Time For This Fat Girl To Start Running

Yes, I’m interval training again. I may run as fast as a turtle, but dagnabit, I’m running!

I planned to do an easy 2-mile walk this morning. Instead, I ended up interval training. After my 5K on Sunday and quick recovery on Monday, something inside of me decided that it’s time for this fat girl to start running.

Now the last time I tried interval training, back in February, I weighed about 280. My doc suggested I lose another 50 lbs. before trying again. Well I’m 243 lbs. now. Not quite 50 lbs., but why not give it a try?

So I dusted off my 5K app and set out this morning.

App of Choice: Easy 5K with Jeff Galloway
Let me start by stating Easy 5K with Jeff Galloway is awesome. I paid $3.99 for the app and it’s worth every penny.

For those who don’t know, Jeff Galloway’s an Olympian who created the run-walk-run technique for runners. The technique — essentially timed walk breaks between runs — helps to prevent injuries. Perfect for a newbie like me.

The app creates a specialized training program for you, based on the pace you want to meet. Then it provides you with a daily and weekly schedule for interval training. You do 3 workouts a week for 8 weeks. Your distance increases with each workout. Today I ended up going slightly more than a mile. That will increase to 1.25 miles on Thursday.

I love walking to music. I work harder with the right songs playing. The faster the beat, the quicker my pace and the better my time. The Easy 5K app actually changes the beat of your music to match your running/walking pace. Very cool!

Another nice feature is Jeff Galloway…actually his voice. Galloway walks you through the interval training. He provides useful hints and encouragement, tells you when to walk or run, provides count downs, and lets you know how far you have to go.

Easy 5K is a great app for either someone getting off the couch for the first time or a power walker who wants to run their first 5K (like me).

Dot2Trot’s Run/Walk/Run Ratio
Since I’m new to running and still have a ton of weight to lose, I decided to go easy and choose a 15-minute mile pace. I’ll stick with this for the full 8 weeks. At that point, depending on how I feel, I’ll increase the pace.

So my Run/Walk/Run ratio is: 15-minutes per mile/20-second run/45-second walk

The whole workout lasted 18 minutes: 3-minute warm-up, 12-minute intervals, 3-minute cool-down.

Afterwards I felt great. I made sure to stretch before and after I started to avoid any problems.

I have tomorrow off, but pick up the interval training Thursday morning.