Myrtle Beach is an awesome place for a race. Did one there in 2008 and tried again this year but got snowed out with 4" of snow the night before the race. Will be there again next February.
Have fun!
Janet
Thornton Sparkers Team Leader SparkPeople's Official 5K Your Way Walking Program Co-Leader
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. - Helen Keller
Don't look at life as "you have to," view it as "you get to." It puts the fun back in things.
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DEPOTMODE
SparkPoints: (43,333)
Fitness Minutes: (21,211) Posts: 37 5/13/10 7:55 P
Thanks for the encouragement and tips!
Janet, my next half is going to be the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon on October 24, so I have some time. :)
Yes, you can use intervals to increase speed and stamina while walking. Use the same thing you would if you were running them. There are a lot of interval training plans out on the net and in running magazines.
The other thing you need to make sure you are doing is using the correct form and posture, head up, arms in a runner's stance (90% bend at elbow),shorten your step out the front & lengthen your stride out the back - this means keeping your foot on the ground longer in order to get a stronger push off with your toe.
Work on strength/core training at a 2:1 ratio of upper body/core to lower body/core. Your core keeps you standing tall and your upper body (aka arms, shoulders) propels you forward and controls the speed of your legs.
I hope this helps. What's your next 1/2?
Janet
Thornton Sparkers Team Leader SparkPeople's Official 5K Your Way Walking Program Co-Leader
I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. - Helen Keller
Don't look at life as "you have to," view it as "you get to." It puts the fun back in things.
Pounds lost: 17.0
0
21.25
42.5
63.75
85
LINDAKAY228
Posts: 14,316 5/13/10 4:01 P
I don't really have any advice for you, but do celebrate the fact that you are doing them walking or running. I'm just working into running, and can run about 20 minutes now, with maybe a few more minutes thrown in somewhere. But I did a half 2 weeks ago with just a little running and a lot of walking. My ankle wasn't injured though. I did it in 3:06 and was happy but I walked fast all the way through. I want to do more halfs, and eventually hope to be able to run all the way through but would like to do one late summer or early fall in the meantime. Good luck to you and I'll be looking forward to hear more on how you do.
Linda
Last is just the slowest winner."-C Hunter Boyd
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So I walked my first half back in April (3:48:15) --with an ankle injury. Now, I'm gearing up to train for my second half (after giving my ankle about a month to heal completely), and I know for a fact my next half has a course limit of 3.5 hours. So I have to shave off quite a bit of time off my first half's time--I'm aiming to get half an hour off April's time. The course will be comparable to the half I got the 3:48 on (that is, flat), so that's not an issue.
I'm not in good enough shape right now to attempt jogging intervals, but I'm wondering if brisk walking intervals would be enough to get my time down. My question is, what is an ideal time on/time off interval to do when walking? I'm thinking one minute fast, two minutes recovery, but I don't know if that's enough to get my time down and my fitness up.
Anyone have any advice for me? I know there are quite a few walkers here, so I'm hoping y'all can weigh in. :) Thanks!
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