Questions answered

Lauren asked a few questions in the comments section of my Lewis and Clark post.

First, more about the intervals. When I first started training I was using Hal Higdon's plan and following the distance, but was doing a mix of walking and running. For instance, if I needed to run 4 miles I would run 2 miles, walk 1 mile, then run another mile. As long as I was running over half the miles I was satisfied but I felt like I was really "running". The first week of August I decided to switch to a training plan that was designed specifically for people that were planning on Run/Walking the entire time. I used something similar to this plan by Coach Jenny Hadfield, but found that the run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute was still a little tough. Ultimately, during the half I ended up running 3 minutes, walking 2, running 4, walking 2. Personally, doing this type of program was a great mental help for me. I could push myself to run knowing that in less than a few minutes, I would be able to ease off and walk. Overall, doing intervals lead me to completing a faster time than doing a mile to mile mix of running and walking.

It also worked great for me due to the usage of the Routine Timer iPhone app. I just started my music and then opened the app and let it run continuously. I customized my program by picking sounds when I was supposed to change from running to walking and the routine would repeat for as many times as I needed it to. It could also be paused if I had to change my music or do something else on my iPhone. I also used the C25K app when I first started running and it was also helpful, working very similar to the routine timer.

My new goal is start transitioning out of intervals, but honestly, the intervals really saved me during the half and were the many reason I was able to go from never running to completing a half marathon in 8 months.

I hope that answers your question Lauren. :) I think it is awesome you are doing C25k! If anyone else has any questions feel free to ask.