The Power of Positive Pressure

Today is a milestone for me because for the first time, I walked a 15k (9.32 miles) race!  Not only that, but I came in 30 minutes faster than my training pace!  How was that possible? 

1.  Training throughout my very hilly neighborhood is a perfect place in preparation for the NYC race because I'll be crossing 5 bridges.  Even though NYC is flat, the bridges provide the elevation and people say it's a tough race.  Today's race was flat, relatively speaking, to what I've been training on so what a bonus it was this morning!

2.  Having an intense deep tissue massage a few days ago really loosened things up!

3.  Having some positive pressure throughout today's race helped tremendously.  Jeremy took on a drill sergeant role and was on top of my pace the whole time.  He told me to slow down a bit when needed and really pushed me hard, after taking inventory of any pain levels.  Lizzie's approach was on the opposite end of the spectrum.  When she noticed I was lagging, she sweetly said, "Come on, Mom, let's go."

4.  God's blessing kept me safe and healthy.

2014 Iron Horse 15k

I was recently connected with a wonderful woman through Achilles who also race walks.  She's had multiple surgeries, some of which were in her sacrum.  She have given me great training advice and one of the key items was to keep eating snacks every 30 minutes starting about 60-90 minutes after the start of the race.  Jeremy, Lizzie and I munched on some awesome vegan protein bars I made the other day and the energy helped us keep moving strong.

There will be a 1/2 marathon coming up on my radar towards the end of the year, if not sooner.  Now that I have this 15k under my belt, the thought of a 13.2 race has me thinking, "That's only a few more miles than what I did today."

Until next time, walk strong or go home.