Moving From Walk to Run to Continuous Running

Moving your runners from Walk – Run to Continuous Running

 During sessions for your beginners, walking breaks are great to help them increase the distance they can cover when first building fitness. They serve a helpful purpose. Just like during an interval session, the walking break is a recovery period that reduces the heart rate and prevents the runner from working too hard. It helps physically and mentally as the session doesn’t seem as daunting when there is walking incorporated.

 However, walking breaks are just a stepping stone to more sustained running and so, after 4 – 6 weeks, depending on progression, you will want to move your runners to continuous running and eliminate the walking breaks.

 The first thing you can do to eliminate breaks is to reduce the duration of the walking interval by 30 seconds or a minute. If you are used to walking for two minutes, try a 90-second or 1-minute break.

 Once the break is reduced to a minute or less for 1 to 2 weeks, runners are ready to take less frequent walk breaks. If you typically run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute, then it can be extended to run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Keep repeating this pattern until you are soon running for 7 to 10 minutes before a short, 30-second walk break.

 This progressive, gradual approach has multiple benefits:

• It prevents the runner from running too much, too soon.

• It’s mentally manageable so runners won’t get frustrated.

• Running for longer stretches of 5 to 10 minutes builds self-confidence as fitness level increases.

 Once your runners can run for 7 to 10 minutes before needing to stop for a brief walking break, it’s time to take the next step: a “walk only as needed” approach. Instead of eliminating walking breaks completely, an “as needed” philosophy gives the runner the chance to walk with no guilt, while still adapting to running for longer periods of time.

Runners should walk only when they feel like their heart rate is getting too high or their breath is laboured. An easy run should be comfortable, controlled and conversational.

After two to three weeks of using the “as needed” approach to walking, the vast majority of runners will be able to successfully transition away from walking. They will soon be running the entirety of their weekly mileage without needing to stop and walk. Of course, if they feel like you need to stop and walk, then they should! Difficult weather conditions such as high temperatures, humidity and wind are all obstacles that make running more difficult.

With fewer walking stops, runners will increase their confidence, be able to run higher weekly mileage and successfully improve their fitness as well as covering the distance more quickly!

Adapted from an article by Matt Fitzgerald at competitor.com