My question is about what exactly constitutes "running" i have managed to tackle each week, but even though I complete the alloted time, my pace is that of a walker.probably around 15 minutes per mile. I appear to be adopting the running gait, arms and legs move differently to a walk. However, if the "walking " me somehow managed to accompany the jogging me and kept up, then am I actually benefitting ?
Elsewhere online, I regularly see stats about unfit beginners should be able to achieve a mile in 10 to 12 minutes, That pace is other worldy for me. Im confused.
Also, i heard if you're feet are both momentarily off the ground, that's running. I doubt that is the case for me most often.
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The difference between running and walking is that when you run both feet are simultaneously off the ground at some point on each stride. This is used to define race walking, where at no time should both feet be simultaneously off the ground. It has little to do with velocity, as many race walkers cover the ground at incredible speeds, up to 10mph, which is well in excess of many recreational runners.
Don't give up. Whatever it is that you are doing will be beneficial. This might make you feel better womensrunning.com/2016/07/i...
The commonly quoted figure of 5kph or 3.1mph is for walking on pedestrian crossings (i.e a short burst), and even that hides a wide range, with older adults being generally slower. If you look at recreational walks of 4-6 miles the pace is much slower, with countless guidebooks of walks suggesting times for their rambles which require a pace of more like 2.5mph.
Sometimes I run so slow that I have to consciously think “am I running” and check... once I ran behind a 4 year old at junior parkrun and he didn’t want to be there that day... he walked slow, I ran slower... it was an epiphany for me... I could have run all day like that, and that kid took some pleasure in it too... it was a really amazing 1k... then he pulled out and I had to go fast to catch up to the next “last” kid... that 500m wasn’t as much fun. Now I vary runs in distance and pace... but nothing beats that slow run, and it builds my fitness more than the sprints.
It's all about exercise - and in my view one of the important things about exercise (possibly the most important) is the need to get the heart beating and the blood pumping. Getting a stronger heart muscle that is able to pump larger amounts of blood with life giving oxygen into parts of the body that (for most people) normally struggle to get enough blood/oxygen is what it's all about. Strong circulation of oxygen loaded blood all through the body including the tiniest of capillaries PLUS the ability to breath deeply and under control. All this running/jogging does !! - and it matters not what the pace is or what you look like while doing it.
I had the same thoughts at first! My 'jogging' (no way is it running lol) knocked about a minute off my walking time! And I thought why risk more injury and effort if it hardly is any different?? But as my stamina grows I can jog for longer and my time is now about five mins less than it used to be. Which still means very slow lol. But for me it's more about doing what feels right. I like to walk as fast as I can until I just get the urge to jog instead and then if I want to walk again I walk. As the time isn't much difference it's more about what feels right. Jogging means I bend my knees a bit more and pump my arms at the 90 degree angle better and my legs feel less stiff. I'm amazed at the distance I can go now before needing to walk! I think jogging also pumps the heart faster even if it feels same speed as walking.
My walking speed is about 4mph now (15 mins per mile ish) and jogging is about 13.32 mins per mile... I'm sure it will get a little faster one day! But it's not the main important thing! Just getting out there, walking, jogging or running is what counts!
I run very slowly too, but have managed to increase my distance to 18kms for my longest run so far. Yes i could possibly walk quicker, but the changes to my muscles, the endorphin high, the weight control, the cameraderie of smiling at other runners..... Walking doesn't give me this.
To my mind, when walking you place your descending foot on the ground and transfer your weight progressively onto it as you initially distribute your weight across both feet - with running you sort of land your entire weight on your descending foot in one go. That’s why for running you develop stronger bones and muscles to cope with a lot more bodily stress and is definitely harder work than running.
Hi, I have very broad taste in music. When running ( or jogging) alone I have no way to measure my pace. So the most reliable way I can count my pace is to jog in sync to some specific Beyonce songs on her I am ..... sasha fierce album. In particular, I can most easily sync my steps to Single Ladies, Halo and Smash Into You. Many other songs seem to have a very similar step synchronisation for me (eg Led Zeppelin Kashmir). So far, I have managed mostly to keep in step for the 28 minute runs. If I feel out of breath or muscle pain coming on I just consciously slow down the pace so it is not directly in sync with the speed of the music and that works too. I hope this helps
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Walking is the new running
First run/walk complete 
