By Susan Rich
|
Walking Injured: Precise Coaching and Personal Determination Helps Margaret McGuinness Racewalk a 20K
Shortly after the 2006 Portland Marathon, six-time finisher Margaret McGuinness decided to racewalk the USATF National Racewalking Championship 50K held in Chula Vista, CA. The judged event attracts walkers from around the world. Margaret had just turned 50, and found the symmetry of walking a 50K in her 50th year appealing. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she says. But just days after signing up for an intensive training program with Erofit Coach Judy Heller, she badly sprained her left ankle. A lifelong athlete, and a seasoned walker with several endurance events under her belt, Margaret thought her ankle would quickly heal. “I thought it would be fixed and I’d be on my way.”
However, the injury was worse than she was ready to admit. “I probably knew it then, but couldn’t acknowledge at the time” that racewalking a 50K – 31 miles – was out of the question. Still, she persevered: Regular visits to a chiropractor, various forms of physical therapy, including ice, stretching, and swimming, helped ease the sprain, but not heal it. During this time, Judy worked closely with Margaret’s chiropractor, Bryan Baisinger, DC and owner of the Clearwater Clinic, to put together a balanced training program designed to promote healing, build stamina, and help Margaret achieve her goals.
Post-injury, I had strong restrictions,” Margaret recalls. “And Judy showed me other ways to train. Aqua jogging in the pool, working out on a bike, and using an elliptical trainer. She kept me training, and helped me see that I was training, even though I wasn’t on the track.” This alternate training program went on for three weeks, consuming a quarter of the 12 weeks allotted to train for a 50K. “She met with me individually to reassess where I was physically. I gave her permission to work with my chiropractor, so she was able to gain a better understanding of my limitations, so she didn’t just have to use her own assessment.”
This well-rounded approach program was mostly successful:
“I learned a lot about recovery that I didn’t want to learn,” she says wryly. “But I couldn’t let go of the opportunity to train with Judy and (my close friends) so I kept plugging along.”
“I made a quick recovery but not as strong as we thought,” Margaret adds.
Despite training and therapy, the ankle refused to heal. Margaret finally made one concession: She would walk the 20K, which is the current Olympic distance for women. One week before the event, Judy suggested Margaret consider racewalking the 10K, also a judged event.
“I said I’m going to do the 20K,” Margaret said, the determination in her voice still strong weeks after the event. Despite the injury, and the pain that echoed with every step, Margaret racewalked the 20K – a distance of 12.4 miles.
“I feel good about the accomplishment,” she says. “I had two goals – not to get DQ’d (disqualified) and to finish the 20K in 2.30. I did it in 2.32, with only one warning.”
“The injury was there for every step I took. It still hurts. I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I set a realistic goal, and I did it.”
Determination and Drive
Margaret grew up in a fun-loving, physically active family. Her father was a radio commentator, covering rugby, cricket, and some boxing in her native New Zealand. He encouraged his daughters to be active, during a time when girls were not always encouraged to play sports. As a result, Margaret participated in gymnastics, ballet, sprinting, swimming, and ballroom dancing. “I’ve always been athletic,” she says. It wasn’t unusual for her or her family. “It’s how we were, it’s what we did.”
Being physically fit was always part of Margaret’s lifestyle, but there came a time when she wanted to escalate her activity level.
She decided to tackle the Portland Marathon – her first such event – in 2000. She signed up to train with Women Who Walk the Marathon , a non-competitive walking group. A naturally fast walker, Margaret decided to test how fast she could go, and started attending clinics, where the focus is on form and speed. She continued to walk the Portland Marathon, and eventually found her way to Judy’s annual Northwest Regional Racewalk Retreat, where she had the chance to train with two-time Olympian Philip Dunn. From that point on, Margaret focused on racewalking competitively. She placed third in the 2005 Portland Marathon, and fourth in 2006.
It was after the 2006 marathon that she decided to tackle the 50K.
“When you go from walking 26.2 miles to 31 miles, you do have a baseline, but the training is very different,” she explains. Both Margaret and walking partner Sandy Coila thought training for the 50K would be easy. After all, both were capable of walking 26 miles, what was another five? Judy quickly disabused them of the notion that a 50K was “only five miles more,” Margaret says, with a chuckle.
“She told us the intensity of racewalking a 50K would make us feel like we had just walked two marathons, not just a marathon plus five,” she recalls.
Margaret had taken a few weeks off before deciding to train for the 50K. This was late October; the event was slated for Jan. 28, 2007. Judy’s initial reaction, that three months wasn’t enough time to train successfully, surprised her. But if Margaret was up to the challenge, so was Judy. The caveat: Desire isn’t enough; a full-out commitment was the only way Judy could get Margaret ready for the event.
“She said, ‘Training is not about training. It’s about being able to make the commitment,’” Margaret explains. “She said, ‘I can’t get you there if you can’t commit the time.’ Judy is very professional, very personable. But she’s also very deliberate. She sets limits on things.”
Once her injury healed enough for Margaret to hit the track, she had to strike a balance between walking, a hectic job, and family. It’s something she struggles with today – but Margaret finds Judy’s approach here helpful as well.
“She understands you have to make walking a part of your life, not a burden. She sets goals, but makes you feel like you can achieve them together. She makes you feel like you can relate to her, because she has a life, too. Over the course of training, and since then, Margaret says “Judy has become more of a friend, but she is still a coach. I can still take her leadership.”
Racewalking: Different in Every Way
When Margaret began training for the 50K, her racewalking experience was limited to learning the basics on a track, then incorporating it into her regular walking routine. A USAT&F (USA Track & Field) national racewalking event is entirely different than walking a marathon, and Judy had them training for it right from the start.
The event itself is a bit like a horse race. Walkers loop an oval track under the careful eye of judges; they literally walk in circles. While there are no hills, the out-and-back nature of the course creates its own fatigue and need for mental discipline.
“It’s a 2K loop,” Margaret describes, “mostly flat, with five to six judges (ranked at the IAFF and National level) placed at intervals around the course. You are always in view of the judges. They’re watching you, your form, to see if you are keeping a straight leg, not lifting, that you’re keeping both feet on the ground at the same time.” For a 50K, “You make 25 loops, and pass each judge 50 times,” she says. A competitive racewalker herself, Judy created a training program to both educate and prepare Margaret, Sandy, and Annmarie Bruning, the third woman on their team, ready for the rigors of the course. Her goal: To make this trio of racewalking novices, “legal.” Judy wanted to make sure each woman was physically capable to not only go the distance, but to do it without getting disqualified.
“She started us walking loops right away. There was no street walking, it was all done on a track,” Margaret says. “She changed our training plans along the way, but I never lost faith in her, we trusted her, we felt she knew what she was doing.” Despite the repetition, the event itself was thrilling. “It was not monotonous. It does take concentration. You focus on what you’re doing. You play games with yourself. You look at the other walkers,” she says, adding, “Even walking a marathon gets boring.” Margaret’s event was concluded in 10 laps, and then she stood on the sidelines, cheering on her fellow teammates.
Setting New Goals
Now that the 50K is over, Margaret continues to take Judy’s advice. “Our instructions are to slow down, because our muscles are more stretched and strained. This recovery is different than post-marathon, when we all went back to doing what we did before.” One lesson she and the others have learned: “Cutting back does not mean losing what you have gained.” Margaret is in the process of setting new goals for herself. “I don’t have to focus on distance, so I can focus on different things.”
When her sprained ankle finally heals, her goal is to work on speed. She averages a 12:15 minute mile on long distances, and can shave a minute off that time for shorter events, like a 5K. To achieve her speed goal, she plans to continue racewalking her favorite events.
In addition to the Portland Marathon, Margaret has walked the Willamette Valley Relay since it started almost four years ago, and the Portland-to-Coast relay for the past five years. She is also on the lookout for new races to walk, but plans on doing the Portland Marathon at least one more time. “I’d like to walk a marathon in five hours. The last one I did in 5.30.” The challenge with racewalking is to keep the technique. “Racewalking is not just about going fast, but it allows you to go fast,” she says. “The beauty of it is rhythmical, and it doesn’t hurt your knees the way running can. You can always walk, it’s not something you have to give up when you turn 50. “ That, and it’s a great way to meet people. Margaret met some of her closest friends on the pavement.
“Walking is a great sport,” she says. “You can overcome injuries and other issues. You just need a decent pair of shoes. Focus on form over speed, and avoid injuries by learning to walk well.”