I have just read the above article by Amby Burfoot, and had to say that my 5 year old son agrees!
I am a beginner runner, and sometimes take him out for a warm-up or warm-down lap of the block, figuring he would enjoy it (he does), and it would be good for him. The only problem was that he would sprint off, trying to beat me, and then walk for a while. One annoyed Daddy!
.. but according to this article, he was right all along... I shall be taking more training advice from him in the future!
Tom.
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When I'm feeling nervous of a particular run I just promise myself that if it feels horrible I will walk for a bit. And very often, I find I don't have to. And when I do quite often it's through boredom rather than physical meltdown, so then I tell myself to start running again.
Thanks RW (Maybe we should start a Ramblers thread, oh dear.....)
I'm sure I'm going to be doing some walking in my first half on Sunday week - but at least now I won't feel ashamed while doing so !
I love walking. I would rather walk than run most of the time. I can walk until I run out of ground to walk on. Walking isn't exercise, it's transport.
So, rather than going for a short recovery run when I fancied moving some muscles on my rest day yesterday, I went for a walk. Didn't bother changing my (frumpishly sensible) working shoes for trainers - they'd have looked silly with a skirt and black tights.
It was lovely. Five or six miles, a spot of window-shopping, and all ready for work again.
Woke up this morning with a distinctly shin-splintish feeling in my left leg. Race tomorrow. Bah! Walking schwalking. Next time I'll just run :-(
Having said that, I think run/walk in appropriate footwear is the best thing since hamstrings were invented!
Running on the treadmill doesn't present me with any problem for continuous running, but running outside does.
The ouside elements affect me, especially in the heat and humidity of this country.
I'm glad I saw this thread today because it reminded me that there is nothing wrong with run/walk/run/walk, which is what I had to do today on a 35 minute run.
I ran for 18 minutes in total before taking 30 second breaks every so often to bring my HR down when it got too high.
Any tips for running in hot weather would be much appreciated.
Roll on the winter when it'll be cooler in the mornings.
I have now decided to adopt similar pattern in my runs as I am hoping to run in the forthcoming London Marathon (if I get a place).
I didn't know you lived in Dubai.
What do you do out there? We have an office at jebel Ali and I occasionally get out to Dubai. Gitex is on shortly but I won't be going this year. I just got off the phone with one of my colleagues who tells me he is going to a Toploader concert at the weekend and that Deep Purple were there last week. Seems you gat all the good gigs!!!
All the best.
RB
Many i wish the fleas of a thousand camels to take up residence in your running shorts?
To everyone else: there's no shame in walking. We all started that way and as some of us on this Forum have shown, it's the only way to go.
I'm impressed - under 1.30 for a 1/2M with run/walk? Would you like to come and give instruction to my beginners group??? Show them what can be done.
Well done everyone.
I am proud that I run. Full stop.
But, seriously, I don't have a problem with beginners walking: but their focus should be on quickly building endurance so that they no longer find it necessary.
This planned run/walk strategy for racing (in marathons in particular) is something which started in the USA and which has contributed to a general erosion in running standards over there. The median finishing time in many US marathons is now hovering around 4:30 (or slower) and a significant proportion of participants are finishing in well over 6 hours. OK - they may get around the course, but like I said, don't call them runners.
For me, running is about health, fitness, enjoyment, socialising, competition and - crucially - trying to realise one's potential. You will never do that if you set out on a run, planning to walk when you feel like it. I didn't see Paula R walk a single step in Chicago!
Happy running!
when I first ran in my late teens I ran around 7min miles, my best was just under 6.30min. The years, some 20 odd, have passed and I havent run much properly apart from on a treadmill - but I played county hockey in the meantime so distance running was an inferior form of training.
Now as I find my health has decreased as my girth has increased I'm trying to get back into running. Im walking because it actually says that veterans should walk first, because my knees grate and my shins ache and my achilles is tight and well I actually want to carry on playing hockey until Im well into my forties!
I no longer desire running obsessively and overlong - done that been there- but I would like to recover the joy of something as simple as an easy continuous run around the golf course.
I've always been put off getting involved with runners and running because of the heavy focus on marathons (London Fun Run?)
speed and things that my body no longer enjoys.
Fortunately there are lots of people on these forums who are encouraging and helpful and inspirational. i doubt i will ever enter a race as my 7 minute miles are long gone and not that fast anyway, and I wouldnt want to get in the way of the the real runners!
Paula is a brilliant, gifted and inspirational professional athlete and I admire and applaud her achievements.
Interstingly i also admire Olympiade Ivanova who won the European 20k walk in under 1hr30. Now when I can walk that fast...
grrr
rant over
Don't give up Bune. Your doing more than most.
You went out and thats great
I thought the whole thing about run/walk was that it actually increases your times overall? If you can run at a sustained, decent speed - great. But if you're dragging yourself round parts of a run, "pretend running" (you KNOW what I mean) then you will be quicker overall if you break, have a short walk and recommence running with renewed vigour. That's certainly what I do. If run/walk is slowing your times down (and check this carefully, don't just assume it must be) then maybe you need to think again. I doubt the guy who ran/walked the half in around 1.30 (daren't go and check cos I'll lose this post and have to start again!) would have done it quicker if he'd run the whole way but had some really slow,poor patches of running.
Anyway, let's all be friendly out there - why decry someone's effort, walking or running - I just don't get it.
Just good commonsense. We all enjoy our pastime...I was only trying to put into words how I PERSONALLY had found run / walk seems to have affected my sessions.
What time did the RW get-you-round group finish in? I thought of joining it at the beginning but I didn't want to walk at all so I didn't - I finished in 2:30 (clock), 2:13 actual. Would I have been quicker if I'd stuck with the group?
Millipede