I have a confession. I had my first “Team Leader Fail” on Saturday. The first thing you should know about me is that I am a rule follower. If the training plan says to run 30 minutes, I will run/walk for 15 minutes and turn around to make sure I do exactly 30 minutes. So, on Saturday, I turned around at 15 minutes and went back towards Field & Fire. (FYI - I finished in 30 minutes and 3 seconds on Saturday. Gold star for me!) When I got to the Leonard St intersection, I realized I was all by myself. While there really isn’t anything wrong with that, I should at least make sure that everyone else is okay. So, Team Leader Fail…I wasn’t checking on all of the amazing gals. When the organizer returned I told her of my “failure”. And, she energetically reminded me that everyone trains at their own pace and distance. So, while I would love to keep up with everyone in my group, my pace is a lot slower. Having said that, I think I need to provide a little Run/Walk 101 for everyone.

Run/Walk 101

The first step to do run/walk is to get yourself an interval timer. My Garmin Forerunner has the ability to set timers. Gazelle Sports (not an ad) sells several types of running watches and they can let you know which versions offer the run/walk feature. If that is not your style, there are A LOT of free apps that are available. RunKeeper is a free app that allows you to do intervals and it will beep when it is time to transition from run to walk. If you prefer something a little more basic than RunKeeper, search for either intervals or HIIT intervals. I am sure you will find an app that you can set to run/walk at specific times. Jeff Galloway (not an add) offers a run/walk timer that you can carry in your pocket or purchase a wrist strap. I believe it is available on Amazon.

The second step is going to require a little math. Look at your planned workout for the day and figure out which interval you will be in when you need to turn around. I may work in a bank, but while running all my math skills leave my body. I always seem to over calculate when I need to turn around. Figuring it out ahead of time makes it easier for me.

The third and most important step is to know that you DO NOT have to progress to a longer run interval just because it is on the schedule. If we are at the point of running for 5 minutes and you struggle or it feels overly hard, feel free to back it up. That is perfectly okay! When I started running, I think I spent over three weeks sticking at 3 minutes of running because moving past that was just too much for my body at that point. Please please please listen to your body. On the flip side, if you feel like you can run for a longer period of time, feel free to add some time to your running interval. I would recommend waiting until the last one or two intervals of a workout before increasing it…just to make sure it is not adrenaline or caffeine that is giving you the energy to keep going. :-)

Leave a comment below if you have any questions!