Getting faster at walking

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Oct 2012
5:28pm, 1 Oct 2012
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Pestomum
I was wondering if this is a mental thing as much as anything? Do you "switch off" while you're having a walk/ eat break? Does the walk part need more focus?
Oct 2012
5:36pm, 1 Oct 2012
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hellen
I think you are right pesto. When I walk ( in races and normally) I don't walk purposefully. I wouldn't say I dawdle either just amble along. When I am eating obviously that is what I am focussing on. When just having a walk I do need to focus on what I am doing and walk with purpose

Today I walking into town, less than a mile as in (flat) work shoes. I walked purposefully and almost got up a sweat. I wouldn't have been able to keep that pace up for long , maybe that comes with practise

It did occur to me though that I was working quite hard and when doing silly long ultras the walk is meant to be a 'rest ' time so I maybe shouldn't be working too hard

From comments that have been made I suspect that my 'easy walk pace' will get faster if I walk more and with better technique just as with more running miles my 'easy run' pace has got faster without it feeling any harder if that makes sense,
Oct 2012
5:53pm, 1 Oct 2012
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Derby Tup
A friend of mine who finishes fell race regularly in the top 20% of the field was astounded at how fast some folk could walk when he did the Fellsman a couple of years ago. He was having to jog to keep up with people who could march out hour after hour over rough moorland at 4mph

I think Pestomum makes a good point: just because you're walking doesn't mean you are resting. You need to focus and walk hard. In hilly events where you might be walking the uphills strategically you need to start running again as soon as you can

Walking your commute sounds a great idea with an eye on good form. Be careful of doing too much practice though because although long walks might improve your general conditioning they won't help with speed; quite the contrary!

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Maintained by hellen
In my recent ultra I noticed that I was significantly slower at walking than most other people inclu...

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