Ahhhhhhhh :) :) :) Happy Tammy

I caved in. I couldn't stand it one more second, so I went racewalking this afternoon. I know I probably shouldn't have, but it felt SO GOOD, and guess what? Nothing hurt! I stopped 4-5x to stretch carefully, and was very careful about my technique. Specifically, after yesterday's TNT injury prevention clinic (which was great, BTW!) given by a physical therapist who is an avid triathlete, I decided to focus on 1) increasing my cadence just a bit (I wondered if I had been getting in the habit of a slower cadence and longer steps), and 2) being very mindful of not overstriding with my left (injured) leg. I think that the overstriding might be a factor in my injury, and though I will not be afraid to lengthen my stride a bit in the future, I think I first need to work a bit on making sure that my cadence is appropriate and that my foot placement is not too far in front of my body. I want to stay healthy!!!

I wasn't going to go very fast, but I ended up being pretty quick because of my cadence work, which is fine since nothing hurt! My cadence was about 180-184 per minute every time I checked it - pretty good, and about where I would expect it to be for the speed I was going. Amazingly, it was exactly what I told the TNT participants yesterday when they asked what cadence a RW should have. I told them I thought mine was ~180, and I'd like to see theirs be >160. A quicker cadence means that they are less likely to be overstriding and more likely to be taking the small, quick, rolling steps of a racewalker. Now I know that elite RWers have cadences >200, but I am not an elite, and I wasn't going at top speed, either, so I think that 180-184 was just about right for me today.

It was great having my Garmin - it measured the Liberty Park route I always do at 3.91 miles (my car odometer measures it at 3.9). I did the 3.91 miles in 40:16, for 10:18/mile average pace. Average HR was 139 but this includes the stops for stretching; the graph shows that it was more like 145-150 for most of the workout, which correlates well w/my speed. I actually do not think I have lost too much fitness, which is completely amazing.

After getting back I stretched very thoroughly, I took some ibuprofen, and I am now icing my knee just in case it's injured (though it feels just fine, even going down stairs - yay!). I feel SO VERY GOOD now. It was incredibly motivating being out there again. It got me thinking about the year ahead, the races I plan to do, and the thrill of competition :).

Tomorrow - there is no weight training class tomorrow, and I really need to rest my leg tomorrow, so probably more swimming is in the cards.