For the time being, we are going to use as reference the time taken in order to complete the exercises, however, it does not make any harm to take into account the overall distance being covered. Do not forget your runner’s diary. Do some occasional jogging during your long walks. Watch out! I said jogging. You must keep it very slow, just a little faster than you walk. What is important here is that you can manage to finish the exercises without being exhausted. If you find it too easy at first, do not worry, once you have accumulated several days of training, it will no longer seem that way to you . You will find below an example that may be of help:
| Sesión 1 | 15 minutes Walking + 5 minutes Running + 5W + 5R + 15W |
|---|---|
| Session 2 | 15W + 6R + 5W +10R +15W |
| Session 3 | 15W + 6R + 5W + 12R + 15W |
| Session 4 | 15W + 7R + 4W + 14R + 15W |
| Session 5 | 15W + 7R + 4W + 16R + 15W |
| Session 6 | 15W + 8R + 4W + 18R + 15W |
| Session 7 | 15W + 8R + 3W + 20R + 15W |
| Session 8 | 15W + 9R + 3W + 22R + 15W |
| Session 9 | 15W + 9R + 3W + 24R + 15W |
| Session 10 | 15W + 10R + 3W + 26R + 15W |
| Session 11 | 15W + 10R + 2W + 28R + 15W |
| Session 12 | 15W + 10R + 2W + 30R + 15W |
Slot in some rest days whenever you need them. Especially, following those days in which a greater effort is required, or when you are feeling very tired.
If you cannot progress beyond a particular session, go back two or three sessions or repeat the day’s training if necessary.
If, on the contrary, you are progressing well, do not significantly increase the exercises. Any increase of more than 15% from one week to the next may lead to a possible injury or exhaustion. It is preferable to fall short than to overdo it. The philosophy of the runner must always be the same regardless whether he/she is training or competing: It is definitely better to finish having the sensation that it can be improved rather than to be exhausted or injured halfway through.
The next training chart; extracted from theSport Life magazine, claims that you will be able to manage 5 km within 6 weeks:
| Week 1 | Monday | Run for 1 minute and Walk for 1 minute. Repeat the above 10 times |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | Run for 1 minute and Walk for 1 minute. Repeat the above 11 times | |
| Saturday | Practise another kind of sport:Swim for 30 minutes. | |
| Sunday | Run for 1 minute and Walk for 1 minute. Repeat the above 12 times | |
| Week 2 | Monday | Run for 2 minutes and Walk for 2 minutes. Repeat the above 5 times |
| Thursday | Run for 2 minutes and Walk for 2 minutes. Repeat the above 6 times | |
| Saturday | Practise another kind of sport: Mountain bike for 1 hour. | |
| Sunday | Run for 2 minutes and Walk for 2 minutes. Repeat the above 7 times | |
| Week 3 | Monday | Run for 3 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 5 times |
| Thursday | Run for 3 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 5 times | |
| Saturday | Practise another kind of sport: Half an hour at the swimming pool. | |
| Sunday | Run for 3 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 6 times | |
| Week 4 | Monday | Run for 4 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 4 times |
| Thursday | Run for 4 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 4 times | |
| Saturday | Practise another kind of sport: Mountain bike for 1 hour. | |
| Sunday | Run for 4 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 5 times | |
| Week 5 | Monday | Run for 5 minutes and Walk for 3 minutes. Repeat the above 4 times |
| Thursday | Run for 5 minutes and Walk for 2 minutes. Repeat the above 4 times | |
| Saturday | Practise another kind of sport: A day’s walk up and down the mountain. | |
| Sunday | Run for 5 minutes and Walk for 2 minutes. Repeat the above 5 times | |
| Week 6 | Monday | Run for 5 minutes and Walk for 1 minute. Repeat the above 6 times |
| Thursday | Run for 5 minutes and Walk for 1 minute. Repeat the above 5 times | |
| Saturday | Have a rest | |
| Sunday | Run for 5 km. I am sure that you will manage! |
Martín Fiz, the Spanish marathon runner, published the following recommendations in another issue of the same magazine: "Run for 30 seconds and walk for 90 seconds, then repeat the sequence for a total of 20 minutes. Once you can manage this comfortably four times a week, change to 45 seconds running and 75 seconds walking. Next you will be alternating running with walking every other minute, and move progressively to 75/45 and 90/30. Before you realise it, in just a few weeks you will be running 20 minutes non-stop".