Time to pick up the speed!

Speed training: that was the goal of our Team in Training workout this morning. We met at Marshall High School in Falls Church to do some intervals for speed. Before we began, our coaches gave us a lesson in technique and how to "walk like a racewalker". You would be interested to know that this includes a great deal of hip swinging!! This is where dance lessons and an affinity for Latin music came in handy (not that I'm an expert, but I like to think I can move my hips!!). It was pretty funny to look at our shadows on the track and see a whole line of bum-shakers! I thought this was walking!! Of course, arm-pumping is an important part of the process...I know, it looks silly, but if you do it right, it really keeps you going and apparently when your feet are tired and sore and your hips are "dead" (this is the word she used!), your arms do the walking. No, not literally...but that would be an interesting race to watch!
We did five 1K (2 and 1/2 laps around a track....4 laps=1 mile) intervals with a two minute break between each one. I was pleased with my time (an average of about 8 minutes, 22 seconds)...yah, I know. It doesn't sound that great, but remember I am walking and I'm only getting started!!! After our workout, they told us the story of an alum of the training program (she is now training for a triathlon) who could walk 1 mile in 7 minutes. Yah, that's right, folks, WALK!!!!! Apparently my form is pretty decent, so maybe someday---say in 5 or 10 years---I can do that! OK, probably not. My fastest race when I ran cross country in high school was about 6 minutes, 30 seconds and I was going as fast as I thought possible.
It's fascinating though---racewalking is so different from running. It takes a different technique and I've even heard that it burns more calories than running. I don't know about that, but I think I'll look into it! That would be great for me! Oh yah, I lost one more pound. I'm not trying to lose, it's just happening because we're doing more miles. I guess I never really realized what great exercise walking is!
I met more people today, although we weren't allowed to talk while exercising---you know, the point being to build up speed and all. But afterwards, everyone chatted and it feels like a family. It's quite inspiring to listen to everyone's story and to hear their "race resume". I think I would really like to make speedwalking an important part of my exercise forever...anyone interested in doing some smaller races with me? No fundraising, just local races to get out there and have fun while staying in shape. Let me know!!! :)