Ok, just finished having a good stretch and a cool down. My intention today was simply to walk out my goal training route and measure my heart rate and time to do so.

The distance covered I have calculated to be approximatley 11km (just over my 10km target distance) from my home to the end of The Esplanade where it meets Hutt road is 5.5km, so there and back - job done!

I don’t even feel nackered either which is a bonus. Based on the readings from my Polar watch, my average heart rate was 125 (being around 89-92 at rest) with a maximum heart rate of 137 depending on the terrain and the crosswinds I faced during my leisurely walk :loopy:

taking into account a pit stop halfway for a rehydrating beverage. It took me about 1 hour and 45 mins to walk 11 km. That’s WALK. I’m aiming to be able to run a 10km run in under 1 hour. If I do it in less than 50 mins I will be extremly pleased with myself!

So, why have a I started off my training like this?

I guess it’s the physics freak deep inside me, I am approaching this whole training and get ready for the race thing as a big experiment if you like, so - now after today I have a baseline. Some data for how long it takes to walk a set distance prior to any training. It will act as my control. So, by the end of 12 weeks I will repeat this exercise and see for example if there is any difference in

a) time taken to complete
b) average heart rate
c) maximum heart
d) at rest heart rate

In theory also after doing the anaerobic exercises suggested in a number of programs I have seen - I ought to be able to cut down my recovery time considerably. Not to mention my wasteline :happy: (assumes a cocky military style stance… “Huuwaaa!!”)