Running is one of the easiest, most inexpensive, and enjoyable ways to keep fit. The old adage about needing only a pair of shorts and a pair of running shoes to be fit for life has a lot of truth to it, but getting the most out of your running experience, avoiding injuries, building fitness gradually over time, and not getting bored all require some knowledge and planning. There are a multitude of books on running. Any major bookstore will have a large section in their fitness or sports section full of books on how to run, how to avoid running injuries, how to run your first marathon, etc. One of the classics is The Lore of Running by Tim Noakes, a South African physician, runner, and sometime exercise physiologist. The book is a heavyweight that covers the spectrum of issues including fitness, injuries, building volume, and a healthy dose of how exercise science relates to running. Every magazine rack also seems full of running magazines promising the best programmes for fitness, for your best time ever, for your first marathon, for running off your baby weight, for whatever goal you may dream up. But many (most) of these magazine articles neglect to start with the very basics. What do you do if you've never run much before and you want to start?
The main initial goals of anyone undertaking running for the first time is to avoid injuries and simply get to the point that they can actually run for a sustained period of time on a regular basis without injuring themselves. That’s it. No goals about marathons, half marathons, or completing community 10km runs. Just being able to run for 20 – 30 minutes at an easy pace on a regular basis. The number of weeks and months it may take to progress to this point will vary dramatically between individuals depending on prior running experience, overall fitness, joint health, age, and motivation.
A very basic framework for building up to being able to run regularly is progressing through a walk / run programme. Essentially this involves alternating walking with short periods of running within one session and then gradually increasing the duration of the running periods over time. The standard walk / run progression involves starting with a 30 minute walk and then introducing 30 seconds of running every five minutes. Each subsequent progression involves adding an additional 30 seconds of running in each five minute block within the 30 minutes. How quickly one progresses is entirely variable. As a basic framework example, if you were able to progress by 30 seconds of running every time you worked out, your progression would look like the following:
Day 1: 30 minute walk
Day 2: alternate 4.5 minutes of walk with 30 seconds of running for 30 minutes
Day 3: alternate 4 minutes of walk with 1 minute of running for 30 minutes
Day 4: alternate 3.5 minutes of walk with 1.5 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 5: alternate 3 minutes of walk with 2 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 6: alternate 2.5 minutes of walk with 2.5 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 7: alternate 2 minutes of walk with 3 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 8: alternate 1.5 minutes of walk with 3.5 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 9: alternate 1 minutes of walk with 4 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 10: alternate 30 seconds of walk with 4.5 minutes of running for 30 minutes
Day 11 run for 30 minutes
You can see that within 11 workouts you have progressed from being able to walk for 30 minutes to being able to run for 30 minutes. (These workouts would, of course, not be completed on subsequent days, but rather alternated with one or two days of rest and recovery so that the entire progression would take about 20 – 30 days). It cannot be emphasized strongly enough that this is a framework example progression that moves you from walking for 30 minutes to running for 30 minutes within a month, and not a standard protocol that everyone should use. This framework can be used to personalize your own walk / run programme, but a progression of this nature is likely only appropriate for someone with prior running experience getting back into running after an extended break, or perhaps someone who is very young, healthy, and otherwise relatively fit. Others might want to stretch out this progression significantly. It might take you six months or more to progress through this plan if you have never run on a regular basis before and if you are significantly out of shape. In order to stretch out the progression, simply spend multiple days at each stage until you are very comfortable with that stage before progressing to the next stage.
This basic framework is an example of the Principle of Progression at work. It allows an individual to progress slowly and methodically from walking to running. I would normally use this walk / run programme to get back into running after any extended break from running (e.g. a break longer than about 6 - 8 weeks), no matter how fit I was at the time (say with cycling or other activities). The main reason for such a careful progression is that running places significant biomechanical load and impact on the body, and by very gradually progressing through these stages you dramatically reduce the risk of an overuse injury early on in your running programme.
Remember, the goal of any running programme is to gradually progress through an increasing level of fitness and performance, not to suddenly try to beat your personal best time. As long as you are progressing with your fitness, then be patient and the results will come. Deviate from your scheduled progression and you're very likely to set yourself back in the long run by developing injuries (or burnout). It is more difficult than it sounds to stick to a progression. Often it gets exciting to see the improvements in fitness and you are often tempted to run to your potential all the time. DON'T. Almost every workout along a long-term progression will be below your actual abilities in an all-out run. Keep that in mind all the time and, again, so long as you are progressing from week to week, then you don't need to be running your best times in every single workout.
Remember, the goal of any running programme is to gradually progress through an increasing level of fitness and performance, not to suddenly try to beat your personal best time. As long as you are progressing with your fitness, then be patient and the results will come. Deviate from your scheduled progression and you're very likely to set yourself back in the long run by developing injuries (or burnout). It is more difficult than it sounds to stick to a progression. Often it gets exciting to see the improvements in fitness and you are often tempted to run to your potential all the time. DON'T. Almost every workout along a long-term progression will be below your actual abilities in an all-out run. Keep that in mind all the time and, again, so long as you are progressing from week to week, then you don't need to be running your best times in every single workout.
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