How to go From Walking to Running in 6 Steps!

Have you wanted to run but don’t think you can because you (a) never were a runner or (b) don’t have a clue how to start?

Well, friend, you have come to the right place!

Step one: make sure it’s ok with your doc that you run. Also, keep in mind I am not a trainer, what I’m about to share is what worked for me.

true story…

Something you should know about me…I absolutely KILLED it in the 18-min mile club in school because I refused to run. I hated the way my legs and lungs felt. I hated trying so hard and watching others breeze by me effortlessly.

At some point that changed. I just hit my 20s and wanted to switch up my fitness routine. I felt like the morning runner had an extra pep in their step, and I was a bit (gulp…dare I say) jealous of them and their peppiness. As I stumbled around bleary eyed, they were well into their productive day.

Plus, being the fan I am of efficient workouts, I felt that running seemed to make the best use of a short amount of time (debatable, but that was part of my motivation).

Regardless of my various reasons, that was what got me started with the desire to run.

So what’s your reason? I’d love to hear in the comments at the end!

you have to start somewhere.

Here’s the best tips I can share with you to reach your goal. This is exactly what I did, and as I said earlier I was not a runner at all prior to this. Fast forward a few months and I could easily run for an hour. Then I was running half (13.1 mi) marathons, and then full (26.2 miles!!) marathons. I mean, I struggled through a car ride for 3.5 hrs but here I was running for that length of time!

First thing to do…get a pair of sneakers. They don’t have to be fancy, just comfortable. You are about to increase the stress on your body by quite a bit, having good sneakers is key for long-term success. (Keep an eye out for a future article on things to consider when picking out running kicks!)

I have no affiliation to them, but I do  love using runningwarehouse.com because their prices and selection are great. Plus they have free 2 day shipping and returns…who doesn’t love that??!

Ok so the kicks situation squared away…here’s what you came for.

These plans gradually increase in intensity. Always listen to your body and scale back or stop. Pain in knees/feet/neck/etc are not normal. Check your form and touch base with your doc if it persists!

For each phase, be sure to warm up with walking a bit or dynamic stretching. Around 5-7 min was a great warm up for me, but listen to your body (I’m gonna say that a lot around here).

All of these phases are 28 – 35 min. THATS IT!

the plan!

Phase 1:

Walk 3 min, jog 1 min. Repeat 8 times (for a total workout of 32 min).

Phase 2:

Walk 2 min, jog 45 sec, speed up for an extra 15 sec. Repeat 10 times (total 30 min).

Phase 3: Best done on a treadmill unless you have access to hills.

Walk a hill for 3 min, jog on flat ground for 1-2 min. Repeat 6 times for a total of 30-32 min.

Phase 4: Again, this is incorporates hills.

Walk on flat ground for 3 min, jog a hill for 1-2 min. Repeat 6-7 times for a total of 28-35 min.

Phase 5: flat or hills!

Jog 5 min, walk 1 min.

Phase 6: flat or hills!

Jog 10 min, walk 3 min.

That’s it!! From that point on continue to increase the run walk gap until you can run a full half hour.

tips:

Your jogging pace does not have to be fast. Just put one foot in front of the other.

Try to keep your jogging pace consistent, even if you feel like you can run faster in the beginning. The key is to be able to maintain that same pace towards the end of the jog, if not be able to accelerate.

Try not to eat within the hour of your jog to avoid an upset stomach.

Hydrate hydrate hydrate!…just not right before you run. When I started out, I couldn’t drink more than a few sips if it was within the half-hour before my run.