LOLZLetter 282 | How Walking Can Benefit Your Running
Plus I Need YOU for the next newsletter series
Welcome,
Today I'm flying home from a week in Japan, and honestly, it was amazing. We had a great time seeing family, exploring, and just having fun. It was great to hang out and climb Mount Fuji, although Mount Fuji is the hardest hike I've ever done.
Besides that, we did so much walking! I averaged 30k steps for the seven days I was there. This is actually the first time we did not get a rental car; with the train system, we didn't need it. We walked and walked and walked and walked. To trains. In downtown Tokyo. Back to the hotel.
This is how this newsletter was inspired. While walking is slower than running, it has huge benefits for runners. I think walking is probably the healthiest form of exercise.
How can walking help your training?
Rest Days: Use walking as active recovery. Now I mean adding some very light walking, not miles and miles of power walking.
Injuries: Substitute walking for running if you’re injured (if it makes sense). Definitely don't go walking on stress fractures.
Social Activities: I've always struggled when people want to hang out and maybe not get a bite to eat. What is there really to do? Walk with friends and family, especially during holidays or when visiting.
Post-Long Run: Add 10-20 minutes of walking later in the day to help blood flow move through the legs and speed up recovery. It's easy to want to lay down for the rest of the day, but getting some very easy movement can help you recover faster.
What are the Benefits of Walking for Runners?
Many runners underestimate the power of walking, seeing it as something to do only when they’re injured or too exhausted to run. However, walking can provide significant endurance benefits. By adding walking to your routine, you can improve leg strength, increase lung capacity, and reduce stress.
Walking Helps Endurance
Studies have shown that a warm-up that includes easy jogging and walking can enhance running performance. We know the importance of an easy warm-up, but consider even walking your warm-up, especially for marathons.
For hard workouts, consider adding some walking before your workout. Note: I'm definitely not saying walk five miles beforehand, but a bit of walking before a hard workout and race could actually benefit you. Walking helps your body transition into a workout, ensuring your muscles, lungs, and joints are prepared, thus requiring less energy during the run.
Walking Increases Training Volume
One of the goals of endurance training is to teach your body to sustain longer durations of activity. Walking is an excellent way to achieve this without the high impact of running. By adding a half-mile warm-up walk and a half-mile cool-down walk before and after your run, you effectively add an extra mile to each training session. Your body stays in motion, consuming energy and getting used to longer periods on your feet, which can translate to better endurance during runs. Yes, for those obsessed, you can stop your GPS watch and put it in walk mode so it doesn't "ruin your Strava data."
Walking as Active Recovery
Active recovery is crucial in any training plan, especially for marathon training. While complete rest days are necessary, walking on recovery days helps keep blood flowing, reduces muscle stiffness, and aids in recovery from muscle soreness. Walking on recovery days ensures you stay active without the high impact of running. I found that after climbing Mount Fuji, my body was super sore, but active recovery and walking around the city helped me recover faster.
Walking Enhances Foot Strength
Walking involves a full range of motion for your feet, from heel strike to toe-off. This is different from running, where you primarily land on the forefoot. Walking strengthens your feet, maintains flexibility, and increases overall foot strength, which can improve your running form and reduce injury risk.
Power Walking Strengthens Running Muscles
Power walking specifically targets the same muscles used in running, enhancing their strength and endurance. Your glutes continue to power your stride, your quads support you on descents, and your core maintains good posture. Unlike other cross-training activities that work different muscle groups, walking directly benefits your running muscles.
Incline Walking Helps Glute Strength
Incline walking on a treadmill or a hilly route is an excellent way to build glute strength. Uphill walking forces your glutes, quads, and calves to work harder, recruiting more muscle fibers than walking or running on flat surfaces. This can be particularly beneficial on days when you’re low on energy or training for a hilly race, offering an intense workout with low impact. Just as doing hill sprints can help your running form, so can walking uphill.
Walking is Convenient
One thing that always made me feel accomplished is the ability to walk wherever we needed. Incorporating walking into your daily routine is much easier than finding time for a run, especially during a busy day. You can take short walks during breaks, walk during your lunch hour, or even pace while on the phone. This makes it easier to stay active without needing a complete wardrobe change or worrying about post-run sweat. Walking on this trip and just using my own two legs to get around felt very accomplishing.
In conclusion, incorporating walking into your running routine can lead to significant improvements in your overall fitness and running performance. It’s time to embrace walking as a valuable component of your training plan.
Finally, I Need YOU:
I'm looking for 2-3 running coaches to give their favorite 5k workouts and advice for an upcoming newsletter. If that's you, please send me an email at fueledbylolz@gmail.com.
What is keeping me entertained?
Reebok Floatzig X1 Shoe Review
June Training: Reaching Goals I Thought I Never Would Again
TOZO T6 True Wireless Earbuds Review
I shared my swimming story on RunTriMag. From my start to swimming through college and burn out to swimming now.
Hi Hollie,
thanks for the walking newsletter. I am also a big fan of walking especially on rest and recover days and especially during injuries. I was wondering what shoes you were wearing ( and your husband ) while you were trecking Mount Fuji and which ones you were wearing while walking in the city.
Thanks again, greetings from a Canadian expat living in Munich,
Laurent