Running or walking???

breffni666

Lads a quick one to start the year. Which is better for me. I can run/jog 5k in about 28.00 but it kills me. I run at 6.4 mph with an incline of 1%. The problem I have is that I hit a wall coming up to 20 min mark and most times I just stop then after 2.08 miles(which is probably a good run anyway but I feel disappointed).
Another routine I have is to set the treadmill at a weight loss 45 min walk but with intervals of 2mins @ 10% incline with my 5mins@ 7% normal level walking at 4.0 mph which is a good bloody workout(25mins@incline 7%, 10 mins @10%. I nearly always get this done. My question is; which one is better 5k running or 5k walking but with more inclines and the likelihoods of it getting done. I always aim to do the equivalent of 4x5k a week but which is better for me running or walking? I think I'm too heavy for running (16 stone) and that's why my head cant take it. I'm consistent in my training in that I always get over 200 sessions per year.
The food/diet part can wait for another day!

mbiking123

I am noy qualified however my own feeling is walking

You are less likely to pick up an injury, but you must walk fast and get the heart rate up.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/26/tom-carano-weight-loss_n_1157811.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cnetscape%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D123632

Read this just today

menoscemo

breffni666 wrote: »

Lads a quick one to start the year. Which is better for me. I can run/jog 5k in about 28.00 but it kills me. I run at 6.4 mph with an incline of 1%. The problem I have is that I hit a wall coming up to 20 min mark and most times I just stop then after 2.08 miles(which is probably a good run anyway but I feel disappointed).
Another routine I have is to set the treadmill at a weight loss 45 min walk but with intervals of 2mins @ 10% incline with my 5mins@ 7% normal level walking at 4.0 mph which is a good bloody workout(25mins@incline 7%, 10 mins @10%. I nearly always get this done. My question is; which one is better 5k running or 5k walking but with more inclines and the likelihoods of it getting done. I always aim to do the equivalent of 4x5k a week but which is better for me running or walking? I think I'm too heavy for running (16 stone) and that's why my head cant take it. I'm consistent in my training in that I always get over 200 sessions per year.
The food/diet part can wait for another day!

If you set the speed a bit slower then you'll be able to run the full 5k, even more. Running to burnout on each run will do little to improve your fitness and will likely lead to injury. To run fast you must first learn to run slow.

**Timbuk2**

It may seem like a bit of a backward step, but do Couch to 5k, from the beginning.

It's a very progressive 9-week program, of 3 30-minute workouts a week (consisting of a mixture of walking and jogging, gradually progressing towards jogging and no walking) which takes you from no running at all ("couch") to running 5k (or 30 minutes) without stopping. As it's gradual, a 5k run won't kill you, even if it is at the moment - this program builds you up so well.

http://www.c25k.com/

There's podcasts and everything you can download to put on your mp3 player.

And my advice would be to get off the treadmill and run outdoors if at all possible. While you can do the program on the treadmill, it's mindnumbingly boring and you may be less motivated to continue. I did the first 4 weeks on a treadmill, then moved outdoors for week 5, and found it much more interesting outdoors.

Also, you can repeat weeks of the program if you are finding a week difficult. I think I did week 3 twice because I was finding week 4 very difficult (week 4 is a killer).

If you find your knees sore, try running on grass or tarmac and not cement - running around a local sports pitch might be a good idea. Also make sure you are wearing appropriate footwear!

Kevin Duffy

breffni666 wrote: »

. I'm consistent in my training in that I always get over 200 sessions per year.
The food/diet part can wait for another day!

Fair play for doing all that work, but if you're not getting the diet right all the training in the world could well be wasted. If you feel you're too heavy for running, that's the area that will probably yield the biggest improvment.

ray jay

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

It may seem like a bit of a backward step, but do Couch to 5k, from the beginning.

Why would someone who can already run 5k do that program? It's pointless. As menoscemo says, running the same distance at a slower pace would be a better approach.

**Timbuk2**

ray jay wrote: »

Why would someone who can already run 5k do that program? It's pointless. As menoscemo says, running the same distance at a slower pace would be a better approach.

Because he says 5km is 'killing' him. Couch to 5k is much more progressive, which is especially important if the OP is heavy, as running at any speed can still be quite stressful to the joints. With C25k you get 9 weeks of 3x30 minute workouts, at the end of which he will be able to run 5km easily.

If the OP really wanted, he could start C25k at Week 3 or some later stage.

menoscemo

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Because he says 5km is 'killing' him. Couch to 5k is much more progressive, which is especially important if the OP is heavy, as running at any speed can still be quite stressful to the joints. With C25k you get 9 weeks of 3x30 minute workouts, at the end of which he will be able to run 5km easily.

If the OP really wanted, he could start C25k at Week 3 or some later stage.

It's only killing him because he races it every time. I have been running for years and believe me, every time I race a 5k to my max it also kills me. No point doing C25k in my opinion. His current 5k best of 28 minutes is way beyond most c25k graduates, in fact the purpose of the progaramme is to get you to running 5k in 30minutes. Most people who finish the programme are usually quite a bit slower than that at first.

Oryx

If you want to make gains in fitness then I would say run. You probably should reduce your speed initially to finish out your set properly. Also try intervals where you vary your speed. If you hit your wall, take a walk break for one minute then run again. Another tip for treadmill running is to cover the display and run by feel, at a confortable pace. See how well you get on without the pressure of numbers.

breffni666

Stuck on the treadmill at home cause minding kids etc as wife works at home so I cant leave house as I mind kids when she works. I love the freedom of the outside runs but dont get them often enough(got lost on a run last year and ran for 2 1/2 hours, wife thought I was having an affair!!!!) I just cant seem to get past 20mins when running on the treadmill at the moment. I CAN do 5k no problem its all in the head. I'm just wondering from a physical point of view is the 5k walk at 4.0/4.2mph with steep inclines better than the 20mins run at 1%. Diet not too bad for a family man. Porridge for 10 o clock tea, tuna and fruit for lunch and whatever dinner is ready for me when I get home (cant dictate what herself will cook!), sandwich around 9ish (yes I know its wrong!) but I do try to get the training in most evenings so I'm OK with that. I'm still too heavy, used to be 18 stone but have hit a plateau as I have not lost or put on any weight at all in 5 years so I know the diet has to have a serious look at, just not yet but soon.

breffni666

Oryx wrote: »

If you want to make gains in fitness then I would say run. You probably should reduce your speed initially to finish out your set properly. Also try intervals where you vary your speed. If you hit your wall, take a walk break for one minute then run again. Another tip for treadmill running is to cover the display and run by feel, at a confortable pace. See how well you get on without the pressure of numbers.

Thanks.:)
Did 5k today at 6.0mph and it worked a treat. More leisurely and easy on the head. Should stop racing myself and enjoy the run instead.

menoscemo

breffni666 wrote: »

Thanks.:)
Did 5k today at 6.0mph and it worked a treat. More leisurely and easy on the head. Should stop racing myself and enjoy the run instead.

Good stuff, now try to increase the distance once a week, drop the speed even further for the longer runs. If you do that for 3 or 4 weeks in a row then go back and do a time trial again. You'll be amazed at how much you will have improved.
Someone on the running forum once put it like this:
The slow easy trianing runs are like depositing money in a bank account.
The hard runs (races) are like making a withdrawal.
Keep trying to withdraw without depositing and there will soon be nothing left in the account. Keep depositing before the next withdrawal and that withdrawal can be much bigger.

Best of luck with it.

breffni666

Brilliant stuff! Got 4x 5k runs completed plus a 5k walk this week which I have not done in a long time. Plus was able to take a break Sunday while feeling good for the week ahead. Runs at 6.0mph are doable and I know I can increase the speed if I want to but I think I'll try for 4-5 weeks of 4/5 5ks a week to get me back to where I should be. Then I can hit the road outside. Thanks guys.

rparker

I would definitely say running. I tried walking before and it was really time consuming to burn a decent amount of calories. Id say you are relatively fit so why not run. Its quite liberating too.

breffni666

25+ 5ks since early January. Most at 5.8 and starting up to 5.9. Getting at least 4x5ks a week which was too difficult before. Really staring to enjoy running again. Maybe time to move up to 10k? Any advice? Should I be aiming for 3/4 per week or just start with one plus 3 5ks?

littlemsfickle

Hey, well done on the progress so far! I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that suddenly doubling the distance of your run isn't a good idea. If you try to do too much too soon you'll probably either a)do yourself an injury, or b)get back into that pattern of not being able to finish your intended distance and feeling disheartened. You say you've come to enjoy running so you want to maintain that. I'd say try to increase one of your runs by a certain amount (I think 10% is generally the recommended amount?) each week and drop the pace slightly, maybe back to what you started the 5km run at. Given that this is new territory (while the 5k you were able to do before), it might also be a good idea to look at following a set programme now. Good luck with it.

breffni666

breffni666 wrote: »

25+ 5ks since early January. Most at 5.8 and starting up to 5.9. Getting at least 4x5ks a week which was too difficult before. Really staring to enjoy running again. Maybe time to move up to 10k? Any advice? Should I be aiming for 3/4 per week or just start with one plus 3 5ks?

50x5ks done to date all running all under 32.00. Very happy with the running now especially as im outside more. Might try to move up to 8k more regularly now. 5k is nice running now not the chore it was before.