Last week, our article was about walking the half marathon distance and for that we provided a schedule for the coming weeks.
This article is for those thinking of moving up from walking to running the half in February.
If you have only just started walking then this is something to do at the 2015 race. If you have already walked a half marathon then you might want to try to run next year.
The following is the experience of someone I know and her decision some years back to move up from walking to running. She now runs with passion and has even completed several full marathons.
Before she took up running, she would walk for endless hours on the treadmill at the gym.
“It felt good, however, I never really felt tired after and I could not shift the extra kilos that I needed to lose to get me to my target weight,” she said.
The personal trainer at the gym must have realised that she seemed bored on the treadmill, as one time he stood next to her and slowly added speed until she actually had to jog.
“That is how I moved from a bored walker to a runner,” she said.
Some people think that they can never get to this stage but it is not as difficult as it seems.
The important thing is to be patient and believe in oneself.
The first thing to keep in mind is that one should not try to jog for a long period at a stretch initially as one will easily feel discouraged and wrongly decide that jogging is not made for them.
This is the way the shift should happen.
First and foremost, one must be able to walk at least for an hour at a brisk pace before opting for the move.
When that step is reached, one can start the following schedule: walking for five minutes and jogging (not running at a fast speed) for a period of two minutes and alternating for at least half an hour.
It is important that heart rate monitors are consulted so that differences in heart rates during both exercises are taken notice of.
The jog segment of the exercise will go up gradually. So, you should soon start walking for five minutes and jogging for three minutes.
It is very important that you do not rush to increase your running part of the exercise. You will come to a point when you will be walking and jogging for the same number of minutes.
This is actually the turning point. From now on, you must increase the amount spent jogging you can sustain for 30 minutes at a stretch.
You have to be careful not to get carried away with enthusiasm. It is useless to dash for the first five minutes and then run out of breath and feeling exhausted for the rest of the exercise.
If the change from walk to run is done according to a fixed schedule, results will be rewarding. Many people we meet give up because they expect too much, too soon, and therefore just believe they are not made to run.
Also do try to do this alone, with no running mates to compete with. One must bear in mind that everyone is different and running is a personal game that you can only play alone in the beginning until fitness levels are stable.
Mdina to Spinola
Tomorrow’s Mdina to Spinola race starts from outside Mdina Gate at 7.30am with a record number of participants.
Since the race, sponsored by Urban Jungle, is promoted as a Christmas event we are encouraging participants to wear a Santa cap to create a Yuletide atmosphere.
For the first time the M2S will have a live band at the start and finish.