Trial "Run"

Okay, it wasn't actually a run, but trial walk just doesn't have the same ring to it. We have been planning for a week or so to take a trial "run" of the race. So we scheduled a 6 mile walk the Sunday before the race. I wanted to get a sense of the pace I could expect to sustain and my general endurance for 6 miles of walking.

We decided to walk on the trail we did a couple of weeks ago when we got caught in the rain. Thankfully we did not get rained on this time :)  We also invited our friend too. Earlier this spring she ran/walked a 1/2 marathon so we knew she would be up for it. (She has lost 87 pounds in the last year or so.)  We picked her up at 6 am. Nothing like a cool summer morning to get you going.  

We headed out with lots of energy! We moved along at a good pace, but not so fast that we couldn't chat as we walked. Of course, I had to pick my friend's brain about her success and her struggles. The secret to her success...hard work!! Sorry, there is no easy way. You just have to put your head down, make good food choices and move your hiney.  No way around it!  I also got some good tips on workout wear. I am sure by now you have noticed I have a very limited workout wardrobe. I usually end up wearing the one pictured above because the pants have pockets. By, the way, consistent working out means loads more laundry..be prepared!  My friend recommended a belt that has a pouch on it for a phone/camera/keys/ID. I will have to look into that - sounds very convenient. I would like to choose my workout wear on cuteness - not pockets. It was so much fun having her on our walk with us...got to make plans again!!

If I could have changed one thing about our walk is that my husband would have had the opportunity to do a real trial run of his race. He thinks he will be able to run the first 3-4 miles and then maybe another mile after that - that is 4-5 miles out of 6 after just starting to run about a month ago!!  I wish he'd chance to test it out. Since the trails are a little remote we prefer him to stick a little closer. I had a thought this morning while I was walking - I should ride my bike next to him while he runs sometimes. I wish I had thought of this sooner. I am not sure he will want to do it now so close to the race.

I look like I might be wearing down a little in this picture or maybe it was just an unfortunate moment.

I was very pleased with our performance. I didn't feel like we were pushing ourselves to the limit, but it was certainly a workout. I loved having my Garmin watch to keep an eye on our pace. I could not have been more surprised though by our consistency. I feel strongly there will be room for me to do even better on race day. We plan to take Friday off from working out so we are fresh for Saturday...I am getting excited.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:40:45.5	6.03	16:43
1	17:13.1	1.00	17:13
2	16:38.1	1.00	16:38
3	16:32.5	1.00	16:32
4	16:44.2	1.00	16:44
5	16:32.9	1.00	16:33
6	16:33.4	1.00	16:33
7	:31.2	0.03	19:10