HOW FAST SHOULD I GO?

Here’s something you should take to heart early in the program: if this is your first marathon or half marathon, whether you’re a runner or a walker, you should focus on completing the race and not on your speed. For many of you, this will be a milestone. If this is your first distance event, repeat with me now:

“For your first race, JUST FINISH!”

If you’ve never done a distance event, you have no point of reference for what to expect. You’re like a mountaineer at the base of a mountain, guessing how long it’ll take to climb; like the mountaineer, you don’t know what difficulties you may encounter on the journey, so better to be prepared to just keep moving and be prepared for whatever difficulties you run into.

By the end of the program, you will have a better idea of your finish time, but your focus should always be on building your endurance, raising your overall physical fitness level, and staying healthy.

LSD: Long, Slow Distance

Sunday is our LSD day. LSD stands for long, slow distance. As I’ve mentioned before, runners should run at a conversational pace—one that allows you to carry on complete sentence conversations with a running partner. One-word responses between gulps for air don’t count!

For walkers, you should be moving at a “purposeful walk.” You’re not trying to emulate the race walkers you might have seen on TV, but you’re not strolling either! Keep your back straight, your feet aligned with your shoulders, bend your arms at the elbow, and make sure to maintain your arm swing. You should be sweating when you return!

For runners and walkers, the LSD workout is the most important of the week!

Run/Walk

The Run/Walk technique is a very efficient method for covering much greater distances than you could by just running. The idea is to run for some period, say 5 minutes, then follow that by a shorter walk period, say 2 minutes. We would call this a 5/2 (five-two) walk run cycle.

Finding a good cycle for you will take some experimentation. You may start with a 5/2, then find that the run portion is a little long, and cut back to a 4/2. Or, you may find that the recovery is longer than you need, and cut to a 5/1. Over time, you may stretch that out to a 6/1, 7/1, or even 8/1. The idea is to find a cycle that fits you and build gradually.

The benefits of adopting a run/walk are that the walks bring your heart rate down and work some different muscles than the run does. Again, the walk portion should be purposeful, not a stroll!