Walk this way

Wow, has it really been almost two months since I updated my blog? I guess so! Things have been hectic, but I feel there is so much to write about.

First, let’s start with walking. As in the 10K power walking race I did at the end of April. I diligently followed the training schedule and made it through the walk with flying colours, clocking in at 1:09:26 and placing third in my age category (women under 40). Not bad for my first attempt!

But I can’t really say I loved the power walking. Sure, I love my Tread Powerfully classes (which, yes, involves power walking), but those classes are different. They incorporate a lot more muscle and strength training, and it’s not straight walking for an hour. We stop a lot and do muscle training segments, so it’s a completely different experience.

Power walking? It’s HARD. Physically, it’s almost as demanding as running. But the hardest part is mental, because no matter what, you cannot run. If you run, you will get disqualified from your race. One foot must be on the ground at all times or else! And that’s what I found hard. I don’t like being constantly worried about my gait. Part of why I like running is that it gives me time to set my mind free and work through any problems or issues I am having. If I have to concentrate too much on walking, I lose some of that “me” time I get with running.

So no matter how “good” I am at power walking (and good is, naturally, a relative term), I’m now back to running. I know I’ll never come in third place in a running race, but that’s okay by me. I’m doing this strictly for me, and as long as I continue to meet my own goals, I’m happy.

Now I’ve started training for the Moon in June 5K. I’m trying for a PR (hopefully under 27 minutes!), so my training plan involves a lot of speed intervals. I’m also sticking with the Tread Powerfully and strength training, because I find the more I do, the leaner my muscles.

And in even better news, my handsome hubby has agreed to run the 5K race as well! I’m excited that this is an experience we can share, and I really hope he enjoys race night as much as I do. He’s been following a training plan I devised for him, and hopefully he’ll do really well himself on race day. (Or, rather, race evening, since it starts at 9 p.m.!)

Finally, in the most exciting news of all, I just finished up my first feature for Canadian Running magazine! It’s coming out in the July issue, and it’s about how to lose weight while training. (Hmmm… wonder where that topic came from? I don’t obsess over that constantly, do I?) I’m very excited to be finally writing about running and I’m already thinking of new articles to pitch them.

So that’s about it for this short update, as I’m racing to go pick up my weekly order of organic vegetables (more on that later…), then pick up Andrew from a birthday party, come home and head to a meeting for Chris’ nursery school. There is much going on in my life these days, and I want to try and write about all of these changes. I’ve revamped my fitness routine (with Tread), changed my diet (finally cutting out most of the junk!) and I am really starting to feel like I am moving forward. How appropriate for a runner!

Happy trails…