running question

[Crystaltipsandalaistar]

Hi, I used to doa bit of running last year, but stopped over the winnter and have now ventured out again, just running up a local lane. I have built my stamina and now can run up it, stretch at the top and run faster back down. Its not far, and takes 7 - 10 mins each way. So my question is, should I just keep building that up, or.. i looked at the race for life plan, and that tells you to more do 'walk 1 or 2, run 4 or and repeat 8 times etc. So will this get me further in the long run (no pun intended!) or stick to stretching out the 7 mins longer and longer until i don't need to walk? I don't find running particularly easy, and have never mananged more than 25 mins really! thanks.

Have a look at the couch potato to 5k thread, we are all training for 5k runs, most of us race for life.
7 to 10 mins each way sounds like quite a lot.
Could you drive it and see how far it is?

no, its closed to cars , thats why its nice to run! just wonder if i break it down and run more for less lengths if you see what i mean. might try it next time.

Thats def what I did to start off and build up, really have a look at the other thread though, you canb join us.

ta very much I will have a look later - got to go out now! I did a serch for running threads but couldn't find any - maybe i didnt put exact correct words in!

I've found walkjogrun.co.uk, whch lets you plan routes and tells you the distance (even off road).
I may have to find the other thread too- had a baby 7 weeks ago and have signed up for Rae for Life to raise some money and also get my pre-baby figure back so might need a bit of hand holding... Going OK so far but I won't hold my breath!

You can measure the distance on google earth if you want to. I tried the whole walk one minute run 5 minutes thing but I found it harder than just running for as long as I could and building it up so I switched to the latter, and just added a minute each day until I got to half an hour. From there it was easy and I found I could just extend it or try to go faster as I wished.

thanks ib, that has answered my question. i keep whingeing to dh that its hard, and i can't do any more but he says its all in my head! mind over matter and all that!

I never really got on with the run/walk thing either. I had a measured mile (so a mybe 10 min run) and kept at it until I could run all the way and then just kept increasing by a few minutes each time. I do a run/walk sometimes when I'm extending up to 10k after a break from running but really just have a few minutes walk in the middle of a one hour run.

I'm with the others who say forget the run/walk plan and just try to extend the length of your run gradually - like, 1 or 2 mins added on, and when you can achieve that comfortably add a couple more...and so on. Doing it this way helps build your stamina and confidence. Good luck!