Learning to Run in 13 Weeks: Week 5

Part of the weekly training schedule is 5 minutes of stretching. I should probably change the wording to say "warm up" and "cool down." I imagine that a lot of you are like me when it comes to the pre-exercise prep period. My group was doing the classic hamstring stretch, some twists and a few lunges (the same-old-same-old) and then heading out. It was interesting to learn that this is not really what the creators of the 13-week program had in mind.

Their feeling is that you're more likely to injure a cold muscle by stretching too much than by running without stretching at all. What they had in mind is a period of truly warming the muscles progressively. Start by walking or jogging slowly for 5 - 10 minutes then follow with light stretching for 3-5 minutes. The stretches should be held for about 10 seconds but repeated 2 to 3 times (making sure to include all the most important muscle groups: calves, hamstrings, quads, hips, back & shoulders). So, from here on out, you'll notice that the weekly schedule shows an 8-minute warm up instead of a 5-minute stretch.

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 5

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

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

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 9 times. 5-minute cool-down


Week 6

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

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute. Do this 12 times. 5-minute cool-down

Day 1: 8-minute warm-up, run 3 minutes, walk 1 minutes. Do this 10 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!