On July 7, I competed in the first of three events at the National Senior Games in Pittsburgh. My first event was the 1,500 meter race-walk event. In the coming days, I’ll also compete in the 5,000 meter race-walk event and the 5K road race.
Anyone over 50 can
compete in the senior games at the state level.
If you place high enough in your age group at the state level, you
qualify to compete in the same event at the national level. I qualified to compete in the 2023 National
Senior Games by competing in the 2022 Minnesota Senior Games.
Last year, I had a hamstring
injury that made it impossible for me to go all-out in any of my events at the
Minnesota Senior Games. When I checked
in, I looked at the list of registrants and saw that there were only four men
in my age group in the 1,500 meter race-walk event. The top four in each age group qualify for
nationals, so I walked at a moderate pace.
I came in last in my age group, but I still qualified.
In the race-walking
events, if you qualify in either event at the state level, you can compete at
both distances at nationals. Similarly,
if you complete in either road race event at the state level, you qualify for
both road race events at nationals. In
the road race events, you don’t need to place in your age group. Anyone who competes in their state’s senior
games can compete at nationals.
I was qualified to
complete in both the 5K and 10K road race events, but the 10K conflicted with
the 1,500 meter race-walk event. Both events
were scheduled for Friday morning, and they were on opposite sides of town. It wasn’t feasible to do both of these events. I had a much more realistic chance of placing
in the 1,500 meter race-walk, so I skipped the 10K road race.
I flew to Pittsburgh on
Thursday. I stayed at a hotel in the
western suburbs, because it was centrally located for my events. Before competing in any events, I needed to check
in at the race headquarters to receive my credentials. Athlete check-in didn’t begin until 5:00 PM
on Thursday. That gave me time in the
afternoon to do some strength training in my hotel’s fitness room. I try to do leg and core exercises at least
three times a week.
Athlete check-in was at
the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. I wanted to check in before dinner, so I wanted
to get there as soon as they opening. I
knew a lot of other people would have the same idea. If there’s one thing seniors have in common,
it’s a tendency to arrive early.
I got to the convention
hall 20 minutes early, and there was already a long line for athlete
check-in. It was 20 minutes before the
line started moving. It was another 30
minutes before I reached the beginning of the line.
After picking up my
credentials, I needed to get in another line to pick up my race bibs for my two
walking events. Then I went to the other
end of the convention hall to get my goody bag.
By the time I left the convention center, it was after 6:00.
For dinner, I found a bar
& grill about a mile from my hotel with a menu that included personal sized
pizzas.
Getting enough sleep was
a challenge. The AC was under-powered,
so I couldn’t get the room as cool as I wanted.
On top of that, the AC was controlled by a motion sensor. During the time I was at athlete check-in and
dinner, the room was warming up. I
wanted to get to bed early, but it took a long time for the room to cool down again. Making matters worse, the AC wouldn’t stay on
while I was sleeping, because I wasn’t moving.
I only managed to sleep for about half of the night.
The 1,500 meter race-walk
was held on the track at South Fayette High School. We were divided into six heats based on age
and gender. My heat included men in the
50-54, 55-59, 60-64, and 65-69 age groups.
The earliest heat started
at 8:00 AM, but my heat didn’t start until 9:30. That gave me time to have a light breakfast
before driving to the high school.
I got to the high school
in time to watch all of the earlier heats.
I also bumped into several people I knew. Some I had met at other walking events. Others were runners who, like me, also do
some race-walking.
Last year, I placed fourth
in my age group in this event. My goal this
year was to improve enough to place in the top three. My training was going well until three weeks
ago. Then, after a particularly aggressive
race-walking workout, I started to experience discomfort behind both of my
knees. In my left leg, I just had some
soreness at the top of my calf. In my
right leg, I had discomfort both above and below the knee. The discomfort I was feeling below my knee
was probably a sore calf, but I’m not sure what was causing the discomfort
above my knee. My best guess was that walking
at such an aggressive pace while keeping my leg straight caused me to stretch
or strain the tendons in back of my knee.
Since then, I’ve done
very little race-walking. I’ve kept up
my fitness by running, and I’ve done some moderate-paced walking, but I’ve
avoided walking at an all-out pace. My priority
was to get to the starting line as healthy as possible. Finally, on Wednesday, I walked a few miles
at a pace that was fast enough to be good practice, but not all-out.
Going into today’s race,
my left leg felt OK, but I was still concerned about my right leg. It’s better than it was three weeks ago, but
I still notice it when my leg is fully extended or bent at a sharp angle.
I wasn’t sure if my recent
lack of training would hurt me in this event.
I haven’t lost any fitness, but race-walking is as much about technique
as it is about fitness. I felt a little more
confident after the workout I did on Wednesday, but it had been three weeks
since I last walked at my intended race pace.
We each had two race bibs
– one to wear in front and another to wear on our backs. The race bibs on our backs had our age. That was important, since there were multiple
age groups on the track at the same time.
I was only concerned about competing with the other men in my age group.
After arriving at the
race venue, we were each assigned a one or two-digit number. We had stickers with these numbers. We had to wear them in front and in back. These numbers made it easier for the
race-walking judges to identify us if they saw an infraction of the
race-walking rules.
There were two rules we had
to follow. We had to always have at
least one foot in contact with the ground, and we had to keep our supporting
leg straight at the knee.
The weather was
favorable. It rained during the night,
but there wasn’t any rain during today’s race-walk event. The temperature was in the low 70s. While I was waiting for my heat, the sun felt
hot, but it got cloudy before my heat started.
We were lined up across
the track according to our qualifying times.
When I registered, I listed my time from last year’s National Senior Games. I was assigned number 5, out of 21. That put me on one of the inside lanes.
The walkers lined up to
my left were much faster than I was.
They started so fast that I could move over to lane one almost
immediately.
My form felt nice and
fluid, allowing me to start fast. I
started so fast that I was already getting out of breath after about 10
meters. Then I had to moderate my pace. The pace I started wasn’t sustainable for 100
meters, much less 1,500.
I paid close attention to
the race bibs on the backs of the walkers who were ahead of me. In addition to the four walkers who lined up
on my left, two of the walkers to my right also started faster. Of the six walkers who started faster, only
two were in my age group.
Once I found a pace that
I could sustain, I held my position in the field. I was fighting hard to pick up my pace, but I
didn’t know if I could sustain that effort.
After about 600 meters, I chose to focus instead on how I would
place. My goal was to finish in the top
three, and I was currently in third place.
As long as nobody in my age group passed me, I didn’t necessarily need
to fight for every second.
I was just starting to
feel more relaxed when one of the judges held out a yellow paddle with the
symbol for bent knee. He also said, “bent
knee,” as I walked by him. The fact that
he held out the paddle told me he was giving me a “red card,” and not just a
warning.
It’s the first time I’ve
ever had a red card. Getting one isn’t
the end of the world. If you get three,
you’re disqualified.
I realized I was probably
getting a little bit too relaxed. For
the rest of the race, I paid close attention to keeping my leg straight as I
planted my lead foot. I didn’t get any
other red cards.
With about 700 meters to
go, I started to wonder if I could gain ground on the walker who was currently
second in my age group. He wasn’t any
farther in front of me than he was a lap earlier, and I felt like I could pick
up my effort.
I didn’t know if I was gaining
ground on him, but I was definitely gaining ground on another walker who between
us. I realized I could pass him, but I
didn’t want to have to go around him in a turn.
I got right up behind him, but waited until we were out of the
turn. Then I make a big push to go around
him.
When I reached the next
turn, I couldn’t avoid passing a walker who was a full lap behind me. That was in the middle of the turn, so I had
to into the second lane going around that turn.
That may have cost me a second or two.
In the last 300 meters, I
realized I couldn’t catch the walker who was in second place. I was speeding up, but he was also speeding
up. He was actually pulling away from me.
There was a lot of
moisture in the air. In the last 100
meters, I could see small drops of sweat flying off my forearms. In a longer race, the humidity would’ve
bothered me. Fortunately, this race was
over quickly.
I finished with an
official time of 9:01.43. That’s two
second slower than my time in last year’s National Senior Games, but I was more
concerned with my place. After placing fourth
in my age group last year, I was able to move into the top three this year.
They had a white board
that showed which walkers had red cards.
I didn’t have time to look for it during the race, but I walked over to
see it afterward. One person in my heat
got three red cards for bent knee. He
was disqualified. I had one read card,
as did about half of the walkers in my heat.
I had to wait until the
remaining heats were done before they did awards. I got the bronze medal for my age group.
I didn’t have any
discomfort around my right knee during the race. I also haven’t noticed any discomfort since
finishing. I’ll have to wait and see how
I feel tonight and tomorrow, but I’m cautiously optimistic that I got through
this race without doing any damage.
Tomorrow morning, I’m
doing the 5,000 meter race-walk event.
To be continued …
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