I went to the lake today for my long walk, but things just didn't click. First we went to a wedding last night and, although I tried to resist, I ate too much wedding cake. Friday and Saturday nights I didn't sleep well or long enough, so this morning I just didn't feel great Then I left my Garmin Forerunner at home and had to go back and get it. That meant I started later than expected, and that means I dealt with the heat longer than necessary.
Once I got to the lake I got in the groove of things and felt pretty good. It was hot (I'll be repeating that phrase for several more months) but not unbearable. I had plenty of liquids (I brought an ice cooler with extra water and gatorade so I could replenish liquids halfway around the lake), had a snack, had my Hammer Gel and my electrolyte caplets. As I finished my first lake lap I caught up with some other racewalkers and passed them pretty easily (I hate to admit it but it felt good). One young punk (just kidding, a good young racewalker) decided to play with me and tried to out pace me, but I hung on his elbow until he got tired and then I passed him. That was the start of my second loop.
My plan was to do 24 miles. The lake is about 9.3 miles around, so that meant two loops plus another 5.5 miles. As I got close to the end of my second loop I had a little discomfort in my right knee. Nothing too severe but something to pay attention to. When I got to my car I refilled my bottles and drank some nice, cold water. I was feeling very tired and was tempted to quit there but I pushed myself to go on. However, I made it only another mile before I had some pain in my chest/side that was very uncomfortable and I was very tired. I decided there was no reason to push myself too hard so I walked slowly back to my car and called it a day.
I was a little disappointed but 19 miles is still good mileage, especially after 4 days of 7+ miles this week. I'm pushing my mileage in anticipation of the 24 hour race, but I know that if I push too hard I'll probably burn out or injure myself. I also know that I need to slow down if I want to go farther (I'll be doing the 24 hour race and 1.5 - 2 minutes slower per mile). So I'll just be happy with what I did and start planning for the week. This week will be more of the same (4 days of 7+ miles) and then my long walk (maybe 22 miles is a good target to aim for). The week after that will be the Flagpole 8k on July 4th.
Distance: 19.0 miles
Time: 3:37:36
Pace: 11:27
