This is my second post from the 2024 Minnesota Senior Games. Yesterday’s post included my two running events. This one covers the two race-walking events.
The race-walk, power-walk, and
track and field events were all held at the Sauk Rapids Middle School, and they
were all scheduled for Saturday. Last
month, I saw one of the race-walking judges at another event, and I asked him
if he was aware of the schedule conflict.
He was, but he didn’t seem too concerned about it. I got the impression that all of the events
would be held on the same track
Yesterday, I drove over to the
school, and I noticed a one kilometer loop around the school buildings marked
off with traffic cones. The distance
around the building must be just under one kilometer, because the route
included a detour into one of the parking lots for a short out-and-back.
My first race today was the
5,000 meter race-walk. It started at 7
AM, so I had to set my alarm earlier today.
When I arrived at the school, I confirmed that this race wasn’t going to
be on the track. It was five laps of the
one kilometer loop marked off with cones.
The last time I was healthy and
well-trained for the Minnesota Senior Games was three years ago. On that occasion, I was the overall winner of
the 5,000 meter race-walk. I’m healthy
this year, and I’m in comparable condition, so I expected to win again. My goal was to break 31 minutes, but that’s
ambitious. I would need to average 10
minutes per mile.
I assumed the lead from the
beginning of the race. I started out at
a fast enough pace, but after making the first turn, I encountered a
headwind. Walking as fast as I could
into the wind caused me to get out of breath, so I was forced to back off a
little in my pace.
After following the cones
through a parking lot on the back side of the school building, we walked along
a driveway that took us out to the street on the other side. We were going counter-clockwise around the
school, so most of our turns were left turns.
This driveway was an exception.
It bent to the left, then the right, and then back to the left. Here, I needed to be mindful to walk the
tangents.
On the out-and-back section, I
was already done with it before the next two walkers started that section. At that point, I knew nobody would catch up
to me. I was only racing the clock now.
There were two race-walking
judges. One was in the start-finish
area. The other was next to the
out-and-back section, where he could watch us in both directions. The judge in the start/finish area was also
the time keeper. When I finished my
first lap, he told me my time was 6:20.
To be on pace for 31 minutes, I
needed to average 6:12 per lap. I was
already eight seconds too slow.
At this point, it might have
been possible to speed up enough to bring my pace down, but this was my third
race of 5K or 10K in three days. These
are intense races where you’re at or near your aerobic limit for the entire
race. To pick up my pace, I would need
to go into oxygen debt. I just couldn’t
force myself to do that again. Instead,
I continued at about a 95% effort.
The course was mostly flat, but
it was slightly uphill where we turned into a parking lot to begin the short
out-and-back segment. Here, I had to
stay focused on keeping my knee straight as my lead foot made contact with the
ground. That’s one of the rules of
race-walking.
When I finished the
out-and-back on my second lap, I couldn’t see any other walkers approaching,
they were still somewhere behind the school building.
My time for the first mile was
10:26. Now I knew for sure that I wasn’t
going to break 31 minutes no mater how hard I pushed. I had no incentive to go all-out, knowing I
would easily win the race.
My time for the second lap was
6:32. That was 12 seconds slower than my
first lap. That was disappointing, but
not surprising.
As I was finishing my third
lap, I passed a walker who was still on her second lap. That was the last time I saw another walker
during the race. Nobody else was every
close to me.
My third lap was only one
second slower than my second lap, but when I got my split for the second mile,
it was 10:40. I knew I wasn’t pushing as
hard as I could, but that was still disappointing. There was a time, several years ago, when my
marathon pace was almost that fast.
As I finished my fourth lap,
the race-walking judge told me that my right knee looked a little soft. It was just a warning, but after that, I paid
more attention to keeping my knees straight.
I managed to pick up my pace in
my last lap. I finished with a time of
32:45. I won the race by about three
minutes.
There was enough time between
finishers that the race-walking judge in the finish area was able to take video
of our form as we each finished our last lap.
On my last lap, I did a better job of keeping my knees straight.
After my first race, I went
back to the hotel to get cleaned up and change into dry clothes and shoes. I had a couple hours to relax, but then I
needed to head back to the school for my second event, which was scheduled to start
at 11:30.
My second race was the 1,500
meter race-walk. This race was on the
track, so it had to be scheduled around the various track and field events. When I got back to the track, I found our
that the track events were running behind schedule. At 11:45, the only remaining track event was
the men’s 200 meter, but there were seven heats.
While I waited, I was standing
in the parking lot, talking to other walkers.
Spending so much time out in the sun wasn’t helpful.
At times, I noticed a strong
breeze. Before the race, it helped keep
me cool, but I didn’t want to feel that same strong breeze during the race.
My primary goal was to win this
race, but I also wanted a fast time. My
time in this event will be my qualifying time for the same event at next year’s
National Senior Games. Lane assignments
will be based on our qualifying times, and I wanted to get a good lane
assignment.
It was a 400-meter track, so we
needed to do three full laps, plus an additional 300 meters. We started at the beginning of the far
straightaway. My goal for the first 100
meters was to be the first person to reach the turn, so I could go around the
turn in lane one, with nobody in front of me.
They lined us up with the women
in the inside lanes. Other than that, we
were lined up in order of our bib numbers, which were essentially random. I had about five people on my left.
When the gun went off, I
started fast and raced for the turn, which was 100 meters away. There was one woman who went out faster. I had never seen her at a race before, but I
couldn’t match her speed in the first 100 meters. She was a stride or two ahead of me as we
entered the first turn.
I followed her around the
turn. As soon as we were out of the
turn, I poured it on to see if I could pass her. Within the next 50 meters, I pulled alongside
of her. In the next 50 meters, I got far
enough in front that I was able to move into the inside lane for the second
turn. After that, I led for the rest of
the race.
The start of that turn was our
eventual finish line. I had walked 300
meters, and I now had three full laps to go.
I looked at my watch as I crossed the line. My time so far was 1:46.
My goal was nine minutes, but I
knew I could only do that if I went all out the whole way, without ever letting
up. Before the race, I figured out what
time I needed at the 300 meter mark to be on pace for a nine minute
finish. The time I needed was 1:48, so I
was two seconds ahead of schedule.
My first 300 meters were only
that fast because I had worked so hard to get into the lead. It wasn’t a pace that I could sustain.
As I came out of the second
turn, I felt a headwind. The strong
breeze came back. For the next 100
meters, I had to fight it. That made my
pace more tiring.
About half of the time, I was
focused on going as fast as I could. The
other half of the time, I was focused on making sure my knees were straight. That’s the difficult thing about
race-walking. You need to constantly pay
attention to making sure your form is legal.
At this race, the judging was fairly lenient. At the National Senior Games, the judging is
strict. I need to be thinking about that
now, so I don’t develop bad habits.
As I got back to the eventual
finish line, I had two full laps to go.
I did my best to keep up my effort.
I didn’t check my watch again until I had 500 meters to go.
To be on pace for a nine minute
finish, I needed to complete the first 1,000 meters in six minutes. I got there in 6:13. I was winning the race, but my time was going
to be disappointing.
I was about to pass the two
slowest walkers in the race. They were
walking side by side in the first two lanes.
I was able to pass them before reaching the turn to begin my last full
lap.
In my last lap, I had to fight
the wind again. That caused me so slow
down in that lap. As I came around to
the final 100 meters, I knew I wouldn’t like my time, but I made sure I was
keeping my knees straight. I finished in
9:26.
The woman who led for the first
250 meters was second overall with a time of 10:15. She’s fairly new to race-walking. I encouraged her to keep training for the next
year and go to the National Senior Games next July. If she does, she’ll be competitive in her age
group.
Because it was such a short
race, we didn’t have to wait long for everyone to be finished. I won my second gold medal of the day. I also won a gold and a silver in my running
events, so I came away from the Minnesota Senior Games with three gold medals
and one silver medal.
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