Run/Walk

Yesterday was a cross-training day. I have decided that my endurance is so weak that I will keep working on my running during the cross-training Sundays until I am a bit stronger. My intent was to head back to the track, but it poured rain all day long and I eventually headed off to the gym for a treadmill workout.

I finally decided to bite the bullet and follow my coach's advice to run/walk to build endurance. During my training days, I start running and can get to about the 1.5-2 mile mark, but by then I am so tired, I am having to walk most of mile 3. The intent of the run/walk program is to give your body rest before you need it. With that, I completed the run/walk of 3 miles by running 3-4 minutes, followed by a 2 minute walk. Surprisingly, I finished in the same amount of time it normally takes me to "run" the whole thing.

The strategy with run/walk is that you can build up to maybe running 9 min and walking 2. I am told that this will allow me to finish the race in an overall better time than if I just run at the speed I am capable of today. A side benefit is that it also reduces muscle soreness when you get into longer distances. I will try this for a few weeks and see if it helps my performance. Heaven knows, it couldn't hurt!

Until next time,
Lisa