Walk Your First 5K
On Monday I wrote a little about training to run your first 5K. So, what if running isn’t your thing? Maybe you are just starting out and walking a race is your goal for the immediate future. Maybe you don’t prefer to run at all and walking is your activity of choice for fitness.
No problem. Walking a 5K can be just as challenging, supports a good cause and will improve your fitness.
If you are a beginner you’ll want to focus on both pace and time. For example, if you walk at a brisk 4 mile per hour pace you can expect to finish your 5K in about 45 minutes. You certainly don’t have to walk this fast, but this is a good pace to shoot for when it comes to improving your health and cardiovascular fitness.
If you aren’t there yet, don’t worry. Begin your training by walking 10 to 20 minutes per session. You can follow the same schedule I mentioned Monday for walking. If you begin with 20 minute sessions you can work towards adding 2 minutes to your session time each week. At 12 weeks, you will be walking about 45 minutes each session.
If you find your pace is slower than 4 mph you can add a few weeks to your training schedule while focusing on increasing both time and speed during your sessions, or simply plan for the race to take you a bit longer, maybe an hour.
When choosing a race be sure to select one that is about 12 weeks away if you are currently walking 20 minutes each session. Also look for those that are walker-friendly. Some races include walkers, but don’t always cater to them.
If you read my post about Caring About Your Very Last Participant you know that sometimes those that bring up the tail end can be forgotten. This wouldn’t be a very motivating experience for your very first event. You might consider choosing a charity event specifically for walkers on your first time out so you can get used to the way things work.
Also, if you are new to physical activity and want to focus on walking check out Marilyn’s How to Walk post from a few weeks ago. Combine this information with a realistic training schedule and you’ll be proudly crossing that finish line before you know it!
Thanks for making walking and slowness respectable, Lynn
Good luck with your own training, sounds like you’re really stoked for 09!
Great advice! Walking rocks!