Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 7

Well, it's week 7 and this is the week that I have been a little worried about. It's the week that we suddenly have to run for 10 minutes straight -- twice as long as any other week.

My little gang and I have just come in from our Sunday night run and, honestly, it went pretty well! We've been lucky that our summer weather -- including tonight -- has been unusually pleasant. Running in the cooler evening temperatures has helped as well. But the 10-minute run was still surprisingly do-able. I hope you have the same experience.

As mentioned in earlier posts, we're following the gradual running program outlined in the The Beginning Runners Handbook: The Proven 13-Week Walk-Run Program *. Here's the schedule for this week and next.


Week 7

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 10 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 5 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 2: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 10 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 3: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down



Week 8 (easy recovery week)

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 10 minutes, walk1 minute. Do this 4 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 2: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 8 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 3: 8-minute warm-up, run 5 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 7 times. 5-minute cool-down


*A few words about The Beginning Runner's Handbook. The 13-week program doesn't appear until page 151 because the authors (Ian MacNeill and the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia) thought it was important to start with topics like moderation, choosing good shoes, training mind & body, pregnancy, cross-training, technique, diet, injuries and stretching. It is probably wise to do some reading of your own before you launch into this new exercise program. Please make sure you're healthy and ready for action and then join us!