runners

I would like to run/walk a 5k.   Any runners out there?  I need a training schedule and ideas of how long to train.  I walk 4 miles every day and currently walk a 13 minute mile.  I am looking at a 5k 4 weeks from now and 8 weeks.  I would like to do both, but will register for the later one if I need more time to train.  I would like to step it up to some type of running, even if my time is quite slow.  

[PrettyKitty1]

Ouch, I run 5-7 miles, but I haven't done so in like 2 months, so I know it'll be painful when I get back to my routine.

[alikat1205]

ok, i entered a 5k on april 4.  any training ideas?  how to get from walking to running?

[PrettyKitty1]

Well, alikat, I can tell you what I did. Hopefully this will help you! Here it is.

I started at the gym, on the treadmill. I’d run for 1 minute, then walk, then run again for 2 minutes, then walk again, and so on and so forth until I was able to run one hour (5 miles) nonstop. I’d set goals for the day. For example, I’d say ‘Today, I will run 5 minutes nonstop at least once in a one hour period, then try to run 3 minutes intermittently within that hour for a total of maybe 15 minutes.  I’d get so thirsty at first, but then I guess my body got used to running 5 days a week. Drinking water in the middle of my work out would totally destroy it all!! I started running a minute because I physically could not keep running much longer than that. I used concentration, hard rock, or music that would get me hyper, and I would run on an empty stomach at 6:00 am to be able to start burning fat faster. As you know, the body burns carbs first, and then stored fat, as a survival characteristic. I wanted to run on an empty stomach to be able to burn carbs faster to get to the fat quicker.

I lost 23 lbs this way. Since the energy levels ramp up, I was sable to go to spinning classes (for advanced students, that was crazy) after my runs. I got to do 2 hours, but life changes and school and work did not allow for a two hour work out anymore, so I started doing the HIIT for 30 minutes 3 times a week. That was enough to keep my weight and eat whatever the heck I wanted. Even after 2 months of not working out I have actually lost weight, but for the most part, I have been able to maintain my weight because of what I did. And mind you, I gain weight easily!!! So being able to maintain my weight for 2 months is an accomplishment, if you ask me. I used to gain weight in a week!!!

[PrettyKitty1]

Good luck with your training. Motivation is the key!!!!

[alikat1205]

it is getting easier every day and easier to motivate myself too, and i notice i am not nearly as tired as i was when i started. \

anyway, what i have been doing so far is that i started with walking 4 miles, moving from a 16 minute mile to a 14 minute mile.  starting last friday, i began alternating one minute of running with one minute of walking on mile 4.  next week i will try to add mile 3 as well, or at least beginning at 3.5.  each week i'll do that until all four miles are 50/50.  do you think that will get me there?