Too many new walking gadgets

So it is Monday and time to get back to training. Yesterday was a day off, well I did do a 3-mile walk with the dog (funny, she kept trying to take all the shortcuts home during the walk) and I also did a few easy laps in the pool but I was taking it slow and didn't time myself or anything. What a difference this morning--strapped on the Timex Ironman watch and the iPod/Nike computer and off I went. Well, sort of. I haven't quite gotten the hang of these new gadgets and didn't start them both at the same time, missed marking my third mile on the watch and didn't stop the iPod properly at the end of the walk. Still, Lance Armstrong's voice came on at the end of the workout to congratulate me on my fastest mile yet--at least the fastest recorded on the iPod:

Best Kilometer: 7:39

Best Mile: 12:34

A couple of weeks ago I would have been thrilled at this, but I know I can do much better now. I won't be trying to break any PR's this week though. This coming weekend is the Dave McGovern racewalking clinic and I don't want to injure myself so I'll be taking it easy through Friday.

For what it is worth, here's the time for the full 3-mile walk:

Timex Ironman watch: 37:48

And here is the reading off the iPod--note that I hit "MENU" to stop the workout at the 3-mile mark but it kept going. I was shocked to see a reading of 16+ min/mile but that was because it was reading my cool down walk.

Distance: 3.05 mi

Time: 41:32

Pace: 13.35 min/mi

Something else I noticed this morning was that my mileage markers were somewhat different from my now calibrated iPod/Nike computer. I marked the course using the odometer on my car but the sidewalk where I run is a little shorter because the turning radius is a little less than the distance the car has to turn the corners on the street. It was only off by a few yards so my previous timings should still be pretty close.

Once I get the hang of these gadgets I'll get a more accurate reading but let's say that if I take the distance from the iPod and the time from the Timex, my average pace is:

12:36 per mile

According the website for the LA Marathon, the winning racewalker in my age group did a 12:10 pace and the second place finisher kept up a 13:14 pace. At this point in my training I'm happy with where I'm at.