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I started running again and sure enough I find out I have some disk problems in my neck. I was told I should be ok trail running but they recommend I take walking breaks mainly to get back into a good posture. I was told there were many benefits to alternating between running and walking, regardless of spine/disk problems.
Any thoughts?
I just ran (well, ambled is perhaps a better descriptor) a half marathon in Virginia. Throughout the second half of the run, I was always either passing or being passed by a fellow runner. Only she was a run/walk runner, alternating between running and walking the entire time.
She passed me for good with less than a mile to go. So it worked for her.
I believe Jeff Galloway (former Olympian) was a proponent of run/walk.
First, congrats on the half marathon!
I’ll look Galloway up. Thanks
Kat,
Doug is right, Jeff Galloway, an Olympic marathoner and long time coach is a strong advocate of walking breaks. A number of elite distance runners have used walking to keep their heart rates down to the right level during bouts of heavy training. Walking is also used with new runners. Walking can easily extend a training session. As to posture, stay focused on staying relaxed while you run and not hunching over or raising your shoulders. Walk on!
BJ
I was second among males in my age group in Washington!
(Of course, there were only three runners overall from Washington, and one was a female. She also finished ahead of me)
For mere mortals doing the Leadville 100 a common strategy is to walk the first 25, then jog only on the flats, do the uphills as best you can, jog the slightly downhills, and walk the steep downhills.
Walking has great merit.
Google “interval training” and “fartlek” training. Been around forever and is how I often trained long before you were born.
@bjc yes raising my shoulders is a big one for me. I tend to do that even when I walk. Something to do with being 5’2” and an attitude ;). I tried yesterday and physically it was ok, psychologically it’s a bit of a bigger hurdle. The more I hear about the benefits the more it will sink in as a good thing.
@greg as a quite mortal here I will keep that in mind.
@nick I bookmarked a couple articles that came up with that search. Thanks.
@doug I am just impressed by your running, mate.
You can still do 4 miles an hour walking, so it seems fine. But for me, running is always a game of motivation. Once I stop running, I dread starting back up again. So I generally try not to stop until I am done. We’re all wired a little differently on motivation though.
I can stay motivated on what I consider interval training. For me, interval training involves almost a sprint – no more than a quarter mile, maybe less – with rest or walk periods in between sprints.
“Once I stop running, I dread starting back up again. So I generally try not to stop until I am done.”
that is exactly how I feel and why this is not easy to take in.
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