I set out to run without walk breaks today, for at least 1 mile or 2, and essentially ended up running 1-mile repeats with a 1-minute walk break between each mile. I really pushed myself to run each mile straight and ended up with pretty nice negative splits:
mile 1 = 11:44
mile 2 = 11:28
mile 3 = 10:19
I was really struggling during the last mile; my breathing was labored, yet controlled, and my legs felt like they were going to fall off, but I wouldn't let up on my pace. It felt really good, but it also served to reinforce why more frequent walk breaks are such a great idea.
Last Tuesday I ran the same course and I walked every half mile or so for a total of about 5 minutes (or ~5:1). The 3.1 miles took me 35:24 for an average pace of 11:25, with the pace of the running segments ranging from 11:33 - 10:19.
Today I only walked for about 2 minutes, and the 3.13 miles took me 35:34 for an average pace of 11:22.
I essentially had the same results with a lot more effort today, and a lot more residual aches. This is not the first time this has happened either, so I know it is not a fluke. I'm just not sure it is worth it to put that much stress in my joints for such little gain--just to say I can run a mile straight--though it's nice to push myself every so often and remind my body what it is like to run without walk breaks.
3 comments:
Are you running around Eola? WalkJogRun is coming out with an iPhone app, probably for charting & uploading races. Could be very cool
I like to run non-stop when I'm just out running but I'm going to do the run/walk thing for all my races from now on.
I like just going and not having to alternate between the running and walking. Granted, I'm going at a really comfortable pace and not really pushing myself like I am at a race.
Tim, I'll check it out but I usually run with my Garmin watch that does all that. I run around Lake Eola but get bored after 2 loops, so we've been going to Thornton Park and running around Lake Lawson, then run to Lake Eola and run around the lake twice. We're going to start running to some of the other lakes in the area too.
Mary, yeah for races I will for sure ran/walk. I would like to run an entire 5K but I just can't clock as fast a time with considerable more effort. I am so used to the walk breaks that even in my training runs I uses some sort of interval. I was actually going to try to run non-stop for at least 2 miles at a leisurely pace today, but I don't think 11:45 is it for me at the moment since I am sorta building back up to it. For my longer runs I am going to keep the walk breaks, but I am going to try to run shorter distances 2-3 miles at a slower pace non-stop so my body doesn't forget what it's like :)
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