finished and will stretch a few more times over the next day or so. (My shins really need it!)

OK, it is only wishful thinking, but if I were to walk an entire mile as fast as my fastest 1/4 mile sprint, we're talking a 13-min mile! I know the speed workouts will work, and I'm sure I'll be there someday soon.

7.6 Miles Saturday Morning

We started our 7.6-mile training walk at 6:45 Saturday morning in Sharon Woods. Why 7.6? Well, one training schedule said 7 miles, one said 8 miles and Sharon Woods is a 3.8-mile loop.

I like to know how fast I'm going and how far I've walked. (I tend to be a little bit of a statistics freak at times.) Because it was supposed to be a long slow day for us, our goal was to walk between 14:30 and 15 min per mile. I have a very hard time starting out at a good pace -- it takes me a while to warm up, but I can finish strong. Some of my walking buddies tend to start out too fast, and then slow down as we go. Somehow we try to compromise.

This week (again) we ran into other members of our walking club during our second lap, which caused us to slow, stop, make plans for breakfast and move on. Unfortunately, I don't know how to pause my chrono, so the third mile of our last lap is inaccurate.

About half-way through the last 0.8-mile section, Elaine and I tried to sprint. It felt great to push toward the end!
First lap
Mile 1 14:58
Mile 2 14:56
Mile 3 15:03
0.8 Mile 12:14 (too slow -- 15:17 for a full mile)
Second Lap
Mile 1 14:23
Mile 2 14:46
Mile 3 16:15*
0.8 Mile 11:30** (14:22 for a full mile)
Total 1:54***

*Came across two other members of the Buckeye Striders, and we slowed to say hi.
**Elaine and I tried to sprint for the last half mile or so.
***Not quite right because we stopped to drink water at the water fountain.

Hills Again

It was a little toasty when we started our hill workout yesterday evening. In fact, it was hot enough that a couple of us felt queasy, so we cut it short. Though we are trying to get acclimated for the August half marathon, a friend had a bad heat experience a couple years ago, so we try to be careful and listen to our bodies.

Besides the heat, I'm a little worried about my heels. They are feeling much better, but I need to walk 8 miles Saturday. (We are starting at 6:45 in the morning!) I'd love to wear my cushiest pair of shoes, but it is really tough to walk fast in that pair. They are a little stiff and the last time I walked in them, my shins were tired very quickly. I'll probably go with my favorite half-marathon shoes -- cushy, but not too stiff.

In the meantime, I took a low-stress walk this evening and my heels feel pretty good. I'll try to rest my feet tomorrow and hope for best Saturday.

Walking Division -- But No Prizes?

What is it with races that have walking divisions, yet no prizes? I don't need a prize, in fact I'm not fast enough to ever win a prize. However, if a race advertises that there is a walking division, and it states all walkers must walk, wouldn't you assume that there would be prizes for walkers?

From that race's web site:

Individuals are placed in the following categories: 11-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70+, Walkers (MUST walk the entire course), Cruisers.

There were prizes awarded for every single category -- EXCEPT walkers. Otherwise, it was a great race!

Doesn't seem quite right, does it.

This is Dedication

I entered a 5K race this morning and afterward went to Sharon Woods park to walk an additional 4 miles. Yes, I'm training for a half marathon.

The race was a Westerville Rotary event that was nice. It was well organized and there was plenty of food and water at the end for us walkers.

Deb and I walked strong! We did the first mile in about 14:38 (a watch issue caused me to be a few seconds late starting the chrono), then 14:35, 14:10 and 44.40 for the last tenth. After the first mile we both agreed that we did not feel we were pushing hard for how fast we were. I tried to pick up the pace in the last half mile. I'm pretty happy with our time!

Two members of the Buckeye Striders won age-group awards against runners! Congratulations to Nancy and Elaine!

After the awards presentation, there were also "door" prizes, which was nice. My only complaint about this fun event is, if we registered as walkers and the rules said all walkers must walk, then shouldn't there at least be prizes for the top three male and female finishers? Everything else was great!

Sharon Woods
Deb was the instigator for going to Sharon Woods after the race to get in an additional 4 miles. We went with Elaine and it was a lot of fun. We planned to walk about a 15-min mile since this was supposed to be a long-slow day. The first two miles were 15:24 and 15:10. Then we saw a friend and stopped for a couple minutes to chat and I stopped my watch at the wrong marker. (Oops.)

The temps are much milder than for a typical 4th of July, making it a perfect day for walking!

Pedestrian Pulled Over by Cop

On my way to Antrim Park today, I was following a police car on the narrow hilly road. Suddenly the car turned on its flashing lights, stopped in the road, and rolled down the window to talk to a pedestrian.

I've never seen this before and could not figure out why the cop had stopped the athletic looking woman in running gear wearing headphones. After a short conversation, the woman crossed the road to walk facing traffic and took off one side of the headphones to have one ear free.

Though annoyed at first to be stopped and not be able to pass, once she crossed the road and I realized what had happened, I was happy the cop talked to her. I'm sure having a cop stop you with his lights flashing to discuss walking facing traffic would have to have an impact.

To this cop I just want to say thanks for caring enough to stop!

Walking Farther than Planned

Though not scheduled to walk today, I just felt like it. So after catching up on much-needed sleep, I went to Antrim Park with the intention of doing two laps around the lake. I'm entered in a 5K race tomorrow and didn't want to overdo it.

The temperature was 68 degrees according to my car, there was a great breeze and the sky was overcast. I hate to admit it, but it was almost chilly when the wind blew. (No Larry, I did NOT take a jacket.)

There was a nice crowd today! I assume that many others had the day off, just like me.

I did the first two laps at a moderate pace, just enjoying being there and moving. It felt so great that at the end, I just had to do another lap. Because I had not worked hard enough for the first two, I picked up the pace and really sprinted for the last 1/4 lap. Though I didn't want to overdo it the day before a race, I really felt the need to work harder.

Not positive how fast I was (my sport watches all need batteries). At first I thought I was about 48 min for the entire 3 laps, but that would put me at about a 14-min mile. That seems unlikely for the level of stress I felt.

I feel great! I stretched well after the walk and even did crunches on a bench before heading home. I think I'll be ready for tomorrow's race. I'm going to kick butt!

Walking Calorie Calculator

This is cool. If you want to determine the number of calories you burn walking, here is a calculator just for walking! It doesn't include speeds faster than a 12-min mile. (Sorry, Laura.) Still, I really like it!

By the way, it is from Wendy Bumgardner of www.walking.about.com.

http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm

Registering for Wrong Race

I almost registered for the wrong July 4th race today!

The members of my walking club all agreed to do a race this Saturday instead of our regular weekly walk. I didn't pay much attention to the details except which running store to go to to register.

I entered the store, head to the registration table and filled out the form. The sales person said the shirts had not arrived, and I could pick it up at the race. Hmmm, Deb told me that she received her shirt at registration.

"Oh," he said, "which race are you registering for?" I had no idea! "Well, it's a 5K and the shirt is cute," I replied. Luckily, he didn't look down at me. He asked if the race was in Hilliard or Westerville, and at this point I was so embarrassed that I didn't know more about the race, I just could not remember where it was being held!

The key was the shirt -- because there were shirts for the Westerville race, I finally figured out that was the right race.

So, Saturday, July 4 at 8 a.m., I'll be entered in the Westerville Rotary 5K, and with any luck, the other members of the Buckeye Striders will be there, too.

Hills Today

We couldn't decide whether to start hill or speed workouts today. Though we haven't done speed in a while, we are training for the News and Sentinel Half Marathon, which will be hills in August in West Virginia. We opted for hills.

Since the Flying Pig, we have not trained as hard as we should have. Our plan was to maintain a level of fitness and just add distance when needed. Unfortunately, life got in the way and for a couple weeks I was barely walking at all.

Today's hills felt really good. Though we had no number of reps in mind, we ended up doing five -- which is where we left off in May. I'm pretty happy we were able to do so many reps! I'm not sore at all, but I think I'll be feeling it in the morning. I usually do after hills.

I'm excited!

Low-carb, High-protein Diets Explained

Those of you who have read my blog for a little while know that one sure fire way to get me fired up is to spout the benefits of losing weight with a low-carb diet. My argument has always been that you lose weight by burning more calories than you consume -- period.

Today I found a blog posting that explains it all so well! It's from the Health and Beauty Tips blog, and I hope this link will get you there.
http://4-health-beauty.blogspot.com/search?q=low-carb+diet+myth

In the posting, Tom Venuto explains that when in a controlled setting, with accurately measured calorie consumption, all diets work.

However, when people are on their own, it can be easier for them to maintain a high-protein diet over a high-carb diet. The more protein people eat, the less hungry they get. You need to read the entire explanation, the information is very good!

The point is to control calories, get exercise and pick a diet that you can stick with.

Calories Burned Web Site

While trying to figure out how many calories are in the foods I ate today, I found a great web site for determining the number of calories I burned -- The Fitness Website Activity Calorie Counter.

It uses the amount of time I exercised and my weight to determine the calories burned. I like the fact that it lists racewalking separate from walking, and includes six walking speeds from 2 miles per hour to 5 miles per hour. Though plenty of people I know are faster than a 12-min mile, I'm not, so I can use this chart.

I discovered that even a low-key walk this evening burned 170 calories. Nice to know.

Why Won't Wolfgang Puck's Give Nutrition Information?

Occasionally, I eat at Wolfgang Puck's Express for lunch. Though the ingredients are high quality and the food tastes good, the costs are on the high side and I can't find nutrition information on what I ate.

I'm not necessarily trying to lose weight, but I have been thinking about the quality of the food I've been eating lately. Starting today I'm keeping track of everything I eat for the week and estimating the calories consumed.

I'm also tracking the estimated calories burned per day.

At Wolfgang Puck's, the pocket sandwiches drown in dressing and are served with fresh made potato chips. Though I ate only one-half of the Mu Shu Chicken Pocket I ordered, I did eat all of the potato chips. I'd like to know how much damage I did.

So, in an open request to Wolfgang Puck's Express, please make available the nutrition information of the foods you serve at your restaurants!
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I did a semi-casual 45-min walk tonight. Not anything too strenuous, just a walk in the neighborhood.

Weightloss Scams Continue

I'm amazed at what people will fall for in a desperate attempt to lose weight or gain health or fitness benefits. One of the scams is to fake blogs that tout the benefits of so-called weight loss methods. A posting from a real blog goes into more detail on how this new technique is used.

http://fast-muscle-gain.com/495/acai-berry-fake-blog-scam/

Bike Trails Were Crowded Today!

We started our half-marathon training for the News and Sentinel Half Marathon in Parkersburg, WV August 22. At 7:45 this morning we walked 5 miles along the Olentangy River Multipurpose Trail. Though it was already warm when we started, the trail is very shady and kept fairly cool.

It's a beautiful section of the trail and very popular with lots of athletes including runners, bikers and walkers. Today the trail was packed! There were several hundred people in marathon training groups running in packs of 10 to about 50 heading in both directions. It was great seeing so many people out there today!

The trail was so packed though, bikers were having trouble navigating around the groups of runners and walkers. Some chose to try to ride in the middle between the people heading in both directions. I don't recommend that. Most waited behind the groups until there was room to pass. One woman tried to go around a group and almost rode straight into me and my walking buddies! Along that part of the trail there was a chain link fence along the edge and there was no where for us to go!

I actually stopped walking (to avoid her hitting me) and yelled "What were you thinking??" She stopped her bike and got off so we could walk around her.

Anyway, other than that one bike rider, it was a great seeing so many people on the trail and it was a great morning to begin marathon training.

When Putting PowerAde in the Freezer...

be sure the lid is on tight.

Tonight it was HOT when Deb and I went for our walk. According to the thermometer in my car, it was about 89 degrees and I could feel the humidity. There was little breeze and a bad air warning because of the heat and lack of air movement. We walked for just over 3 miles and did not walk very hard. We definitely are not acclimated yet and don't need to push it on days like this.

For the first time in a long time I forgot my water bottle and carrier, though I had a cup of water in my car. As soon as I got home I poured half a bottle of PowerAde over ice and stuck the half empty bottle in the freezer.

The PowerAde really helped and tasted great! I went back to get the rest of the bottle and discovered that not only had I laid the bottle on its side, but I didn't put the lid on tight! Red PowerAde poured all over my freezer!

Luckily it froze and did not spill on the floor.

Note to self: Carry water and put the lid on the PowerAde.

Weird Reaction to Breakfast

After a great walk with the Buckeye Striders yesterday morning, we went to a local restaurant for breakfast. I had some very tasty scrambled eggs with the meal. About an hour after eating, I started feeling sick -- headache, stomach ache and nausea. This lasted for most of the rest of the day.

Though today I feel fine, I could not eat any of the eggs the kids made for their dad for breakfast today. (Ugh!)

Eggs have bothered me on and off over the last year or two. It seems to be happening a little more frequently and a little more severely each time. Other than deviled, I can take or leave eggs. I very rarely crave them and usually eat them only when someone else has already cooked breakfast. (For the record, I love devliled eggs and mine are fantastic!)

The next time I visit the doctor I will bring it up. But from the limited research I've done over the internet it sounds as if I might be developing an intolerance to eggs. In the meantime, I think I'll skip the scrambled eggs for a while.

Getting Back on Track

Three miles tonight. Yep, I'm pretty proud of myself. Walked to the library, one loop around the park and back for a little over 3 miles. Though it was a little warm out, I walked harder than I have been walking recently. I even stopped at Noodles and Company on the way home to pick up a great salad for dinner.

I will begin my speed and distance workouts to train for the Parkersburg Half Marathon next week. (Parkersburg is in August.)

Toasty Tonight

I didn't get out to walk tonight until after 7! Even though it was late, it was pretty toasty. Though the intent of this walk was stress relief, I wasn't very effective -- I didn't walk hard enough to get my heart rate up that hard. I need to get out walking a little more to be acclimated before I work that hard in the heat.

Next week my time should free up. (I hope!)

Scents of Walking

Walking through the neighborhood today, my olfactory senses were unusually sharp making my walk much more interesting. The reason I'm so excited is that my sinuses are usually sore this time of year and I'm lucky to be able to smell anything.

Today's walk featured:
- honeysuckle
- fresh mown grass
- a cookout (ribs maybe?)
- roses
- fabric softener
- random flowering trees
- dogs (lots of dogs)

A good end to a stressful day!

Artificial Sweeteners and Weight Gain

Recent studies with rats indicate that the use of artificial sweeteners could actually cause weight gain because your body anticipates more calories than it is consuming, causing you to either eat more calories or maybe burn fewer calories.

I don't know the science, obviously, but from my own personal experience, I can't see it. I know it is not good for me (and I have cut back), but I drink diet soft drinks and use artificial sweeteners. It isn't even because of the calories. I just really like the taste. I have tried to use sugar or no sweeteners in tea (I put nothing in my coffee) but it just isn't the same. I don't enjoy it.

At the same time, there is nothing that will ruin a dark chocolate candy bar, an ice cream sundae or a piece of cake quicker than a diet soft drink. And when I'm enjoying an ice cold Diet Coke, I really do not want anything with tons of sugar calories. (Truth moment here: potato chips and French onion dip go GREAT with Diet Coke.)

There are lots of artificial foods out there that are not good for us and affect humans in unpredicted ways. So, while I am not discounting the studies, I'm not seeing it in my own experience.

For more information, go to this web site: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183902.htm.

Saturday Morning with the Buckeye Striders

The great thing about being a member of a walking club is that every week a group of us get together and walk. Knowing there is that group of people waiting for you can help to wake up early on a Saturday and get out.

The only bad thing about walking with a large group of people is making sure everyone has someone to walk with. I mean, that's the point of being a member of a club, right?

The Buckeye Striders has members of all speeds and fitness levels. We all have a pace we are comfortable with and sometimes we have to alter it to walk with others.

Today we had about 13 people in our group. It was an out and back walk today, and it was really fun the way we took turns walking with each other! Some went faster, some went slower, we traded. It was a good morning!
____________

Note: We met at Tuttle Park, which was especially beautiful today. The temps were mild when we started and it warmed up quickly as we went. We ended up going a little over an hour and I hope we got in at least 4 miles. We were not at our fastest. Still, it was a good workout!

Dancing the Night Away

Though I have not been walking as much as I'd like, I made up for it at a family wedding last weekend. All of us danced so much my entire body ached on Sunday! Even as late as yesterday, my arms and shoulders were still sore. My legs felt heavy earlier today and I could really feel them when climbing the stairs!

It's not the same as consistent exercise or my regular walking workouts. But we all really got our heartbeats up, we sweated like crazy and it was a blast!

I wonder if I can count this as cross-training.

Too Busy to Walk -- Sort Of

Some really tough deadlines requiring lots of overtime, an upcoming family wedding, a "graduation" of sorts, end of school-year events and stress overall have led to my lack of walking this past week. It's not that I didn't walk at all, the walking I did was completely uneventful and low key.

My son and husband walked in the neighborhood with me a couple of times, I walked to the library once, and that was about it. The walks kept me moving a little, and probably helped a little with my stress, but didn't do much else. I didn't raise my heart rate, didn't breath hard and certainly did not break a sweat.

These walks were more for mental health and bonding than for fitness. I thought it was cute when my son asked me to walk with him one night. Alone time with my 15 year old -- at his request!

We still have another week until the wedding, deadlines are looming and the stress is still pretty intense. I don't see any major workouts happening this week with family coming to town and time so short. But I'm hoping that at the least I'll still be able to fit in a couple evening walks.

Happy Memorial Day!

Revised from 2008

Memorial Day is one of those holidays I didn't understand as a kid. It was always May 30, my Grandma's and my sister's birthday. (For a number of years I think my sister thought the parade was for her.) And somehow it signaled the start of summer.

We would always go to visit my Mom's and Dad's families in Port Clinton and Marblehead, OH up along Lake Erie. In my earliest memories, we would go to the parade (standing up each time an American flag went by) then cook out and play all day with our cousins. If we stayed with my Dad's parents for the weekend, we would be fishing the rest of the time.

Later, when Port Clinton added the Walleye Festival, the town had two parades. We only went to one, but I can never remember whether it was the Walleye Parade, or the Memorial Day Parade we watched. As young adults, we would camp out at my parents' old farm house (my grandparents' house) that was on the shore of the Sandusky Bay. We had three acres to hang out on and would invite as many friends as we could to go up for the weekend. We would swim, fish, have camp fires and just have a blast. Dad always had all of the inner tubes inflated before we got there. And he always found a way to get a TV with the Indy 500 close to our personal beach. (I only ever watched the last 5 minutes.) We would all go to the Walleye Festival at least one evening of the weekend.

Things have changed quite a bit now that my grandparents and parents are all gone. We still sometimes go up for the weekend, but we feel more like guests than we used to. The beach is no longer owned by my family, the old farm house is gone and the new house won't be ours much longer either. I haven't been fishing in probably 10 years.

Life is a little more stressful this year than last. Several of my friends have been affected by unemployment, student loans are harder to get, WALK! Magazine folded and I seriously need to buy a clothes dryer and a car for our daughter. And we still own that house that we expected to sell over a year ago.

But that is OK. Some things change, some things don't, and life goes on. Though I thought we were developing new traditions in 2008, the stress of the year caused me to completely forget what we did last year until today. Despite not hosting a big family cookout, and I'm not entered in a Monday race, my family did a lot of relaxing and hanging out together and the three of us cooked out shish kabob. Unfortunately, my husband has to work on Monday. I would have entered a race, but I'm trying to spend less money right now.

Despite our highs and lows this past 12 months, what is important this weekend is to remember that we live in a great country, one of the safest in the world. I'm thankful I have the choice of hosting a cookout, watching a parade or not entering a 5-mile race to celebrate the freedom we have. (I'll enter a race next year, I promise!)

So, on Memorial Day weekend, I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy yourself, your family and our country. And don't forget why we have the freedom to make these choices.

Affected by Heat?

In Central Ohio we've had unusual temperatures. It was colder than typical at the beginning of Spring, and now it is unusually hot.

Normally heat does not bother me once I am acclimated. However, with the sudden heat, I'm not adjusted yet. My walk this morning was just to the library, one loop around the Lane Road Park, and back home for 3 miles total.

That short walk and whatever pollens are prevalent right now wiped me out! Not only was I unable to walk fast, I've been dragging and had a headache most of the day. (Usually after a morning walk, I feel more energized.)

Once I'm acclimated, I'll be fine. It just takes a little time walking in heat for me to adjust.

Walkscapes: Taking a New Look at Walking

To Francesco Careri, the act of walking is a form of art. Careri is an Italian architect, urban theorist and author of the book Walkscapes. In the book, Careri advocates looking for art in everyday life while walking.

OSU has a Walkscapes group celebrating walking for a month (starting in April) and encouraging participants to document their discoveries and feelings. According to an article in the Columbus Dispatch today, the group had several activities to encourage walking and creativity. A couple people participated in a stick-throwing walk intended to help participants experience walking in a new way.

Though I admire the creativity of the students, I don't think this is something I personally would get involved in. But if it encourages walking and exercise, it can't be all bad.

For more information, check out the blog about the movement at http://walkscapeosu.blogspot.com/2009/04/walkscape-osu-is-month-long-open.html.

Hurry! The 30-days ends May 22.

Speedo Man Sighting

Speedo Man was spotted at the river today about 11:45. I caught a glimpse of him when I arrived at the park to eat lunch. I hoped to see him on his way back to his car, but didn't. So, after eating I drove the length of the park to look for him.

He was still heading out in his initial direction -- he hadn't turned around yet. He was not moving very quickly and seemed to be walking more than usual. The biggest surprise to me was that he wasn't wearing a Speedo -- he had on purple running shorts.

I'm glad he is OK.

You Can't Racewalk on Gravel

Yeah, I discovered this by attempting to racewalk around Antrim Lake in racewalking shoes. The trail is mostly packed gravel with a small section of asphalt.

Though I walk around this lake all of the time, today was the first time I've worn actual racewalking shoes here with the intent to practice racewalking form. It was a totally different experience. Because the shoes are flexible, I worked harder at rolling onto my toes and pushing off. Instead of increasing my speed, my foot actually seemed to slip. No matter how hard I worked, I didn't go faster while on the gravel. But as soon as I hit the asphalt, I felt as if I was really moving! In fact, I was faster every loop.

While actually on the gravel, I could really feel my shin muscles. They were working hard!

Despite my shoes slipping, it was still a good workout.
__________

3 loops at 1.2 miles per loop for 53:49 total. Hmmm. That's an average of only 14:57 per mile. But my fastest loop was 17:28 for 14:33 per mile. Imagine if I hadn't been on gravel!
18:41
17:39
17:28

Burn More Calories by Walking Fast

A 2006 article in Runner's World compares the calories burned walking to running and the results were actually surprising to me. Like many people, including Amby Burfoot, the author of the article, I had heard many times that walking burns about 100 calories a mile, just like running.

Amby reported that in the article "Energy Expenditure of Walking and Running," published in December 2005 in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, a group of Syracuse University researchers measured the calorie burn of 12 men and 12 women while running and walking 1,600 meters (roughly a mile) on a treadmill. "Result: The men burned an average of 124 calories while running, and just 88 while walking; the women burned 105 and 74. (The men burned more than the women because they weighed more.)" Part of the reason runners burn more calories is the push off and landing that doesn't happen in walking and the faster heart rate.

Now here's the part that got me -- the researchers compared running a 9:30 mile to walking a 19:00 min mile! That doesn't seem quite fair.

The author must have agreed because he decided to see what would happen if he compared running and walking at the same speeds: 3.0 mph, 3.5 mph, 4.0 mph, 4.5 mph, 5.0 mph and 5.5 mph. What he learned is that at paces slower than 12 min per mile, running was harder than walking. At paces faster than 12 min per mile, walking was harder than running.

According to Amby: "...walking at very fast speeds forces your body to move in ways it wasn't designed to move. This creates a great deal of internal 'friction' and inefficiency, which boosts heart rate, oxygen consumption, and calorie burn. So, as Jon Stewart might say, 'Walking fast ... good. Walking slow ... uh, not so much.'"

So let's all burn more calories by walking really fast. And, Amby, thanks for the vindication!

Sunday Walk

I didn't get up as early today as I do when I walk with the Buckeye Striders on Saturdays. I did just 30 min. in the neighborhood. It was brisk this morning and I felt chilly in shorts and a light long-sleeved T-shirt, but because of Larry's admonitions, I did not go back for a jacket. I didn't really warm up, but I didn't freeze. I'm learning.

To make today's walk a little more interesting, I decided to do sprints in the shade. I walked as hard as I could when I encountered shade, but kept a moderate pace in the sun. One side of the street was a little tougher than the other, as one side had NO trees.

It wasn't my hardest workout, but I didn't have much time so it worked out well. And it was a great start to a beautiful Sunday.
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After dinner, my husband, son and I went for a 40-min walk in the neighborhood. It was nice! Since I didn't go very far this morning, I felt I really needed it.

Playing Softball in Your 70s

Have you ever heard about Seniors Softball? In Columbus, OH they have leagues for players 50+, 60+ and 70+. That's right, there is a softball league for players who are over 70 years old!

On the radio this morning, I heard a team captain interviewed. The average age of the players on his team is 76.3 years old! I thought he said there are a couple 80 year olds, but I may have heard wrong. There are 14 players per team and the sponsors range from Planks (a bar in German Village) to Tim Horton's and Friendship Village. Of course, the last team could be made up of residents of Friendship Village, too.

Going to the web site to check it out, I found photos of the teams. Yes, these men are fit! http://www.ohioseniorsoftball.com/70leaguepage.html I'm not shocked that 70 year olds are fit, I know quite a few racewalkers in that age range who are very fast. I'm impressed that these men are still playing softball, which lends itself to injury more than racewalking does.

The teams play in the mornings during the week, which makes sense since I'm sure most of the players are either retired or self-employed.

When I picture myself as I age, I always see myself as a walker, hiker, maybe even a trekker. But I have to admit, it never occurred to me that there might be opportunities to play organized sports at that age.

It makes me feel that being 70 today is much like what 50 used to be. Keep it up!

Walking Twice in an Evening

First Walk
Deb and I attempted to do our first speed workout after a half marathon about 10 days ago. Since then, she also entered a 4-mile race at a great pace and I got a workout hiking several miles in Hocking Hills.

Our plan was to do 1/4-mile sprints. We walked for just one-half mile to warm up, but probably should have done a little more. During the first sprint my shins were killing me! I had to slow down about halfway through.

Based on the pain and stiffness, we decided to do 1/4-mile cool downs between sprints. Gradually our shins loosened, but not enough. I think it was too early for us to be working that hard. After sprints of 3:27; 3:23 and 3:36, we decided to just walk our regular pace for a mile and a half and try again when she gets back from vacation.

Second Walk
The second walk tonight was with my husband. After dinner, we did a 45-min tour around the neighborhood. One of the things I like about walking with him is he takes different routes than I typically do. It's not like our neighborhood is all that large, but there are several cul-de-sacs and a few streets I don't typically take. It was nice!

It felt good to get in the extra miles. It was a good day for walking!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

The thought of going to Antrim Park today to walk a couple of loops around the lake in the sun was pretty exciting! It was a beautiful day and my son didn't have a baseball game for me to go to. I couldn't wait!

At the same time, I had a bunch of books to return to the library and I needed to stop at the grocery store and post office.

The park was calling me, but part of me felt silly driving to walk and then driving to run errands when I could combine everything. What to do, what to do, what to do?

I decided to walk to do my errands and get exercise along the way. Yes, I missed the park and it would have been great, but I felt better doing it this way. Now, before you go thinking I'm a fanatic, I often need to drive to a park to get the mental health benefits of walking. But today I was a little more green

Mother's Day Hiking

For Mother's Day this year, I went hiking in Hocking Hills with my family. The weather was beautiful, the trails were not very crowded and it was a lot of fun.

I'm not sure how far we hiked, but there is a lot of up and down. To see the best views, you have to descend into some pretty deep gorges, which is great! However, that means you also have to climb out of some pretty deep gorges.

After finishing a half marathon last weekend and walking 4 miles yesterday, those upward climbs were a little tough! Though Deb and I did a lot of hill workouts, we did not do "stairs" workouts. Most of these trails have stairs on the steeper inclines. I have to admit it, I rested in the middle of several of these.

The trails we did were Cantwell Cliffs, Conkles Hollow and Old Man's Cave. In Cantwell Cliffs, we got turned around and ended up walking much farther than intended.

Conkles Hollow is actually a Nature Preserve. A large portion of this trail is wheelchair accessible (we even saw a person in a wheelchair enjoying the trail). After going too far on the first trail it was nice to take it easy.

Finally we walked Old Man's Cave. This one can be easy or hard, depending on where you enter and where you exit. We decided to avoid climbing out at the 70-stair end of the trail and opted to leave at the end with only 40-some stairs. (Smart choice!)

It was also a great way to get all of us out and moving together!

Air Force Half Marathon Is Walker Friendly

Today I registered for the Air Force Half Marathon September 19. It's been a few years since I've been to this event and I'm pretty excited.

The cool thing is the half marathon is open for 6 hours! Even the slowest walkers I know can do that. In addition, there have been some changes to the half marathon course which make it a little less hilly. Though the overall course is flat, there are these pretty intense hills at the beginning which you used to hit again on return. Not any more!

I was surprised that the half marathon start is an hour after the full marathon. It's great for people like me who like to sleep in a little, but my early bird friends are a little worried about whether it will be hot when we finish.

The full marathon is open for 7 hours, down from 8. But that is still OK.

Here is another cool thing: the race offers women's shirt sizes!!! Woo hoo! The only problem is, I'm not sure what size I should order. (At least at the Big Sur race they let everyone know their shirts ran small.) I'm assuming the shirts are cotton, but what if they aren't? So here I finally have what I want, and I don't know what to do.

I ended up ordering a medium assuming it would be safe if it is a little large, but would not be if it is a little small.

The cost is $50 until June 1, so I would register early. Check out the web site for more information http://www.usafmarathon.com/

First After-Race Walk -- Feeling Good

Today members of the Buckeye Striders met at 8 a.m. for our weekly group walk. It felt good to sleep in today! Deb has had us doing our long training walks as early at 6:45 the last couple of weeks.

We met at Tuttle Park, which is not my favorite park, but it was beautiful this morning. The bike trail here follows the river and rounds some beautiful wetlands. Everything was very green today.

We walked straight out for about 20 min., until the bike trail kind of ends in a neighborhood. We then turned around, went past the starting point for about 10 min., and returned to our starting point.

Though we had not intended to walk hard today, and we all felt a little rusty, I picked up speed as we went. At the end I felt pretty good! Worked a lot of the kinks out.

Now after a week of being hungry all the time and eating whatever I want and limited walking, I'll go back to my somewhat typical weekly workouts. And I'll replace the hill workouts of the last few weeks with speed workouts.

A week after the Flying Pig half marathon, I'm feeling pretty good!

Cooking Goetta takes Skill

Discovered today that I cannot cook goetta.

Normally, my husband cooks it. He is from Cincinnati and introduced me to goetta more than 25 years ago. But when I got back from my morning walk, he was not out of bed yet and I was very hungry for goetta. (In my defense, I made slow-cooking oatmeal, too. Very healthy!) I went out of my way last weekend to pick it up on the way home from Cinci, I really wanted to eat some. I attempted to cook it myself.

I sliced it, put it on a hot griddle and waited for it to get crisp. I know you have to wait until it is crispy before it is flipped. My mistake was that I let it get too crisp on both sides, seriously overcooking it.

Eating it was not very satisfying because there is not much flavor when it is cooked that long. Luckily, my husband awoke, made a second batch and showed me the error of my ways. Slice it thicker -- don't let it get nearly as crisp.

Delicious!

http://www.goetta.com/splash.shtml

Race Photos

Most people who do a lot of races have seen their fair share of unflattering or funny race photos. You're making a funny face, you have bad racing form, there are too many other people in the shot... There's one race where my buddy Chris, who was with me the entire race, wasn't in a single photo, though his left arm was in a couple photos of me.

I don't often buy race photos, partly because I do a lot of races, partly because I don't photograph well in races. (The Country Music Marathon photo posted on this blog is an exception.) But I decided I wanted a nice finish line photo at this year's Flying Pig.

As I raced down that final straightaway to the cheers of thousands, I actually wove in and out of people and planned where to be in the street so that no one would be in front of me for the photo.

A few feet away from the finish line I put on my best smile and tried to look like a racewalker when two people came up along my right side and jumped in front of me!

I was pretty stunned at the time and irritated, though now I can laugh. I just assumed that they had ruined the photo. (I'm in the green shirt.)

The race photos are online today. In them you can see those two people come up beside me and jump in front. To add to the bad photo, there is a woman at the bottom pushing a wheelchair in front of the finish line as I crossed. Though the people didn't block me entirely, combining that with the wheelchair, I'm not buying a photo. Besides, in at least one of the photos you can see me sneering at those people. Not my best look! http://www.runphotos.com/browse.cfm?race_id=157&bib_number=13540&searchword=&subFind=Find+Photos

As for a good finish line photo, I'll try again at the Air Force Marathon in September.

Photo copyright TSC Graphics, 2009.

13 Reasons to do the Flying Pig

13. Cincinnati is not as hilly as you think.
12. This race makes the color pink cool.
11. The pasta party the night before the race was nicely done. All you can eat pasta, in a tent on Fountain Square and the band was good.
10. The Reds never have a home game during the marathon. (If you have ever done the Cleveland Marathon, you will understand why this is an issue.)
9. At the very back of the starting line, where all of the walkers were lined up, there were a TON of port-a-johns with NO LINES!
8. The climb to the top of Eden Park is worth every step! The view is beautiful and Elvis will serenade you.
7. The finishers' medals are always cute.
6. You get to cross a bridge over the Ohio River and into Kentucky, then you come back on another bridge near Paul Brown Stadium. The view of the city is fantastic!
5. The souvenir shirts are the cutest of any race I know -- cute designs and creative puns. (I'll Run a Marathon when Pigs Fly!)
4. The water stops are the best. Stops are manned by church groups, high school football and track teams, and all kinds of other groups. They cheer loudly, even for walkers, and the themes are fun. There are also crowds of cheering fans throughout the race!
3. The goodie bag includes the best stuff. Just for entering you get a race shirt, great poster printed on heavy paper in a box (doesn't get crushed), gym bags or totes and more. Full marathoners get technical shirts, half marathoners get cotton. Lots of great freebies in the Expo.
2. The entire city gets into the spirit of the race. People everywhere wear pig snouts and wings. The girls in puffy pig costumes at the finish line are there every year and are VERY cute.

And the number 1 reason why you should enter the Cincinnati Flying Pig is:
IT'S FUN!

Next year's race is May 2! Checkout the race web site: http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com/

A Good Day at the Pig!

Today was the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon and it was great! A group of 9 members of the Buckeye Striders walking club entered the half.

Though on Saturday night we were worried about rain and cold, the temps were in the low 50s at the start this morning with light sprinkles. Luckily it never rained harder!

We went to the very end of the starting line and it took only 9 min to reach the start. What was surprising was the huge number of runners who passed us after the start. Where did they come from? How did they get behind us?

As is typical of a race with over 20,000 entrants, it can take awhile to get going. We tried to maintain a 15-min mile, but because we missed the first mile marker, I'm not sure how fast we were. We wove in and out of many people and tried not to get run over by runners. At the second mile marker, we were at 31:16, much slower than we anticipated. We hovered around 15-min miles for a couple of miles then slowed dramatically to 15:25 up the Eden Park hill. Our hill training definitely paid off! This hill and the entire course was much easier than we remembered from the last time we did this race.

At the top of the hill was Elvis, which made the climb totally worthwhile. He touched my hand!

The entire race had great temps. We encountered occasional sprinkles and no real wind. It was very nice racing weather. I kept taking my jacket off and putting it back on. We were very lucky the sun didn't come out. If it had, the steam from the rain would have been unbearable!

At mile 12 we went our fastest at 13:44! I tried to get Deb to keep it up, but she was unable, so I attempted to zoom off ahead of her. Ha! I did the last full mile in 14:02 and she was just a few seconds behind me. So much for zooming ahead.

We went through the food line (plenty of food) and had our picture taken. The majority of our friends were waiting right there for us! It took a while to find the family reunion area, but none of the faster members of our group were waiting. Apparently, they couldn't find the area, looked for us for a while then went back to the hotel. The rest of us walked around the after-party for a little while, got a massage (which took too long), and then headed back to the hotel.

It was a good day and a good race!

My official finish time was 3:13:59, which is as fast as I was 5-6 years ago. We averaged a 14:48 mile! I think I'm about ready to break the 3-hour half marathon barrier!

Time per Mile
We missed a couple of mile markers, but here are our times from my watch, which may be a little different from the official time:
Miles 1-2 31:16
Mile 3 15:05
Mile 4 15:05
Miles 5-6 29:01
Mile 7 15:25
Mile 8 15:08
Mile 9 14:31
Mile 10 14:44
Mile 11 14:32
Mile 12 13:44
Mile 13 14:02
Mile 0.1 1:31


Previous Half Marathon Finish Times
2003 Air Force Marathon 3:13:45
2004 Capital City Half Marathon 3:10:28

Another Reason not to Take Diet Pills

We've all seen the ads for Hydroxycut in the back of health and fitness magazines. (Well, all of them except WALK! Magazine. Not a moral comment, just an observation.) All you have to do is take the pills and you will end up with a great body, minimal fat and abs that are cut! I love the photos of the morbidly obese women who, after taking the pills, wear string bikinis with no extra skin and no stretch marks.

If it were possible to get a great body by taking a pill, EVERYONE would would have a great body!

Now, after 7 years on the market, there have been 23 claims of adverse side affects from Hydroxycut products. These 23 people had liver injuries ranging from jaundice to death. One person required a liver transplant. Now many of the Hydroxycut products have been voluntarily recalled by the manufacturer.

Statistically, 23 serious injuries out of the millions of people who have taken Hydroxycut over 7 years seems insignificant. Still, is it worth it? Is it really worth the possibility of losing your liver to be thinner a little quicker?

Most of us know that the healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off is through diet and exercise. When you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight. If you exercise and build muscle, your body will burn more calories -- even at rest. You didn't gain the extra pounds overnight, you can't lose it overnight.
__________________________

For more information on Hydroxycut:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20090501/hydroxycut-recall-due-to-liver-injuries

Swine Flu and the Flying Pig

MAY 1 UPDATE
SWINE FLU MAY BE LESS POTENT THAN EXPECTED: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/med_swine_flu

___________

Do you remember the Swine Flu outbreak of 1976? I vaguely do. Still it was surprising to read online that more people died from the rushed vaccine than from the actual illness.

To put current events into perspective, annually an average of 36,000 people in the U.S. die from a typical influenza season. (Check out http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=320 for more information.) The last Swine Flu outbreak didn't come anywhere near that number of deaths. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was fewer than 100 people who died.

Regardless, I'm not being stupid -- I am diligently washing my hands and avoiding people with symptoms.

My biggest concern, which I admit is somewhat selfish, is how this outbreak is going to affect the marathons and half marathons being held this weekend. There are three big races in and around Columbus and I know at least one person entered in each -- Capital City Half, Cincinnati Flying Pig and Indy Mini Marathon.

I'm assuming/hoping that anyone who has anything remotely close to a flu symptom will stay home. You can't do a long-distance event with the flu! Still, there are always people who will go to an expo or stand in crowds cheering on their friends even if they aren't feeling well. Maybe with the added publicity, sick people will be more inclined to stay home.

On the local news they reported that a couple of ways to prevent getting the illness include keeping active and eating healthy foods. The typical marathoner/half marathoner does that -- especially close to race date.

So, let's all wash our hands, eat healthy foods and keep active.

Here's hoping that the outbreak dies down quickly, few people are infected and that it doesn't affect our races!

____________

For many people influenza is like being pushed off a cliff. Neither the push (the flu) nor the fall (underlying condition) kills you.

It is the sudden stop.

(Quoted from: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=320)

Not Much to Add

I did my 30 min today. I didn't walk very hard and it felt good. My legs feel heavy, but that can be expected -- this is our taper week!

I hate the uncomfortableness of having heavy legs, but I'll get over it. Once I'm done playing online, and put my laptop away, it will help me get over the uncomfortable feeling. I don't know why my laptop does it, but it does.

The only bad thing about going to Cinci is, I love Izzy's. Izzy's is not something I can eat the day before a big race. Darn!

OK, let's keep walking!

I Think I'm Ready

I bought Cran Razz Clif Shot Bloks today.

My clothes have been washed and I know which shoes I will wear. I have a couple clothes options in case the weather changes and a throw-away sweatshirt lined up. Deb has made the hotel reservations and the travel plans.

Today I received my bib number via e-mail: 13540. You can track me throughout the race at: http://tracking.theendresultco.com/2009/flyingpig/index.php. That is so cool!

I got in my 30-min walk tonight. Tapering is great!

I also know where I'll be buying goetta to bring back with me.

I think I'm ready! (OK, I keep forgetting to make a reservation for the pasta dinner, but otherwise, I'm ready.)

The Importance of Race medals

As I removed the "stack" of race medals hanging over the corner of my dresser mirror, they clanged together like wind chimes. I guess I've never picked them all off at one time before, because I was surprised at the pretty sound.

I laid them out on the bed in chronological order. My favorite is the 2000 Air Force Marathon medal from my first (of only two) full marathon. It's large and pretty heavy. I remember it being a little uncomfortable to wear for very long after the race because of the weight. I looked at the detail and I still think it is a very cool medal. As I looked at the medals, it dawned on me that the quality DOES affect my perception of a race.

Many of us say we don't do a race just for the medal. Others say if races did not give medals, they would still do them. However, how I feel about a race after the fact is often colored by the quality of the medal.

After just about every race I've entered, the finishers stand around talking about the event in general and we invariably discuss the medal hanging around our necks. One race I did several years ago, the medal was so thin and ugly, we all laughed! The race also ran out of medals and several of us said we didn't even care. Basically, the finishers felt the race was being cheap and did not care about the people in the race. I still laugh every time I see that medal. (Yes, I laughed today.)

When we finished Big Sur last year, the medals hung from a leather thong and looked as if they were made from clay. We all thought they were very cool. Part of the positive experience of that particular race is the fact it had a unique medal which fit the feeling we had of the race. The race itself was cool.

A few races I've entered even make their medals into collector items, changing the design enough that you really want to have more than one. The Fox Cities Marathon in Appleton, Wi and the U.S. Air Force Marathon both do that. (I'm sure there are many others, those two I know about firsthand.) Air Force features a different military airplane/jet each year that is the focus of the shirt and medal.

OK, so I don't decide whether to do a race strictly because of the medal. If I did, I probably would have done Little Rock a long time ago! But how I talk about the race afterward, my positive or negative feelings toward it always include the quality of that after-race reward. And I admit, I have entered a couple races more than once because the medal was great. Case in point is the Flying Pig -- not only was the race great and the volunteers fantastic, the medal is pretty darn cute. It added to my reasons for doing it again this year.

Now if you were a race director, wouldn't it be worth it to spend a little extra on medals and have your finishers leave with an even more positive attitude toward your event?
_________________

Part of the reason I even began thinking about race medals is because of a conversation some Buckeye Striders had recently about how to count if you've done a race in every state. One walker was deciding whether the Flying Pig would count for Kentucky because it crosses the river into Kentucky for a few miles. She then mentioned that the race she is doing in Vermont might not give out medals and she considering counting only races that give medals.

My personal opinion is, if the race is promoted as being in a specific state, then it counts. For example the State to State would count for Ohio and Indiana. But, the Flying Pig is promoted as an Ohio race, so I would count it as just Ohio. And whether the race gives out medals or not, if you did the race, it counts. (Though it would be more cool to have a medal from each state.)

Playaway Audiobook Update

I've picked up a couple more Playaway audiobooks since I did my product review. I'm not as sold on them as I was back then. Lately I've been unhappy with the device's performance.

As I mentioned in my initial review, the sound quality is not the best. With the last two items I listened to, the buttons did not work well. One would not allow me to reverse or fast forward, the buttons also did weird things when I put the player in my pocket. The one I have now doesn't save where I stop. It's annoying to try to pick up where you left off only to have to repeat a couple chapters of the story.

Based on this recent experience, I'm not sure how often I will listen to Playaway books. Maybe it will be OK if I stick to the most recent releases before the buttons get worn out.

Warm 8 Miles Today

After how cold it has been, I'm not going to complain about it being too hot today when it was in the 60s. At the same time, the temps felt much warmer than it really was because we are not acclimated. The heat also made me worry about what the weather will be like next week. Doing a half marathon when it is suddenly warmer than usual can be tough.

Today we did 8 miles starting at 7 a.m. It is our last long distance before the half next week. The cool thing is, 8 miles was 3 miles shorter than we walked last week.

We did the first mile in about 14:30, the rest were closer to 15:00 or 15:07. I had hoped we would stay closer to 14:50. Still we did 7.8 miles in 1:57:41 and used the last 0.2 miles as a cool down. This gives us an average pace of 15:05, slower than I'd like to be. I'm confident we will be faster next week.

OK, now I have to rethink what I'm going to wear next week. I had not planned to wear a WALK! Magazine shirt because the magazine folded, but at the same time, they are my favorite shirts.

OK, we continue to taper and should have a nice easy week!

Last Intense Hill Workout Before the Pig

We did our regular weekly hill workout today! After all of those days of rain this week, it was a treat to be able to walk in sunshine.

We felt pretty good. I've said it before, but it's true -- we can feel the difference in our strength by doing hills. Though Cincinnati is pretty hilly, I'm really only concerned about Eden Park. I've trained harder this year than the last time I did the Pig, so I should be fine.

I also keep thinking about when we did Big Sur. Everyone warned us about Hurricane Point, but the worst part of the race was the continuous hills later on.

We think we'll do a light hill workout next week, but if the weather doesn't cooperate we can skip it. We are tapering after all!

I know we'll be fine in Cinci as long as it isn't too hot that day. Maybe we'll even PR.

Rainbows

Did a quick walk through the neighborhood tonight with my son. I had planned to get in the whole 3 miles, but I'm really tight on time.

While we were out, it started to sprinkle with the sun shining and the most beautiful rainbow appeared! The colors were very bright and the rainbow reached across the sky in a complet half circle. It was beautiful!

It was a great way to end a dreary, rainy Monday. I'm ready -- bring on Tuesday!

Update Coming

I'll have an update about WALK! Magazine (folded), the new WALK! Newsletter and everything else soon. I've just been unable to think clearly enough today to write a good posting. At the same time, I'm still getting many questions about the magazine and the future newsletter.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please send an e-mail to me at admin at walk-magazine.com.

Got My Mileage In

Boy, it was chilly today! I thought it would warm up pretty early, so I decided to wear shorts. Not the right decision. It took almost 2 hours before I warmed up!

We walked on a bike trail in Westerville for 5.5 miles (1.25 hrs) out, turned around and came back.

It was a very pretty trail and it was nice to do an out and back in such a nice location. It was rainy this week and we were lucky it wasn't today.

Other than my wearing shorts, the only other problem I had was I ran out of Clif Shot Bloks and was unable to buy more before this morning's mileage. I ended up eating a Promax (small) around mile 8 instead. It was better than nothing. I'll have to buy some Shot Bloks tomorrow to be sure I have what I need between now and the half marathon.

I felt great after the walk, though I felt a little stiff later on. I'm really looking forward to tapering and I can't wait to head to Cinci for the Pig!

11 Miles in the Morning...

Are you ready? We are heading out really early -- about 6:45 start, which means I have to be up before six to get there on time. Whew!

I guess it shows how much I enjoy walking with my walking club that I'm willing to get up that early just to walk with them!

Flying Pig or bust!

Only 16 Days to the Pig!

So, of course, we did hills. We did just 5 reps of our weekly "up a hill down the other" side repeat routine.

I was a little more tired than usual. I think part of it was I had too much Easter candy earlier today, and I just didn't feel right.

Still, it was a good workout.

Our next group workout is at 6:45 Saturday morning when we do 11 miles. Elaine is concerned that there are no hills on the planned route, but that is why we do hills during the week.

I am really getting excited!

Are Your Favorite 'Natural' Foods What you Think?

Just found out my favorite granola bars, the crunchy Kashi brand bars, are made by Kellogg's! It definitely changes my perception of the brand. Now I'm wondering about the quality. Did Kellogg's change them at all? Are the ingredients still natural? (What about the Kashi family?)

Check out some of your favorite "natural" brands here:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/11/Your-Favorite-Natural-Brands-May-Not-Be-What-They-Seem.aspx

I was a Wimp!

It was raining. I didn't feel like getting cold and wet. So today, I carried an umbrella. I know, I know... I'm a wimp! But I did get out and I walked for 3 miles, I just was not very fast.

Food Review -- Panera Greek Salad

I'm picky about restaurant salads. The greens must be green and there must be enough stuff on it to make it worth eating, yet toppings should not all be garbage.

I recently went to Panera for their salmon salad that was a seasonal menu item. Unfortunately, they will not be bringing it back, so I tried the Greek salad. What a disappointment!

The salad had Romaine lettuce, Kalamata olives, red onion, feta, pepperoncini (I love them!), tomatoes and their own Greek salad dressing. That sounds delicious, doesn't it?

On the good side, the ingredients are all quality, the dressing was tasty and the entire salad was only 440 calories. The problem is, besides the Romaine, there was not much of anything on the salad. Four small pieces of tomato, a few sprinkles of Feta, a couple of olives... Basically, it was a bowl of lettuce, which might explain the low calorie count.

Being the "quiet" person I am, I immediately sent an e-mail to Panera explaining my dissatisfaction with the salad. I received a canned e-mail response saying they were sorry for my disappointment and offered a gift card. That was very nice and I accepted the free lunch. Still, they did not admit there was anything wrong with the salad.

Despite my not liking this salad, I like the fact that Panera responded to my complaint very quickly. Yes, I'll go back, but I probably won't order a salad.

10 Miles

The 10 miles we walked today would have been much easier if I had slept well last night. For some reason, I kept having disturbing dreams that revolved around the movie we watched last night which caused me to wake and toss and turn.

Still, I was at the park at 7 a.m. to meet the Buckeye Striders to get in our training miles.

The first 2 miles were rough. I felt too tired to walk that far. But the more we walked the better I felt. The hills at Sharon Woods didn't even bother me! (Our hill workouts are working for us!)

We averaged a 15 min mile, which is usually on the slow side for us. But all of us were feeling the need to emphasize the "slow" part of the long slow distance this weekend.

After a good long stretch and a cup of coffee with breakfast after we finished, I've felt pretty good all day. I did end up standing in the kitchen a lot today pre-cooking some stuff for tomorrow's dinner, and that has made me a little tired, but there is no pain.

Next week we do 11 miles, then we taper until the Pig!

Hills Again!

We did five reps -- up the hill, down the other side, then up that hill and back to where we started. We could tell we are getting stronger. Today's reps were easy until the middle of the third rep.

I wish we had done hills before Big Sur! I feel fantastic!

I'm Not Obsessed

Seriously, I'm not obsessed with getting races to offer women's sizes -- I just want race garments that fit.

If the shirts or jackets offered are a brand name and a quality product, the men's small usually fits me. I get frustrated when you do all of the training, pay the money for the race, you finish the race, and yet you can't wear the shirt or jacket.

One New Year's Day race gave out a shirt that was an unusual color (not white) and I was pretty excited to wear it. The sleeves were too short for my arms, and yet the arm holes were so huge, the sleeves were like bat wings. And of course I always bring up the fleece jacket that was so huge my son who plays HS football wears it.

I admit it, I like the fact that more races are recognizing that more women than men enter their events. And sometimes I wonder what would happen if a race that attracts 70% women did not have any men's sizes.

But seriously, I'm not obsessed, I just want shirts that fit. And if it is a woman's size, all the better.

Races Offering Women's Shirts

I can't figure out a couple of things: 1) Why, when races only gave out cotton T-shirts, did the shirts fit me? 2) When the majority of people who enter races is female, why do races only offer men's garments? (One race I'm aware of has over 70% female participants.) 3) Why do men's technical shirts run so much larger than the old-fashioned cotton?

The new trend is to call the technical shirts "unisex," but basically that just means they are men's shirts.

But some race directors are getting the hint! There are a couple of races that are starting to offer women's sizes in race shirts!

The Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus, OH this May now offers women's shirts. This is a John Bingham race, and from what I can gather, this is the first year for women's sizes. The breakdown of entrants averages 60% female.

Other races offering women's sizes:
- The Columbus Marathon has offered technical shirts in women's sizes for several years.
- The Nike Women's Marathon, CA.
- The Leading Ladies Marathon, SD.
- I assume the MORE Marathon, NYC, does, too.

Anyone know of other races offering women's shirts? Let's get the word out!

Training in April Sleet

Yes, I ended up doing a couple of miles in today's sleet. It felt a lot colder than it actually was because it has been warm lately. Because of that, I wore my winter coat and heavy shoes and walked to the library instead of doing "real" miles.

My original plan was to just reach the library, return books and head back home for 2 miles. I warmed up pretty well once I got to the library and the wind had reduced, so I decided to do one lap around the park for a total of 3.2 miles. It's not the 4 miles scheduled, but it was better than nothing.

What do you do with old race numbers?

When straightening my room earlier today, I found a small stack of about six race numbers that had been sitting on my dresser. I then felt the need to dig out my entire collection of numbers. Most are just in a big 10 X 12 envelope. Some are probably stuck in the bottom of gym bags or scattered around my office. Still, I just can't throw them away.

Each number brought back memories of the fun and excitement of that race. The Country Music Marathon Half was great! The Air Force Marathon was the only full marathon I have entered and was where I met my buddy Jim from Memphis. I have quite a few from Race for the Cure. Big Sur had those killer hills! The News and Sentinel Half Marathon in Parkersburg is where I PRd. (Hills and heat?)

On the back of some of them I've written my finish time. (I had intended to do it with each race.) Some have places for emergency information and I saw the names and cell phone numbers of the people I entered with.

Because of these happy memories, I'd like to do something with them. I saw online that a woman made a dress out of hers. (Not my style.) I know others frame theirs, though I have too many for that. I could put them in a scrapbook, but I doubt if I will. In the meantime, I'll probably just put them all back in that 10 X 12 envelope until the next time I find some laying around.

So, what do you do with your old race bibs?

Stiff on Saturday

I know I've had a good workout that will improve my walking when I can feel my muscles.

Late in the afternoon Saturday, my legs were feeling heavy as I climbed the stairs. And then at the movie theater last night, I could not sit still for the last half hour of the movie! I really needed to walk around and could NOT get comfortable.

Today, they are feeling a little heavy though not sore at all. I can't wait to tackle hills again this week to see how we've improved.

9 Miles at Franklin Park

I'm not a big fan of walking at Franklin Park. It's in our walking club's rotation for the members who live on that side of town. It's a little over a 1-mile loop, there were puddles after the recent rain, and the construction makes it a little awkward. Plus, I just don't like having to do so many loops for 9 miles.

What I like about walking here is it is easy for the various members of our club to find the group. We had a total of about eight of us coming and going, with only three doing the entire 9 miles.

We started at 7 a.m. just as the sun was coming up. It was pretty chilly when we started, less than 40 degrees, but it was a beautiful morning. The first 2 miles I was stiff, but I eventually warmed up and it felt good. (I did NOT overdress today!)

So, though I do not like having to get out of bed on chilly mornings, this was definitely worth it! It was a beautiful morning walking with good friends, and I feel fantastic!
____________________

Thursday we did hills at Griggs Reservoir. Because six reps was too much last week -- we were sore for a couple of days -- we did just five reps. It felt great! And though I could feel my muscles, they were not sore. We are definitely getting stronger and I know we will be ready for the Flying Pig next month!