Tuesday, August 15, 2017
London - Recap
Well, it's over. I went to London, did my best and had a not so great day. The gun sounded and I felt great, I was right on pace for a 4:27 and feeling super. It was suggested by some that my SI joint or my back was out. This was not the case at all. The USATF medical staff were simply amazing and my body was completely and fully functioning. And to me my technique felt solid. The paddles came early and quick and I had almost reached 9K when I saw the dreaded red paddle. In every picture I've seen my legs were dead straight. I would ask if anyone has pictures or video of me to please send them my way as I'd like to take a look. But I did get this comment post race: " I looked at the first four laps and you were not bent legged. It was clearly political."
On to happier things. It was an amazing race! The women out there did all women proud. Everyone fought every step of the way. No one DNFed. Two athletes were forced to stop due to the time limit restriction, but they pushed all the way. The men's side saw 6 DNFs and a few of the guys were death marching by the end. Ines broke the world record and the support from the crowd was incredible. The announcers were positive and excited for what would happen in the future. It was an amazing day for women's 50K race walkers! And I am happy and proud that I was out there giving my best alongside them.
I want to address, one last time, the negativity. After this post I'll leave it, because some people will never listen or adjust their narrow views. But some are still willing to look at other sides. And some of it has been directly personal, and that hurts.
1. Criticism that the IAAF was forced, the event should've been allowed to grow organically, not pushed so that only a select few were allowed to compete, it should've been done a different way:
First, with all the people who have complained that it was gone about the wrong way, not one single person has stood up to say they will help to do it the right way going forward. Not one. People are willing to criticize, to yell that they didn't like how it was done, but no one has anything to back it up to change things for the future. But, to address some of this we must go into points of law, not opinion. This is an important distinction. Points of law are not to be swayed by emotions or opinions. Did I go to the Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS)? I can't say. It's confidential. As a matter of law I cannot tell people if I even went or not. If it were to be found out that I talked to people while a case with CAS were potentially going on (let us speak in a hypothetical for a while) it could completely negate the case, if there were one. And let's think about law for a minute. When someone wants to point out an inequality, they have to do so in specifics, not generalizations. You can't have someone go to court for "equal pay for women." It has to affect someone specific and in particular. Then that particular person has to go to court for "equal pay for her." Along the way it will help other women, but that is a side benefit, not the crux of the case.
Now, let's say, in a hypothetical, that an athlete does go to CAS stating that the time limit imposed is not gender equal for the London World Championships. That is a specific event that is being spoken about as that is the event that is forthcoming. Now, let's say, in a hypothetical, that the IAAF comes back and says, well, we'll give you London or we'll give you Taicang. Two things here. First, a matter of law. If the lawyer that is representing the athlete says, hey, take Taicang, that'll be better for all women all over the world, believe it or not, that would be grounds for that lawyer to be disbarred. Yes, the lawyer could lose their license for suggesting taking that bargain. Crazy right? You say, but that's silly! But as a matter of law (not opinion or feelings) it is. This is because you're giving up a tangible (the event for which the athlete should have qualified for and the event for which the case came about) for an intangible (an event that the athlete could possibly qualify for, but hasn't yet qualified for since nothing for that event has yet to be decided including qualifying times, qualifying races and so on).
It was stated that because I'm having hip surgery I wanted to go to London because I won't be competing next year. That person took some information and made their own assumptions. I will not be out of competition next year. I am taking the rest of the year off for the surgery and to train and improve my overall fitness, but I will be on the start line in January ready for my next 50K. Unless something goes horribly wrong with the surgery and it ends my career, but that is incredibly doubtful.
Third, and to me the most obvious. If you had a race with women in it in Rome, you had a race with women in it in London, why in the world would you think that trend wouldn't continue? If the fight was won for London, why would you think the fight wouldn't also be won for Taicang? Why put off for tomorrow what you can do today? For all the women who were complaining of what they "might" have done if they'd known? Every woman could see the writing on the wall. Some chose to take a risk and a gamble, some didn't. That was their choice. Now they know. All women know. There is no longer ANY excuse. If you want to do a 50K, start training. Otherwise no complaining.
2. Said athlete (AKA me) did it for purely selfish reasons, not caring for the sport at all, but purely for her own gains:
I have a fairly thick skin, you have to in some ways to be a race walker with the ridicule we get while out training. But I will be honest with you and say that this hurt, and hurt to my core. Especially since it came from people who I thought were, maybe not necessarily my friends, but at least knew me well enough to be able to judge motives. Let's get the first bit out of the way. Do I want to race 50Ks? YES! Of course I do! Duh! What else have I been doing since 2010? It is the event I love. So will the things that get fought for also affect me? Yes. Because I am a female 50K race walker. But everything I have done has been for women in general (and since I am -generally- a woman it will also be for me). In 2012 when I asked to be allowed to race in the Olympic Trials, you could say that was just for me, but that was because no other women had made the standard. However, look how that changed for 2016 and how many women we had compete! In 2013 when I lobbied for equal prize money for women, yes I did get prize money, but so did the other women that year. And all women in years after that. Some have even thanked me. Last year we drove over 1,000 miles traveling to high schools in the region giving clinics for the athletes and for the coaches. None of it was paid, all of it came out of our pocket. We did it because we care and want the race walks to stay strong in our region. We put on races for athletes to achieve qualifying times, and publish it well in advance. This is in opposition to some people who host races and don't publish it until a few days before so only their athletes get the opportunity to participate. We host national championships. Last year we personally took a $900 loss in putting on races. We work to get more officials in our association to have better quality races. I was the Niagara Association RW chair for USATF for something like 4 years (I am passing that baton this year). I coach athletes, two of which qualified for outdoor nationals this year and one of whom has made a national team. Yes, I do get paid for some of them, but I also am of the belief that no one should go without a coach, so if there are financial hardships I work out deals with the athletes. The most I have ever charged is $50 a month, and that is for full access coaching. On average I spend 10-30 hours with my athletes per month. In no way am I getting rich from coaching. Anyone who sends me video to analyze I do, for no fee. I have spent my life giving to the sport, and this is what I've gotten back, personal attacks and being told I'm selfish. And even in the personal attacks I can't catch a break. On the one hand I get "She went about it all wrong, she made the wrong decisions, she's going to ruin the 50K" but then they turn around and say "I hope she keeps fighting so that more women can race in Taicang." Really? Which is it? I do it all wrong or you want me to move forward?
3. And let's address that comment, the women are going to ruin the 50K:
How quickly people forget. Who remembers April? I don't remember the exact date and I'm too lazy to look it up, when it was leaked that the 50K was going to be dropped after London? The outrage, the movement to save the men's 50K? People have been trying to get rid of the 50K or the race walk in general for years. We have these same discussions after every Olympics. But now all of a sudden it's the women's fault? That's just absolutely absurd. The IOC has said it wants equality and 23 events for women and 24 for men is not equality. Any reporter looking at an Olympic program can count and see there's an inequality there. But wait, you say! They don't specify if it's number of athletes or number of events! Ah, ha! I've got you! That's just silly beyond words. That is such a chauvinist comment. It's like trying to figure out the smallest possible way to get equality, the least amount of fairness you can find. Equality means being equal in numbers, and number of athletes and number of events are all numbers. There is no (good) reason to leave the women out of the 50K. But wait, you say! It's more than just equality, it's finances. The race needs to make them happy in terms of money. No, that is bad logic for a number of reasons. Adding the women doesn't change the financial problems that RWing has for the games. You're still not going to sell tickets. What we have going for us, same with the marathon, but better, is that people can come and watch and DON'T have to pay for tickets. It's the people's race. They get to experience the best in the world and be up close and personal. The Mall was packed with people! And they were yelling and cheering for the women like crazy. Especially wen Ines broke the world record. And we're not a long course that you're only going to see people go by once or twice. You can stand there and watch the entire race unfold. That is something special.
4. The women's 50K should be allowed to grow organically:
I didn't realize we were talking about a garden. Pre 2004 if an event was going to be added you had to show a certain level of participation from a certain number of federations. This was how the women's steeple, hammer, and pole vault came to be. But a significant thing happened in 2004, the IAAF Constitution was changed. In Article 4 reads the following:
3. To encourage participation in Athletics at all levels throughout the world regardless of age, GENDER, or race.
4. To strive to ensure that no gender, race, religious, political or other kind of unfair discrimination exists, continues to exist, or is allowed to develop in Athletics in any form, and that all may participate in Athletics regardless of their gender, race, religious or political views or any other irrelevant factor.
These are matters of law. Again, not opinion, feelings or thoughts. No longer do we have to let things grow organically, it's a matter of being right and fair and equal. Half of what I've heard is all the women who would've done a 50K had they just but known. Time to put your money where your mouth is. We will show the world how strong women 50K walkers are!
5. Judging. If we add women in with the men it'll be a judging nightmare:
All one has to do is look at what the DQ board looked like to see that the judges obviously had no problems seeing the athletes. It's a 50K. You've got over three and a half hours to judge the athletes. You're going to see them potentially 50 times (25 laps, twice per lap, if you're looking across, otherwise around 25 times). By around 30K or so you start to see some drop, and the packs are definitely thinned down to maybe half a dozen. Compare this to the 20K where there are packs of 8-10 up through 16K. Now that's a lot harder to judge. By the end of the 50K it was incredibly easy to judge the athletes, the course was starting to look barren with all the DNFs and DQs. That argument makes no sense, and really is not relevant to a matter of equality anyway.
So let's recap. I shouldn't have fought, but I'm supposed to keep fighting. Why should I? For all the ungrateful people out there, including some competitors who raced? Those who couldn't even say thank you to the lawyer who fought tirelessly for them to be out there? Who couldn't even be appreciative for what they had and instead had to complain that they didn't know? When they knew just as much as everyone else. And no, I didn't know months before hand. I was trying to hit the 20K standard just like everyone else. I had things happen that made outdoor nationals not the race I wanted, but I chose, after the 50K in January, to focus the rest of my year on the 20K. My training diary shows it. I wasn't secretly trying to gain an advantage over people. I have always publicly stated that I want to win because I'm the best person out there on the day, not because of some other type of advantage. That's not who I am or who I ever have been. I believe in fair play and sportsmanship. When I coached a HS team in NYC my girls knew the only way to get kicked off the team was for unsportsmanlike conduct. They could miss practices and I would understand, but if I saw them being unsportsmanlike that was it, off the team.
Everyone had the same information, and all five competitors got the official notification at the same time. The area champions found out later. Some focused just in case. Ines told me her federation had appealed to the IAAF twice to let her compete by virtue of being the world record holder and was denied. But she never gave up hope and trained just in case. Of course she also had a spot on the 20K team, so she knew she was going either way, but she chose to train for the 50K. We all made decisions based on what we knew and thought was best.
Should I continue to fight for others when I'm the one who's out the time, energy, stress and money? When I personally have to put out money for fees? I was desperately hoping to finish strong and earn some prize money in London. That did not happen. Now I have financial issues to address on top of the emotional toil all this took out of me. I did that for the women out there as well as myself. Did it benefit me, of course, but I still did it for others as well. Listen to interviews I've given, I always talk about other women competing and having the opportunity to compete.
And one of the saddest parts of all this is realizing how people you thought were your friends really are not. And no, I don't go for the whole, "I'm a supporter of you and consider you a friend but I'm going to publicly bash you and you should still think we're friends." That doesn't work for me. I don't do that to my friends. If I disagree with them on something I will tell them, but I will approach them privately, not smear things all over FB.
There have been supporters, and lots of them. But here's the thing guys, you need to yell as loud as the naysayers. People say on FB that the overwhelming response to this was negative. Well, from what you see on FB, yes it was. But from what I got in my inbox no it wasn't. Those of you who believe in this and are supportive need to use your voices. When you see the slamming you need to take a stand. Saying it privately is nice and very appreciated, but it still leaves only the negative out there with no one speaking up.
I never answered the question. Will I continue to fight? I'm really hopeful that the IAAF will do the right thing and add a women's 50K to Taicang now. If they don't? Right now honestly I'm not sure. I have to recover from the past month, both emotionally and financially and then reassess. Do I want to? Yes. Will I? We'll see.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Women's 50K at the world champs - numbers
Women are racing at the World Championships, which for some of us is an incredibly exciting thing! Something that should be celebrated and rejoiced! More steps towards equality! The chance to compete at the world stage! And as with anything there's the naysayers, the people who have nothing to do with anything but now have to voice their opinion, which almost always is negative. Obviously people have the right to their own opinions. But when those opinions are based on flawed or incomplete facts and then put down, defame or just plain hurt others, then what is the point? So let's look at some numbers, because those are things that are not subject to opinion. Each of my number section will be based on comments that have been said. There will be commentary besides numbers, just to warn you.
First some prep work. We need a language to talk about and explain the differences. A common ground. Because people are deciding on what is "elite" (have I ever mentioned how much I despise that word?) and what standards "should" be without thinking about anything except their preconceived notions of their opinions. How I will speak of things is percentage based off the men's standards. For example. The women's 1:36 standard is 14.2% slower than the men. The women's marathon (the largest percentage difference) is 18.7%. The percentage difference between the men's and women's 50K standard is 9.75%. This is the smallest percentage difference in any event in track and field outside the hurdles and relays. And, what is interesting is it is also smaller than the 11-13% difference that the IAAF has admitted during a court case (having nothing to do with race walking) that women are different than men. (the case had to do with testosterone levels in women) The IAAF imposed a standard on the 50K women that is stricter than they admit that women tend to be different than the men. Just stop and think about that for a second. As a point of interest, let's take those two other percentages, 20K and marathon, and apply them to the 50K. If we followed the 14.2% we would have a qualifying time of close to 4:41. And the marathon difference of 18.7% would be 4:52. Okay, I'll leave that there for now, but we will come back to some of this.
1. Six of the seven women that are racing are failed 20K walkers, women not good enough to make the standard at the 20K.
I find this statement, which has been said by many people in many different ways, to be dumbfounding. Who says to the triple jumpers who qualified "that's great, but it's really too bad you can't also qualify in the long jump. You're really just a failed long jumper." Or to the qualifiers in the 200, "That's nice that you qualified, but it's too bad you don't do the 100. Really you're just a failed 100 meter runner." Or, to the biggest point, to the many male race walkers who only have the standard in one distance, are they considered hacks for not being able to qualify in both distances? I don't think I've ever heard that related to a male race walker. But wow, how easy it was for people to say it about the women. Are there athletes who can qualify in the 20K and 50K? Of course! Just like there are the 100/200 doubles, 5,000/10,000 double and so on. But those people are considered extra ordinary, amazing athletes, above and beyond. Just because not everyone can qualify at a second event doesn't mean that they're not also fantastic athletes. Five of the athletes on the starting line will have times under the toughest standard in any event 200 meters or over. That doesn't make us failed 20K walkers, that makes us strong 50K walkers! Of the other two we have one that is under the 20K percentage difference and the other is incredibly close to the marathon difference. So every single one of these women has EARNED the right to be on that start line.
2. With the women having to start their last lap at 4:17, that means there could be women who aren't allowed to finish but still get a place (read: prize money). Okay, this one gets interesting. First there are some important parts to this. WE WON'T BE ALLOWED TO FINISH!!!! It's not like there are women going, eh, you know, I think 48K would be a nice place to stop. We will be forced to stop! Forced! I can't speak for everyone, but the ones I have spoken to are upset by this! We want to finish!. And especially since the time they have imposed, if you raced the race at an equal pace, would equal a 4:27:43, which is FASTER than the qualifying time! No other event has that imposed. And let's look at numbers for that. The difference between 4:30 and 4:27:43 is 99.148%. That would mean that guys in the 50K would not be allowed to finish if they finished slower than 4:03:54. Women's 20K: 1:35:11 (4), men's 20K: 1:23:17 (7), women's marathon: 2:43:36 (4), men's marathon: 2:17:49 (14). The numbers in parentheses are the number of athletes that have entry times slower than the imposed cut off time would be. Here is the chart by event. Look at how many in some event would not be allowed to finish unless they did a PB on the day...
men standard 91.148% athletes over women standard 91.148% athletes over
100m 10.12 10.03 36 100m 11.26 11.16 27
200m 20.44 20.27 31 200m 23.10 22.90 26
400m 45.50 45.11 30 400m 52.10 51.66 22
800m 01:45.9 01:45.0 26 800m 02:01.0 02:00.0 27
1500m 03:36.0 03:34.2 27 1500m 04:07.5 04:05.4 17
5000m 13:22.6 13:15.8 14 5000m 15:22.0 15:14.1 15
10000m 27:45.0 27:30.8 11 10000m 32:15.0 31:58.5 8
3000m SC 08:32.0 08:27.6 19 3000m SC 09:42.0 09:37.0 18
110m H 13.48 13.37 17 100m H 12.98 12.87 21
400m H 49.35 48.93 20 400m H 56.10 55.62 16
Marathon 2:19:00 2:17:49 14 Marathon 2:45:00 2:43:36 4
20km Walk 1:24:00 1:23:17 7 20km Walk 1:36:00 1:35:11 4
I know I for one will be very, very interested to look at the results the night of the 13th and see how many race walkers in the men's 50K and the men's and women's 20K would have been removed from the course if the same standards were applied to them. And for curiosity's sake the marathon as well.
I like numbers (not as much as words, I'm a scrabble girl), it's fun to play with them. So one more interesting thing to do with the numbers. We've seen the math that women's 50K is 9.75% of the men's standard. And the women's 20K is 14.2%, and marathon is 18.7%. Let's do some backwards math. There is an "extra" 4.45% for the 20K and 8.95% for the marathon. Let's take those percentages away from the 20K and men's 50K standards to see what would happen if they lost the extra time that the women's 50K has lost with the tougher standard.
distance original standard 4.45% faster 8.95% faster
men's 50K 4:06:00 3:57:30 3:43:51
men's 20K 1:24:00 1:21:06 1:16:30ish
women's 20K 1:36 1:32:41 1:27:24
This is just for point of interest, but it should make you think about the inequality the 50K women have been subject to with the qualifying standard. It's just a few different ways to look at things. (and as a side note, some of the calculations have been done by others and some by me. As I said I'm a word girl, so if there's a flaw with the math let me know, unless we're talking a few seconds, then just go with the concept...)
Okay, let me go away from the numbers for just a second. There are a number of people, not necessarily the women themselves saying it, but other saying it for them, that if they had known they would've done it. Everyone could see the writing on the wall. Change has been happening, in slow steps, but happening. With women allowed to compete last year in Rome, that should've been a big hint. Then women were added this year under the 4:06 men's standard. Those women probably looked at that time and said, whoa, I can't do that, I'll focus on 20K. And that's totally fair and a decision they made. And some women saw that and said, hmm, I'm going to try. I may not hit it, but I'll try, because who knows what could happen? If you look at the list for this year how many Chinese women are on that list? Why? Because the Chinese can see where this is headed, the addition of a women's race, so they're starting their development now instead of waiting. They are looking ahead and being proactive. Those women who are complaining that it wasn't fair, it should've been announced earlier, what have they done to promote and move forward women's 50K race walking? It's a lot easier to sit back and complain than it is to stand up and fight. But that's in the past, so here's the bigger question. What are they doing NOW to change things for next year? Are they planning on a 50K to race? Are they contacting their federation to push the IAAF and the RW Committee to set a race and a standard now so that women can properly prepare? Are they? Or are they happy to sit back and complain and not do anything and instead put down the efforts of those women who put themselves out there? I hope with all my heart that they are out there getting ready to train for and race a 50K and working for change, because that is what is needed.
And why is that needed, you may be asking? Who cares if there's a women's 50K? There are a few answers. One, it's what's right and fair in the world. Every charter speaks to equality. Besides the women who have already done 50Ks there are apparently all those women saying they would've done it, so there's obviously interest. Having 23 events for women and 24 for men is not equality. The IOC has said that in 2020 they want equality. If we don't have women doing the 50K we're going to lose the men doing the 50K. It really is just about that simple. You all know that they are always looking for a reason to get rid of the race walks, especially the 50K. That, right there, will be the reason if it's not fixed. We want equality, there isn't equality in race walking, so out goes race walking. If you can't see that you've got your blinders on.
Here's another fun one: The IAAF was forced into it, it should've been allowed to grow organically. Really? Seriously, really? the IAAF should be allowed to have equality happen organically? How does that happen? If they don't have the races then it's not equality? When has a federation or association ever done something out of the kindness of their hearts? They do it because they are forced or there is pressure. How can people say on the one hand we support the women racing but not the way they got there? That doesn't even make sense? I will say it again, because some people really need the repetition, if the IAAF is trying to get rid of the RW they can do it through the women's 50K. They can do it by not allowing a women's 50K, which was hard when equality is written in their charter, so they kind of had to. Not because that was the wrong way to do it, but because that's the right thing to do. Are they setting us up to fail at the world championships? It sure would seem so. Keeping the field so small with the hardest qualifying time, then making a cutoff time faster than the qualifying time. All those people who say they're supportive of the women racing, where is your outrage at how we're being treated? Who is writing to the IAAF saying that it's just another form of gender bias imposing the 4:17 last lap time? Who is talking to their federation asking them to intervene?
One thing I've wondered for a long time is what would happen if people took the energy they have complaining about things and instead supported one another. If half, or a quarter even, of the energy that has been spent telling me I shouldn't bother trying or I can't do something, or I'm a hack, or a failed 20K walker was instead spent helping, lifting others up, looking for creative ways to solving problems then I think we've have one of the most popular events ever! But there's just so much negativity! And what else kills me, people saying things like "other events are going to say bad stuff about us..." They don't have to, we're saying it to each other! All the runners have to do is look at how we're treating each other and repeat the negativity, they don't have to come up with anything themselves! We're going to tear ourselves apart from the inside and the IAAF or IOC won't have to do anything.
The next time you're thinking of complaining about or looking down on what's happening with the women's 50K, stop and ask yourself: What have I done to help? What have I done to improve my sport?
Have I told any of the women on the start list good luck?
Have I reached out to other women and ask if they're interested in trying a 50K?
Have I started training for a 50K?
Have I decided to put on a 50K that will give women the chance to get a time in?
Have I spoken with my federation to help?
Have I written letters?
No matter if you're male or female, active or retired, there is something on that list of that you can do. I can check off every single one of those boxes. If everyone who reads this took two of those things and did them then we would see change. Stop complaining and start doing. Help things get better, for the women and for the men who would like to keep their event.
First some prep work. We need a language to talk about and explain the differences. A common ground. Because people are deciding on what is "elite" (have I ever mentioned how much I despise that word?) and what standards "should" be without thinking about anything except their preconceived notions of their opinions. How I will speak of things is percentage based off the men's standards. For example. The women's 1:36 standard is 14.2% slower than the men. The women's marathon (the largest percentage difference) is 18.7%. The percentage difference between the men's and women's 50K standard is 9.75%. This is the smallest percentage difference in any event in track and field outside the hurdles and relays. And, what is interesting is it is also smaller than the 11-13% difference that the IAAF has admitted during a court case (having nothing to do with race walking) that women are different than men. (the case had to do with testosterone levels in women) The IAAF imposed a standard on the 50K women that is stricter than they admit that women tend to be different than the men. Just stop and think about that for a second. As a point of interest, let's take those two other percentages, 20K and marathon, and apply them to the 50K. If we followed the 14.2% we would have a qualifying time of close to 4:41. And the marathon difference of 18.7% would be 4:52. Okay, I'll leave that there for now, but we will come back to some of this.
1. Six of the seven women that are racing are failed 20K walkers, women not good enough to make the standard at the 20K.
I find this statement, which has been said by many people in many different ways, to be dumbfounding. Who says to the triple jumpers who qualified "that's great, but it's really too bad you can't also qualify in the long jump. You're really just a failed long jumper." Or to the qualifiers in the 200, "That's nice that you qualified, but it's too bad you don't do the 100. Really you're just a failed 100 meter runner." Or, to the biggest point, to the many male race walkers who only have the standard in one distance, are they considered hacks for not being able to qualify in both distances? I don't think I've ever heard that related to a male race walker. But wow, how easy it was for people to say it about the women. Are there athletes who can qualify in the 20K and 50K? Of course! Just like there are the 100/200 doubles, 5,000/10,000 double and so on. But those people are considered extra ordinary, amazing athletes, above and beyond. Just because not everyone can qualify at a second event doesn't mean that they're not also fantastic athletes. Five of the athletes on the starting line will have times under the toughest standard in any event 200 meters or over. That doesn't make us failed 20K walkers, that makes us strong 50K walkers! Of the other two we have one that is under the 20K percentage difference and the other is incredibly close to the marathon difference. So every single one of these women has EARNED the right to be on that start line.
2. With the women having to start their last lap at 4:17, that means there could be women who aren't allowed to finish but still get a place (read: prize money). Okay, this one gets interesting. First there are some important parts to this. WE WON'T BE ALLOWED TO FINISH!!!! It's not like there are women going, eh, you know, I think 48K would be a nice place to stop. We will be forced to stop! Forced! I can't speak for everyone, but the ones I have spoken to are upset by this! We want to finish!. And especially since the time they have imposed, if you raced the race at an equal pace, would equal a 4:27:43, which is FASTER than the qualifying time! No other event has that imposed. And let's look at numbers for that. The difference between 4:30 and 4:27:43 is 99.148%. That would mean that guys in the 50K would not be allowed to finish if they finished slower than 4:03:54. Women's 20K: 1:35:11 (4), men's 20K: 1:23:17 (7), women's marathon: 2:43:36 (4), men's marathon: 2:17:49 (14). The numbers in parentheses are the number of athletes that have entry times slower than the imposed cut off time would be. Here is the chart by event. Look at how many in some event would not be allowed to finish unless they did a PB on the day...
men standard 91.148% athletes over women standard 91.148% athletes over
100m 10.12 10.03 36 100m 11.26 11.16 27
200m 20.44 20.27 31 200m 23.10 22.90 26
400m 45.50 45.11 30 400m 52.10 51.66 22
800m 01:45.9 01:45.0 26 800m 02:01.0 02:00.0 27
1500m 03:36.0 03:34.2 27 1500m 04:07.5 04:05.4 17
5000m 13:22.6 13:15.8 14 5000m 15:22.0 15:14.1 15
10000m 27:45.0 27:30.8 11 10000m 32:15.0 31:58.5 8
3000m SC 08:32.0 08:27.6 19 3000m SC 09:42.0 09:37.0 18
110m H 13.48 13.37 17 100m H 12.98 12.87 21
400m H 49.35 48.93 20 400m H 56.10 55.62 16
Marathon 2:19:00 2:17:49 14 Marathon 2:45:00 2:43:36 4
20km Walk 1:24:00 1:23:17 7 20km Walk 1:36:00 1:35:11 4
I know I for one will be very, very interested to look at the results the night of the 13th and see how many race walkers in the men's 50K and the men's and women's 20K would have been removed from the course if the same standards were applied to them. And for curiosity's sake the marathon as well.
I like numbers (not as much as words, I'm a scrabble girl), it's fun to play with them. So one more interesting thing to do with the numbers. We've seen the math that women's 50K is 9.75% of the men's standard. And the women's 20K is 14.2%, and marathon is 18.7%. Let's do some backwards math. There is an "extra" 4.45% for the 20K and 8.95% for the marathon. Let's take those percentages away from the 20K and men's 50K standards to see what would happen if they lost the extra time that the women's 50K has lost with the tougher standard.
distance original standard 4.45% faster 8.95% faster
men's 50K 4:06:00 3:57:30 3:43:51
men's 20K 1:24:00 1:21:06 1:16:30ish
women's 20K 1:36 1:32:41 1:27:24
This is just for point of interest, but it should make you think about the inequality the 50K women have been subject to with the qualifying standard. It's just a few different ways to look at things. (and as a side note, some of the calculations have been done by others and some by me. As I said I'm a word girl, so if there's a flaw with the math let me know, unless we're talking a few seconds, then just go with the concept...)
Okay, let me go away from the numbers for just a second. There are a number of people, not necessarily the women themselves saying it, but other saying it for them, that if they had known they would've done it. Everyone could see the writing on the wall. Change has been happening, in slow steps, but happening. With women allowed to compete last year in Rome, that should've been a big hint. Then women were added this year under the 4:06 men's standard. Those women probably looked at that time and said, whoa, I can't do that, I'll focus on 20K. And that's totally fair and a decision they made. And some women saw that and said, hmm, I'm going to try. I may not hit it, but I'll try, because who knows what could happen? If you look at the list for this year how many Chinese women are on that list? Why? Because the Chinese can see where this is headed, the addition of a women's race, so they're starting their development now instead of waiting. They are looking ahead and being proactive. Those women who are complaining that it wasn't fair, it should've been announced earlier, what have they done to promote and move forward women's 50K race walking? It's a lot easier to sit back and complain than it is to stand up and fight. But that's in the past, so here's the bigger question. What are they doing NOW to change things for next year? Are they planning on a 50K to race? Are they contacting their federation to push the IAAF and the RW Committee to set a race and a standard now so that women can properly prepare? Are they? Or are they happy to sit back and complain and not do anything and instead put down the efforts of those women who put themselves out there? I hope with all my heart that they are out there getting ready to train for and race a 50K and working for change, because that is what is needed.
And why is that needed, you may be asking? Who cares if there's a women's 50K? There are a few answers. One, it's what's right and fair in the world. Every charter speaks to equality. Besides the women who have already done 50Ks there are apparently all those women saying they would've done it, so there's obviously interest. Having 23 events for women and 24 for men is not equality. The IOC has said that in 2020 they want equality. If we don't have women doing the 50K we're going to lose the men doing the 50K. It really is just about that simple. You all know that they are always looking for a reason to get rid of the race walks, especially the 50K. That, right there, will be the reason if it's not fixed. We want equality, there isn't equality in race walking, so out goes race walking. If you can't see that you've got your blinders on.
Here's another fun one: The IAAF was forced into it, it should've been allowed to grow organically. Really? Seriously, really? the IAAF should be allowed to have equality happen organically? How does that happen? If they don't have the races then it's not equality? When has a federation or association ever done something out of the kindness of their hearts? They do it because they are forced or there is pressure. How can people say on the one hand we support the women racing but not the way they got there? That doesn't even make sense? I will say it again, because some people really need the repetition, if the IAAF is trying to get rid of the RW they can do it through the women's 50K. They can do it by not allowing a women's 50K, which was hard when equality is written in their charter, so they kind of had to. Not because that was the wrong way to do it, but because that's the right thing to do. Are they setting us up to fail at the world championships? It sure would seem so. Keeping the field so small with the hardest qualifying time, then making a cutoff time faster than the qualifying time. All those people who say they're supportive of the women racing, where is your outrage at how we're being treated? Who is writing to the IAAF saying that it's just another form of gender bias imposing the 4:17 last lap time? Who is talking to their federation asking them to intervene?
One thing I've wondered for a long time is what would happen if people took the energy they have complaining about things and instead supported one another. If half, or a quarter even, of the energy that has been spent telling me I shouldn't bother trying or I can't do something, or I'm a hack, or a failed 20K walker was instead spent helping, lifting others up, looking for creative ways to solving problems then I think we've have one of the most popular events ever! But there's just so much negativity! And what else kills me, people saying things like "other events are going to say bad stuff about us..." They don't have to, we're saying it to each other! All the runners have to do is look at how we're treating each other and repeat the negativity, they don't have to come up with anything themselves! We're going to tear ourselves apart from the inside and the IAAF or IOC won't have to do anything.
The next time you're thinking of complaining about or looking down on what's happening with the women's 50K, stop and ask yourself: What have I done to help? What have I done to improve my sport?
Have I told any of the women on the start list good luck?
Have I reached out to other women and ask if they're interested in trying a 50K?
Have I started training for a 50K?
Have I decided to put on a 50K that will give women the chance to get a time in?
Have I spoken with my federation to help?
Have I written letters?
No matter if you're male or female, active or retired, there is something on that list of that you can do. I can check off every single one of those boxes. If everyone who reads this took two of those things and did them then we would see change. Stop complaining and start doing. Help things get better, for the women and for the men who would like to keep their event.
Monday, July 24, 2017
Women racing the 50K in London: The good, the bad, and the ugly
Firstly, for those who have said congratulations, thank you! And for the few people who have said thank you for the work that went into another step towards women's equality, thank you even more. And thank you to the people I spoke to at USATF who when they heard the good news jumped on board, said congratulations, and worked at super speed to get my plane tickets and uniform sorted out. And thank you to the IAAF for taking another small step towards equality. But of course, for every cause for celebration there's going to be people complaining. I'd like to take some of those arguments and give the counter. Bear with me, this could be a long one.
1. It's too short of notice. If other women would've known they would've raced a 50K so they could qualify.
Is it short notice? Heck yes! Would it have been better if this had been accomplished months, if not a year ago? (or a decade ago...) Absolutely! I don't think anyone disagrees with that. My problem is when people say that those of us who put ourselves out there, racing a 50K even if we didn't know that there would be the reward of racing at the World Championships should not be able to do it because some women chose not to race a 50K. Everyone has seen the same writing on the wall. With the IAAF changing rules last year to include women in Rome everyone had the same opportunity to think, to hope that things could change for this year and possibly be an event at the World Champs. Do I wish more women had gone out on a limb? Absolutely, but don't discount or take away my dream of racing at the World Champs because they didn't give it a try. If things go the way they are seeming to go, who knows, there could be no more 50K at all and this could be the only chance for women to race the 50K.
2. Now the women who are racing the 50K are women who couldn't make the 96 minute 20K standard.
I'm sorry? Where has it ever been said that in order to qualify for the 50K you have to also have a qualifying time for the 20K? What is this double standard? How many men who have qualified for the 50K in London also have a 20K standard? I know quite a number as there are some great 50K/20K double athletes, but most definitely not all of them. Should those guys who don't have a 20K standard be told that they shouldn't race? Are they an embarrassment? And the opposite should also be true of the guys then, those 20K walkers who don't have a 50K qualifying time, or heaven forbid, haven't even attempted a 50K, should they be able to race the 20K? or how about the marathon runners who can't keep up with the 10,000 runners? A male athlete suggested that any woman who has the sub 96 time should be able to give the 50K a try at the World Champs. I'm not sure how he can even think that's a good idea? He thinks having 5 women who have proven themselves at the distance is a bad idea, but letting a number of women who aren't proven at the distance is a good idea? Racing a strong 20K is not equal to racing a strong 50K. Some can do it, some can't. That's why there's two different races!
Ines is a top contender in the 20K, and I've been told that one of the Chinese women who has the qualifying time is also a sub 1:26 20K walker. That's 40% of the field, not too shabby for women who have not had the rich history of being able to double like the guys. One thing I've realized is that it's not that I'm a bad 20K walker, it's that I'm a good 50K walker. By any reasonable standard you could set the women's 50K time at I would be under it. The time they imposed of 4:30 is only 9.75% different than the men's standard. That's the smallest difference in all events outside hurdles and relays. The difference in the marathon qualifying time between men and women is 18.70%. So those of us who have done sub 4:30 are not an embarrassment, we are pretty darned good. So you know what that means? I've been denied being able to call myself an Olympian. I would've been an Olympian in Rio and probably in London as well. And who knows, if I'd had that opportunity to push for it in 2008 then possibly then as well. I am a good 50K walker and just because a guy looks at a standard of 4:30 and think's it's not good enough, well, honestly, that's not for you to decide? How many men in the marathon look at the women's qualifying time and think, boy that's too slow? Probably some, but it's not up to them to decide the standard, and really it just makes them look like jerks.
3. With only having a possible 5 entrants IAAF will use it as a reason to cut the event.
Quite possibly. Firstly, they set the standard there. They set the standard that would allow for only 5 entrants! But in this instance it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. The IOC wants equality. Right now there isn't equality. We have to push for equality. If there are no women in the World Champs it's just as easy for the IOC to say, see, no equality. At least now we can say, look, it's a start. We had to push the IAAF, we had no notice, not enough time to properly prepare, and look how great the women did (because I know the women will do great.)! Now we can cite how we had to push the IAAF for equality, they can't be bothered to do it on their own. They said last year they would work for greater equality in the race walk, and look what happened? Nothing. So we have to push.
4. Letting the women have a finish place if they get pulled of the course due to the time limit and get the prize money is a joke, you could nap your way to the end.
Maybe this athlete is expressing what he would like to do, but I for one seriously doubt that anyone, male or female, would ever feel they would want to nap their way through a World Championships. If you don't think all the women on the line know exactly what's at stake and won't be racing their hearts out you're seriously fooling yourself. The bigger issue is the 4:17 last lap cut off time. That would equal a finishing time (if you evenly paced yourself) of 4:27:43 or so, over two minutes FASTER than the qualifying time. How ridiculous is that? That in itself is a HUGE gender inequality. And the reasons they gave for it are paltry at best, it's another way IAAF is trying to get things to fail instead of helping us succeed. And what happens? Guys agree with it! Don't you realize you're shooting yourself in the foot? If women don't race the 50K you're going to lose your event! Instead of working to help it be fair and equal, they put us down. What if we made that cutoff time equal for the men? They'd have to stop their last lap about 3:54. Shall we do that? How many guys would jump up and down saying that's not fair? And let's keep in mind that the women's qualifying time for the women for the 20K is 1:36, yet there's 2 hours between the women's 20K and the men's 20K. So in theory, since they haven't announced a time cutoff, they have an additional 24 minutes! But the women's 50K has a cutoff standard faster than the qualifying, which is already faster (percentage-wise) than any other distance event. Inequality? I think yes.
5. Only a limited number of women wanted to do it:
Funny enough, there are two more women who have qualified under IAAF's own rules. There is a rule that the Area Champions are allowed to enter, even if they don't have the qualifying standard. This has been the case for years and in all events. But IAAF is trying to keep them out. They are ready, willing, and able to come compete, but IAAF is trying to keep them out. So out of one side of their mouth they're saying they want to work towards equality but out of the other they are keeping women out who have qualified under their own rules.
6. The IAAF was pushed into this last minute change and that's not right.
Okay, okay. Time to take a deep breath. In every single charter it talks about equality. The Olympic Charter, the IAAF Charter, both speak to granting equality. How can you possibly say that it's not right that it had to be pushed for equality? Equality is only right if it happens during a certain time frame? It would only be right to take another step towards equality if it happened 5 months ago? Why aren't these people instead saying "it's about time!" Think about what you're saying. They had to be pushed to be fair and equal, and still are finding ways to put the women down.
7. IAAF is trying to get the 50K walk to fail.
Quite possibly. And what are you doing to keep it from happening? The men are going to lose their event if they don't stand up and support the women. The IOC wants equality and if there's only a men's 50K and not a women's 50K that isn't equality and they'll cut it.
This is the section where I'd like to propose some solutions. Instead of being an armchair complainer, here is your opportunity to push for change. For all those who said the decision came too late, your chance is NOW to start working towards next year. Because we need to know NOW what is happening in Taicang at the World Team Championships of Race Walking. So here is an idea of a letter you can send to Lord Coe, the IAAF, your federation, members of the RW Committee, members of the IAAF Women's Committee (who are supportive of the women's 50K RW by the way). It can go something like this, but change a few things so it's not the same letter over and over:
Dear Lord Coe and Others,
I would like to thank you for taking another step in the right direction in women's equality in the 50K race walking event. Their inclusion in London is helping to bring recognition to the event and the plight they have faced overcoming gender bias in track and field. With this decision the IAAF is showing they care about and support women's equality.
However, there is still much work to be done. In order to allow women interested in competing at the 50K distance time to adequately prepare for the upcoming season, I would ask that the IAAF set the program for the World Team Championships of Race Walking in Taicang and include a women's 50K division. Encourage each member federation to set a time standard that allows for a quality field, but also a chance for the women to develop.
With adequate time to prepare, a realistic but challenging time standard I am sure that we will see a quality field of strong women competing, showing that adding a women's 50K to the Tokyo Olympics is viable and necessary.
Sincerely,
Your name
Then you can send a somewhat similar letter to your federation expressing your desire for a fair and reasonable entry standard for Tiacang and a chance for women to race and qualify.
If the men do not get behind the women and support and help us they're going to lose their event.
And one other thing, the idea of negativity. I saw people talking and some were accused of being negative and they came back and said they weren't but just pointing things out. Ideas, thoughts, discussion aren't a bad thing. But if it's being said without any mention of how to fix it, then yeah, you're just being negative. Complaining that it's too late and not talking about how it could be fixed for the next big race, how does that help? Get up, get out there, and work for positive change.
And now I may retire from FaceBook and other online forums for a bit. I have a race to get ready for and prepare for and stay focused for. I don't need all this negativity and shortsightedness. Because I am going to go out there and race my heart out. I'm going to leave it all on the course. I'm going to do my absolute best. And I am going to enjoy the fact that I am one of the few women being allowed to compete. I will be racing at the World Championships!
1. It's too short of notice. If other women would've known they would've raced a 50K so they could qualify.
Is it short notice? Heck yes! Would it have been better if this had been accomplished months, if not a year ago? (or a decade ago...) Absolutely! I don't think anyone disagrees with that. My problem is when people say that those of us who put ourselves out there, racing a 50K even if we didn't know that there would be the reward of racing at the World Championships should not be able to do it because some women chose not to race a 50K. Everyone has seen the same writing on the wall. With the IAAF changing rules last year to include women in Rome everyone had the same opportunity to think, to hope that things could change for this year and possibly be an event at the World Champs. Do I wish more women had gone out on a limb? Absolutely, but don't discount or take away my dream of racing at the World Champs because they didn't give it a try. If things go the way they are seeming to go, who knows, there could be no more 50K at all and this could be the only chance for women to race the 50K.
2. Now the women who are racing the 50K are women who couldn't make the 96 minute 20K standard.
I'm sorry? Where has it ever been said that in order to qualify for the 50K you have to also have a qualifying time for the 20K? What is this double standard? How many men who have qualified for the 50K in London also have a 20K standard? I know quite a number as there are some great 50K/20K double athletes, but most definitely not all of them. Should those guys who don't have a 20K standard be told that they shouldn't race? Are they an embarrassment? And the opposite should also be true of the guys then, those 20K walkers who don't have a 50K qualifying time, or heaven forbid, haven't even attempted a 50K, should they be able to race the 20K? or how about the marathon runners who can't keep up with the 10,000 runners? A male athlete suggested that any woman who has the sub 96 time should be able to give the 50K a try at the World Champs. I'm not sure how he can even think that's a good idea? He thinks having 5 women who have proven themselves at the distance is a bad idea, but letting a number of women who aren't proven at the distance is a good idea? Racing a strong 20K is not equal to racing a strong 50K. Some can do it, some can't. That's why there's two different races!
Ines is a top contender in the 20K, and I've been told that one of the Chinese women who has the qualifying time is also a sub 1:26 20K walker. That's 40% of the field, not too shabby for women who have not had the rich history of being able to double like the guys. One thing I've realized is that it's not that I'm a bad 20K walker, it's that I'm a good 50K walker. By any reasonable standard you could set the women's 50K time at I would be under it. The time they imposed of 4:30 is only 9.75% different than the men's standard. That's the smallest difference in all events outside hurdles and relays. The difference in the marathon qualifying time between men and women is 18.70%. So those of us who have done sub 4:30 are not an embarrassment, we are pretty darned good. So you know what that means? I've been denied being able to call myself an Olympian. I would've been an Olympian in Rio and probably in London as well. And who knows, if I'd had that opportunity to push for it in 2008 then possibly then as well. I am a good 50K walker and just because a guy looks at a standard of 4:30 and think's it's not good enough, well, honestly, that's not for you to decide? How many men in the marathon look at the women's qualifying time and think, boy that's too slow? Probably some, but it's not up to them to decide the standard, and really it just makes them look like jerks.
3. With only having a possible 5 entrants IAAF will use it as a reason to cut the event.
Quite possibly. Firstly, they set the standard there. They set the standard that would allow for only 5 entrants! But in this instance it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. The IOC wants equality. Right now there isn't equality. We have to push for equality. If there are no women in the World Champs it's just as easy for the IOC to say, see, no equality. At least now we can say, look, it's a start. We had to push the IAAF, we had no notice, not enough time to properly prepare, and look how great the women did (because I know the women will do great.)! Now we can cite how we had to push the IAAF for equality, they can't be bothered to do it on their own. They said last year they would work for greater equality in the race walk, and look what happened? Nothing. So we have to push.
4. Letting the women have a finish place if they get pulled of the course due to the time limit and get the prize money is a joke, you could nap your way to the end.
Maybe this athlete is expressing what he would like to do, but I for one seriously doubt that anyone, male or female, would ever feel they would want to nap their way through a World Championships. If you don't think all the women on the line know exactly what's at stake and won't be racing their hearts out you're seriously fooling yourself. The bigger issue is the 4:17 last lap cut off time. That would equal a finishing time (if you evenly paced yourself) of 4:27:43 or so, over two minutes FASTER than the qualifying time. How ridiculous is that? That in itself is a HUGE gender inequality. And the reasons they gave for it are paltry at best, it's another way IAAF is trying to get things to fail instead of helping us succeed. And what happens? Guys agree with it! Don't you realize you're shooting yourself in the foot? If women don't race the 50K you're going to lose your event! Instead of working to help it be fair and equal, they put us down. What if we made that cutoff time equal for the men? They'd have to stop their last lap about 3:54. Shall we do that? How many guys would jump up and down saying that's not fair? And let's keep in mind that the women's qualifying time for the women for the 20K is 1:36, yet there's 2 hours between the women's 20K and the men's 20K. So in theory, since they haven't announced a time cutoff, they have an additional 24 minutes! But the women's 50K has a cutoff standard faster than the qualifying, which is already faster (percentage-wise) than any other distance event. Inequality? I think yes.
5. Only a limited number of women wanted to do it:
Funny enough, there are two more women who have qualified under IAAF's own rules. There is a rule that the Area Champions are allowed to enter, even if they don't have the qualifying standard. This has been the case for years and in all events. But IAAF is trying to keep them out. They are ready, willing, and able to come compete, but IAAF is trying to keep them out. So out of one side of their mouth they're saying they want to work towards equality but out of the other they are keeping women out who have qualified under their own rules.
6. The IAAF was pushed into this last minute change and that's not right.
Okay, okay. Time to take a deep breath. In every single charter it talks about equality. The Olympic Charter, the IAAF Charter, both speak to granting equality. How can you possibly say that it's not right that it had to be pushed for equality? Equality is only right if it happens during a certain time frame? It would only be right to take another step towards equality if it happened 5 months ago? Why aren't these people instead saying "it's about time!" Think about what you're saying. They had to be pushed to be fair and equal, and still are finding ways to put the women down.
7. IAAF is trying to get the 50K walk to fail.
Quite possibly. And what are you doing to keep it from happening? The men are going to lose their event if they don't stand up and support the women. The IOC wants equality and if there's only a men's 50K and not a women's 50K that isn't equality and they'll cut it.
This is the section where I'd like to propose some solutions. Instead of being an armchair complainer, here is your opportunity to push for change. For all those who said the decision came too late, your chance is NOW to start working towards next year. Because we need to know NOW what is happening in Taicang at the World Team Championships of Race Walking. So here is an idea of a letter you can send to Lord Coe, the IAAF, your federation, members of the RW Committee, members of the IAAF Women's Committee (who are supportive of the women's 50K RW by the way). It can go something like this, but change a few things so it's not the same letter over and over:
Dear Lord Coe and Others,
I would like to thank you for taking another step in the right direction in women's equality in the 50K race walking event. Their inclusion in London is helping to bring recognition to the event and the plight they have faced overcoming gender bias in track and field. With this decision the IAAF is showing they care about and support women's equality.
However, there is still much work to be done. In order to allow women interested in competing at the 50K distance time to adequately prepare for the upcoming season, I would ask that the IAAF set the program for the World Team Championships of Race Walking in Taicang and include a women's 50K division. Encourage each member federation to set a time standard that allows for a quality field, but also a chance for the women to develop.
With adequate time to prepare, a realistic but challenging time standard I am sure that we will see a quality field of strong women competing, showing that adding a women's 50K to the Tokyo Olympics is viable and necessary.
Sincerely,
Your name
Then you can send a somewhat similar letter to your federation expressing your desire for a fair and reasonable entry standard for Tiacang and a chance for women to race and qualify.
If the men do not get behind the women and support and help us they're going to lose their event.
And one other thing, the idea of negativity. I saw people talking and some were accused of being negative and they came back and said they weren't but just pointing things out. Ideas, thoughts, discussion aren't a bad thing. But if it's being said without any mention of how to fix it, then yeah, you're just being negative. Complaining that it's too late and not talking about how it could be fixed for the next big race, how does that help? Get up, get out there, and work for positive change.
And now I may retire from FaceBook and other online forums for a bit. I have a race to get ready for and prepare for and stay focused for. I don't need all this negativity and shortsightedness. Because I am going to go out there and race my heart out. I'm going to leave it all on the course. I'm going to do my absolute best. And I am going to enjoy the fact that I am one of the few women being allowed to compete. I will be racing at the World Championships!
Friday, July 21, 2017
I'm racing in London..... in the 50K!!!!!!
I've been pretty quiet and under the radar. Outdoor nationals went okay. Not great like I was hoping, but not awful. It was a solid performance and that was it. But there was stuff going on in the background that made training and staying focused difficult. And now I can talk a little bit about it.
Back at the beginning of the year when there was that huge scare that IAAF or IOC or whoever (or both) was going to cut the 50K, some people went into high gear to save the event. One of them was Paul DeMeester. Paul was on the national team for Belgium when he was young and then moved to the US, did a ton of cool stuff, got a law degree and now practices in California. And he race walks and helps the sport. He saw the threat to the 50K and jumped into action, going to London and meeting and talking to people and educating them and persuading and changing mindsets.
One of the things Paul realized is that the IOC is looking for gender equality (as they should) and that puts the 50K in a dangerous position. He realized that unless we can get more women participating the event may be cut all together.
So Paul and I (mostly Paul, he's the smart one for sure) fought for there to be a separate woman's standard. And today, I'm so excited to say, there is one! IAAF is implementing a standard of 4:30 for the London World Championships! I wish the time was a bit more relaxed to allow more women to compete, but it's another step. One step at a time. But it is progress! Women will be on the starting line in a mixed event. We will have our own medals. We will be recognized in our own division. It's very, very exciting. And if it wasn't for Paul and his unwavering belief and commitment then there wouldn't be any women on the line.
I have been so fortunate that whenever there have been people there telling me no, telling me I can't do it, I have someone behind me who says, yes, yes you can, and has helped fight for it. The hours and hours and hours Paul put in to accomplish this are just about beyond measure, and he did it out of the kindness of his heart and passion for the sport.
So now it's time to focus. I'll be on the line, not as the only woman this time, but with others around me. And that will be the most amazing feeling ever.
But let's start something now. Let's look forward to Taicang next year and get a woman's 50K figured out now. A time standard, selection procedures for federations, so that women can start to plan NOW instead of finding out they're racing a 50K three weeks before the event. Guys, push your federations, for without women and equality you're likely to lose your event. Women, consider giving it a try! Train for it, do it, get excited for it! And if you can't do either of those things then consider supporting women who are going for it. It's only because of the prize money I've been able to save over the years that I was able to pay for fees and costs associated with all this. We don't make a lot of money, so consider supporting an athlete to help with shoes, travel, training aid, something, anything! It all helps.
If you'll be in London come cheer for the women, show your support. Say hi. I think I'm going to go do a workout :)
Happy training!
ps, if you do want to support me, consider going to my online stores where when you purchase something I get a portion. And please "like" my FB page :)
If you need to buy tickets to a show or sporting event, please go here first to look. If you buy through my portal I get a percentage!
https://www.tix4cause.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Racew
Back at the beginning of the year when there was that huge scare that IAAF or IOC or whoever (or both) was going to cut the 50K, some people went into high gear to save the event. One of them was Paul DeMeester. Paul was on the national team for Belgium when he was young and then moved to the US, did a ton of cool stuff, got a law degree and now practices in California. And he race walks and helps the sport. He saw the threat to the 50K and jumped into action, going to London and meeting and talking to people and educating them and persuading and changing mindsets.
One of the things Paul realized is that the IOC is looking for gender equality (as they should) and that puts the 50K in a dangerous position. He realized that unless we can get more women participating the event may be cut all together.
So Paul and I (mostly Paul, he's the smart one for sure) fought for there to be a separate woman's standard. And today, I'm so excited to say, there is one! IAAF is implementing a standard of 4:30 for the London World Championships! I wish the time was a bit more relaxed to allow more women to compete, but it's another step. One step at a time. But it is progress! Women will be on the starting line in a mixed event. We will have our own medals. We will be recognized in our own division. It's very, very exciting. And if it wasn't for Paul and his unwavering belief and commitment then there wouldn't be any women on the line.
I have been so fortunate that whenever there have been people there telling me no, telling me I can't do it, I have someone behind me who says, yes, yes you can, and has helped fight for it. The hours and hours and hours Paul put in to accomplish this are just about beyond measure, and he did it out of the kindness of his heart and passion for the sport.
So now it's time to focus. I'll be on the line, not as the only woman this time, but with others around me. And that will be the most amazing feeling ever.
But let's start something now. Let's look forward to Taicang next year and get a woman's 50K figured out now. A time standard, selection procedures for federations, so that women can start to plan NOW instead of finding out they're racing a 50K three weeks before the event. Guys, push your federations, for without women and equality you're likely to lose your event. Women, consider giving it a try! Train for it, do it, get excited for it! And if you can't do either of those things then consider supporting women who are going for it. It's only because of the prize money I've been able to save over the years that I was able to pay for fees and costs associated with all this. We don't make a lot of money, so consider supporting an athlete to help with shoes, travel, training aid, something, anything! It all helps.
If you'll be in London come cheer for the women, show your support. Say hi. I think I'm going to go do a workout :)
Happy training!
ps, if you do want to support me, consider going to my online stores where when you purchase something I get a portion. And please "like" my FB page :)
https://www.tix4cause.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Racew
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
hip mobility/flexibility drills/stretches
 |
| Definitely need some pictures! The colors were amazing! |
After one of my posts I talked about the hip mobility/flexibility drills I use. A number of people asked what they are soooooooo I made a YouTube video! Thus is the beginning of my YouTube stardom.... Yep, it all starts here! But seriously, here are my three favorite exercises. Just remember, don't hurt yourself! I was really pushing on my right side and it was starting to hurt more and more and more and I just found out I have a bursitis in my right hip. So that explains a lot! Trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to take care of it, but at least that's one question solved!
 |
| For the Lord of the Rings fans out there, the mountain in the background is Mt. Doom! How freaking cool is that!?!? |
So if you're bored and want to see some drills/exercises take a peek. If you want you can subscribe to my channel so when I do more videos you will be one of the first to know ;) Let me know if they work for you! Let me know if you have some that you absolutely love and would like to share.
https://youtu.be/gljtLK-07-c
 |
| My attempt to be artsy while taking pictures. |
As always, your support would be greatly appreciated by doing your shopping via my online stores! If you're going to buy stuff online anyway why not buy it via these links? That way you can help me continue on towards reaching my goals :)
And finally... and exciting announcement is coming up in the next few weeks!
Happy Training!
https://www.tix4cause.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Racew
 |
| A clearer picture of Mt. Doom. |
 |
| Sunsets/sunrises in the New Zealand can be absolutely stunning! |
Thursday, March 9, 2017
More is not always better...
We all want to be better, faster and stronger. When we first start training we are told to get better we need to up our mileage. We also increase our intensity for our hard workouts. Then our long workouts are supposed to get faster. Now let's add in some strength training. Next is lifting heavier weights (for some). More, more, more... faster, faster, faster.... harder, harder, harder!!!! And the better we want to be the more we start to think we have to do more, all the time.
But more is not always better.
Last May I competed at the World Team Championships of Race Walking in Rome, Italy. One of the benefits of making Team USA is when we travel as a team we have a medical person travel with us. I have found that they can be a source of invaluable knowledge and wisdom and every trip I take I learn so much! Rome was no exception as our physio was absolutely amazing. She was very dismayed by the lack of flexibility in my hips. Now, as a race walker, you would think I'd have super mobile hips, but not so. When I was a kid I never sat cross legged. Whenever I do cobbler's pose in yoga my knees are always up pretty high, I've never in my life had them on the ground in that position. I figured it was just the way I was built, and I would of course continue to stretch but not worry too much about it.
The physio said not so! I could gain more flexibility! She worked like crazy on me and gave me a bunch of stretches and mobility exercises. And they were working! My knees were getting closer and closer to the ground! Thus started my journey to increased hip flexibility. And like any good athlete, more is better! I'd do them all the time. Then in November in New Zealand I saw a physio who gave me more exercises to do! Hazzah! More is better! These were focused a bit more on flexibility in the joints. So I dove right in to those as well.
After a while though I started noticing that when I'd do some of the exercises on my right side my hip would ache. No sharp pains, just a dull ache that would take a few minutes to go away. But then it would happen sooner and sooner and get more and more painful. So I figured I just needed to put my big girl panties on and push through it.
Here in New Zealand I have an amazing massage therapist. She's awesome, knows how to get in deep and has tons of experience working on race walkers and race walking specific issues. I told her about wanting to increase my mobility. She was totally for it! So she'd work away, we'd talk over the issue, try new things. Then one day we were really working deep in there and it was a few days after a 10K PB and my body was tired and WHAM! My muscles totally spasamed up. It took about a week for them to calm down and a week of sub par training.
More was definitely NOT better.
I have since gone to see another physio to look at my right hip. Basically he thinks there could be some spots where some of the cartilage is thin and that's what's causing the dull ache in my hip. So we take out the stretches that stretch the joint and keep the ones that stretch the muscles. Whew! Luckily an easy fix. But one that could've been so, so much worse.
So what's my point? More is not always better. Yes, train hard. Yes, increase your mileage. Yes, get stronger. But don't go overboard. That's one of the main benefits to having either a coach or someone to advise you. Very, very rarely does anyone have to tell me that I'm not working hard enough and get my tooshie in gear. More often someone has to say to me, hey, you've done enough, time to stop. There's a time and a place to push yourself to your limits. There's a time and a place to challenge your body past what you think you can do. But there's also times where you need to listen to your body and back off just a bit. I would rather have a month of really solid training with no amazing, spectacular, PB performances than only having one spectacular performance and a bunch of sub-par efforts.
Having someone to monitor you and keep their eyes on you and an independent opinion of how things are going can be crucial. If it was left up to me I'd probably work myself to death, especially during 50K training as I LOVE to go long.
More is not always better. Train hard, but train smart. And have fun doing it!
Please visit my athlete stores for your online purchases! Each time you buy through my portal I get a percentage of your purchase. And please "like" my FB athlete page!
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
My blog originally was supposed to be on race walking,
farming, music and more! However it
tends to be focused quite a bit on race walking. Probably because the majority of my life is
spent training, racing, stretching, cross training, working on core, mobility,
and eating (not necessarily in that order).
Today I’m going to talk about something other than race walking…. Gasp! At least the first part of it will be. I’ll talk a bit about race walking stuff at
the end of it, well, because I just can’t help myself.
 |
| Before... the long hair |
 |
| After! So short and some color |
For those of you who don’t know me personally I have very
long hair. Long as in down below my
waistline. When I was 13 I got my hair
cut short and permed (I know, I know, but it was the early 90s and that’s just
what you did…) I hated it! It ended up looking like a Little Orphan
Annie hairstyle. Don’t get me wrong, it
looked great on her, on me? Not so
much. So I grew it out…. And just never
stopped. In January of 2016 I took a
jump into the deep end and got about six inches cut off! It was terrifying! But I did it and it was nice.
Well, the idea started brewing in my brain… Maybe it’s time
for a change… There have been some times when my long hair has been quite
annoying. It’s warm and humid here in
New Zealand and I’m quite sweaty a lot in my workouts and my braided hair will
whip around and get stuck on my arm and all sorts of annoying things. When I’m doing yoga it seems to always be in
the way.
So Friday I went to a salon.
Not a place that cuts hair, a salon.
Keep in mind, most years of my life I never got my hair trimmed at all,
so I have spent very, very little money on hair maintenance in my
lifetime. So I felt like going to a
salon once would be okay. They were so
nice. They could tell I was super
nervous and my stylist (Rochelle) put me at ease. We talked a lot about what was going to be
done and looked at pictures and all sorts of things. So besides getting my hair cut I decided to
get it highlighted too! For those who
are interested I will document it in pictures at the end of the blog.
Of course you could just say I’m so dedicated to attaining
my race weight I’m taking it off wherever I can J
Aaaaannnnndddd back to race walking. It’s been a weird week. Monday I was walking along and clipped my toe
on the pavement and almost went down. I
managed to catch myself before I actually hit the ground, but not by much. Unfortunately it totally jammed my spine and
threw me all out of alignment. I had an
appointment already arranged for Wednesday with a physio so thought he’d fix
stuff then. Unfortunately he didn’t do a
darned thing for it. I was starting to
get massive headaches from my neck being out and all sorts of stuff. I looked up chiropractors and found one close
by where I’m staying. They opened 7:00
AM Thursday, so at 7:15 I called them and gave them my sob story. They were so nice and fit me in for an 8:00
AM appointment! She took about an hour
with me and really focused on how my body needed to be aligned. I left feeling the best I’ve felt all
week. It was amazing, my mood instantly
changed and I could walk easier, even just down the street walking.
Since I had a race on Saturday she wanted to see me Friday
as well, which I was happy with. I was
so far out all the way out my spine and had been for basically four days, it
was very possible I might slip back out.
That appointment went well and I again left feeling really good.
Saturday was the Auckland Championships at 3,000. I was planning for another big PB, but felt
some self-doubt with my spine being out most of the week and not getting in any
speed work. But I was going to give it
my all. Warm up went okay. Near the end I started feeling pretty fluid
and decent, not great, but decent. We
were called into the call room 15 minutes before the race. Unfortunately there were some issues with the
meet and we were stuck in there for 40 minutes.
I did my best to stay loose and fluid and warm, but had a really hard
time and as we walked out I just felt flat and tired. I tried to do some pickups and get moving
again. I think I was only partially
successful.
 |
| Alana smashed it out. I'm considered a visitor so I got a second place visitors medal. |
So I started off okay, not as fast as I wanted, but not slow
either. I ended up finishing in
13:45.82, less than 6 seconds off my PB and breaking my masters age group
record. For having a day where I felt
totally flat I’m quite happy with that time.
And I’m hopeful that with more self-care my body will be a-ok and I can
get back to quality training.
Enjoy the pictures, if that’s your thing. I’ll throw in some pictures from the race and
stuff too, just for fun.
Need some training gear?
Check out my athlete store! If
you buy through my portal then you also support me!
https://www.athletebiz.us/athl
https://athletebiz.flipgive.com/campaigns/44081-erin-taylor-talcott-us-race-walker
https://athletebiz.flipgive.com/campaigns/44081-erin-taylor-talcott-us-race-walker
 |
| The "holy cow I'm nervous" before shot |
 |
| highlight foils |
 |
| highlight foils marinating |
 |
| washing and adding the toner |
 |
| all done! |
 |
| the awesome Rochelle who I spent 6 hours with! |
Thursday, February 16, 2017
I'm too old to improve...
I'm too old to improve... Or at least that's what "people" say. It's almost impossible to get development money at the ripe old age of 38. We're told to just be happy being a master's athlete. We're told not to try to make international teams. We're told just to retire gracefully.
But you know what, I refuse.
I'm 38 and better than ever, and I can prove it. How? In the past 2.5 months I have done my best times ever in the following distances: 1500, mile, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000, 10K, 30K, 40K, marathon, and 50K.
And you know who would probably agree with me? Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Dana Torres, Oksana Chusovitina, Meb Keflezighi, and Jo Pavey, just to name a few. Do you know why they'd probably agree with me? Because even though they're all "old" they're still at the top of their game.
I'm not saying that as you get older that your body doesn't change, of course it does. Many people need more rest than they did before, more recovery. Stretching, mobility, core work and strength become even more vital. But it's doable.
Some people would say I'm improving now because I didn't live up to my potential earlier. They could very well be correct. I'm positive that many of the things I've been doing to improve on could've (and should've) been done years ago. But you can't do what you don't know you should've done. And just because I should've done it years ago is no reason to not do it now! Because now I have the knowledge, the help, and the motivation to do it.
So how have I been doing it? There are a number of things, some probably bigger pieces of the puzzle than others, but I think it's all connected. The body is an amazing machine and it's all intertwined. But here are some of the biggies:
1. I got an iron infusion. In June of last year I finally dipped below the line into anemic. I've been borderline for years, and even saying to the doctors my iron levels are too low for an endurance athlete, it didn't matter. I took iron supplements, ate iron-rich foods, didn't drink tea with meals, everything I could think of, and it didn't work. This is obviously not something that will work for everyone, but I think there's a very important lesson. Make sure you get your blood work done. Have it checked as regularly as you can. This will allow you to see if certain values drop, raise or stay the same. Keep in mind that levels in blood tests are for an average person. As endurance athletes we are not average and should not be treated as such. If you truly think you are low in something and your doctor says you're fine, get a second opinion. Do some research, talk to people and see what you can do.
2. I worked on my technique. I had issues getting DQed (for bent knee). I worked on technique with a former coach, but we never quite got things sorted. So I took matters fully into my own hands. I went to people and talked, I watched videos. I went to people who knew nothing about race walking and asked questions to get a completely different viewpoint. And it worked! In the past year or so I think I've gotten three or four paddles and maybe one card? I don't remember for sure, but everything has been super clean. And I've had a number of officials approach me after races saying I'm looking the best I ever have. If you think technique is holding you back then work on it! Video yourself and watch it. Compare it to the best in the world. When I coached track I had the runners do it too. In my opinion running coaches don't work on technique enough. You can learn so much! Have other people look at the videos. Visit a coach whom you respect to help you with technique. Whatever it is do something!
3. I've seriously upped my core/glute work. I've known for a while that my right glute medius is a bit lazy (yes, I'm half a lazy a&&). I had worked on things, but in hindsight no where near enough. Some of it was that I'd work and maybe do the exercises not exactly right so that I wouldn't get the full benefit. And then there's be the exercises that were so hard that I just couldn't do it and it'd be so frustrating that I'd stop trying. I finally got well and truly over that and said if I can't do it I need to be able to do it and I will work on it. Even if it makes me sore, even if it means I can't race walk for a day or so. I'm not saying to work a muscle into such fatigue that it's exhausted, that's not a good idea. But I would start off with a few and work my way up. Now I'm happy to say that the exercise I couldn't do on my right side before at all I can do two sets of eight! Progress! My core is stronger than it's ever been and I'm sure it's been helping with my new technique.
4. I'm the lightest I've been. Definitely since 2012 but I think actually since high school. I've accomplished this from a few different angles. First I'm putting in more mileage. Second, along with that bigger mileage I'm not necessarily eating a lot more. It's a very delicate balance, and sometimes I do get quite hungry, but for the most part I'm getting better about not snacking when I don't need to and eating slightly smaller portions. I always want to make sure I refuel, but don't want to feel like I just did a big workout so I can eat whatever I want. Also, and for me this was a biggie, I'm allowing myself treats. For a while I tried to cut out sweets and sugar. All it really made me was miserable and feeling like I was denying myself all the time. But I read something that really clicked with me. I just want a taste... Which is true. I don't need a whole desert, I just want a taste. I just want a piece of something. And when I do that that every few days I'm happy. I don't feel like I'm denying myself all the time, I get something yummy, and I'm not eating a huge amount.
5. The mental aspect. I've improved on it but there's still more work for me to do in my mental game. Now I have to know and believe that I'm as fast as I am. With taking so much time off my 10K last weekend it's causing me to re-imagine everything. The pace I did that race at, if I double it, would be under the IAAF time for world champs. That's quite a thing to think and get used to, but a good one. To improve my mental game I read a lot of books. My favorite, and I've mentioned it before, is "With Winning In Mind" by Lanny Basham. I have read it probably five times and each time I read it I learn something more or am reminded of something or see something in a new light. I highly recommend this book.
Please, don't make the mistakes I did. Don't wait. If you want it, go out and work for it. It'll be hard work. You'll be tired. It'll be super frustrating at times. But then you can live your life with no regrets. Find someone to help you. If you have questions then ask them. People in general, and especially race walkers, are generally so giving with their time and knowledge. And there are lots of coaches out there wanting to help and waiting to share their knowledge.
Happy training!
and as always, to help me on my journey please consider visiting my store through Running Warehouse and Flipgive. Even just going to Running Warehouse through my portal helps, so please do so! Thanks :)
https://www.athletebiz.us/athl
https://athletebiz.flipgive.co
and please "like" my FB athlete page: https://www.facebook.com/RacewalkerErin/
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Santee 2017 - 50K
The 50K has come and gone. I've had time to process the race and what to focus on moving forwards. Lots of good, but some disappointment too. First let's start with a bunch of good!
I'm so proud of my athlete Katie Smith! She did her first 50K! She had moments of wanting to quit (don't we all at some point during a 50K?) but never gave up and stayed tough till the end. She almost set her 30K PB on her way through, and smashed her 40K PB, and finished 7th! I'm so very, very proud of her!
Dave had an awesome race, sticking to his race plan and moving his way up to 5th. I think he started in 9th or 10th or something? He kept smiling all the way and had a very successful race. I'm so happy that he enjoyed his 50K, and placed in the money! And with the news that he was accepted to race at Milrose we're glad he didn't race super hard so he can recover for an awesome mile race. He's already done some speed work and is in good form to have an awesome competition February 11th!
My race plan for the 50K was to go out and gradually pick it up. I was successful at that until about 35K when I stopped accelerating and slowed up a bit. But nothing horrible by any means. Along the way I broke my 30K, 40K, marathon, and 50K PB. In fact I set my 30K PB twice... The first 30K and the 30K from 10-40K was faster, so that's fun. Couple those with having set my 1500, mile, 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 PBs since December 31st and I can safely say I'm just about in the best shape of my life. On top of that I didn't get a single paddle or red card, and haven't gotten any cards in I think the last 7 or so races. I got one paddle at the race I did 3,000 at, but I was pushing pretty hard and I never got a card. So I think I'm safe in saying that I've successfully ironed out my technique. I received some very nice complements from judges on how I'm looking, so that seems to reinforce my belief.
I followed my nutrition plan perfectly and didn't have any of the tummy trouble I had in New Zealand at their 50K championships, so that makes me happy. The weather was much better than it had been the last few years in California, so that was a relief. It started to feel a bit warm near the end of the race, but definitely nothing horrible. The course was new this year and I liked it. It was an L shape and it broke it up so that it didn't feel like you're just going straight out and straight back. The turns were really nice and wide so there wasn't the feeling of losing all your momentum and having to get going again, so that was really nice.
As I have been reminding myself, about 7 months ago I was officially anemic and could barely workout. Coming from that to here I think is a huge achievement and I'm very proud of the progress I made in such a "short" time.
Now for some nitty gritty... Here's my 5K splits:
26:50, 27:05, 26:40, 26:47, 26:16, 26:31, 26:34, 26:54, 28:04, 27:53.
I'm happy that my last 5K wasn't my slowest. In fact, of the top five finishers, my last 5K was the fastest of all of them, men included. My halves were 2:13:38 and 2:15:55. Even my second half was ahead of my old PB pace. My middle two 20Ks (10-30 and 20-40) were 1:46:14 and 1:46:15, faster than I raced the 20K Olympic Trials. I placed fourth overall, so even if for whatever reason there isn't a women's 50K NACAC Championship I will be on the open Pan Am Cup Team, so I'm officially going to Lima, Peru, which is awesome.
Am I sad I lost my American records? Of course. But records are made to be broken and having more women racing hard, fast, strong 50Ks means that there will be an official women's 50K sooner rather than later. And since records are made to be broken.... well....
 |
| When you need protein after a race what's better than a Brazilian restaurant!!!!! Yummy!!!! |
I recovered a little slower than I normally do, but only by a day or so. I got a fantastic massage in Lake Havasu where we were visiting my parents and she really helped work things out. Friday I did some speed work and absolutely flew. I'm changing my focus to speed for a few months to work on foot speed and hit a few hard 20Ks. But I still have some long walks in there to help me improve endurance for Peru. It's so nice writing my schedule. Since I believe in what I'm capable of I don't have to worry about a schedule that won't help me work up to my potential. I've written it and had it checked by people whose opinions I trust and who know me and my training. Everyone agrees it's a program that can help me get to all my goals, and that is very exciting! It'll be challenging, but I'm up for the challenge.
 |
| The cheerleaders were awesome! Cheering for us all the way! |
So here's to another block of training, focusing like I've never focused before, believing like I've never believed before, and training like I've never trained before! I think I'm going to surprise a fair few people this year with what I accomplish.
Happy training!
And as always, please check out my athlete store! I just received another check from people who have shopped through my portal, thank you! Every little bit helps!
https://www.athletebiz.us/athl
Even going and visiting the store helps, so please go visit!
https://athletebiz.flipgive.co
And if you haven't done so, please follow my FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/RacewalkerErin/
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Food, Glorious Food!
Food. A necessity
for everyone, and sometimes a source of stress for athletes. We need to adequately fuel our bodies for
what we want to accomplish, but at the same time we have to reach and maintain
our ideal racing weight.
Weight has always been an issue for me. For a long time I’ve been about 8-10 pounds
over my ideal racing weight. Hold on you
may be saying. How do you know what your
ideal racing weight is? I was lucky
enough to go through a slew of tests at the athletic department at Furman University
when I was down training with Ian a while back.
And what we determined from all the awesome science things we did is
that my ideal racing weight is around 130-132.
For much of my life I’ve been around 140 pounds. Maybe 138 if things are going well, and up to
145 or so when they aren’t. There was a
time in 2012 that I was around 135 for a decent period of time and that was
when I did my 50K pb. Coincidence? Maybe, but probably not.
“They” say that for every pound over race weight you are you
lose a second per mile. I put
parenthesis around “they” because I don’t have the data to quote from. It may be one of those things that’s been
learned from trial and error. I’m
honestly not sure if there’s been a study done on it or not. But I do know that when I’m lighter and
getting closer to my ideal racing weight I feel better, move better and have
more confidence in myself.
Since the 50K for women is gaining momentum and I’ve learned
so much more about training - what I can handle and how to push myself even more - I’ve been again focusing on reaching my ideal racing weight. Last time I checked the scale I was about
136, the lowest I’ve been for longer than a day (temporarily losing weight due
to dehydration doesn’t count) in probably a year or two. Since I’ve been floating around this weight
for the last few months I’ve done two of my three fastest 30Ks, my third
fastest 3,000 race and my fifth fastest 5K (which was a fartlek workout).
Some of you have expressed curiosity as to what I do with my
eating, especially since I’m basically a gluten-free athlete. Let me state though, right from the get go,
that I am not Celiac and I do not have a diagnosed allergy to wheat/gluten. I can eat gluten, I just find I feel so much
better when I don’t and weight stays off easier. I’ve found, through trial and error, that
there are some forms of gluten I can handle better than others, there are
periods of time I can handle gluten better than others, and the gluten in
different countries affects me differently.
I am not a dietitian, I have no degree in anything having to do with
nutrition. All I can offer are things
I’ve noticed myself, conversations I’ve had with other athletes, and knowledge
I’ve gained from reading lots and lots (and lots) of books and articles.
I thought I’d write a series of posts talking about some of
my struggles (some continuing) with reaching my ideal racing weight, what it’s
like eating when you’re in a foreign country, fueling an athlete on a
gluten-free diet, as well as anything else you might like to know. Please, if you have any questions or are
curious about something let me know and I’ll write about it! And post pictures of yummy food that I eat :)
And to start that off, here is one of my favorite breakfasts! Egg scramble! I start with sauteing veggies. I like onion, mushroom and pepper. I added a bit too much water to this one, but I just drained a little and all was fine. I like to add lots of veggies, it helps keep me full and is a good source of carbs.
Then I add some of the eggs from our chickens. I added five, but this was for Dave and I after a hard workout. And I had some mozzarella so I added that, because everything is better with cheese ;)
And here's what it looks like cooked.
Since I had some smoked salmon I added that on top. It was very yummy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)