Mornin' everyone.

Aamos, I also enjoyed the story with the lyrebirds a couple a' days ago. The way they imitate other sounds is extraordinary!

",,,Question for Jay//

.........is Race Walking more Efficient than Power Walking??..........>>when you keep your back heel down longer to get a more even push-off and less bobbing up and down motion. I can't do the step required for Race Walking yet, 'cause I can't cross the ''mid-line'' for another 30-days

but am planning to give it a try"

Tom, the short answer is yes, racewalking is more efficient than power walking. My own opinion is that power walkers use strength, but not technique, to walk as fast as they do. They tend to overstride and to not bend their arms, and those two factors alone retard, rather than increase speed. On my workout this morning, I did quick 'normal' walking, which is my version of power walking without overstriding. I averaged about 14:12/mi. over 5.5 miles, and my strides/min. were somewhere around 140. My perception is that if I put in about the same amount of effort while racewalking, my pace would be somewhere in the 11s. The difference is that all those silly things that racewalkers do enable us to increase our stride rate to 170+, and that makes a huge difference in overall speed. You do get a better push-off with your back foot in racewalking, but it is because your toe is on the ground longer, not your heel. With a racewalking stride, you land on your heel, roll the length of your foot, and push off with your toe at the end of the stride. When you say "cross the mid-line," are you referring to crossing one foot slightly over the other when you walk? If so, that is helpful in racewalking (it facilitates better hip rotation, which helps increase leg speed), but it isn't necessary, and there are racewalkers who never cross that center line when they walk. If you are going to give racewalking a try (yay!), see if you can find a local racewalker or racewalking coach/group to work with. Learning from videos, etc. helps, but nothing beats having another person watch you and offer suggestions on the fly, as it were...

Race preps for tomorrow are going well, and packet pick-up got off to a good start yesterday. People seem to really like this year's race shirts (an artistic rendering of a flounder in chartreuse on a navy blue shirt), which is always good to hear. More packet pick-up/registration today, and we'll get everything ready to start setting up the course signage, water stop, post-race food pavilion, fun-run, and award ceremony for tomorrow morning.

As previously stated, I went 5.5 walking miles this am in mild 50F temps with a slight breeze. I was very tempted to busta' racewalking move along the way, but I'm mindful of my butt, and so didn't go there. Someday soon...

Good luck, fleet feet, and happy faces to our weekend racers:

10/23 runnerclay - Run to the Edge Senoia 60 hour

10/24 DennisLey - Peak to Creek - Jonas Ridge, NC

10/24 wildchild - Beware the Bear 15k, Lakewood CO

10/25 Ileneforward - Surf City 10 mile, HB CA

10/25 milktruck - WMM Half Marathon, N. Conway, NH  (tentative)

10/25 milktruck - Great Pumpkin 10K, Saco, ME (tentative vs WMM half)

10/26 Mike E - Marine Corps Marathon, Washington DC

10/26 Deez4boyz -  Dublin Marathon, Dublin

Have a greta Friday!

Jay

Good morning good people. Just coming off the worst flu bug I've had in a long time so I'm a little behind here. Spent the last three days either flopped on the couch or in the bathroom. "Just one stomach flu away from my ideal weight."

Good luck with the race(s) this weekend Jay. And thanks for the great explanation of "race walking."  You should write a book!

Great pictures of the dogs, Twocat. Dogs actually get a "bye" in a dog show? I did not know that! One of my favorite movies is "Best in Show" but I suspect people who actually take this seriously wouldn't like it much. And DH and I watch the Westminster Dog Show every year. Love it.

I read the article on events like "Tough Mudders" taking revenue away from local charity runs. That might be true in certain parts of the country, but I'm not sure that's the case here. Our local races are always very well attended. I think that may have something to do with my location (not being a big city and climate issues) and not having a real lot of races to choose from. And maybe because the price of doing a Tough Mudder is so expensive (not to mention that it is a hard race to do), it discourages a lot of folks from forking out that kind of money. I was disappointed to read that the money they say goes to support Wounded Warriors is not what is actually the case.

Anyway, I tried to run this morning. My legs were all for it, but my lungs and chest said "not so fast, lady." So, 5 miles of walk/run in a very comfortable 39° and no wind.

GET YOUR FLU SHOTS! And have a great Friday

Hiya!

Who knew, twoCAT at a dogshow!  Cool pictures.

I got my flu shot about 2 weeks ago, so I should be relatively protected.  Feel better, jlynne...

Lovely weather here.  enjoyed cruising (my new term for my running speed) by the river through the neighborhoods last night as the sun set.  Easy 6 then, and ditto this am on my regular route.

And I'll be cruising along the streets of VA and DC also, at the MCM.  Mike E will be carrying the RA banner for us; look for a zippy time there!

Greta weekends, all!

grins,

A

exactly 5.00 autumn crunchy, crackly cycling miles mostly over yellow and brown leaves carpeting much of the same mostly bike path route I ran in on yesterday.  However, at a degree colder. (46-degrees), cycling needed the yellow windbreaker raincoat I haven’t worn for more than ten years since the snowy, sleety, rainy boomer reunion at the Seattle Marathon in those days.
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Even though there was no reason do any more running after yesterday morning’s five-mile running commute, let alone any cycling, something strange and wonderful happened after lunch for the first time since July 2006 when I clearly remember a warm and sunny day possessed me for no reason whatsoever except to go running to join the daily masses who use their lunch hours for daily waterfront runs with the Olympic Mountains on the horizon and a snowy Mt. Rainier backdrop looming on the way back:
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I not only took leave of my senses at 2:00 p.m. as temperatures snuck up into the sixties to run back the same five miles, but I was unable to stop myself from extending the autumn ecstasy for another 15 miles of cycling.  No wonder I love running in Seattle so much.  Wish everybody could too.
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ps deez: have you ever heard of Michael Higgins? 
I doubt if he’s running but, though he’s here in Seattle this week,

he should be back in Dublin by your marathon Monday. Have fun, . . .

and don’t forget to tip a green cap to spectators along the way and at the finish.

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pps TS - still in awe about TS and DW in their daughter’s wedding picture.

You guys look like kids too.

<<<(jealous/jealous)>>>

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ppps MikeE - I’ll try to send some of our spectacular weather your way too.
Is Amy or anyone joining you or are you on your own?

it is for 50-states?

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pppps twocat - it'll be okay to post some close ups of your sis's show dogs.

Thanks for all the well wishes!! I can't wait to just get to the airport - too much nervous energy today!!

TomS - beautiful Family!!

Yes, tet--Amy will be there at MCM.

I'm at the airport waiting to board my flight to DC.  It's raining here, which I'm assuming is going to create more turbalence.  Yippee.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of people on this flight, which means the plane will be lighter and will bounce around a lot more.  Yippee again.  Because I'm running, I have to face all of this without drinking heavily before they drag me onto the plane.  Oh what fun I am having!  Have I ever told you guys how much I hate flying?

I have gas...I feel sorry for the person sitting next to me...not only will they have to comfort me, they'll have put up with the smell as well.  Hopefully there will be a small child on board that I can blame it on.

That reminds me of a time when my kids were little and we were grocery shopping.  I had to pass a little gas, so I walked ahead of my kids into an empty isle.  All of a sudden my DD yelled, "Dad!  Did you fart?!"

Uh oh!  My life is passing before me!

Uh oh!  We're boarding!

See ya!

 

I'm at the airport waiting to board my flight to DC.  It's raining here, which I'm assuming is going to create more turbalence.  Yippee.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of people on this flight, which means the plane will be lighter and will bounce around a lot more.  Yippee again.  Because I'm running, I have to face all of this without drinking heavily before they drag me onto the plane.  Oh what fun I am having!  Have I ever told you guys how much I hate flying?

 

I have gas...I feel sorry for the person sitting next to me...

Mike - I hate flying, too.  I feel your pain re: turbulence terror.  And did I tell you about the flight I had (3 hours later than my planned connecting flight because my first flight was late and I missed my connection) where I sat next to a sweet non-English-speaking young man who was probably 24 hours into his journey from Asia who had the WORST gas, I mean, life-flashing -before-your-eyes deadly - I just turned my face to the window and prayed for fresh air.  It was AWFUL!  But lived.  And I suspect he did as well. 

We landed!  I'm alive!

Good start to the weekend. Good luck to you and Amy!