NOTE - 2 training schedules I designed for myself as an older first time runner are included at the bottom.
When I celebrated a milestone birthday in January, I did it with great trepidation. This number really freaked me out. What I needed to do was find a way to turn my focus away from the number and in a more positive direction - so I created my 2020 Year of Marilyn Bucket List Challenge! At the end of the year I intend to celebrate my accomplishments!What went on this list? There are activities I dreamed of trying such as ziplining and skydiving; things I wanted to accomplish such as writing a new book; and items to help me face my difficulty with procrastination and finishing such as knitting/crocheting 3 items and sending letters to relatives. I also challenged myself to try new things as well, such as axe throwing. Then there were the challenges I thought I would never be able to accomplish - I was too old, I didn't have the talent, I wasn't a good enough athlete.............. You get the idea.
Running a 5K definitely fell in this last category. Growing up, my family's focus was never on sports. I always assumed I was hopeless at them. Time has started to clear that away. I'm not a gifted athlete in any sense of the word, but I'm definitely not hopeless either. However, jogging has always proved an anathema for me. I've tried it a few times when the Sun Run training program went up and just never made much progress or felt that runners high.This made running a 5K a perfect item for my challenge bucket list. I didn't care if I ran an official 5K. I simply mapped out how far I had to run along the river I live beside (halfway going, halfway coming back) and decided to give it a try. A fellow author who is an experienced runner sent me a basic training program to try. After struggling to deal with using my phone as a timer, I bought an inexpensive interval device to clip on my collar. You can set 2 separate times and the number of repetitions. It beeps every time you switch between them (ex. - walk 2 min., jog 1 min., repeat 7 times).
We had 2 trips back to Ontario during my beginning months which interrupted my efforts. It was too cold and icy back there for me to safely hit the streets. Each time I had to restart when I returned home. To be honest, though, even when I could keep on track, as I moved up the chart I just wasn't feeling the progress. It never got easier and I was getting discouraged.
Then 2 tips fell into my lap. The first came from my daughter who is a registered kinesiologist. She talked about how everyone has a natural gait that works best for their body. She encouraged me to stop trying to plod along super slow, and instead try mixing it up a bit to see if there was a pace that felt right for me. WOW! What a concept. Injury prevention is still high on my list, but I felt this could be done while still keeping that in mind.The second tip came from a neighbor. She is a top level senior runner who coaches young people and still competes in races across Canada and the US. When I mentioned what I was trying to do along with my daughter's suggestion, she suggested I also try changing my training schedule to a much kinder, gentler one. And she gave me a different goal - just keep moving for 30 minutes.
My initial schedule started with a 2 min walk, 1 min. run; then moved to a 1 min. walk, 1 min. run; then 1 min. walk, 2 min. run; and continued on adding 1 min. to the run each week. She instead encouraged me to start with as much as a 4.5 min. walk paired with only a 30 sec. run, repeating until I reached 30 minutes. My interval timer only did full minutes, so I decided to try a 4/1 ratio (4 min. walk, 1 min. run, 6 repetitions). She also suggested instead of increasing the run portion each week, to do as many weeks as I needed to feel comfortable before changing.I went out on my first walk/run yesterday using both suggestions and what a difference! I found a slightly faster pace that stretched out my legs combined with using my arms a lot more felt decidedly easier for me. The 4/1 pacing was perfect. I walked in the door after finishing, and for the first time answered my husband's question - "How did it go?" - with really good.
Want to check out all the items on my challenge list as well as follow how many I'm crossing off? Just go to http://www.oliobymarilyn.com/2019/12/the-2020-year-of-marilyn-bucket-list.html.
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TWO running routines I came up with that hold promise for my fitness and age levels. Use these as starting points to design a schedule that feels right for YOU! Be sure to listen carefully to your body.
Important notes -
- If you're really out of shape or never run before, start with at least 2 or more weeks of power walking for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.
- Warm-up and cool-down are important. Stretching, walking, arm swings, squats and more can all be used to warm up and cool down.
- What you do on my non-training days is important as well. Dance, Yoga, strength workout, biking and more are all good.
- I have discovered I personally need to do squats (building muscles to protect my joints) and planks (strengthening my core muscles and arms) on off days if I am going to be successful. Again listen to your body. .
Running Routine #1 - I'll follow this if my body responds well and isn't showing signs of injury. The goal is roughly 30 minutes.
Week
|
Warm-up
|
Walk
|
Jog
|
Reps
|
Cool Down
|
1
|
3-5 min.
|
4 min.
|
1 min.
|
6
|
3-5 min
|
1a
|
Repeat week 1 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
2
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
2 min.
|
5
|
3-5 min
|
2a
|
Repeat week 2 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
3
|
3-5 min
|
3 min.
|
2 min.
|
6
|
3-5 min
|
3a
|
Repeat week 3 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
4
|
3-5 min
|
3 min.
|
3 min.
|
5
|
3-5 min
|
4a
|
Repeat week 4 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
5
|
3-5 min
|
2 min.
|
3 min.
|
6
|
3-5 min
|
5a
|
Repeat week 5 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
6
|
3-5 min
|
2 min.
|
4 min.
|
5
|
3-5 min
|
6a
|
Repeat week 6 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
7
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
4 min.
|
6
|
3-5 min
|
7a
|
Repeat week 7 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
8
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
5 min.
|
5
|
3-5 min
|
8a
|
Repeat week 8 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
9
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
6 min.
|
4
|
3-5 min
|
9a
|
Repeat week 9 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
10
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
7 min.
|
4
|
3-5 min
|
10a
|
Repeat week 10 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
11
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
8 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
11a
|
Repeat week 11 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
12
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
9 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
12a
|
Repeat week 12 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
13
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
10
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
13 a
|
Repeat week 13 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
14
|
3-5 min
|
At this point I'm going to work with 20 min run
and see how it goes. The goal is 30 min/5K
|
3-5 min.
|
||
Running Routine #2 - This is my alternate if my body needs more recovery time between jogs. The goal again is 30 min. of movement.
Week
|
Warm-up
|
Walk
|
Jog
|
Reps
|
Cool Down
|
1
|
3-5 min.
|
4 min.
|
1 min.
|
6
|
3-5 min
|
1a
|
Repeat week 1 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
2
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
2 min.
|
5
|
3-5 min
|
2a
|
Repeat week 2 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
3
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
3 min.
|
4
|
3-5 min
|
3a
|
Repeat week 3 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
4
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
4 min.
|
4
|
3-5 min
|
4a
|
Repeat week 4 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
5
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
5 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
5a
|
Repeat week 5 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
6
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
6 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
6a
|
Repeat week 6 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
7
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
7 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
7a
|
Repeat week 7 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
8
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
8 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
8a
|
Repeat week 8 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
9
|
3-5 min.
|
4 min.
|
9 min.
|
2
|
3-5 min
|
9a
|
Repeat week 9 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
10
|
3-5 min
|
4 min.
|
10 min.
|
2
|
3-5 min
|
10a
|
Repeat week 10 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
11
|
3-5 min
|
3 min.
|
10 min.
|
2
|
3-5 min
|
11a
|
Repeat week 11 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
12
|
3-5 min
|
2 min.
|
10 min.
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
12a
|
Repeat week 12 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
13
|
3-5 min
|
1 min.
|
10
|
3
|
3-5 min
|
13a
|
Repeat week 13 until your body is comfortable at
this level
|
||||
14
|
3-5 min
|
At this point I'm going to work with 20 min run
without a mid-break and build from there. The final goal is
roughly 30 min and 5K in distance.
|
3-5 min.
|
||
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