Run/Walk or Just Run

I am getting back in to fitness after being plagued with injury and a busy couple of years. I have started doing a couple of 5k runs amongst other training (cycling, swimming and weights) every week. I am finding the runs fairly hard with my fitness at rock bottom and my heart rate is in the mid 180's near the end of the run even though I am going really really slow. So my question is...

Is it better to just keep at it and build up my fitness by continuing to run as I am or is making my heart rocket like that not improving me as much as a run/walk programme in zone 2. I am enjoying my runs even though they are hard work but really want to improve and start enjoying my runs without panting and sweating

Comments

  • I would say rein it back and run/walk to bring your average heart rate down as that seems high. Build a solid base now with very slow work and you can build up. A hr monitor would really help as you can keep an eye on when your heart rate starts to creep up so you can then walk to bring it back to z2. Then run again, so on and so forth......
  • yeah I am going to start using a monitor to keep track of it. Its annoying how much it is rising
  • The last time I came back from a month of not really working out due to my travels, the best thing to do is to start with conversational pace workouts. I'd probably do solely conversational pace workout for a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks and some books even advice up to 12 to 16 weeks to reestablish a base.

    After that 3 to 4 weeks, I'd start adding some key/speed work once a week. For example, I did some 8K tempo runs or 16K to 24K steady state runs per week after reestablishing base. I'd focus on mileage more than speed if I were you, those are the foundation for every runner ranging from as low as the 5Ks to the marathon. Speedy recovery!
  • Probably worth looking for a 5k plan for improving speed? I did a "Run 5k" equivalent to a couch to 5k and it certainly helped my fitness and strength and I was getting new PBs most weeks on it
  • I planned on doing walk run for all my marathon training  (I am training from 5km so had a long way to go) as my distances got longer I realised it became easier for me to run rather than walk so the walk breaks just naturally got fewer and fewer.
  • How are you getting on now with It?
  • kmo86kmo86 ✭✭✭
    I recently started jogging for first time. I’m getting personal training or had been til Christmas and due to start back on Tuesday. I have been doing bit of longer jogs and run walk. Sometimes if I’m struggling with longer jogs I find it easier to do a minute run and minute walk and so on. After doing that I’m normally able to run for longer. Going to mention this to my personal trainer as he seems to prefer the longer runs which I have managed up to now but has been a struggle sometimes. 

    From the start I have been constantly reminding him I can manage more than he thinks and up to now have proved I can, but I know unless I was in pain or something serious was wrong I would push myself to complete whatever he said. That’s not saying I would over do it as we have just got out of stage of him being over cautious so I’m not going to end up pushing myself too much and prove he was right being over cautious.
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