Twin Cities 3-Day: Evening of Day 2
Aug. 21st, 2010 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jayfurrDepending on how you measure things, today was: either a very, very good day or a not-so-good day at all. After walking a good 4 mph yesterday and finishing Day 1 of the Twin Cities 3-Day in fifth place -- in an event that is NOT a competitive race -- I said this morning that I would NOT racewalk. I would slow down. I would take time to smell the flowers.
And to a certain extent, I succeeded. I managed to shave a whole .5 mph off my walking speed -- instead of walking four miles an hour, I walked three and a half miles an hour. Hey, that's a 12.5% reduction in speed!
And, I, um, finished 19th.
Sigh.
Today was a very overcast, misty day for much of the morning, and even after the mist burned off it remained overcast into the afternoon. It didn't really start to get hot and sunny until, what, 1:30 pm or so? So frankly, the weather was pretty good from a walking point of view. True, it was humid as all get out, and some folks have a lot of trouble with that, but not having the sun beating down sure was nice.
The route opened at 6:30 am and I was probably 200 people back from the lead when I finally got to a crew member armed with a scanner and got scanned out. I found myself walking around the verrrrry slow moving hordes that left camp at the same time as me, but still had many, many, MANY people ahead of me. I found myself walking long stretches with one or two fellow walkers as some separation introduced itself into the pack, generally going our separate ways once we reached a pit stop. When I reached Pit Stop 3, a little while before lunch, I happened to ask the crew member armed with the clicker how I was doing and got told "You're #12."
I stopped in my tracks and stared dumbly at her. HOW I got to 12th, I'll never know. I suppose it's vaguely possible that the crowds I saw in the distance at the start were not all walkers, and it's also possible that some people were in port-o-jons when I passed through the pit stops. Nonetheless, I had been trying to avoid being Jay Furr, Human Cannonball. It is considered almost shameful to be that fast on a 3-Day -- it's not about showing off how fast you can walk.
Yet, there I was. I stopped and sat for a while at lunch, then walked with a couple more fellow walkers to the next pit stop, then walked solo for a bit, then walked with another person to Grab and Go A, and then was solo much of the rest of the way. I even took a break for a good while to take off my wet socks (the result of detouring onto the grass at the beginning and of walking across wet grass at lunch), and STILL didn't wind up with more people in front of me. I think that some of those fellow walkers walked really fast and I simply, unconsciously walked in step with 'em.
The final nail in the coffin of my not finishing way ahead of everyone else came when the route took us onto a long intra-city trail -- not being from around here, I can't say whether the trail was built along a former railroad right-of-way or what, but for very long stretches we had no crossing roads to speak of and a trail that went straight as an arrow through the woods. It was the sort of trail that causes me to just put my head down and ... GO. Nothing to look at but identical trees, and nothing to stop for except occasional rollerbladers and fitness walkers out with their dogs and stuff. And me, zooming along.
And that's how I finished 19th. In my own defense, I did consider sitting down at the final grab and go (Grab and Go B, located along that long forest trail) and waiting until the final walker (the "caboose") came by, but when I realized that I'd probably be waiting FIVE HOURS I thought better of it. I got into camp around 1:30 pm, after 7 hours of walking. It's 6 pm now and there are still walkers out on the route.
This whole journal entry must sound absolutely neurotic and crazy to half the people reading this -- making whiny excuses for why I walked so fast. But I really, really did mean to go more slowly. Really, really I did.
But I guess I'm just in better shape than I thought -- and my HIGHLY TUNED body just didn't WANT to slow down. Or get any blisters at all. I feel like a cheat; I haven't lost a nail or gotten a blister or ANYTHING. I guess that's what training properly for the 3-Day gets you.
And to a certain extent, I succeeded. I managed to shave a whole .5 mph off my walking speed -- instead of walking four miles an hour, I walked three and a half miles an hour. Hey, that's a 12.5% reduction in speed!
And, I, um, finished 19th.
Sigh.
Today was a very overcast, misty day for much of the morning, and even after the mist burned off it remained overcast into the afternoon. It didn't really start to get hot and sunny until, what, 1:30 pm or so? So frankly, the weather was pretty good from a walking point of view. True, it was humid as all get out, and some folks have a lot of trouble with that, but not having the sun beating down sure was nice.
The route opened at 6:30 am and I was probably 200 people back from the lead when I finally got to a crew member armed with a scanner and got scanned out. I found myself walking around the verrrrry slow moving hordes that left camp at the same time as me, but still had many, many, MANY people ahead of me. I found myself walking long stretches with one or two fellow walkers as some separation introduced itself into the pack, generally going our separate ways once we reached a pit stop. When I reached Pit Stop 3, a little while before lunch, I happened to ask the crew member armed with the clicker how I was doing and got told "You're #12."
I stopped in my tracks and stared dumbly at her. HOW I got to 12th, I'll never know. I suppose it's vaguely possible that the crowds I saw in the distance at the start were not all walkers, and it's also possible that some people were in port-o-jons when I passed through the pit stops. Nonetheless, I had been trying to avoid being Jay Furr, Human Cannonball. It is considered almost shameful to be that fast on a 3-Day -- it's not about showing off how fast you can walk.
Yet, there I was. I stopped and sat for a while at lunch, then walked with a couple more fellow walkers to the next pit stop, then walked solo for a bit, then walked with another person to Grab and Go A, and then was solo much of the rest of the way. I even took a break for a good while to take off my wet socks (the result of detouring onto the grass at the beginning and of walking across wet grass at lunch), and STILL didn't wind up with more people in front of me. I think that some of those fellow walkers walked really fast and I simply, unconsciously walked in step with 'em.
The final nail in the coffin of my not finishing way ahead of everyone else came when the route took us onto a long intra-city trail -- not being from around here, I can't say whether the trail was built along a former railroad right-of-way or what, but for very long stretches we had no crossing roads to speak of and a trail that went straight as an arrow through the woods. It was the sort of trail that causes me to just put my head down and ... GO. Nothing to look at but identical trees, and nothing to stop for except occasional rollerbladers and fitness walkers out with their dogs and stuff. And me, zooming along.
And that's how I finished 19th. In my own defense, I did consider sitting down at the final grab and go (Grab and Go B, located along that long forest trail) and waiting until the final walker (the "caboose") came by, but when I realized that I'd probably be waiting FIVE HOURS I thought better of it. I got into camp around 1:30 pm, after 7 hours of walking. It's 6 pm now and there are still walkers out on the route.
This whole journal entry must sound absolutely neurotic and crazy to half the people reading this -- making whiny excuses for why I walked so fast. But I really, really did mean to go more slowly. Really, really I did.
But I guess I'm just in better shape than I thought -- and my HIGHLY TUNED body just didn't WANT to slow down. Or get any blisters at all. I feel like a cheat; I haven't lost a nail or gotten a blister or ANYTHING. I guess that's what training properly for the 3-Day gets you.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 03:12 am (UTC)Walking your own pace
Date: 2010-08-22 04:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-22 04:25 pm (UTC)Also, I suspect that one of the areas where you are passing a lot of the other walkers is the cheering stations. Because you are walking in a city that you aren't that familiar with, I assume that you also don't have anyone in particular out at the cheering stations to stop and chat with. I personally always end up stopping at each cheering station to chat with my husband and other supporters for at least 30 minutes. If you're zipping through those, it would follow that you would pass a lot of other walkers.
And yes, I know exactly that feeling of "cheating". I didn't get any blisters and only one tiny hot spot in Boston. I was also feeling pretty limber the whole time. AMAZING what actual training can do for you!
Have a great Day 3!