Spring 2007 may go down as a watershed season for WoW Power Walkers. If you haven’t looked at the results on our website, do it as soon as you have finished this newsletter. Just about every weekend since the Chilly Half Marathon on March 4 you could find WoW Power Walkers in a race somewhere on the continent. We had our largest group ever walk various events at the Big Sur International Marathon the last Sunday in April, we’ve had more people astonish themselves with personal bests in the half and full marathons in Mississauga, Cleveland, and Ottawa, and we’re having tons of fun as our numbers grow.

Yes, we’re enjoying the ride on top of the wave that is marathon walking. While we often feel that it is two steps forward, one step back in terms of recognition from race organizers, there are several who have seen the wave coming and are preparing to ride it with us. The prestigious CRIM 10-mile in Flint, Michigan recently announced a competitive walk division that is not judged as technically as race walking. Organizers of the inaugural Oakville Half Marathon, Landmark Sport Group, announced last week that they would have separate walker registration and separate results posting. All of this is great news and reflects well on those power walkers that continue to raise the bar – challenging both themselves and others.

Stretch tip: This is not so much a tip as material for consideration. When I was involved in the panel discussion at the Big Sur International Marathon there was a question directed to the panel about the value of stretching. Jeff Galloway was the first to answer saying that he did not believe in stretching and Dean Karnazes said that he never stretches (I don’t think he has time – he ran more than 26 miles to the start of the Big Sur marathon, ran the race, and likely ran home after that). In any case, it brings up the issue that the science of stretching is lacking when compared to the considerable research literature on cardiovascular fitness and resistance training. What we do know is that people who are hyper or hypo flexible are prone to injury. In other words, if you are really tight around your joints, you are at risk for injury. If you are really loose around your joints, you are at risk for injury. We also know that we put ourselves at risk for injury when we stretch when the body is not warmed up for exercise. Finally, we know that stretching can improve performance, if the increased range of motion around a joint can add to the power or speed in your preferred activity. For example, if you have increased range of motion in the hip joint to allow improved extension at the hip (allowing the leg to move further behind you) and/or increased range of motion around the ankle, allowing the foot to push off with the leg further behind you, your walking speed may increase. Of course, that increased flexibility may increase your risk for injury. Very often I hear people say that they are injured and need to stretch more. The more likely scenario is that their body is experiencing muscle imbalance - something that can be better addressed by cross training or strength training (see Strength Tip).

Nutrition tip:Experimenting with how to fuel on the race course? Three years ago I was eating Clif® bars on the marathon courses. Last year I was taking half a Clif® bar and some Clif® Blok Shots which I discovered for sale at the Honolulu Marathon Expo. I’d cut each Blok in half and eat one about every 20 minutes after the first 90 minutes of the race. Then, I’d supplement with small bites of the Clif Bar for the last 90 minutes of the race. Soon, I eliminated the Clif Bar and was just eating the Bloks. This year I’ve discovered Jelly Belly® Sport Beans. As many of you know, what we need during these races after 90 minutes of exertion is a high glycemic snack, including electrolytes to replenish depleting supplies of potassium and sodium, so that our fat stores can be accessed for fuel. Finding the high glycemic snack that works best for you is a continuing experiment and may have as much to do with the size of the bite, and the frequency of eating, as the snack itself. I invite you to visit our blog where we will hold a continuing discussion on this issue and get ideas from walkers everywhere.

View from the Back :: Recently, I made changes to my power walking program. After several years of attending WoW Level 2 classes, I returned to Level 1 classes. An astute friend advised me to consider switching levels. For a lot of reasons over the last year, I had lost confidence in my abilities to be a "good" power walker. Strange, I had never even thought of what I meant as "good". What I really needed to lose, or rather reconsider, were my expectations.

Last month in the first class of Level 1, each participant was asked what had brought her to WoW. When I was asked, the words leapt spontaneously from my mouth, "I want to be fit, and I want to have fun. “WoW,” I thought. “That really is it. Those are my heartfelt goals.”

I had things to change. My old goals were not realistic- to have perfect form all of the time, in all classes, on all walks, during all races. Not only "should" I race in more and more, longer and longer, races but I should also make personal bests in each of them. No wonder I had been feeling overwhelmed.

Reviewing the basics, the theory and the practical, has been wonderful. I feel less burdened by dropping those unconscious and unattainable goals. I have always known of the health benefits that power walking gives me, and that, plainly, I just love the sport.

Feeling less burdened and so refreshed has made me believe in myself, as the athlete that I am. I realize that I can do whatever I want in this sport. After all, "Anything is Possible". - Janet, the Rabbit, Cauley

Strength tip: Inner thigh strength to benefit the knee and back. We’ve given you this tip before but it bears repeating as strengthening the muscles of the inner thigh can help prevent overuse injury when we put so many miles into our training. Attach a resistance training band (available on our website) to a fixed object at ankle height. Turn sideways to where your band is attached and place your inside leg in the band just above the ankle. Stand tall. Pull the leg across the front of your body and the outside leg. Repeat until the muscles of the inner thigh are fatigued and/or you find you are losing your form or your posture. As you can see, this exercise can be done outside (as we have been doing in our great, new Walk Circuit classes!)

Blah, blah, blah? No, it’s blog, blog, blog! We’ve been having some fun with our new blog that went live a few weeks ago. Join us in our discussion. I make a post every Monday and every Thursday.

Shameless plug. We can’t help but notice that people taking our classes are consistently doing really well at the races improving their times. Plus, they just have fun meeting new people and being challenged in new ways.

And if you live within driving distance of our home town, Oakville, don’t forget our very special OTMH Classic 5k on Father’s Day, Sunday June 17. See you there!

Words to walk and live by :

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. - Soren Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard also said, “The task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted". Yes, that’s why we walk marathons!

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