Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program

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2008-04-04 8:47 AM

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Subject: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program
Hi everyone, I hope this is the right forum to post my question . . . I'm brand new to running and have begun the Couch-to-5K running program (my goal is weight loss and to begin to build my fitness).  I was wondering if there are any guidelines that I should follow when breaking the walking and running times into intervals.  Is it better to have a greater number of intervals with shorter times spent running and recovering, or is it better to have fewer intervals with longer running and recovery times?  Or should I change it up from workout to workout?  Thanks for any help!

2008-04-04 9:11 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program
Hhhuuummmm... I think I was a bit confused by your question, but I'll do my best here.

If you goal is to run the entire time/distance... then you want to start with a longer walk/run interval... and try to reduce the walking portion as time goes on. You will have to decide what that interval will be.

For example, maybe you say that for week 1 you want to do:
5 minute walk, 1 minute run- for 12 minutes, then 18 minutes (run 3 times a week)

Week 2:
5 minute walk, 2 minute run- for 14 minutes, then 21 minutes

Week 3:
4 minute walk, 2 minute run- for 24 minutes, then 30 minutes

Now, I'm saying that is what you should do. I'm not a coach or anything of the sort. I'm just giving examples of what you could do. You just have to determine where your fitness is at and how to start and improve.

I know for me personally... when it comes to longer distances (aka: over 6-7 miles) I'm such a slow runner, my per minute mile time is actually reduced if I a do a 5 minute walk/ 2 minute run interval.

Last year I would do 12 miles with a 12 minute mile, running the entire time. This year, I'm doing a 11:30 minute mile with a 5 minute walk/2 minute run combo.

Also, to improve my per minute mile for the longer distances, I will be going to speed walking clinic in May to learn how to walk even faster.
2008-04-04 9:14 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program
Hey, there.

I haven't done the couch-to-5K, but I did do a marathon using the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer book, and that started with several weeks of walk/run intervals. The way that worked was intervals of 5 minutes walking and then 5 minutes running for the first week. The second week, 5 minutes of walking to 10 minutes of running, with the run/walk ratio increasing every week until it got to intervals of 5 walk/25 run. The week after that, 30 minutes of running and upward.

I had been a grand champion couch potato for ... longer than I care to think about, prior to starting that program. That gradual increase of running time worked for me quite well, enough that I'd recommend it to anybody starting out. As ever, your mileage may vary.

Congrats on starting up, and good luck!

BT
2008-04-04 9:17 AM
in reply to: #1315190

Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program

The couch-to-5K plans I've seen have the walk/run intervals broken out  by time (ie, 90 sec run, followed by 1 minute walk, etc) - you could always just follow them. Does your plan have that? Coolrunnings.com has a couch-to-5K plan that is broken up as I described.

2008-04-04 9:25 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program

I can tell you that from direct personal experience, your body and mental determination, will dictate the intervals.  I was in my second week of the couch to 5k last year at this time.

Most of the time, I was breaking my run time into two intervals.  After about three weeks, I started to get beyond the daily plan and started to run longer.  I would start to break the runs into more intervals at this point, but it was pretty much dictated by my legs.  It was also at this point, that I started to figure distance minimums into the workouts, along with time.

Good luck, listen to your body, and stick to it!

2008-04-04 9:29 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program
If you're just starting out, then a good goal is to build your aerobic base that you can build upon as you run more & more. Since the aerobic workouts are at a lower heart rate, they allow you to run a little longer & longer (in time, not necessarily distance). So, IMO, I would pick the interval rate that lets you build your time spent exercising more than anything else. If that ends up being 5/5, so be it, just focus on extending your workouts bit-by-bit.

2008-04-04 9:40 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program
Jeff Galloway has a run/walk system. I think it is on coolrunnings.com (which is now part of the avtive network). Check his system out. He spoke at the Des Moines marathon last October.
2008-04-04 9:41 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program

FYI, looking back into my logs, my initial walk-runs were something like this ...

9 minutes walking, 1.5 minutes running, 9 minutes walking, 1.5 minutes running, 9 minutes walking, for a total time of 30 minutes.

It took me a while to learn the difference between running and jogging.  When I should have been jogging, I was running like someone was chasing me.  Once that light went on, it changed things pretty drastically.   

2008-04-04 9:44 AM
in reply to: #1315190


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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program
This is the plan I used to go through the process of losing weight and developing a plan to improve my fitness and remain injury free.

I started out walking three times a week and riding a bike three times a week on alternate days with one day of rest. I did 45 minutes sessions and one 60 minute session. Started just walking each session for 3 weeks to get my muscles used to the effort.

Found this approach worked well for me using the same time for each session as mentioned above. I remained injury free and dropped 50 pounds in less then 6 months. I also continued to bike 3 days a week and gradually increased that time and effort for those sessions as well.

Week 1: walk 5 / run 1
Week 2: walk 4 / run 1
Week 3: walk 3 / run 1
Week 4: walk 5 / run 1
Week 5: walk 3 / run 1
Week 6: walk 2 / run 1
Week 7: walk 1 / run 1
Week 8: walk 4 / run 1
Week 9: walk 1 / run 1
Week 10: walk 1 / run 2
week 11: walk 1 / run 3
week 12: walk 3 / run 1
Week 13: walk 1 / run 3
Week 14: walk 1 / run 4
Week 15: walk 1 / run 5
Week 16: walk 2 / run 1
Week 17: walk 1 / run 5
Week 18: walk 1 / run 6
Week 19: walk 1 / run 7
Week 20: walk 1 / run 1
week 21: walk 1 / run 7
week 22: walk 1 / run 8
week 23: walk 1 / run 9
week 24: walk 1 / run 2

After that I added a little time to each session up to 60 minutes twice a week and 90 minutes once a week. I always had an easy week every 4th week. I noticed as my weight dropped and my endurance improved my run speed dropped from around 12 min/mi pace to around 9 - 10 min pace without even thinking about it much. Some of this was done on a treadmill and some on the road.

Hope this helps.
2008-04-04 10:17 AM
in reply to: #1315190

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Subject: RE: Question re running/walking intervals when just beginning a running program

Thanks everyone!  I'm using the "Couch-to-5K Aggressive" program from this site, and it doesn't tell me how to do the intervals (unless I'm not understanding where to look for that info) - it just plugs the amount of total walking time and total running time into my planned log.  It looks like the workouts stay constant at 30 minutes, but they build from beginning with 30 minutes walking and end (after 16 weeks) at 30 minutes running. 

This past week I had 3 minutes running to 27 minutes walking, so I was doing:
5 minutes walking - 30 seconds run/3 minutes walk intervals 6 times - 5 minutes walking

It looks like a lot of you started out heavier on the runs (60-90 seconds), and I think I can do that so next week when it goes up to 6 minutes running/24 minutes walking maybe I'll try to do 6 one-minute running intervals.

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