I finally got home from Perth yesterday. Whew!
Oooooh .... that red-eye flight departing Perth @ midnight, changing in Sydney, and flying on to Canberra, is a tough gig. By the time I got off the plane yesterday I was seriously sleep deprived and exhausted! Perhaps more disturbingly though, I had a major case of ankle oedema happening (yikes!!). My ankles and calves were swollen to twice + their normal size and they remained that way for ~8hrs post flight. Despite shrinking back down to approximately their normal size by this morning, my legs/ankles continued to ache and feel very heavy, and so I was conservative this morning and ran short and easy.
By this afternoon my legs (and the rest of me!) felt a bit more like my normal self and so I decided to start my Wild Endurance 100km walk training. Oooooooh .... I am a very bad/slow/lazy walker and I need a LOT more practice. Still, I was pleased to plod through a decent sized trail walk with Capital I which included the peak of Mt Ainslie :)
Loving new toys as I do, and being keen to solicit whatever help I can to make me a better/faster walker, I am now investigating trail walking poles. This is a whole new world for me. I haven't purchased any yet, but my research tells me there are three important considerations - (a) trail or hiking poles are not walking poles and vice versa. Trail/hiking poles have a pointy tip for either stabbing the earth and pulling forwards or for braking on the downhills, whereas walking poles have a soft rubber stopper for grip on even predictable road/path/ashphalt surfaces; (b) weight - ie, the lighter the better so aluminium or graphite composition is best; and (c) length - ie, they need to suit the height of the user and/or be height adjustable. There are some purpose built women's hiking poles for us shorties and there are some which are height/length adjustable. (Another (related) feature to consider is whether or not the poles are fold-able and hence able to be packed compactly into a camelbak. Being the neat freak I am this is an important/very desirable feature for me.) I've pretty well decided which ones I'm going to get but I haven't yet made the purchase ($150+). Stay tuned ...
So, looking forward to this week, I anticipate a normal week of run training with one less run - ie one run being replaced by a Wild Endurance training walk in its place. Run/Walk On!
3 comments:
The ones with a spike would be handy for fending off muggers ;-)
Sounds a great idea to practise walking. Ruth's a good walker by the way if you need any tips. I remember Anita who did 6' with myself and John K one year finished in 5 hours and walked all the hills. That's good walking!
Oh yeah, fast & efficient trail walking is clearly a skill (sport?) in its own right. Pammie is another awesome walker. I seriously doubt I have the temperament to master it. It just seems instinctively so inefficient & frustrating compared to running ...
Hi Liz, welcome home. You are amazing with all your looooong distance plans and this walk definitely sounds LONG! Good luck with the pole hunting:) I have a 34km run scheduled for Sat and would love to catch up for coffee afterwards. I have a very exciting Avon order for you too!I plan to start reasonably early but it will probably be 11.15am to play it safe for a coffee.
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