Girls Gotta Move-Walk to Run Plan

If your excuse not to run is that you’ll run out of steam in 2 minutes, you’ll have to think again. New runners are prone to go out too hard and too fast. The key is to start slow and think long-term.

With this Walk-to-Run plan (below), you’ll do a walk-run combo for 8 weeks, leading up to the day when you can comfortably run 5 miles without stopping. Whatever your goal—working with friends to get up to 10 miles a week or losing 10 pounds in 3 months—remember that walking is an important part of the running experience. It gives your body a chance to recuperate before you expend more energy. And, of course, it gives you more breath to chat and enjoy yourself.

This is an 8-week plan that seamlessly transitions walkers into runners. It combines walk-run intervals, cross-training, and rest days to give your body a break from running. Caveat: To begin this program you should be already exercising three times a week for 30 minutes each. If not, start walking 30 minutes 3 to 4 times a week and work up to 45 to 60 minutes for at least 8 to 10 weeks. Then you can begin running for 1 minute every couple of minutes, until you’re able to run for 4 minutes straight.

Weeks 1 and 2

• 3 times a week for 30 minutes: Run 4 minutes, walk 2 minutes; repeat 5 times
• Do 30 minutes of other exercise on alternate days; rest one day

Week 3

• 3 times a week for 35 minutes: Run 5 minutes, walk 2 minutes; repeat 5 times
• Do 30 minutes of other exercise on alternate days, such as yoga, swimming, weighlifting; rest one day

Weeks 4 and 5

• 3 times a week for 32 minutes: Run 6 minutes, walk 2 minutes; repeat 4 times
• Do 30 minutes of other exercise on alternate days; rest one day

Week 6

• 3 times a week for 36 minutes: run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute; repeat 4 times
• Do 30 minutes of other exercise on alternate days; rest one day

Weeks 7 and 8

• 3 times a week for 33 minutes: run 10 minutes, walk 1 minute; repeat 3 times
• Do 30 minutes of other exercise on alternate days; rest one day

If you want to run a 5K race, add 2 days of rest in week 8 and run continuously for 20 minutes the last training day. Rest one day before the race. Then go for it!