What a Week of Weather!

There was quite a bit of bad weather all around the world this past week and even though San Diego is usually excluded from this, this week it was a different story. It was brutal conditions all week here. It was raining so hard and the wind was incredible. It was so windy on Thursday that when I was regular walking to our starting point on our training course here, the wind literally knocked me over and I dove into the mud. At that point, I took it as a sign that I should take the day off. Tim had wanted me to take a day off sometime soon anyways because of my hamstring and I hadn't taken a day off since Christmas day, so it was ok.

I tried again to do a fartlek on Tuesday but after doing 4 X 1km/500m I had quite a bit of pain in my hamstring again and so I decided to stop. I wasn't even going very fast, I was only doing 20km pace for the 1km's (4:52/km) but the pain still came on. Since I still had pain I decided to get an appointment with our massage therapist and get her to do some needling in my hamstring since that has helped relax it in the past. Ive still been able to train every day but just easy zone #1 workouts, nothing fast. To say the least, I am a little under prepared for the Millrose Games which are this coming Friday, January 29th. Last year I had only done a handful of speed/fartlek workouts before the race but this year I have only had one! I think that with just my base work that I have a lot of strength and that I should still be able to walk fast, I just wish for my confidence that I would have had a few more workouts faster than zone #1.

This week with the day off I did 114km's. I wanted another 130km + week but because of the day off, it wasn't possible. I did a really good 25km walk yesterday. Its the "fastest" zone #1 walk ive ever done. I walked 2:22:31, a minute faster than last week and it felt so easy and heart rate was good. Today I walked 15km's (in 1:26:14) this morning at around the same pace and we took lactate after to make sure that I haven't been walking to "hard" in my easy days and it was 1.0 lactate which is perfect since it is supposed to be 1.2 or under for zone #1 workouts.

We travel to New York on Tuesday for Millrose Games. We are really looking forward to the trip and to see family and friends. Wish us luck!

Keep on walking,

Rachel

TEAM Together Again

After being sick last week I was ready to start another week with hopefully better luck. On Tuesday, Bruce and Trevor Barron arrived in San Diego for a 2 week stint of training with Tim and I. Immediately they showed relief of not having to train in the cold winter conditions in Pittsburg. Trevor spent 5 months with Tim and I last year training with lead to his success at the World Youth T&F Championships in July. We are hoping for another successful year for him with the World Junior Championships in July in Canada. It was nice for Tim to have Trevor back so that he would have a daily training partner.

My week started out well as I felt back to normal on Monday. We did our first "fast" workout of the year this week. First, Tuesday we did 12 X 500 "fast"/500 "medium". It went really well for me. It didnt feel like I had to really work hard to do "fast" and I didnt break down throughout the workout, I got faster with each one. I started out in 2:26 and finished in 2:18 and did my "medium" ones in about 2:55 average. It felt good to move my legs a little faster which will help me not feel so stale at the Millrose Games in under 2 weeks from now. As the week went on I started getting a little sick again for some reason but this time it was just through my nose and throat. It started to affect my breathing in training, especially for our first speed workout session of the year. We were doing the Mexican speedwork (1k, 800, 600, 400, 200) and I was supposed to do 3 sets. I started off my first set well but it was hard to breath because of being sick. After the first set my breathing got better but then throughout the 2nd set, my hamstring started to feel like it got pulled so we decided for me to stop after the 2nd set. I had felt some tightness after the workout on Tuesday but hadnt felt it the rest of the week so I hadnt worried about it. Here is how my sets went:

1st set:

1000m: 4:43

800m: 3:31

600m: 2:46

400m: 1:46

200m: 0:49

2nd set:

1000m: 4:35

800m: 3:37

600m: 2:43

400m: 1:46

200m: 0:48

It was all feeling very comfortable and I was hoping to be able to push a bit more on the last (3rd) set but unfortunately I was forced by my hamstring to call it a day early. It ended up being a good decision because today (Sunday) I was able to have a really good 25k workout. It was the easiest 25k I think ive ever done. I ended up walking 2:23:31 for my overall time and it felt very comfortable and my heart rate was really low. This is even more promising since I am still a little sick so I feel very happy with how training is going so far. I did 135km's this week and I am hoping to have a little bit higher week this coming week before we lower the mileage a bit for the Millrose Games. We are looking forward to some good races in NYC again this year.

Keep on walking,

Rachel

Happy Holidays...yes they were!

We have been away for the past 2.5k weeks for the holidays. We first were on Long Island, NY with Tim's family for Christmas. It was the first time that I was away from my family for the holidays. It was hard at first but after a few days of learning new traditions with my new extended family, I started feeling happy about where I was. It was definitely a completely different experience being at the Seaman house for Christmas. They have Santa Claus come for the kids and the whole deal. It was a lot of fun!

Besides all the Christmas activities, we were able to get some pretty good workouts in. Even though Long Island got the biggest snow fall in history while we were there, we were able to get to a gym and train on the treadmill (even though it was like pulling teeth to get Tim on there). It felt like the old days in Peterborough training on the treadmill in my basement every day because of the regular huge amounts of snow and ice on the ground. We did our first "fast" workout of the season at an indoor track (so that we didnt have to go on the treadmill one more day). We did the rhythm workout which is 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m with 100m "medium" in between. I am happy with how it went. I wasnt super fast by any means but it felt like I pushed myself a bit and felt comfortable. The next day I was able to train with Maria Michta (3rd at the 2009 USA National Championships) walking 20km's together. It was so nice having someone to walk with again since I mainly train alone.

Th day after Christmas we flew to South Texas for a Junior Racewalk camp where Tim and I are the lead clinicians. It was a 9 days training camp where the top juniors from the US and even Canada came to train together. We have been doing this camp for the past 4 years and its always a lot of fun and very motivating for everyone to train hard towards their goals. It was great for me to have some guys to train with for a whole week, what a treat! On the first Monday of the camp, we did our first lactate test of the year. It went so well for me. My numbers were so much lower than the same day a year ago so it shows that I am in great shape for this time of year, even better shape than this time last year so we are looking forward to a great new year!

As usual, we had the 1 mile race on the Friday (which happened to be New Years Day) and a 5km race on the Saturday morning. It ended up being a super windy and cold day on the Friday for the mile. At 9am I raced with all of the boys or anyone who could walk around 7:10 for the mile. I was the only girl that could so it was me against the boys like last year. I felt very cold and almost "cooled down" by the time the race started. My arms were frozen and it was hard to move. I still managed to walk 7:11 even though my head wasnt in it. An hour later, the rest of the kids went and lucky for them the wind had died down a bit and the sun had come out and it was warmer. Why couldnt we have had that an hour earlier??? A lot of the kids did really really well. It was great to see them get lots of personal best times.

The next day the 5km went equally well. My goal was to help my training partner for the week, Alex Chavez, break 24 minutes for the first time. We stayed together for 4km's and then I yelled at Alex and told him to go as hard as he could for the last km. He clearly had much more of a kick than me since he walked 4:20 his last km finishing in 23:20 and I walked 23:38. I was really happy with my race since it was a few seconds faster than last year at this time and it felt much easier. I didnt have that 2nd gear to go faster but I felt like I could have held the pace for 10kms which is promising for my race in a month in Phoenix. Overall it was a great camp!

Now back in San Diego, we are getting some more good training in and starting to think about doing some fun workouts to get ready for Millrose Games which is just 3 weeks away on January 29th in New York City.

Keep on walking,

Rachel

3 Good Weeks...

Here is the first professional picture from my wedding (http://www.feliciliveshere.com/). I cant wait to see the rest of them which should be done next week. My cousin Marissa and her husband Jo Jo are the genius's behind this picture.

After returning from our honeymoon we jumped right back into regular training. First week back I did 125.5km's, second week back I did 130.5km's and third week I did 138.5km's. These 3 weeks went very well. I felt good right through the end of the 3rd week. In the 3rd week I did my first workout this season that was faster than my zone #1/easy day pace. I did 2 X 5km with 1km easy inbetween. Tim walked this workout with me since my pace was the same as his easy day pace. I was supposed to go between 5:26-5:09/km. The goal was that no matter what, the 2nd 5km is supposed to be faster than the first. I ended up walking:

1st: 25:49

2nd: 25:40

It felt great and easy. It obviously really helped having Tim walking with me.

At the end of the 3rd week, we decided to go to Las Vegas for the Vegas Marathon/Half Marathon with our friends Lili and Anthony Cordova. They were going to do the half marathon and I told Lili that I would walk with her as part of my long and easy days. It was a really fun weekend except for the fact that it is FREEZING in Vegas this time of year. It was 2c the morning of the race an the race started at 6:15am, 2 combinations I dont like...cold and early, eek! Lili did super well after only been training for a month since her hip surgery.

I think the cold weather and the long drive got to me because when I tried to train on Tuesday, I had a super high heart rate and felt very congested. These symptoms have continued all week and because of this, my week of training was shot. Its better to take the short time off when you arent feeling good instead of trying to train through it and it be longer than a week that I have to take off or easy. Now Saturday, my heart rate has improved but I still have a few days until this cold is gone.

We go to Long Island, New York on Friday for Christmas. I am looking forward to being with Tim for the first time at Christmas. On the 26th we then go to McAllen, Texas for the USA Junior Racewalk Camp. Its going to be the biggest camp we have ever had with over 60 kids and 30 of them from outside of Texas. Looking forward to it!

Keep on walking,

Rachel

Wedding is Over. Time to get back to TRAINING!

Our wedding day was perfect. I know that everyone says that but absolutely nothing went wrong on our wedding day. As you can see in this picture, we had the best weather. We are so happy to finally be married. A few days after the wedding we went to Oahu, Hawaii. Neither of us had been there before and we really enjoyed it. It was just like San Diego except for better beaches and warmer weather (which is nice when you're a tourist!). We drove at least 1000 miles during those 11 days. We covered every part of that island and did everything we could. It was a fantastic trip.

For 3 weeks, I barely had time to do much real training. The week before the wedding I had my family arrive on the Monday to help me with the final touches. The next 2 weeks we continued to host guests for a few days after the wedding and then took off for our 11 day honeymoon. Like I said, barely any time for training.

We have now been home from Hawaii for 2 weeks. We jumped right into full time training again. Even though we were very tired when we got back, we have managed to get some very good mileage in. Last week I did 125km's and this week I will have 130km's. The mileage will just keep building over the next 2 weeks leading up to a race that I will be doing in Long Island when we go home for Christmas. So far training is going well and I am looking forward to the 2010 season.

Keep on walking,

Rachel

Married in 10 days!

I cant believe how quickly the wedding has come. It is now only a week and a half away and with not much left to do, I can now just enjoy and look forward to the big day. I mostly am looking forward to my family and friends coming for the wedding. My sisters are coming in just a few days so that they can be here to help me with the final touches. Here is a picture of Tim and I at the spot where we got engaged in March in Sedona, Arizona.

Training has been going pretty well but I have been pretty stressed and mentally tired from all the wedding preparations. The last few days I have been more relaxed and have been feeling better while training. My mileage has been coming on slower than I would have liked because I have been pretty tired and busy. Last week was my biggest week of the new season at 114km's. This week I should have around 120km's and then I will have about 3 weeks of pretty low mileage because of the wedding and our honeymoon in beautiful Hawaii where we will be for 11 days. I have managed to get up to 18km's for my longer walks but this week will do 20k for the first time since the Ontario 20km RW Championships on September 20th. The last three Sundays I have gone hiking. Hiking is a really great break from racewalking or running but allows you to be on your feet for hours so its a good workout and gets your body ready for the longer racewalking workouts.

I will be continuing to do base training for the next few months, trying to build mileage and get stronger. I will not be racing until the end of January at the Millrose Games again. Looking forward to it!

Keep on walking,

Rachel

Training on the Strand

Finally after barely being in San Diego since April, I am back and getting into a new routine.

A lot has happened since I was last here. We decided to move from Tim's studio apartment to a two bedroom apartment that is 20 meters from the trail that we train on every day, the Silver Stand. The main reason for moving was to have more room but more importantly to be closer to the trail so that we didnt have to drive to practice every day. It has been so great living so close, we are loving it so far! The apartment is still a mess from moving but it is coming along.

Along with the new apartment, we have bought a "new" car. Its a 2007 VW Rabbit and VERY importantly, its AUTOMATIC :) haha! I dont know how to drive standard so we had to get an automatic so that I would be able to drive. It has felt so good being able to drive here. I feel so much more independent now.

Training has been going ok. I started training again on September 7th and was pretty stressed the first few weeks of training because I was packing up all my stuff in Canada and getting ready to move. It was a big step for me. I walked at the Ontario 20km RW Championships on September 20th as a workout. It went really well. I was actually very surprised how good I felt. I ended up walking 1:52:21, walking every 5km faster than the previous one. I tried to walk with some of the other walkers during the race to try and help them and so that I could have some company! The last 5-6km's I walked with a man named JP who was doing his first 20km. He did so well! His PB for 10k is around 55 minutes so that shows how well his first 20k was! It was really fun walking with him.

The last week I have been feeling much better. My heart rate has been getting lower and my pace has been getting a little faster. I have been consistently under 6 minutes/km on my easy days which is fine for this point of the season. It will just gradually get faster in the next few weeks. I am using my disappointment from Berlin to motivate me and I am really looking foward to this coming season!

It is now October 2nd and Tim and I are getting married in 29 days! WOW! Time goes fast. I am feeling pretty much ready. There is some stuff that I still need to do which is typical but I am looking forward to having everything done and being able to enjoy the week before the wedding with my family.

Keep on walking,

Rachel