With the World Race Walking Team Championships, my first major competition of the year, behind me, everything now focuses on Rio.
Because my major focus for the Olympics is on the 50 km distance, I have elected to bypass the remaining international races so I can slog away the high mileage weeks I need to get me into peak shape when I step on the start line in Brazil.
My training from here on out will be split up into two distinct training blocks.
The first training block will be done here in Richmond, where I will be laying down the gauntlet with up to 200 km weeks until the end of June.
After a short rest, I’ll be off to St. Moritz, Switzerland for the second block, a high-intensity altitude block.
St. Moritz is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and I’ll lucky enough to train there along side many Olympic and World Championship medalists.
The 50 km distance is very unforgiving and every time I’ve done one I’ve gained a wealth of experience.
I’ve then been able to take that experience and apply it to the next race and this strategy is part of the reason that I have improved in each of the five 50 km races I have done in my career.
Last year, I took an astounding 14 minutes off of my time, culminating in a Canadian record in December in a time of 3:43:45. This performance ranks me 13th heading into Rio.
It is this info that I used when I was setting my goals for the Olympics.
First and foremost, the goal is to finish in the top eight. At 25 years old, I have at least one more Olympics in me before I reach my peak and hopefully four years from now anything short of a medal will be a disappointment. But for now, a top eight would be an outstanding achievement.
That said, I’ve already mentioned that the 50 km is unforgiving and therefore unpredictable. Anything can happen on the day and that is why my secondary goal in Rio is to put myself in a position to capitalize if others falter.
What this means is that I want to put myself in a position where, if I am having a great day and others are struggling, the podium becomes a real possibility.
To do this though, I know I will need to latch onto the lead group from the beginning and hold on for dear life.
This will likely mean getting myself fit enough to walk under 3:40:00 (4:24 per km, for 50 km).
I’m very confident that Richmond and St. Moritz are the places I need to be this summer to get me to 3:40:00 and I’ve been overwhelmed by the support I receive from strangers every day I am out walking.
Having what feels like an entire city behind me already feels like it’s spotted me a couple minutes. And with two more hard months of training, I’m confident I’ll find those minutes.
