Walk/Run

[jldeleon]

After over FOUR months of not running, this week is the BIG week. I feel strong enough and aligned enough to start running again.

I am going to follow a walk-hike/run program.

Has anyone here ever followed one? If so, which one? What did you think?

I have read some interesting studies that, even for competitive/professional runners, walk/run programs have some big advantages time/energy-wise.

I am angsting a bit over whether to do trails and/or pavement.

 

[migangelo]

you know i do lots of walk/running. it's called Maffetone training.

 

[jldeleon]

I could sense "Your Dorkiness" approaching...I hate to break it to you, but I need to spend MOST of my exercise time running and NOT walking.

 

[Bare Lee]

Jen,
Since last December, my running has been pretty sporadic. I've lost a lot of fitness. So I don't hesitate to walk if I feel my legs rebelling. I did this a lot in California and in March. When I feel like running again, I do. Could be a few steps, could be a couple of blocks. I don't consider it a defeat. I know that once I'm able to run consistently again, I will once again adapt, and the need to walk once in a while will go away. The trick, for me, is to know the difference between needing to walk mentally and needing to walk physically. Sometimes when we're getting back at it we become a bit mentally lazy, when really, the legs are just fine.

 

[Sid]

http://m.runnersworld.com/running-tips/study-walk-run-mix-can-be-most-energy-efficient-way-to-go

 

[jldeleon]

Love this! It totally makes sense!

"This intuitive energy minimization likely had evolutionary advantages, especially if you believe the running-made-us-human perspective on the central role of persistence hunting in human development. As Long and Srinivasan point out, modern persistence hunters have been filmed traveling at an average speed of just under 4 miles per hour. This average speed involves running fast when necessitated by keeping prey close, but otherwise going only as fast as necessary, which can sometimes mean walking or even stopping. In the ancestral setting that molded us, when every calorie was precious, there was great incentive to travel in the most economical way."