"Walking" Wednesday
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 9:25PM
Richard Peete in Training, Walk Club, Walking

Today was a little different. I was scheduled for my usual TEAM Weight Loss cardio class. When I got there, Meghan said "Let's take a power walk outside for something different." So even though the weather looked like it was going to rain any moment, we set out for our fast walk. I brought some hand weights with me to keep my arms working as I walked. We ended up walking 3.3 miles in about 48 minutes and ended with stretching in the club. We got back to the club just in time before the heavy rains started! Of course, that meant I ended up driving to work in the storms afterwards. Oh well...

Meghan wanted to make sure I took it easy this week. She is worried my enthusiasm over running might cause me to overdo it right after running the 5K race. She wants me to be smart and to avoid any injuries. So I will be smart.

Of course, after work was the regular Wednesday "Walk Club" activity at 7PM, where the runners and walkers head out and do our thing for a specified distance. Today, I joined the walkers (Meghan's suggestion, cuz I wanted to run) and we walked almost 2 miles. It was a little chilly at 55 degrees but it felt great.

Meghan and I were walking pretty fast, leading the group as we talked about my training and how I would handle the upcoming change in my routine -- my 10K training program starts next Wednesday. Once I know what this training program requires, then Meghan can help me integrate that into my other exercise activities so that I keep things balanced and avoid overtraining. I am lucky to have a marathoner for a Personal Trainer!

We are thinking that my new schedule would be TEAM Weight Loss cardio on Mondays and Fridays, Strength Training on Wednesday mornings, 10K Training on Wednesday evenings, interval runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and my long runs on Saturday mornings. Sundays will be my Scheduled Rest Day. But this will be fine tuned once I know what the 10K Program will entail.

So today was definitely not my usual workout but I was content to take it easy but still get in 5 miles of walking and burn about 700 calories. That will make up for the Lemon Meringue Pie I ate at Bakers Square for lunch. (Come on, a guy has to treat himself every now and then, right?)

Article originally appeared on Rick Peete's Journey to Better Health (http://rickpeete.squarespace.com/).
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