Repost: Eliminating Walking Breaks from Your Runs

This post recently started getting hits again after someone pinned it on their pinterest running board, so I pulled it up to see what I was writing about walking breaks LAST June.  I thought it was worth re-posting.  I still struggle with not taking breaks when I run.  I don’t take walking breaks anymore, but I’ll stop to take a picture, drink some water, look at the scenery, and then keep going.  Not such a big deal once in a while, but when I do it every mile I have to add on 10-15 minutes for my long runs!  That adds up, and really messes with realistic expectations for races, when they don’t stop the clock so I can sip some water and snap a photo.

Maybe I should take some of my own advice 🙂

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One of my readers recently asked for tips on eliminating walking breaks from runs.  (Thanks Ivayla!)  Her question couldn’t have been better timed, because this is something I’ve been struggling with, and therefore thinking a lot about, especially on my longer runs.

Here are my thoughts!  If you have your own strategies, I’d love to hear them!

Identifying the problem(s)

My walking breaks are always caused by one of three problems: motivation, ability, or confidence.

Motivation:

Sometimes it’s really hard to keep pushing yourself to run.  I know I take walking breaks when I don’t really need to, especially when I’m running by myself.  I know I’m still going to get the miles in, I know I’m still working hard and getting the energy boost, why not take a little break before I keep going?  It’s easy to feel a lack of motivation when you’re in the moment, especially when you’re tired, you’re only a mile in, and you’re kind of dreading running the rest of your miles without at least one, teensy little walking break (which ends up being longer than you think).

Here are some things that help me keep going when I’m feeling unmotivated during a run:

Remembering the times I’ve felt disappointed after a run because I took too many walking breaks and felt like I cheated

Remembering runs where I ran the whole time and how good I felt afterwards

Pretending my kids are watching

Preventative strategies:

Going running with a buddy or a group: a lot of athletic gear stores have free running clubs where you can show up, run your own pace, and often find someone new to chat with while you go for a jog.  I found a running group through my local mother’s forum and when I manage to go, I always run faster and longer while simultaneously having more fun.  The accountability is great.

Sign up for a 5k or 10k (whatever distance you’re pushing to run for) and let the spectators and other runners motivate you to keep going.  Push for continuous running, not speed.

Keep a log of how many walking breaks you take during your runs and work towards reducing it.  Knowing that you’re going to write it down when you get home may help you feel the drive to push through your desire to walk, and give you something to feel proud of when you look back at your progress.

Ability:

Running too fast? Interval programs where you push your speed always have a recovery period where you rest completely, walk, or jog slowly for a reason.  If you’re taking a lot of walking breaks, you might be running faster than you’re ready for.  Try slowing down so you can finish your run without needing to walk.  You can always make one run a week an interval run where your goal is to run fast, take a walking break, and then run fast again.  The often repeated advice for pacing yourself is to make sure you can hum a tune or say a full sentence.  If you can talk a blue streak, you can speed up if you’d like.  If you can only say a few words or you can’t speak at all, you should slow down.  Listening to a pod-cast instead of rock and roll might help you settle into a slower pace.

Just starting?  Especially when you’ve just started running, you may not be physically ready to run your entire session without taking a walking break.  That’s why the Couch to 5k program is a walk/run program.  It focuses on helping you gradually reach the point where you can run 3.1 miles without stopping to walk.  Even if you’re a C25k graduate, if you’re taking walking breaks during a 3 mile run or shorter, you could always consider hopping into the program at the point where you’re capable of completing the workouts, and following it through to the end to reach a 3 mile run without stopping.

Too lofty a goal? I’ve read in multiple places that you shouldn’t increase your mileage more than ten percent each week, and you shouldn’t do that every week without some time to recover.  I’ve tried to be realistic about how long I should be able to run without breaks based on my previous running.

Confidence:

If your ability is there, and your motivation is there, it may be that your head is playing games with you and that’s why you’re doing more walking than you need to.

I struggle a lot with running confidence, especially while I’m training for this half marathon and adding a mile to my long run every other week.  When I’m facing the longest run I’ve ever done, it’s hard not to be really afraid that I’m going to cramp up, lose steam, or not be able to finish.  Therefore, I’m always tempted to take a lot of walking breaks.  Every time my Garmin beeps that I’ve done another mile, I want to use it as an excuse to stop and walk for a minute or so before I keep going.  ESPECIALLY when I have 6 or 7 miles left!  I’m afraid that if I don’t, I won’t finish.

One thing that helps is living in the moment, not thinking about the whole run.  Don’t ask yourself if you can run x more miles without a walking break, ask yourself if you can keep running for thirty more seconds.  Repeat.

I’m going to start keeping track of my walking breaks and how far I can run without taking a walking break.  Every time I accomplish a distance with no breaks, I’ll record it, and then when I want to take a break I’ll remember that I really don’t need to stop and walk.  I’d feel more accomplished if I even just slowed down for a few minutes to a slower jog, rather than walking.  (Especially because once you’ve taken one walking break during a run, it’s hard to convince yourself not to take more!)

Running with a more experienced runner can help, too.  They can give you the encouragement and accountability you need to keep going when you want to stop.  They can remind you that if you can answer their question of how you’re doing, then you’re o.k. to keep going.  I pushed through part of the Couch to 5k program only after having Greg run with me pushing the double jogging stroller.  Knowing he was behind me with both kids and would be proud of me for not stopping was enough to give me the strength to go for it.

One More Thought: Walking breaks aren’t all bad.  Sometimes a short recovery period can help you run a little harder, a little further, or just feel better on your runs.  They become a problem when they’re causing you to feel less accomplished after your runs, adding too much time to your workout, or sapping your enjoyment on a run because you’re constantly battling a little voice in your head that’s telling you to stop and walk since you’re in the habit of taking breaks.  When it’s interfering with your running enjoyment, it’s time to figure out what’s causing it so you can get back to enjoying your runs 🙂

Good luck!