The weather was absolutely gorgeous this morning. It's been unseasonably warm, and I'm not complaining at all! It was cold last week, so this is a welcome change. It was 44F (6.7C) and clear with a little breeze. I wore capri pants, long sleeves, and very light gloves.
Before leaving on my 5K walk, I did a set of step-downs on each side, with the PT band around my knees to activate my glutes, both med and max. I repeated this at 1.67 km and 3.33 km into my walk, along with some leg swings and brief piriformis stretch. I concentrated really hard on using my left glutes in particular while I walked, along with bringing my right leg through low so as to avoid bent knee problems. I also worked on keeping my core strong - lots to think about.
My right piriformis/hip was a little sore today. It felt better after the first stretch at 1.67 km, but it never felt quite 100%. All the same, it didn't really hurt outright, either. It just sort of ached and felt tight. Stopping to stretch helped it a lot, and I didn't have any problem finishing the 5K.
I'm in the habit of a fast cadence from the elliptical and the bike, and I think that is transferring to racewalking, as I walked pretty fast again. My heart rate was correspondingly high. I walked the 5K in 29:39, with average HR 153. Of course, stopping twice to stretch helped me keep going. I wasn't trying hard to go fast, but it happened anyway.
I also worked a bit on my breathing. I had read in Runner's World magazine that a 3-2 inhale-exhale pattern (3 steps inhale, 2 exhale) was beneficial. It is supposed to help you to have a more even foot strike and avoid landing harder on one foot than the other, which makes sense. I figured it can't hurt to give this a try, and might help. It's hard to remember to do it, but I think like anything it can become a habit if I work on it.
After my walk I took the kids to school, got ready for work, and biked to work. It was too nice not to!
Garmin data for the 5K here.
No comments:
Post a Comment