Ep #346 Run-Walk Like a Pro

Hey Runners, I have a little surprise for you this week. I’m bringing back an episode that was really popular in the past because A. I think it’s a good one, and B. I have a hunch there’s someone out there who needs to hear it again. So I hope you enjoy it and I’ll be back with a new episode really soon.

You are listening to episode seven of The Not Your Average Runner Podcast. I’m your host, Jill Angie. And in this episode, we’re going to talk all about run-walk intervals, a really cool app I’ve been using lately, and I’m going to follow up on something that I covered last week that I really want to expand on this week.

So whether you’re a brand new runner, an experienced pro, or maybe even just contemplating it because all your friends are doing it, you are in the right place.

Okay, so this week, I’m not sharing an Ask the Curvy Coach question, because I really want to follow up on something from last week’s topic about what to wear when you’re running. Curvy Coach will be back next week, and I have a great one for you.

So I was just on a live coaching call in the Run Your Best Life Group right before I recorded this podcast, and one of the amazing members in that group shared that she had some really nice new running clothes. She got some Athleta tights, a new SparkleSkirt, and she really loved them. And she actually said, “Yeah, you know, I feel good wearing them because they make running easier.”

But she also said she felt uncomfortable wearing them out in public because she was worried that people would judge her appearance. So we talked it out, including lots of the same themes from last week’s podcast about not worrying so much about what other people are thinking. And then another member mentioned that when she first started running, she actually saw a plus sized woman in her neighborhood wearing a tank top. And she thought to herself, “You go, girl. You are amazing.” And she shared that when people see us out running in our form-fitting gear, they might actually be thinking really nice things. We just assume it’s negative because our own inner mean girl is so bitchy.

But other people might actually be taking notice of what we’re doing and silently cheering us on. And oh my god, yes, that is so very true, right. We never know what other people are thinking. And let’s take that one step further. What if somebody sees you out running and thinks, “Hey, you’re amazing. You go, girl.” And then decides that they want to start running too.

Just because you’re out doing your thing, being an example of what is possible, you inspired someone else. Or maybe you inspired a lot of people and it was all because you decided it was way more important to you to follow your heart and actually go running than to worry what other people are thinking. And I think that’s so powerful, because we always are worried about, “Oh somebody might judge me; somebody might think bad things about me.” And we never realize that there are all these opportunities for us to be an example to inspire others; to show other people the way.

If you keep yourself hidden away, those people you could be inspiring will never see you and maybe never start running, right. So you’re actually depriving them by staying small and not just being who you want to be; and that’s really sad.

I mean, I think back to when I wrote my very first book about running, and I was really scared to publish it because I thought people would make fun of me. I really did think that. A fat girl writing about running – yeah, for peat’s sake. There just wasn’t anything out there at the time like what I was writing.

I swear, this is true, I actually pictured Dr. Oz calling me up and – Dr. Oz, I’ve no idea why he would. It makes no sense, but this is how my brain works. I pictured him calling me up, telling me to stop spreading this nonsense that you can run if you’re overweight. And I really had all these fears.

But I did publish it, even though I was really worried about what people would think, I was worried about what they would say, but ultimately, I decided it was way more important for me to spread my message than to be concerned about a few haters. And you know what, that book has been downloaded over 100,000 times.

Now, I actually thought it was just 50,000, because last year, when I checked, that’s about where it was. But right before I got on this podcast I checked again. And for real, 100,000 people have downloaded this book. That’s 100,000 people who maybe it helped them do something that they didn’t think they could do; increased their confidence, maybe they surprised themselves.

Now, if I had never published that book, which by the way, shameless plug, you can totally get on Amazon. It’s called Not Your Average Runner. Those 100,000 people would have missed out, right. And it would all have been because I was too scared to show up.

So I want you to remember that the next time you look in the mirror and think to yourself, “I can’t go out in public in these tights because people will judge me.” You owe it to that girl or that guy who’s going to see you and be inspired by your courage.

So that was a pretty deep discussion. So now we’re going to move on to lighter and more technical topics. And we’re going to cover intervals. So, one of the things that we talk about a lot in the Run Your Best Life Coaching Group is finding the pe3rfect run-walk interval that works best for you. It’s really an important question, and there’s a lot of factors that go into it, there’s some experimentation. I want to talk about how awesome run-walk intervals are and how helpful they can be for you in your running and how you can make it work for you.

So, the thing I love about the run-walk approach is that it works really well for both begging runners and experienced runners alike. It can help you go farther; it can help you reduce the chance of injury. It even helps you go faster. And I know that sounds completely counterintuitive, but it’s absolutely true. It happens over and over again with all my clients.

Now, when I first started running, I did intervals because I couldn’t do anything else, and it wasn’t really by choice. This was like 20 years ago and in my mind, doing the run-walk approach was just temporary and eventually I’d be able to run straight through. So I kept trying to push myself farther without walking and I actually did a 5K without taking any walk breaks when I was like 28.

And then in my 30s, I got myself up to about seven miles of running. But it didn’t feel great and I found that the farther I went, the slower I got and the less I enjoyed it. But I also didn’t really understand that taking a run-walk approach for an entire run or a race was even an option. I literally just didn’t think that that’s what runners did.

So I messed around with it, and in 2009 I kind of got this idea that I should do a half marathon. And when I first had this idea, I thought okay, I’m going to train to run an entire half marathon without walking at all. And when I was looking for books – because that’s what I do, I’m a reader and I always look for books to help me understand whatever new skill it is I’m trying to learn. So that’s when I found Jeff Galloway’s book called Half Marathon, You Can Do It. And there’s a link to the book in the show notes if you want to check it out yourself.

So his training plans are all run-walk, and it changed my whole perspective on that style of training, and I started using that method on purpose instead of doing what I was doing, which was running until I was tired and then walking to recover; which is kind of a defeating way to do it.

So once I started doing deliberate run-walk intervals using the information that Jeff had in his book, it changed everything because now I was able to train for long distances without getting injured or without worrying about whether I could even finish the race. Run-walk intervals made running feel almost effortless to me, which made it much easier to stick to a training schedule and really boosted my confidence.

Now, there are plenty of you out there, probably some of you listening to this podcast right now, that don’t want to do intervals, and I totally get that. It’s a personal choice, and some of you might believe that taking walk breaks means you’re not a real runner. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Mine is that if you run, you are a runner, and however you get yourself across the finish line, it’s all good.

So I’m talking to those of you that maybe want to try this approach or you’re already doing intervals and you think you might want to hone them or mix them up a little bit to get a different result. So if you want to try this approach, your first question is likely going to be, how much should I walk and how much should I run?

And that’s exactly what we’re going to answer today. Now, for new runners, I always suggest starting out with 30 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking for ten rounds. You’re going to warm up for five minutes and then 30 seconds run, 90 second walk for ten rounds, and then do a little walking cool down.

So that’s going to be your experimental workout, and I want you to take note of how it feels. For example, when you get to the end of the run intervals, do you feel completely exhausted, or do you think, “Hey, I could probably keep going for quite a while.” When you get to the end of the walk intervals, are you ready to run again or does it feel like it’s too long? Like maybe you’re ready to run in a minute or maybe you’re not quite yet recovered, and you actually think you need to walk a little bit more before you’re ready to run. So take note of all those things.

And your pacing on the run and the walk is going to impact how you feel on each interval as well. So your pacing on the run portion should feel comfortable – not like sprinting, which is a totally different animal, but like you’re putting in some effort. Now, in episode four, I talked about pacing and breathing and using the rate of perceived exertion scale. And you can refer back to that episode, or even just check out the show notes because in the show notes there’s a whole transcription of the entire episode. You can find that at notyouraveragerunner.com/4.

So, using the RPE scale, you should be between a four and a six while you’re running. And while you’re walking, you want to be on a brisk walk pace, not a stroll. If you’re so tired from the run interval that you can only walk slowly, you’re going too fast when you’re running. If you basically feel like you want to run right straight through that walk interval, then you’re not going fast enough on the run.

Okay, so now that you’ve done that first interval run and evaluated how you felt, it’s time to decide whether you need to modify your ratio or not. And if you’re not sure, you’re like, “I don’t know if I liked it or not.” Try the run again in a couple of days on the same route. Always use the same route because it might take a few times to decide whether or not you like that ratio. You might still need to get used to the concept of running and walking before you can make any decisions about whether that ratio works for you or not.

It’s all about experimentation. So if you were certain about how you felt after that first run-walk, you can modify accordingly and try again. For example, if the run felt like it was too short, you could try increasing it by 15 seconds on the next run. And if the walk felt too long, you can decrease it by 15 seconds. So make those adjustments, and then I want you to do ten rounds of that again; so five minute warm up, ten rounds of your intervals, and use the exact same route that you used the first time.

Because one thing we need to make sure to do – and I’m a scientist by training, so I’m all about only changing one variable at a time. So if you’re changing up your interval ratio, you need to make sure you stick to the same route, because while you’re deciding what works for you, you need to be comparing apples to apples. So even if that means running the same exact route for three weeks in a row until you get it sorted out, I want you to keep doing that until you’re able to compare how the different intervals feel on that same route.

Now, you’re going to take note of your overall pace because some interval ratios are going to make you faster overall, and some of them are going to slow you down. Take note of how you felt during the run and after the run; how you felt the next day, what your heart rate was. All of that is really good data to look at. And there’s no right or wrong way to do intervals, just the way that feels really good to you and gets you the result you want.

Now, for my clients, I often find that they put so much emphasis on making their run intervals as long as possible that they end up slowing down their overall pace because their cardiovascular fitness just isn’t quite there yet. They might be running three minutes for every minute of walking and then getting like a 16 or 17 minute per mile pace because their running speed is slow since they have to maintain it for a longer time.

Now, when I drop them down to, say, a minute run and a minute walk, they run a lot faster on that run interval because they don’t have as long to keep it up. So then their overall speed actually decreases, so their overall pace per mile actually decreases – so instead of ding 16 minute per mile, they might be doing 15 minutes per mile because they’re also recovering faster on the walk and improving their speed there too.

And it’s usually a big surprise to them when this happens, but it’s so fun to see it happen. So here’s your challenge for this week. I want you to give intervals a try if you’ve never done it. And if you’re currently running them, I want you to do that evaluation that we talked about to see how you feel and see if perhaps there’s a better ratio for you. And you can increment your intervals by 15 seconds or 30 seconds at a time as you’re making those changes.

Again, 15 seconds, I say, is kind of a nice like small step way to do it. But you might be like, “I absolutely need to run a minute instead of 30 seconds,” and go ahead and give that a try. Like I said, there’s no wrong way to do it. The only thing I suggest is being very methodical and checking the data and how you feel, then also your pace, after every single run.

Okay, so that’s it for intervals. And now I want to talk to you about what I’m currently obsessed with. And this week, I am obsessed with the StepBet app. And oh my god, you guys, I’m having so much fun with this app. So, one of the Not Your Average Runner Facebook Community members told me about it.

And by the way, if you’re not in that Facebook group, you can join at www.notyouraveragerunner.com/jointhecommunity – anyway, Haley told me about it. Haley is one of our members. She told me about it because she’s using it and I checked it out because I’m just always super excited about stuff like that and because one of my goals this year is to really focus on my non-workout activity.

See, I work from home and literally I’m in my closet right now recording this. And if I’m not careful, I can find myself sitting for a few hours at a time without getting up. And what happens then is that my muscles get super tight, especially my hip flexors, and I stand up and I feel like the tin man; it’s awful.

So getting steps for me during the day isn’t about burning calories for me at all, but it’s more about making sure I keep my body moving and flexible. Of course, I love fun apps on my phone at all times. And this one – well, this one lets you earn money for your steps, which is the best, because that means you can earn money for more running gear.

So how it works is you sign up for the app then look for the next available game. And a game is just a group of people that are betting – they’re putting money down and saying, “I will complete my designated number of steps per day for a period of time.” And it’s like six weeks; something like that. And then the app looks at your step history from your device; so, it will go back maybe the past month or two that you’ve been wearing your Fitbit or your Apple Watch. And then it calculates and tells you how many steps you need to meet to win the game. Then you can decide if you want to join.

So if that app tells you that for you to win this game, you need to get 25,000 steps a day, you might say, “Oh it’s probably not likely I’ll do that. I don’t want to join.” But if you think that the number of steps that they give you as a target is doable then, I think, you PayPal them the money or something like that and join the game. And really, anybody who hits their individual goal for that six weeks is a winner, and you split the pot.

So say there’s 100 people in the game, each one pays $40 to join, so the pot is $4000. Now, if everybody makes it to the end, if everybody gets all the steps in that they’re supposed to every day, you all get your money back. But if some people drop out, then the winners, the people who did make it all the way to the end, split the pot, minus about 15% which goes to the app to cover expenses.

So if half the people are still in the game at the end, they can almost double their money. And my favorite part about this is that you actually have rest days built in. so you have rest days, active days and stretch days. There’s one rest day per week where you don’t have a step target, then you have four active days, which are sort of like your baseline step amounts, and then two stretch days where you have to get even more.

It’s so cute, the app has these little – there’s four yellow circles and two green circles that you have to get per week. And the yellow circles are your active days and the green circles are your stretch days. And basically, it tracks your steps throughout the day, and as soon as you hit your active target, one of the yellow circles moves from the bottom of the app up into the day that you achieved it. It’s really cute.

That’s how that works, and it’s all based on your current activity level. So everybody who joins has a personalized target, which I think is really awesome. For example, I usually average about 10,000 steps a day, so my active day target is 10,335 steps, and then my stretch day target is 12,665. So four days of the week I have to get like 10,000 steps. Two days of the week, I have to get 12,000 in change. And then one day, I don’t have to worry about it.

Anyway, it’s a fun little game to keep me motivated and I’m really enjoying it. And I think it’s kind of the – there’s a social aspect to it too. You can see how other people in the game are doing and you can see how many people are still in the game. So you can already be like, “Oh look, 20% of the people have already dropped out. I’m actually going to make some money on this if I stick with it.”

Now, there are other types of bets you can do. There’s something called a diet bet, which I actually tried years ago and I don’t necessarily recommend it because I think what happens is it can lead to sort of obsessive thinking about food. So I did not love that. There’s also something called a run bet, where you have to get a certain number of runs and miles in per week, and then it escalates week after week.

And this one requires you to go at a certain pace, which maybe I think, for the beginning running bet, it’s under an 18-minute mile. There’s some that go all the way up to like marathon training. But it also requires you to do like five runs per week, which in my opinion as a running coach, is too frequent for a beginning runner. I think a beginning runner should stick with three times a week. So use that one at your own risk, but it’s the same concept, although this one takes 25% of the pot and not 15%, which is kind of a bummer.

Okay, we’re done. And damn, these podcasts go so fast.

Oh, and one last thing, if you enjoyed listening to this episode you have to check out my Running Start plan. It’s a 30 day online program that will teach you exactly how to start running, stick with it, and become the runner you’ve always wanted to be. Head on over to notyouraveragerunner.com/startrunning to join. I’d love to be a part of your journey.