From Walking to Jogging in 4 Weeks Flat

Happy New Year! One of my recent goals is to start running again. Last year, I decided I would run two races a year to help me stay focused on my exercise. So, I set myself a schedule to get back up to speed. I thought I'd share a similar plan with the rest of the world.

If you can walk 3 mph for 20-30 minutes or more, and you feel like you could jog for 2 minutes at a time, then this is the plan for you. If you have any doubts, check with your doctor.

The Goal: to run (or jog) 20 minutes nonstop without a walking break by slowly adjusting your run/walk ratio over time.

The Time Table: EVERY single day for 4 weeks. Then you can scale your runs down to 3-4x a week.

The Speed:

• If you feel like a slow walker, choose 3.0 mph for your walk breaks and do 4.8 for your jogging. 
• If you can handle 3.5, do that speed for walking and do 5.0 for your runs.

The Warm-up and Cool-down:

• Always walk for a 3-minute warm-up. Do a quick 1-minute stretch (30 seconds for each leg). Start with your calf for about 6 seconds, then your shins, then your hamstrings, then hip, then quads. Switch legs.
• Cool down for 2-3 minutes at a slower walking pace. Slowly get your heart rate to come back down. Stretch again, but 1-2 minutes per leg, this time.

The Plan:
As seen in the chart below, here is an explanation of the plan for the first three days. Run for 2 minutes. Walk for 2 minutes. Repeat that 4-minute cycle five times for a total of 20 minutes.

Day #   Run-Walk   Repeat   Total Run Time

1, 2, 3       2-2          5x          20

4, 5, 6       2-1          7x          21

7, 8, 9       3-1          5x          20

10-12        4-1          4x         20

13-15       5-1          3x          18

16-18       6-1          3x          21

19-21       7-2          2x          18

22-24       8-2          2x          20

25-27       9-1          2x          20

Day 28!    20-0        1x          20

Congratulations! You've just walked yourself into 20 minutes of running! Now you can scale down to run 3 to 4 times a week and add time or distance to each run. Happy running!  

Keep on keepin' on...