Starting To Jog Again, The Easy Way

BACK TO BASICS | by MOLLY MARTIN

I’VE NEVER THOUGHT OF MYSELF AS A RUNNER, or even a jogger ― maybe more like a slogger. But I feel like I should be able to jog at least a little, and I feel good when I can. So every so often I try to get going again.

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In the past I usually got so beat up or injured that I’d soon find myself walking, or on a treadmill or bicycle machine. Even most solid training programs, such as those in Runner’s World, seemed to be, for this bod, too much too soon.

In recent years, however, I’ve learned a simple approach that’s given me a much better chance. I learned it from Courteney Bealko, a physical therapist I’ve seen for assorted injuries. When I mentioned that I tended to get shin splints whenever I tried to jog, she recommended (in addition to some solid core training) a simple approach, which I’ve adapted like this:

1. Work up to being able to walk for 60 minutes in one session.
2. Begin your first jogging session by walking for 10 minutes, then jogging 1 minute. Repeat three times, jogging no more than 3 minutes total (you can walk more, if you’d like).
3. If you feel no ill effects the next day or two, repeat.
4. Once you can do that twice with no ill effects, increase the jogging interval to 2 minutes. (If you’re hurting, decrease the jogging time.)
5. Add no more than one minute jogging at a time.

The improvement is slow, but the payoff is being able to keep at it, instead of having to take off weeks or months because of shin splints, Achilles tendinitis or aching knees.