This plan is suitable for anyone who can walk for thirty minutes continuously at a brisk pace without getting breathy. Your brisk walk should feel easy and you shouldn't be aware of your breathing as you walk.
The aim of this plan is to train your body to be able to run or run/walk at Chatty pace for forty minutes. It won't necessarily enable you to run non-stop for forty minutes unless you have a good level of fitness from the outset.
Running non-stop at this stage doesn't need to be a target. When it is, we find that people push themselves too hard in order to reach it. Forty minutes running with a few walk breaks is a great level of achievement for the already reasonably fit at the end of this plan.
For the less fit, it doesn't matter that you need more walk breaks in the forty minutes. You will be much fitter than when you started and if you carry on run/walking you will soon be walking less and running more.
The plan consists of run/walking sessions and sessions of walking only. Walking is the best way to prepare your body for the demands of being a runner.
Chatty pace is the pace that you can run at whilst holding a conversation with someone. Running feels easy and enjoyable at this pace.
Keep your running Chatty and you will look forward to going out for a run and you will be more likely to keep running in the months and years ahead. There is a place for running fast but it isn't at the start of your running journey.
You will get all the physical adaptations that make you fitter by running gently at Chatty pace and you are also much less likely to get injured or overdo your training.
▶️ Watch: Chatty Running DemonstrationFrom your brisk walking pace, speed up very gradually until you are lifting your feet off the ground more and find yourself running. It is important not to suddenly sprint off at speed as you want to keep the pace Chatty.
Listen to your breathing and chat to yourself or a friend. When you can't say a whole sentence comfortably and/or you can hear and feel a sudden intake of breath at the end of your sentence, slow back to a brisk walk.
Keep walking until your breathing settles. Then set off running gently once more. Repeat this until the total run/walk time is up.
If you do a lot of walking and have a good level of fitness already, you may find that you can keep running at Chatty pace for five minutes or more as your breathing doesn't change.
If this is you, make sure you still give yourself several walk breaks during the run/walking sections. Your cardio-vascular system may be quite well developed and able to cope with running, but your bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments need to adjust gradually to the added stresses.
Starting in Week 6, you'll add four 10-second strides to develop coordination and a relaxed, smooth running form with a longer stride length.
They are definitely not sprints, so go easy in the first few weeks. You won't get out of breath doing these strides as you are using stored energy in your muscles.
Well done! You can now run/walk or run with a few walk breaks for forty minutes. You will be feeling much fitter and this will be giving you more energy for everyday life.
If you complete the forty minutes with a mixture of Chatty running and Chatty walking, continue with two forty minute runs a week and a walk at the weekend.
Keep going and you will gradually find that you walk less and run more, until you are only slowing down a few times for a walk break.
You are almost running non-stop and this will be your next goal. Keep running for forty minutes twice a week for a few weeks until one day you find that you can keep running for the whole forty minutes.
If you can run non-stop for forty minutes you have a choice:
Remember to keep all your running Chatty. It is very common for people to start running a bit too fast once they move on from an initial beginner's programme.
You can step up the pace without realising and it feels good. Before you know it, you are running all your runs too fast and you risk injury and fatigue.
If you want to continue your running progress, why not contact one of our Lydiard coaches for advice on your next steps?