Walking Makes Me a Runner
I am so ready to run.
Like really, really ready. Like in my dreams I am running really far and fast.
I’ve taken the last two weeks off to recover from the LEEP but even before that I wasn’t running as much as usual. First there was the Colposcopy to recover from, then I just was really feeling it. But now I am.
The sad thing is, my endurance has gone down already! Thus, I need to start slow and gradually build back up.
I’ve already started to increase my walking distance so my legs get used to covering some ground, over 6 miles on both Saturday and Sunday.
There is definitely something very satisfying about running nonstop for 20, 30, or 90 minutes but I think the walk-run combo is one of the most underrated running techniques.
The plan today is 4 miles. Run 9 minutes/walk 1 to warm up then run 4/walk 1 for the rest of the time. This is a pattern that I use a lot, 4 minutes of running goes pretty quick but it’s long enough to get in a rhythm and if I walk fast than my heart rate stays elevated during the “break”.
Another walk/run pattern that I use a lot is a great way to get an “easy” 6 miles in.
Run 10 minutes/walk 1 minute.
Run 9 minutes/walk 1 minute.
Run 8 minutes/walk 1 minute.
All the way down to run 1 minute/walk 1 minute. By the end of it I’ve run for 53 minutes and walked for 10 for a total workout of 63 minutes and ~6 miles.
This could also be done starting at a 5/1 ratio and going down to a 1/1, equaling 15 minutes of running and 5 minutes of walking-a great short running workout!
When I first started running taking walking breaks was intuitive, as I think is the case for many newbies-you just do whatever you can and then you have to walk for a little while. I soon fell into the trap of feeling like I needed to run nonstop to become a “real runner”. I worked up to a nonstop 5k then 4 miles then I had a mental roadblock. Run for more than 45 minutes? Are you crazy?
Enter run-walk combos and Jeff Galloway. I played with walking breaks long before being introduced to this world-renowned coach but reading about his methods made me feel like I was a real runner no matter how often I slowed my pace.
Check out why Galloway coaches runners of all levels to take walking breaks.
If you are a runner, do you use walking breaks? Does it feel like less of a workout when you do?
Gotta run!
