But first, get your stuff ready: water bottle, phone, headphones, get your playlist and your
running app all set. You’ve
already figured out where you’re running right?
And before you go, if you don’t remember anything else, remember this:
Your goal with each run is to finish feeling like you could have
done a little more. I know this
may sound counter-intuitive if you’re used to hearing athletes and competitors
talk about “leaving it all out of the field” or whatever. That’s not what we’re after here. Your goal is to have fun so that you
look forward to your next work out!
And to come back for your next workout UNINJURED!
WEEK 1: 20-30 minutes, 3 days this week, with a
day OFF in between to rest.
You already know which days you’re running right? Because you’ve made a PLAN and marked
it on the calendar!
Don’t worry about the distance right now. If you’re using an app like Nike+, just
set it for a “Time Run” that will track your distance but the goal is TIME. Set it for 20-30
minutes—you’re going to have to decide which. Before you start, know that you can walk as much of that
time as you need to. This is not a
race!!
START SLOW! You've got plenty of time to get ready, and you
don't want to be dealing with an injury next week! Be sure to stretch before
AND after you run. (If you haven’t already, read about FOAM ROLLING here.)
Walk for a few minutes to warm up. (If you don’t have a foam
roller (yet) be sure to walk for at least 5-10 minutes to give your legs a good
chance to stretch and get ready.
Then run, slowly, for about a minute (or whatever part of a minute you
can manage). Then walk for 3
minutes. (WALK, even if you feel like you could keep running. Remember-- you've
got to keep this up for 20-30 minutes!)
After you walk, run for about another minute, walk for three, and so on.
At 10 minutes, you've made it halfway! Turn around and head
back! Continue to run 1 minute, walk 3 for the remaining 10 minutes, and you're
done! Congratulations!!
Do that three times the first week. If it's a struggle, have
faith- take it slow and it WILL get easier. If it's already easy, that's
awesome! You can push a little more next week.
Personally, I don't enjoy looking at my watch while I run, but
that works for a lot of people. I listen to music while I run, so I use the
songs on my playlist to time my run/walk intervals. If you prefer running to music instead of watching a clock, try this: Walk for one song to warm up (two songs if that feels better!) Then run
for the 1st verse (and chorus if you can) of the next song, then walk the rest
of the song. Then run the 1st verse (and chorus if you can) of the next song.
And so on, for 20 minutes. I find that much more enjoyable than keeping track of
time, and while all songs are a little different length, it's OK-- it all evens
out in the end.
If you want to be moving for more than 20-30 minutes, I'd
suggest you still only run/walk 20 for now, and walk at the end for as long as
you want to make up the difference. When I started, I was looking for an hour
workout, so I'd run for about 30 minutes, and then walk until I hit one hour.
It's actually a great way to cool down. But you still have to STRETCH (FOAM
ROLL!!) when you get home!
And drink LOTS of water!!!
Try to drink a bottle of water while you run, and then drink another
bottle when you finish.
OK, got all that? THAT’S WEEK ONE!
20-30 MINUTES, 3 DAYS, WITH REST DAYS IN BETWEEN. SIMPLE, RIGHT?
WEEK 2
Week 2 will look a lot like Week 1, with maybe some minor
adjustments.
A few things to think
about:
1. Figure out which
days your running and resting.
Same days as last week, or do you need to change it up?
2. How did last
week feel? If it was a struggle at
all, repeat Week 1 exactly the same way.
Don’t try to increase anything, just do the same thing and see if it
feels any easier. Celebrate even
the smallest improvements! They
will multiply, I promise!!
3. If last week felt good, do exactly the same thing, but
instead of 10 minutes out, shoot for about 12. That should put you right around
25 minutes total. If you're running to music, that's just about one more song! Keep
the same intervals-- about 1 minute of running, 3 of walking (if you’re using
music to keep track, that's the first verse (chorus optional) running, walking
the rest of the song.)
4. If you felt like this week was too easy, try running a little
longer. (the first verse + the
chorus, or add 30 seconds). The
times don’t have to be precise, as long as you know what you did before, and
how to increase it but just a little bit.
And if you run longer for the first half or your work out and begin to
struggle, know that you can always walk a little more if you need to in the
second half. There is no rule that
says that if you start out running for 1.5 minutes and walking for 3 that you
can’t drop back to 1 minute/3 minutes if you need to. You can also pick it up to 1.5/3 again at the end if you
recover and are feeling good! Do
what feels right for YOU!!
Remember your goal is to finish feeling good, like you could
have run a little farther! (not exhausted!) Don't worry about speed, just shoot
for extending your run/walk time to 25-35 minutes total. Walk when you’ve planned for a walk
break, not when you’re at the point of exhaustion (by then, it’s too late to
recover well!) If you feel like
you could have pushed more, awesome!
Do that next time. If you
get hurt or burned out, there is no next time!
And that’s your first two weeks. DONE!
What next? More of
the same… and then some!
Every week, follow the same plan all 3 days. If it’s a struggle at all, stick with
that plan the next week.
If you’re feeling good and you’re ready to do more, increase
your total workout time by about 5 minutes or one song. In general, I’d suggest keeping the
intervals the same until your total workout is at 45 minutes of running/walking
for 1 minute/3 minutes. If you’re
starting at 20 minutes, it will take you about 6 weeks. In that time, you are more than
DOUBLING your workout!! That’s
awesome!!
Why 45 minutes?
That’s a pretty reasonable time for anyone to finish a 5K, even if
you’re at at super crowded race with a slow start and lots of hills and you end
up walking most of it. So if you
build up your endurance first, you’ve got the 5K, no problem!
Once you’ve built your endurance to a 45 minute work out, then
you can work on increasing your run/walk intervals. You don’t even have to wait till you’re actually at a 45
minute workout—you can run a little longer for some of your running intervals
on any given day (in fact, if you’re using music to time yourself, you probably will run longer for some intervals because some songs are longer than others!) I’m just saying, don’t focus on extending all of your
running intervals until you’re comfortable moving for 45 minutes.
When you’re ready to increase your intervals, go for it! Increase for an extra 30 seconds, or an
extra verse of a song, or just part of a verse or whatever feels good. And you don’t have to do longer
intervals for the whole 45 minutes.
There are no “interval police” watching!! Remember your primary goal: finish strong so you can come
back next time!!
What about tracking and that Nike+ app?
By all means, track your progress!! Get yourself a running log and keep track of every run,
every mile, your pace and your distance.
I never encourage anyone to push for a certain pace or distance, but by
all means, KNOW what you are doing so you can SEE yourself improve!!! And improve you will!! If you stick with it, and you keep
increasing your workout time (endurance), those other numbers will take care of
themselves!
What if I'm struggling?
The first couple of weeks were fine, but something about 40
minutes is daunting and you’re dying at the end? Two words:
SLOW. DOWN. This is truly my answer for
everything!
I am not a super fast runner to begin with, but a speedy clip
for me is a 10:00 mile. I’ve run
as fast as a 9:20 mile. And I’ve
had days where I couldn’t go any faster than 13:20 if I was being chased by zombies! It’s ALL GOOD!
Different days will feel
different. When I first started,
my Tuesdays were usually pretty fast (I think I was rested up from the weekend)
and Thursdays were slow for some reason.
My weekend run could go either way. I learned to just take it all in. Look at the numbers, yes. But don’t be ruled by them. So, your pace is slower today than last week—how did you
feel? If you felt sluggish, then
it all makes sense. If you felt
great, that’s awesome no matter what the clock says! I’ve had days where I felt "just OK" and ran a PR (Personal
Record. You’ll also see runners
refer to PB, Personal Best. When
you first start out, you’ll hit a lot of these—celebrate every single
one!!)
What about pain?
I know, you’ll hear a lot of runners talk about running thru
pain. I am not one of them. Being a little tired or uncomfortable
is one thing, but I am not an advocate of running through pain. It's almost
become a joke around here, when I come in from a run my kids will say,
"How was your run?" And I always respond, "It was
excellent." And I mean it! I may struggle with my schedule, my attitude,
the weather or whatever before I run, but when I finish, I always feel better
than when I started. And I make sure I always finish feeling like I could have
done more. Even when I run 16 miles!
Be sure you're foam rolling before and after you run, be sure you're resting on days between running days (no running two days in a row!!) and be sure you're drinking your water. If you've got pain that doesn't ease up, go see a doctor. But if you're just uncomfortable from moving muscles that haven't been moved in a while (and only YOU can know that) give it some time, take it easy, and it should get easier as you go!
Everybody ready?
I know it's all a lot to take in! Just keep in mind: warm up, run for about a minute, walk for 3 minutes. Repeat that pattern for a total of 20 minutes. Walk more as you need to, especially at the end. Drink lots of water. Stretch. Rest for a day. Come back again the next day!
Please let me know how you do so I can cheer you on!!!
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