Walk Training

 My next 100 miler is now a mere few weeks away. Before my last one, I didn't think too much about walking during the race. Now, I did expect to do some. In fact, I really expected to do a lot of it. However, I did not prepare for it. Meaning, I didn't explicitly include any walk training in my training. plan. 

This time around I am. I have added it because I don't have a good feel for walking paces. Send me out for a run, and I know the different paces. Walking I just don't. 

Over the last month and half, I have been getting on a tread mill, raising the incline just a bit, and playing with the paces while walking. I have been walking up to a 4 mph pace. That's moving when you think about it for walking. By doing this, I feel that I have gotten a better sense of what it feels like to walk at that pace. I am hoping that this carries over to my race. 

An interesting tidbit to this. Walking this fast does not feel natural to me. In some ways, I feel like it is harder than running. Still, I plan to do it some because I know shifting between the muscle groups even if it is only slightly extends how much further I can run. In the end, it is all about the running. 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner