When is it time to change your walking/running shoes?

Walking and running shoes have a limited lifespan.

With every step you are gradually breaking down the cushioning and support.

By 500-750 kilometres, most shoes have expired and need to be thrown out, recycled (or used for non-exercise purposes).

For example,

• If you walk 5km per day x 5 per week - this would equate to replacing shoes every 6 months

• If you run/walk 40km per week - this would equate to replacing shoes every 3 months

Leaving it too long to update your shoes can lead to annoying niggles and increasing the chances of developing a full blown injury.

When it comes to running and walking shoes, being mindful about the state of your shoes goes along way to improved performance and staying injury free.

…prevention definitely beats cure!

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My mistakes

Very early in my running career I made the mistake of neglecting my shoes and paid the price with ongoing plantar fasciitis and shin splints for a few years…not very fun!

Since then, I’ve been more mindful of updating my shoes regularly and always buying them from a reputable running specialty store. I find I get around 500km out of a pair.

The goal is to always replace your shoes before you head down the road of injury.

A general rule of thumb is to divide 75,000 by your current weight (in pounds) and that will indicate the approximate number of miles your running shoes should give you.

Signs you may be ready for a new pair of shoes:

• sore feet during or after a run or walk

• soreness in the shins, ITB or inside of your knee (and nothing else has changed in your training)

• it has been 6 months since you have bought your last pair of running shoes

• it has been 12 months since you have bought your last pair of walking shoes

Tips for buying your next pair of shoes:

• Invest in a professional shoe fitting to find the best shoes to suit your feet (we recommend Joggers World / Sportitude or The Running Company)

• consider buying two pairs to rotate between runs

• keep a log on the mileage for each pair of shoe so you can be proactive in when to update

• Many running apps like Strava and Garmin Connect, will track the mileage on your shoes, if you keep track when you first buy them.

• Shoes tend to wear much more quickly if you are a heavier runner or do most of your running on roads or heavy, muddy trails.

When buying new shoes it’s best to AVOID:

• waiting for your shoes to completely deteriorate before picking up a new pair

• wearing your walking / running shoes for other exercise like cycling, tennis or gym as they will lose their shock absorption capacity quickly

• buying your shoes from an outlet store, as often they carry outdated models that have already lost much of their cushioning and support and set you up for injury. The glue in the shoe starts deteriorating the moment it leaves the factory, so it’s best not to leave a new pair in the cupboard for long either, as they will not be in optimal shape by the time you start wearing them

Got any questions about your shoes?

Please let us know via email dan@kinfolkwellness.com.au

And if you are in need of a podiatrist to check you feet in more detail, we recommend you see Will Kuang at Adelaide Podiatry Centre

How you can transform your running during the corona virus

With the world in the midst of a pandemic, we are faced with significant challenges to our physical and mental health.

For many athletes, races haven been postponed or cancelled and this can affect motivation levels.

Our training can become directionless without a solid goal to aim towards.

How can we keep ourselves safe in the short-term, but also use this time as an opportunity to come out stronger and better than before?

For runners, now is the PERFECT time to switch from a performance/racing mindset to a health focus and find that sweet spot in our training.

Specifically targeted towards runners, this blog will explore 3 main areas:

1. WHY running will boost immune your function and keep you safe during a viral outbreak

2. WHAT to focus on to take your running to the next level

3. HOW to identify weak links and build long term resilience

1. Exercise to Boost the Immune System

It is widely agreed that regular exercise (30-60 mins daily at moderate intensity) is beneficial for immunity.

Several studies suggest that regular moderate physical activity is associated with decreased mortality and incidence rates for influenza and pneumonia (see graph below).

Risk of developing an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection vs Exercise Workload - Nieman and Wentz (2019)

In their review paper, Nieman and Wentz (2019) found that moderate exercise is an immune system enhancer, that improves defense activity and metabolic health.

But the risk of illness is increased in athletes during periods of intensified training and competition, suggesting prolonged high intense exercise may be counter-productive at this time.

We don’t know exactly how exercise helps, but some theories include:

• physical activity may help flush bacteria out of the lungs and airways. This may reduce your chance of getting a cold, flu, or other illness.

• exercise causes change in antibodies and white blood cells (WBC). WBCs are the body's immune system cells that fight disease. These antibodies or WBCs circulate more rapidly, so they could detect illnesses earlier than they might have before.

• the brief rise in body temperature during and right after exercise may prevent bacteria from growing. This temperature rise may help the body fight infection better, similar to what happens when you have a fever.

• exercise slows down the release of stress hormones which may protect against illness.

Exercise may protect against deadly complication in COVID-19

A review released in April 2020 by Zhen Yan, PhD, of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, showed that medical research findings "strongly support" the possibility that exercise can prevent or at least reduce the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome, which affects between 3% and 17% of all patients with COVID-19.

The researchers have been looking at an antioxidant known as, "Extracellular superoxide dismutase" (EcSOD), which seemed to improve viral clearance by hunting down harmful free radicals and enabling patients to endure prolonged infection.

This latest study shows EcSOD production is enhanced by moderate intensity exercise.

During exercise, the skeletal muscles (our largest organ in the body) produce EcSOD, secreting it into the circulation to allow binding to other vital organs.

Specifically, slow twitch endurance type muscles have a higher capacity for antioxidant production, compared with fast-twitch, glycolytic fibers with lower oxidative potential.

Accumulating evidence supports that reduced EcSOD abundance and activities in tissues are associated with many disease conditions, and increased EcSOD activity is protective against oxidative stress and damage under these disease pathologies. Endurance exercise increases EcSOD abundance in skeletal tissue, which can be redistributed to peripheral tissues via the circulation to combat ROS and oxidative damage. - picture credit

So…how do you exactly define ‘moderate’ intensity exercise?

One of the easiest and most reliable ways to measure exercise intensity is to use Rate Of Perceived Exertion (RPE) which uses a self-reported scale between 1 (easiest) and 10 (most intense).

The graph below shows how RPE relates to exercise:

Thus, a moderate intensity would be described as below 5/10 RPE, which exercise physiologists describe as the aerobic zone.

Moderate intensity exercise should allow you to carry on a conversation without huffing and puffing too much.

2. What to focus on to take your running to the next level

Here is where the current advice to limit your training intensity to moderate can assist your immune system, but also can help your running long term.

We know one of the best predictors of success is to string consistent weeks of training in a row and the best way to do this is to keep your running intensity low while slowly building weekly volume.

Some recent research from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research has suggested that world-class long-distance running performances are best predicted by volume of easy runs (and deliberate practice of short-interval and tempo runs).

This novel study shows that there is a crucial role for easy runs that contribute to greater volumes of running, allowing for improved cardio-vascular efficiency (building a better engine) and optimal physiological functioning.

“All time best running coach” - Arthur Lydiard

In the 1960s, New Zealand athletes took the Olympics by storm.  They won medals from 800 meters to the marathon and what was interesting was that the winners were all from the same town - with the same coach!

That coach was New Zealander Arthur Lydiard (1917-2004) who was credited with developing one of the first periodised training programs for runners.

Lydiard strongly advised building this low-intensity aerobic base over a period of at least 3 months, (or 4-5 months if you’re starting out) and then building your race specific work later (see Figure below).

Lydiard, intuitively understandstood the physiology of what makes a resilient runner and urged his runners to hold themselves back in base training.

“To race well, you must train slowly” - Arthur Lydiard

“You can never go too slowly to develop cardiac efficiency” - Arthur Lydiard

“Train, don’t strain” - Arthur Lydiard

“It’s not the best athlete who wins, but the best prepared.” - Arthur Lydiard

“Never do anaerobic work in conditioning. Never. Ever. That’s one of the first things: You don’t do it. Don’t even try. Don’t even run fast to the finish. That’s the one thing you’ve got to learn” - Arthur Lydiard

Physiology of base training

There are two basic energy systems you use when training: anaerobic and aerobic.

Aerobic means “with oxygen” and in base training, one of the primary goals is to improve your ability to take in and utilize oxygen.

Unfortunately, you can't build both your aerobic and anaerobic systems at the same time very well.

Lydiard believed the cardiovascular system had to be built up to it’s maximum first, if you wanted to develop the muscular system to its maximum.

Container analogy

A simple analogy is to imagine a container.

Insider the container is your fitness level.

All of your hard workouts are enclosed inside the container.

They get you fit, but are ultimately limited by the container’s size / volume.

Rather than focusing on fitness, base training focuses on making the container bigger.

This is achieved through conditioning of the cardio-vascular system and building mito-chondria in the cells of the muscles.

This paves the way for harder race specific fitness training later in the training phase.

GOAT - Eluid Kipchoge

How does the greatest runner of all time, Eluid Kipchoge distribute his training loads?

As you can see below, Stephen Seiler has complied his data leading up to the Berlin Marathon - and you can see the majority of his training time is spent in the ‘easy’ zone.

No doubt a pretty reliable template for great performances.

Kipchoge's training over 41 days and 59 sessions prior to #berlinmarathon: rough quantification of available training log.

Limitations of high intensity running

High intensity running sessions need 48-72 hours to recover from. So in that time, you can normally do some short runs, but nothing more substantial, as you will normally be too sore.

To get faster and more resilient, it can feel natural to want to train HARDER and HARDER, but done too often, this can lead to an increased risk of injury and more time off for recovery.

And sadly can lead to burnout and giving up the sport altogether.

Sign you might be spending too much time doing hard training:

• pain / niggling injuries

• excessive tightness

• low energy

• poor sleep

• irritable

Essentially the body will adapt faster if you're doing lower intensity efforts more frequently. 

Benefits of building low-intensity running volume base first

Adaptations of aerobic training include:

• increased stroke volume of the heart, capillary density and mitochondrial density.

• stroke volume increase simply means that your heart pumps more blood per beat.

• mitochondria are structures within muscle cells that produce energy from fat and carbohydrate oxidation. Think of them as tiny batteries for muscle contractions.

• improved running technique and efficiency - every stride is practice and improving your neuro-muscular efficiency

• improves muscle strength and endurance

• increases blood flow and circulation, leading to healthier tissues and aiding recovery

• improves mind - body connection (can become aware of weak links early in the training cycle and strengthen them with a specific plan)

• helps burn fat and maintain appropriate weight

Tips for building base mileage

• focus on total weekly mileage, rather than getting the most out of every run

• pace should be relaxed and easy - it should pass the ‘talk test’

• keep your cadence relatively high, while maintaining a gentle pace (takes some practice)

• insert walking breaks whenever you feel like you need it

• keep your feet fresh by rotating between 2-3 of running shoes

• get onto the trails where you can take some pressure off your joints and enjoy being out in nature

• increase long run every second week to allow adequate recovery time

• every fourth week should be a de-loading/recovery week so drop total volume down by 20-30% to allow for healing and recovery

• “let fitness come to you, don’t chase fitness”

Aerobic base building ISN’T just slow, easy running

Lydiard suggests during base training ideally you should be running large amounts of mileage at varying speeds, effort, and terrains.

The main thing to avoid is pushing into the anaerobic zone for prolonged periods, when you’re muscles get filled with lactic acid and you are sore the following day.

This would include avoiding extended workouts at V02 Max (roughly 5K pace) or faster, such as 400m to 2km repeats.

These anaerobic workouts raise the acidity of cells, which can damage the mitochondria and aerobic enzymes you’re working to build.

Types of sessions you can still do:

• VERY EASY RUN: at conversational pace, throwing in some walking breaks whenever you feel like it

• PROGRESSION RUN: Easy jog for first half and then increasing the pace for second half, but remaining below anaerobic threshold (e.g. 10k - half marathon pace)

• HILL SPRINTS: Find a medium steep hill and do 10 sec up hill sprints at 80-90% max, followed by 1 min walking recovery. Repeat x 5-10. These will build leg strength but won’t over-tax the muscles.

• STRIDES: At the end of an easy run - 5 x 200m sprints at 80-90% maximum. Think of increasing leg turn-over speed. These will will improve neuro-muscular efficiency.

• MONA-FARTLEK: Run the on’s at moderate intensity tempo pace approx 10k pace and walk the off sections for recovery. (This would differ from a regular in season mona fartlek that would be run at a much higher intensity with running recoveries).

• LONG WALK IN THE HILLS: easy meander at a casual pace

• STRENGTH SESSIONS: Base training is the perfect time to work on building up your weak links (see below).

Investing in your running body

Another analogy I like to use around building a base foundation is around money.

Simply put - hard intense running is like spending money - it costs you physically and is very taxing on your body.

If you are ONLY spending money every day, one day you will get a very rude awakening (bank knocking on the door), as you hit your credit card debt limits. Pain all around!

Whereas as easy aerobic running is like saving money.

Each time you work within your limits you are building your savings (better endurance capacity).

You can then reap the investment dividends about 6-12 months later. Race day comes around and you have a great day spending the money you built up and never go into debt.

Building Your Optimal Running Volume

Coach Arthur Lydiard would recommend his elite athletes build up to 160-200km+ per week during base aerobic foundation training.

“The bigger the foundation, the bigger and higher the house can be built.” - Lydiard

For your specific goals and level of training, please see the table below for a general number to aim towards. Obviously building up very gradually and listening to your body is the key.

These numbers may sounds a lot.

But remember this is low-intensity and may even include walking if you are just starting out.

To put it in perspective, the World Health Organisation recommends 30-60 mins aerobic exercise per day. If you were to do 45 mins per day of walk/run at a very easy pace that would be around 7km per day.

Done 6 days per week adds up to 40km per week and would be very manageable.

If that sounds like too much, you might need to reconsider your running goals in the short-term any focus on building your daily walking volume. There is nothing wrong with that - even some of the elite athletes need to use a walking program when returning from an injury.

To figure out what pace you should be doing your easy runs, we have designed an online calculatorthat can help you.

Running Calculator

You can enter your most recent 3km or 5km time and see the pace range you should be aiming at for your easy runs.

It also gives you an accurate idea of your training zones for specific goals which is super handy.

Knowing and respecting your individual ‘easy’ zone pace is probably the single most important factor for a runner to learn.

Now, if you have just discovered your ‘easy pace’ to be ridiculously slow, then you know you are probably a ‘threshold addict’.

Full disclosure, I am a recovering threshold addict.

It took an intervention and a whole lot of pain for my dull brain to understand the physiology behind staying injury free as a runner.

If you are struggling to reconcile your ‘easy’ running pace, then here is a simple hack:

Your easy running pace is the average pace for your whole run.

So you can still run fairly quickly, but you will need to take some walking breaks.

Are you really a runner if you take walking breaks?

I’m not sure exactly why this belief developed that you’re not really a runner if you take walking breaks.

I would say the major limitation to building volume is refusing to ever take walking breaks.

It’s a belief that is worth letting go of, if you want to transform your running.

Repetitive eccentric loading of muscles and tendons from running is hugely stressful for the body.

Let’s face it - building a resilient runners body takes time and patience.

To put this in context, can you imagine going to a gym and smashing out 10,000 loaded single leg squats in a row without a break? That is the torture you are putting your body through, if you refuse to take walking breaks, especially early on in your running career.

Nutrition

The base phase of training is an ideal time to set up your nutrition plan and I would highly recommend consulting with a sports nutritionist for an individual plan, based on your goals.

The most effective nutritional strategies for athletes include increased intake of protein, carbohydrates and polyphenols.

A consistent finding is that carbohydrate intake during prolonged exercise, whether from drinks or sugar-dense fruits such as bananas or gels is associated with reduced stress hormones, diminished blood levels of neutrophils and monocytes, and reduced levels of inflammation.

Exercise physiologist, David Nieman believes that carbohydrates are the key nutrient bonding exercise and good health and he recommends ingesting them before, during and after running.

Indeed, he notes a whole new science of immuno-metabolism that places glucose and glycogen at the center of healthy immunity as well as being the key to strong endurance athletes.

When runners consume carbs during their long runs, their immune cells “look and perform much better,” says Nieman.

3. How to use this time to build resilience - Discovering your weak links

I’ve long considered running to be one of the best barometers of musculo-skeletal capacity.

No other test can give more information about our body than finding out what happens after 20km of running (a distance which our innate ancestral bodies used to cover frequently).

As physical therapist and strength coach Gray Cook recommends, “First move well, then move often.”

Most of us have some weak links in our body that we may never know until we start to increase demand.

As you’re progressing in training, the harder sessions will ‘test’ your physical capacity and movement foundation.

The benefit of building your low-intensity volume in the initial few months of training is that it can expose weak links in your body, without risking huge strain on your body.

Because there is no pressure to be fast and progress too quickly, in this phase you can take your time to properly address the underlying issue.

Identifying your weak links can sometimes be really easy - it’s the area of your body that is overloaded and painful.

But there is often also a deeper root cause of why a certain tissue is getting overloaded, sometimes not as obvious.

That is where a good Physio can help you do some detective work and identify the more subtle issues that may be contributing.

These issues may be things like:

• weak or inefficient core muscles

• inactive glutes

• stiff ankles from past injury

• tight hip flexors

• poor body awareness

Free Running Screening

I’ve put together a free screening tool to help runners identify any weak links.

This is a completely free service and my goal is to help as many runners as possible, so please feel free to share with your running friends!

This involves a short set of questions and then 5 physical capacity tests.

As you can probably tell, I’m super passionate about helping runners stay injury free in these challenging times the world is facing.

Having a strong physical foundation is the key to keeping yourself strong and healthy so we can be of support to others.

Reference:

Extracellular superoxide dismutase, a molecular transducer of health benefits of exercise, Redox Biology Volume 32, May 2020, 101508

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Purchase The Resilient Runner E-Book - now on special

How To Run Faster - Without Getting Injured

How To Run Faster - Without Getting Injured

1. Run More

The number one way to improve your running is to run more and gradually increase your weekly volume.

Every step you take improves your technique making you more efficient, builds mitochondria in your muscles that help make you a powerhouse.

Take any option to run more during the week and maybe even throwing some ‘doubles’ into your day where you run in the morning, and then again later in the day.

As you gradually build your volume, fitness will naturally finds it way to you, rather than you having to ‘chase’ fitness.

And don’t worry about your pace too much, think more about ‘time on your feet’.

“Train, don't strain.” - Arthur Lydiard

2. Get Your Volume / Intensity Balance Right 

One of the common mistakes new runners make is increasing too many things at once - e.g. both pace and volume, especially if they have an event on the horizon. 

Running too much in your high intensity zone is stressful for your body and can lead to increased stress and strain on muscles, tendons, bones and joints. 

To find your optimal running paces - you need to know your current best times over a 3k or 5k distance. 

Then you can put this time into an online running calculator (e.g. Luke Humphrey Running Calculator).  This will then give you a breakdown of ideal your training paces for your long easy runs, threshold runs e.t.c.  

It also gives you a realistic time goal to work towards for your big running goals such as the marathon. 

3. Strength Train 

Identify your key weak links with the help of a running physio and then you can focus on building resilience and turning your weaknesses into your strengths.  Strength training can be easily done at home after a run - it shouldn’t take more than 10-15 mins x 2 per week. 

4. Recovery 

Effective recovery is the key to absorbing the benefits of training and progressing as a runner.  Getting enough carbs to fuel your running and enough protein to re-build your tissues is critical.  Sleep is a big one to help ‘press save’ on your training. Keeping your soft tissues healthy with regular body tuning / panel beating with massage/foam rolling/dry needling is useful. 

5. Shoes 

Having a good pair of shoes that suits your foot is key - getting assessed by a podiatrist or physio can be invaluable in helping your find the right shoe for your foot.  Rotating your shoes regularly and updating them before they are too worn is important in protecting your feet and legs.

BONUS TIP

To run faster - rather than striding out - that can add stress to your lower limbs, keep your cadence high and lean forwards from your ankles. Gravity will pull you forwards and all you need to do is pick up your feet behind you. A much more efficient way to run.

Top 20 Running Related Podcasts

Some days running can feel like absolute bliss, you’re in the zone and it’s almost like a spiritual experience.

Other days it can feel just plain boring, monotonous and very hard-work!

That’s where a good podcast can come in handy.

Thankfully there are plenty of running related podcasts out there to educate, inspire and keep those legs ticking over.

Here’s a list of top 20 (in no particular order) so you will never get bored on a run again…!

A weekly podcast by 3 fast runners, for all runners. Brady Threlfall (2.19 marathon), Julian Spence (2.14 marathon) and Bradley Croker (2.17 marathon) talk distance running news, training, review running gear, check in with guests and cover races in a relaxed format.

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Running and coaching tips for beginner and advanced runners with Coach Jason Fitzgerald. Featuring guests like Nick Symmonds and Shalane Flanagan, listeners will learn how to race faster, stay healthy, prevent running injuries, and get stronger in this informative and fun podcast.

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The Physical Performance Show exists to inspire people to achieve their physical best performance through candid interviews with the world’s best and most inspiring physical performers. The show's host Physiotherapist, Best selling Author, and accomplished athlete Brad Beer delves into how top physical performers achieve success and the highs and lows of the journey in getting there.

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World-renowned sports scientist Professor Ross Tucker and veteran sports journalist Mike Finch break down the myths, practices and controversies from the world of sport. From athletics to rugby, soccer, cycling and more, the two delve into the most recent research, unearth lessons from the pros and host exclusive interviews with some of the world's leading sporting experts. For those who love sport.

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A weekly conversation between two mid-pack runners learning to master the art of running while life gets in the way.

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The Morning Shakeout, hosted by athlete, coach and journalist Mario Fraioli, explores the lifestyle and mindset of some of the worlds highest achievers. One of the most informed and opinionated voices in the running world, Mario brings his ability to tease out what drives and motivates someone to his podcast.

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Each episode, I deconstruct world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics, tools, and routines you can use. This includes favorite books, morning routines, exercise habits, time-management tricks, and much more.

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Talking all things ultra and trail running. Ryley & Tim are ultra runners from Adelaide, Australia.

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Some of the best conversations I've ever had have taken place while running with others. Over the course of several miles, the conversations are allowed to flow freely and cover a variety of topics.

And that's what I try to do with my podcast.

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Welcome to The Trail Runners Experience. Conversations about trail running by trail runners. Includes training tips/advice and personal race experiences.

Hosted by Daniel Farrugia and Ashley Druve

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The Physical Preparation Podcast is designed to help trainers, coaches and athletes take their performance to the next level. Featuring some of the brightest minds in our industry, we'll dive in to deconstruct smart training, and help you or your athletes maximize results!

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Coaches Steve Magness and Jon Marcus team up to bring you an insider's view on coaching. Taking you inside the thoughts and conversations that usually occur behind the scenes. They bring a diverse background having both worked with athletes at the collegiate and professional level. They hope to bring a mixture of science, old-fashioned wisdom, and a touch of philosophy to help understand the process of coaching and maximizing endurance performance.

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1 Physiotherapist, 1 Massage Therapist

2 Die-Hard runners

We talk about anything and everything related to runners. Running tips, injury prevention, guest speakers, a lot of banter and a heap of fun.

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Tell Me Your Tales is a conversational podcast. It's a raw chat where Brady Threlfall (2:19 marathoner and school teacher) talks with people he finds interesting, wise, successful and/or inspiring in one way or another. The guests vary. Sometimes they're elite runners and sometimes they're people from the Echuca/Moama area. The content is hopefully something you'll enjoy.

Everyone has a story and in Tell Me Your Tales we hear them.

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Whether you are training for your first 5k or have been running for decades, The Conscious Runner Podcast brings you the information you need to take your running from ordinary to EXTRAORDINARY and feel FANTASTIC while doing it.

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British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) is a multi-media information portal that provides original research, reviews and debate relating to clinically-relevant aspects of sport and exercise medicine.

The purpose of this podcast is to educate and to inform.

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In The Rich Roll Podcast, vegan ultra-athlete and #1 bestselling author Rich Roll discusses all things wellness with some of the brightest and most forward thinking minds in health & fitness, including world-class athletes, doctors, nutritionists, trainers, entrepreneurs & artists.

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From beginner runner to advanced marathoner,
join a training community with world-class coaches and get fit, stronger
and faster

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Who can I trust for the best running tips? How do I make myself mentally tougher? How do I stop comparing myself to other runners, and instead, build my confidence? And of course, How can I get faster while also enjoying my running more? Welcome to The Running For Real Podcast where we will answer these questions and many more!

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Spotify playlist @ 180 steps per min

Have I missed any running podcasts you find useful? Let me know in the comments below.

How To Run Your First 10k

Guest Post written by David Dack (fitness blogger and running expert).

Thinking about running your very first 10K but nervous because you have zero running experience?

Fret no more, my friend!

Running a 10K without stopping is a great target to have. The race is 6.2 miles. Don’t get intimidated by the distance. It’s a goal that only requires a pair of running shoes, and can be done anywhere.

It’s also good for you. Training for a 10K as a complete beginner can rev up your exercise routine like nothing else.

You can also train for the distance with zero running experience—as long as you train the right way. That’s where today’s post comes in handy.

In today’s post, I’m sharing with you a complete 12-week beginner 10K program that will take you from being a complete beginner to a 10K fanatic.

But before I do that, let’s first discuss some beginner runner tips and guidelines. These what you’ll need to set you on the right path toward success.

Walk First

If you’re really out of shape and/or haven’t exercised before, it’s always wise to introduce some movement to your life before you start any form of intense training, especially the 12 weeks training plan shared below.

Your early workouts on the program are around 40 minutes long.

So, if you find it hard to walk for that length of time, you’re not ready for the program.

Nothing can kill your 10K ambitions like an injury. That’s why it is critical to assess your fitness ability and train within your limits.

Here’s how to proceed. Build walking endurance first. Your goal is to build enough endurance to be able to comfortably walk for 60 minutes or over. To get there, start by walking three to four times per week, slowly building your walks up to longer than 60 minutes each.

Once you can briskly walk the entire duration without panting for air, you’re ready to tackle the 10K training plan.

The Walk/Run Method

Never run a mile in your life? Don’t worry.

Your first few workouts should be a mix of jogging and walking. This is what’s known as the walk/run method in the fitness circles, and it works very well to build stamina without running the risks of injury or burnouts.

The walk/run method uses intervals of low intensity running as well as walking, steadily building your confidence and endurance.

This simple method lets your body gradually acclimatize to running, allowing your muscles to recoup, which helps you prevent the risk of soreness, injury, and overtraining while making your training more fun.

You need to do it right.

Run slow enough at the start of every session so that you don’t feel completely drained at the end.

Don’t hesitate about taking breaks neither.

As you build endurance, spend more time running—or jogging—while taking shorter and fewer walking breaks.

And most importantly, remember to incorporate as many walk breaks as needed, especially during the first few weeks.

Don’t push your body more than it can handle; otherwise, you’re heading in the wrong direction.

Take Rest

Aside from staying sedentary for the rest of your life, probably the worst thing you can do is to ignore your body ‘s needs for rest and rejuvenation.

For this reason, make sure to include recovery days each week and focus on recovery practices as much as you prioritize training.

I’d go as far as to say that recovery is as important as the training itself.

Good recovery practices include:

·      Sleeping at least eight hours per night

·      Stretching

·      Foam rolling

·      Nutritious diet

·      Rest days

The Plan

The 12-week plan is super beginner friendly and assumes that you have zero running experience. It has been crafted to get you round your first 6.2 miles race, hopefully with as fewer walking breaks as possible.

You’ll train three days a week on this 12-week plan. Make sure to space out your training days to allow for recovery. For example, you might choose a Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday schedule. It’s up to you.

Start each session with a 5-minute warm-up that consists of a brisk walk. During your first few sessions, you’ll be running and walking for similar lengths of time, but by week four, you’ll be spending more and more time running while reducing the frequency and length of walking breaks.

Sure, the 12-week plan is more ambitious than the typical couch to 5K, but that doesn’t mean that it’s out of the realm of possibility—even if you haven’t run since high school and/or completely out of shape.

Month One

Week 1

Session I – Run 1-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat seven times.

Session II– Run 1-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat eight times.

Session III– Run 1-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat nine times.

Week 2

Session I– Run 2-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat five times.

Session II– Run 2-minute. Walk 90-seconds. Repeat seven times.

Session III – Run 90-seconds. Walk 1-minute. Repeat eight times.

Week 3

Session I– Run 2-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat six times.

Session II – Run 2-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat eight times.

Session III – Run 2-minute. Walk 30-second. Repeat ten times.

Week 4

Session I– Run 2-minute. Walk 30-second. Repeat ten times.

Session II – Run 3-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat six times.

Session III – Run 3-minute. Walk 30-second. Repeat six times.

Month Two

Week 5

Session I– Run 4-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat six times.

Session II – Run 4-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat eight times.

Session III – Run 5-minute. Walk -minute. Repeat six times.

Week 6

Session I– Run 5-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat eight times.

Session II – Run 7-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat four times.

Session III – Run 7-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat six times.

Week 7

Session I– Run 8-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat four times.

Session II – Run 10-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat three times.

Session III – Run 10-minute. Walk 1-minute. Repeat three times.

Week 8

Session I– Run 12-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat three times.

Session II – Run 15-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat three times.

Session III – Run 20-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat two times.

Month Three

Week 9

Session I– Run 25-minute. Walk 2-minute. Repeat two times.

Session II – Run 30-minute. Walk 2-minute. Run 20-minute

Session III – Run 35-minute. Walk 3-minute. Run 15-minute

Week 10

Session– Run 30-minute. Walk 3-minute. Run 15-minute

Session II – Run 35-minute. Walk 3-minute. Run 15-minute

Session III – Run 40-minute.

Week 11

Session– Run 45-minutes.

Session II – Run 50- minutes.

Session III – Run 55-minutes.

Week 12

Session I– Run 50 minutes.

Session II – Run 25 minutes. Walk 5-minute. Repeat two times.

Session III– Run 60 minutes.

About the author:

David Dack is an established fitness blogger and running expert. When he’s not training for his next marathon, he’s doing research and trying to help as many people as possible to share his fitness philosophy.

Check his blog Runners Blueprint for more info.

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