Power Walking my Way to the Podium!

This morning I participated in my first event for the year.  Yes, we're already into July and I'm just now participating in something.  Today was the women's distance festival 5K and I entered as a walker because I'm *still* not running.  In fact, I'm beginning to question whether I will ever run again, but that's a post for another day.

This is one of my favorite events because the all-women nature of it ends up with a very supportive vibe.  Many women who wouldn't otherwise be running come out for this one.  There's always a first time running group that participates as well. I just love that aspect of it

2nd Place Overall Walker

This also happens to be one of the only events in the area that I'm aware of with a competitive walk division. I had noticed from last year's results that the first place walker finished in about 29 minutes (holy smokes, that's fast), second place was 40min or so, and third place was about 45min.  Having timed myself at the track, I had a personal goal of finishing somewhere between 44 and 45 minutes as a power walker and thought maybe I had a chance at third place.  One the race got underway, I noticed a race walking lady about 20 years older than me in a garden hat that was kicking my butt.  I kept her in my sights and found her to be very inspiring for me to keep my pace up.  Eventually I managed to pass her and didn't let up my pace until the end.  This landed me 2nd place overall among the walkers with a finish of 40:33, roughly13min/mi.  Man, that was hard work, but a very rewarding result. I think I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

Run Friends!

Another highlight of the morning was meeting up with an old friend.  I had been with her when she ran her very first 5K about 6 years ago at this same event.  She notice that I was participating (albeit as a walker) and decided to sign up for the event again. Apparently this was her first time in a long time to get back to running. Yay to her for getting out there this morning!!!

Overall, this was a great event as always.  I'm glad I participated.  I really surprised myself with my power walk pace this morning and it was nice to take home some bling! Now I'm seriously considering taking up power walking.  I don't think there are many events with competitive walking around here though, so this might end up being a once-a-year thing for me.  Okay, actually, I doubt that I'll take up power walking, but I probably *will* compete as a walker again next year. For the most part, I'm planning to put my energy into cycling; it's a lot more fun than walking.

Next up: Live.Love.Tri at the end of August....but I signed up for the AquaBike division this time.  That will be another first for me!  Stay tuned!