Walking the run

I have basically decided that there is no way that I will be able to run 26.2 miles without walking. I mean - let's accept this fact right now. For goodness sake - I need to sometimes take a walk break when I only run 5 miles!

I am not ashamed to admit this. In fact, the more I do my research - the more I think that walking is the smart thing to do. For me. Maybe not for everyone - but definitely for me.

Basically, the concept of the run/walk training is that you run and then every mile or so you walk for a designated amount of time. The idea is that you can actually finish at the same time as if you ran the whole thing continuously. And some people even say that you can finish FASTER. Gasp. I know. How can that be?

Well - the idea is that by walking right from the get-go - you give yourself a break. These little breaks will help conserve your energy so that over the long haul of the race, you can actually speed up as time goes by. Or something like that. You get my drift. Basically you give yourself a break before you fade out and lose your energy and lose the will to stop running.

So I tried it out today because I have basically decided that I am going to train this way for the marathon. So I wanted to try out the theory on a short run. I planned to run 4 miles today. I went out and ran 2 miles without stopping. When I hit mile 2, I started walking for 1 minute. After 1 minute, I ran until I hit mile 3. Then I walked for 1 minute. Then I continued on to mile 4. I walked 1 minute. By then I still felt like I had a lot of energy so I extended my run another half mile. And I finished in 45:02 which happens to be the SAME pace that all my other runs have been without stopping.

Fancy that! I felt great and I felt like I was taking back some control. I was walking on my own terms at planned intervals. And I liked it. I really did. Now, I used to be one of those people that felt like you simply could not walk during a race. I felt like people would look at me and think, "Wow. That girl is SUCH a major slacker. Look at her walking when she is supposed to be running." But you know what?  I don't care anymore. I am over worrying about it. So I am going to try this method and hopefully it will help me cross the finish line!