Week 2, Day 1. Today we ran for 90 seconds and walked for 2 minutes, according to the plan. It was our first afternoon run, and the temperature happened to be over 80 today. A gentle breeze kept us cool as we tackled the first day of a new training week.
But I have to say, I’m a little confused. Is this supposed to hurt? Because I’m not feeling much pain or soreness in my muscles after I run. I feel good, but for some reason I don’t expect that to be right. As we ran, I was recovering well in those 2 minutes of walking, catching my breath and able to gear up for the next run. Am I not working hard enough? Or is this what it’s supposed to be like?
I’m expecting to feel it more the more time we spend running with less walking in our routines, but I’m pleasantly surprised to be feeling good. I even lost a little over a pound this week. So far, I’m hooked on this plan.
I welcome your experience and advice. I feel like I could push myself a little harder when we run, but I’m just not sure if that’s wise.
Soreness is not a requirement. It’s a great idea to gradually build up to the distance and intensity but don’t rush the plan. You don’t want to overdo it and then get sore and stop. Right now it’s more about the exercise / activity becoming a habit. In a few weeks you will be running more than walking so it’s great to gradually build up and not jump ahead.
If you feel the plan is too easy look into a few other 5K plans and adapt them to fit your unique situation. Perhaps you could start out a tad more aggressively and another 5K plan would step it up just a little bit more. You could always jump into week 2 of another plan or combine them in a way to make your own. If you want to do that and need a little help let me know.
A few tips:
When you walk, power walk to keep your heart rate up.
With running if you feel up to it you can increase your pace a bit. (You want to be breathless but still able to carry on a conversation) Because you are doing short intervals you could run a bit faster if you find it too easy.
Keep up the good work and most importantly HAVE FUN!