How to Safely Begin Running
Running is become a very popular activity to get into, it improves our health and cardiovascular fitness and can be a great social activity. However it is important that you take it slow when beginning running, as it can be easy to do too much too early, resulting in injury.
Running will bring a lot more load and demand to your muscles, joints and tendons. For example, the amount of load in patellofemoral joint (kneecap) when walking is just 0.6kg x body weight, compared to 5.4kg x body weight when running. As you can see, this is a dramatic increase in demand on the knee.
Setting a medium to long term goal such as completing a 5km run within 10 weeks, by gradually increasing your running load is a safe way to reduce the risk of injury. You can use an app like Strava to track your running load. Keep track of your total Kilometres run per week, and a general rule when increasing load is to make sure this doesn’t increase by more than 15-20% each week.
See below an example running program for somebody with the goal of running 5km straight over a 10-week program.
Running Program Structure
This program involves 3 runs per week, over 10 weeks.
Initially the first weeks involve Walk:Run intervals, to slowly build your cardiovascular fitness and allow plenty of rest breaks.
Once you’ve gotten a taste for it, the program replaces an interval run with a distance run, where you are aiming to reach a certain distance, rather than run for a certain time. Distance runs encourage less rest breaks, although breaks can be used as needed. Eventually it becomes 2 distance runs, and only 1 recovery interval run.
Next, a speed run is added into the mix, replacing your recovery interval run. These are also interval runs, but involve Run:Speed instead, where you will run for a period at average effort, then pick it up to speed pace for a short period.
By the end of the program, you will be completing 1 x distance run, 1 x speed run and 1 x 5km run each week!
Effort Scores and Heart Rate Zones
To know how hard an average effort run should feel, compared to a slow or speed pace run, you can use the “effort scores”, where you rate how much effort you put in on a scale of 0-10.
You can also make use of heart rate zones, where you work at a certain percentage of your maximum heart rate (MHR). The gold-standard way to find your MHR is through a lab based stress test, although the more common way is using the equation ‘MHR = 220 – your age’, so a 40 year old’s MHR will be 180.
- Slow pace
- 3/10 effort
- Heart rate zone 1 (60-70% MHR)
- Running at a jog, where you can comfortably talk and laugh whilst keeping pace.
- Average pace
- 5/10 effort
- Heart rate zone 2 (70-80% MHR)
- A bit quicker than a jog, this should feel difficult but not leave you too breathless afterwards.
- Speed pace
- 7/10 effort
- Heart rate zone 3 (80-90% MHR)
- Not quite a sprint, but as quick as you can maintain for short distances.
10 Week Running Plan
Week 1
| Run 1 – Starter | Run 2 – Moderate | Run 3 – Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 1:00 walk Run intervals: 0:20 run at average pace Repeat x 8 | Rest intervals: 1:00 walk Run intervals: 0:30 run at average pace Repeat x 6 | Rest intervals: 1:00 walk Run intervals: 0:40 run at average pace Repeat x 5 |
Week 2
| Run 1 – Recovery | Run 2 – Moderate | Run 3 – Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 0:45 walk Run intervals: 0:30 run at average pace Repeat x 8 | Rest intervals: 0:45 walk Run intervals: 0:45 run at average pace Repeat x 6 | Rest intervals: 1:00 walk Run intervals: 1:00 run at average pace Repeat x 6 |
Week 3
| Run 1 – Recovery | Run 2 – Moderate | Run 3 – Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 0:30 walk Run intervals: 0:30 run at average pace Repeat x 10 | Rest intervals: 0:30 walk Run intervals: 1:00 run at average pace Repeat x 8 | Rest intervals: 0:15 walk Run intervals: 1:00 run at average pace Repeat x 10 |
Week 4
| Run 1 – Recovery | Run 2 – Moderate | Run 3 – Distance! |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 0:30 walk Run intervals: 0:45 run at average pace Repeat x 10 | Rest intervals: 0:30 walk Run intervals: 1:30 run at average pace Repeat x 8 | 2km run! at average pace 2km = ~12:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
Week 5
| Run 1 – Recovery | Run 2 – Moderate | Run 3 – Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 0:30 walk Run intervals: 1:00 run at average pace Repeat x 8 | Rest intervals: 0:30 walk Run intervals: 2:00 run at average pace Repeat x 8 | 2.5km run at average pace 2.5km = ~15:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
Week 6
| Run 1 – Recovery | Run 2 – Distance | Run 3 – Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 0:30 run at slow pace Run intervals: 1:30 run at average pace Repeat x 10 | 2.5km run at average pace 2km = ~15:00 Rest intervals as needed. | 3km run at average pace 3km = ~18:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
Week 7
| Run 1 – Recovery | Run 2 – Distance | Run 3 – Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Rest intervals: 0:45 run at slow pace Run intervals: 1:30 run at average pace Repeat x 10 | 3km run at average pace 3km = ~18:00 Rest intervals as needed. | 3.5km run at average pace 3.5km = ~21:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
Week 8
| Run 1 – Distance | Run 2 – Speed | Run 3 – Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 3km run at average pace 3km = ~18:00 Rest intervals as needed. | Run intervals: 2:00 run at average pace Speed intervals: 0:15 run at speed pace Repeat x 8 | 4km run at average pace 4km = ~24:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
Week 9
| Run 1 – Distance | Run 2 – Speed | Run 3 – Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5km run at average pace 3.5km = ~21:00 Rest intervals as needed. | Run intervals: 2:00 run at average pace Speed intervals: 0:30 run at speed pace Repeat x 8 | 4.5km run at average pace 4.5km = ~27:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
Week 10
| Run 1 – Distance | Run 2 – Speed | Run 3 – 5km! |
|---|---|---|
| 4km run at average pace 4km = ~24:00 Rest intervals as needed. | Run intervals: 2:00 run at average pace Speed intervals: 0:45 run at speed pace Repeat x 8 | 5km run! at average pace 5km = ~30:00 Rest intervals as needed. |
This program is an example of how somebody might get to a 5km run in 10 weeks, but remember that programs should be individualised to each person. If you are wanting specialised running advice, book in to see one of our Physiotherapists on the details below.
Keep Going!
Congrats, you hit a 5km run! But don’t stop there, continue to progress the program with what you’ve learnt on your journey so far. Increase your distances by ~10-20% per week, and challenge yourself by increasing your speed intervals and adding in some higher tempo runs to get faster times!
Don’t forget to give yourself some recovery runs every now and then. Recovery is a vital component of every training program and some would say of equal priority to the training itself. This may look like a period of time off running entirely or recovery runs which consist of lower intensity, steady paced runs of a shorter duration relative to your training load.
Injury Tips
Even when following a gradual program like this, there is always still a chance you might get injured. Whether it be a trip on one of your runs and you roll your ankle, or a gradual overload of a tendon or joint, it’s important to listen to your body and give yourself time to recover. Sometimes dropping back a week or two in the program, or having a break for a few weeks means you can run better in the long-term.
If you’re having pain during your running journey, book into see one of our Physiotherapists to get a thorough assessment and advice on how to get back into running safely.
Book in for an Assessment!
You can book into see one of our Physiotherapists to:
- Get advice on how to get into running
- Develop a gradual, individualised program to build your runnning endurance.
- Have an injury assessed and guide your return to running.
- Have a gait assessment! Our Physiotherapists can have a look at how you are running to improve performance and reduce injury risk.
You don’t need a referral to see one of our Physiotherapists, you can book online here or call us on (02) 4929 3898