Walks: Sat-Wed, June 16-20

This kind of "peanut" is good for your health

Other than the Detroit full marathoners, no one is into deep training yet – as far as I know. Tell me or Dawn if your upcoming race isn't noted on our Interests List. Currently, I'm using the full marathon schedule, as some of us have decided to train with the marathoners. Please, let your body be your guide when selecting your distance. There's always someone to keep you company.

Saturday: 13K. We'll be starting at 7:30 am. I'll repeat that: we'll be starting at 7:30 am – from now till the next heat leap. From Tim's. I suggest the Spit, as we haven't done it in a while, and it offers shorter options. For 13K, we need to do both sides. Let's take the longer/outside road first, then return via the more interesting bridge route. Sign in to declare when you will be arriving, and the distance you prefer.

Monday and Wednesday: 8K and 6K. Again, we'll do tempo on the shorter walk to get our heart rate up and build up our endurance and cardio capacity. The few who came out tonight enjoyed it.

But if you need convincing to go for speed, here's a great article in More Magazine on the calorie-burning benefits of faster walking. 4 mph (9.3 mins/km) is the first big benchmark, and every small increment above that reaps disproportionately greater benefits. At 5 mph, walkers burn more calories than runners, due to our form! The article includes technique tips, so I recommend a read.

It's semi-official: the New Zealand crew has changed its destination for next summer. We're now looking at Ireland, the Longford marathon, marathon relay and half marathon at the end of August 2013. Perhaps this will appeal to a larger group. Let us know if you're interested.

Happy Father's Day to the fellas in our group. May you be fêted as you deserve! And happy birthday to Rainer. Have a medal-winning day.