Let the running begin

I found a simple plan that will take me from walking to running this spring. It is the Eight-Week Beginning Runner Plan from Runner's World.

For my first half marathon I used the EZ Half Marathon Training Schedule from The Walking Site. This gradually added miles until I was confident I could walk 13 miles in under 4 hours. I trained for my second one, three months later, with the Intermediate Half Marathon Schedule. It added more weekly miles and generally built up my speed, endurance and confidence but I was still just walking. In my third marathon, Sept 2010, I walked but also added running when I felt like it. I finished in just under 3 hours which was a huge improvement in my time by adding some running.

SO..... this June I want to be able to comfortably run a good share of the race. It may be a hefty goal for an old lady like me, but I’m going to try. The schedule I’m going to use is the Eight-week Beginning Runner Plan from Runner's World. At the end of eight weeks I hope to be able to run 30 minutes at a time.

Today I started out by doing 6 walk/run sets: (run 1 min & walk 2 min) x 6. The weekly plan starts with 10 sets four days a week but I decided to start out with six on my first try. I walked about 15 minutes then did the set and walked back home. It was chilly and windy and I kept losing my hat.The running tired me out so my overall time was slower than my usual fast walking but now I have a plan and will start working on it.

Next morning: OUCH! I woke up with a huge charley horse in my calf and it was sore all day. I shouldn't have tried to run so hard on my first day. I'll rest a few days then get back in shape with serious fast walking again first.