A Short Long Walk

Sunday should be my long walk but what to do the week after a marathon? Since I'm in a "reverse taper" mode right now and the next race that I'll likely get myself into is a 5k next week in Huntington Beach, I decided that 6 miles would be long enough. However, I've been doing the 3 mile course so much that I took a wrong turn at the end and only did about 5.5 miles. So let's call this a short 5 mile long walk.

Mile 1 - 12:01               (07:28 min/km)
Mile 2 - 12:12               (07:34 min/km)
Mile 3 - 12:20               (07:39 min/km)
Mile 4 - 12:12               (07:34 min/km)
Mile 5 - 12:03               (07:29 min/km)
Total Workout - 01:00:48
Average Pace  - 12:09 min/mi (07:33 min/km)

It was a very warm morning and I got up a bit late, blame it on daylight savings time. I tried to keep my heart rate under 160, though it did creep up a little towards the end as the day warmed up.

I also tried a new sports drink--a homemade concoction of 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 teaspoon lite salt with one quart of warm water, refrigerated overnight. It tasted great, though I might squeeze some fresh lemon or lime in it next time.

By the way yesterday I did do some speed work with the Southern Cal Walkers, but Elaine Ward videotaped us so it wasn't really much of a workout. After the taping I did try matching the speed of a couple of our fastest walkers, Donna Cunningham and Pedro Santoni. I could reach their speed but don't have the endurance to keep it up for very long.