walking faster

hotel4dogs

I just did my first 5K, but I walked it. For medical reasons, I can't run. I can "jog" a little bit, not a lot.
Anyway, it was loads of fun and I have 2 more on my radar. My time was officially 3.98 mph, so while not bad for walking, I'd like to improve it a bit.
Any suggestions? I've been concentrating on lengthening my stride (I'm only 5'2" so I kinda have a short, choppy stride).
All ideas welcome.

rosebarnalice

I'm 5'7" and have a fairly long stride, and I usually average about 3.8 myself--so that's a good pace! I'd say if you're enjoying yourself, and aren't experiencing any injuries, don't worry too much about it. You might check your shoes (particularly an older pair you've walked in for a while to see if there's any unusual wear that might indicate a serious gait issue.

lx1x

Speed walking.. or try jog walk combo like in c5k programs

mbaker566

1) jogging is running
2) you can couch to 5k at an easy pace and then during the run phase-walker quicker.
3) time and distance will help you increase your speed

hotel4dogs

Thanks for the replies! mbaker, the way I jog isn't running . rosebarnalice, I just bought a brand new pair of shoes, maybe that will help. I do need to have surgery on 4 toes on one foot and 3 on the other, so it's kinda hard to determine gait right now. Hoping that fixing the toes will help the speed a bit.

hotel4dogs

lx1x wrote: »

Speed walking.. or try jog walk combo like in c5k programs

not familiar with c5k? what is that?

spiriteagle99

Couch to 5k, it's a program that starts with walk/run intervals and transitions to all running over 9 weeks.

NorthCascades

I'd love to know how to walk faster too.

middlehaitch

I race 10k races walking an average pace of 4.2-4.4.
I’m short, 5’1 with a 27in inseam.

As you start ramping up your speed you may find you need to shorten your stride, not lengthen it. Trying to do even my normal stride as I got faster threatened to give me shin splints.

I used an old (started in 2008) interval training programme with awful music but had the BPM for the pace which I found useful.

I’ve never done a c25k programme, but I suspect you could use it for increasing your speed walking just as you could learning to run with it.

If you are interested in doing more races walking do get the correct footwear.
Walking needs a different shoe than running as there is no high impact involved. Good walking footwear should have the sole roll up the heel slightly to assist in your heel landing and rolling forward.

Cheers, h.

hotel4dogs

thanks for taking time to reply

littlegreenparrot1

I've just read an article about Nordic walking, it would be worth looking it up as it might fit the bill for you.

I'm looking into it as part of plans for an ultra marathon, not tried it yet though.

lorrpb

Yay for walking! I discourage you from forcing something like lengthening your stride. This could cause injuries or discomfort in another area as your body seeks to compensate. Walk more and longer. When you can easily walk 7-10k at once, your 5k pace will get faster.

hotel4dogs

I can easily walk 6 miles at about 3.7 mph. Endurance is my strength, but not speed.
Very, very interesting about setting myself up for injury. Thanks,I hadn't even considered that.

lorrpb wrote: »

Yay for walking! I discourage you from forcing something like lengthening your stride. This could cause injuries or discomfort in another area as your body seeks to compensate. Walk more and longer. When you can easily walk 7-10k at once, your 5k pace will get faster.

hotel4dogs

Just googled it, it looks interesting!

quote="littlegreenparrot1;c-43978449"]I've just read an article about Nordic walking, it would be worth looking it up as it might fit the bill for you.

I'm looking into it as part of plans for an ultra marathon, not tried it yet though. [/quote]

NorthCascades

hotel4dogs wrote: »

I can easily walk 6 miles at about 3.7 mph. Endurance is my strength, but not speed.
Very, very interesting about setting myself up for injury. Thanks,I hadn't even considered that.

lorrpb wrote: »

Yay for walking! I discourage you from forcing something like lengthening your stride. This could cause injuries or discomfort in another area as your body seeks to compensate. Walk more and longer. When you can easily walk 7-10k at once, your 5k pace will get faster.

She's right. If you stick around, you'll notice that happens a lot.

AnnPT77

Pure personal anecdote, not expertise:

I found that when I started working on engaging my glutes more during walking - which I did in an effort to spare my bad knees - it had three unexpected side effects: (1) My stride shortened; (2) my turnover rate (or whatever you call it in walking) increased, i.e., more steps per minute; and (3) My GPS-monitored speed increased from around 3.8-3.9 mph to 4.0-4.1 mph, the first time I worked at doing for the whole walk (4-point-something miles, so a decent sample).

Your results may vary, of course.

Adc7225

I'm 5'2" and was told to shorten my stride when walking faster - I already was to some degree because I walk with someone 6'2" my 2.5 steps to his one helps me keep up with him. I also use an Interval Timer sometimes just to add in some consistent periods of walking faster, if you don't us a gadget just pick a point to start and one to stop and speed up with smaller steps for that distance.

I also agree with AnnPT77 - engage those glutes and thighs.

pierinifitness

Almost 20 years ago, I tore my ACL and had surgery. The tear occurred about 6-8 weeks prior to an annual 5-mile fun run I regularly did. I was in good condition at the time and a fun runner at about a 7:15 mile pace for a 10k distance.

My surgeon encouraged me to continue training to be as strong as possible for surgery and said walking would be good so I made a “business decision” to train for the 5-mile fun run and do it walking. My plan was to walk it as fast as possible but not attempt race walking form which is very technical. Didn’t have the time to learn the form and get good with it.

Anyway, what I learned is that walking fast requires concentration to keep a faster pace and avoid a “hands in pocket whistling Dixie” default pace.

I walked the 5 miles on fun run day at an astonishing 55 minutes or an 11 minute mile pace. It was hard and I swear I was sore for a week and in different places than from running. I never repeated that pace again and doubt I ever will. It was a great experience and a wonderful memory.

To walk faster for duration requires intense concentration and intention. Watch the default hands in pocket whistling Dixie pace like a hawk.

Good luck.

lg013

Woohoo!

My cross country coach in high school always complained my strides were too short. The trick to improving stride is actually in your upper body. For me, I needed to build more upper body strength and work on bringing down my arms so I had a proper swing. He even made me run with coke cans filled with sand to improve my stride length.

So if you want to make that stride longer and improve your form, look at some articles and training on how to move your arms!

hotel4dogs

You guys are so helpful, thanks! Lots of good stuff to try.

cheriej2042

I’m 5’4” and I do not recommend lengthening your stride which will only lead to injury especially your feet. I’ve done the Vierdagsse(35 miles each dayx4 days) and the one day hike (100k) in DC and you learn to increase your speed over time. Get a watch to track you mph. I am not comfortable for long distances over 4 -4.5 mph but I’ve seen people blow by me at over 5 mph so it all depends on what you are comfortable with. Also if you are going to start distance training see a podiatrist so you get the right shoes and invest in good socks. If you really want to know about endurance and how to avoid blisters and taking care of your feet read the book Fixing your feet by Vonhof.