Lot's of miles but not much speed?

jenniferinfl

So I have a bit of a predicament. Long story short, got my treadmill about a month ago. I like using my treadmill to do things like sprints and the couch 2 5k program. BUT, I hate it for any distance.

Anyhow, setup with my mom to go walking everyday on a 3.12 mile trail. She started flaking out on me, so I setup to go with a friend instead. Now my mom decided she does want to go walking too, but at a different time. So, it looks like I'll be going with a friend at 8:30 am and then again with my mom at 2:30 pm on the same 3.12 mile trail.

To make it more complicated, my husband is mad that now I'm walking outside after we bought this expensive treadmill. So, when he gets home from work I have to hop on that treadmill and do around 25 minutes. Usually I do the couch to 5k.

Both my mom and my friend desperately need to get out and exercise, neither of them will probably do it on their own. My friend has been trying to go walking with her kids, but they are done sooner than she needs to be. They both want to go everyday but Sunday. My mom's cholesterol levels are horrible and she has only ever briefly stuck with exercise programs. My friend is even larger than I am and her metabolism is seriously screwed up from yoyo dieting.

Basically, those 3.12 miles I do with each of them will not be over 3 mph for the next several weeks at least.

Anyhow, first of all, will all those miles do any damage since most of them will be done slowly? Additionally, what can I do to make that slower pace still beneficial? Any other tips very much appreciated!

deb3129

The miles should not do any harm, unless you have some kind of medical issue that would be worsened by activity.

That is a lot of miles, and regardless how fast they are, you are still going to burn calories. I do mainly walking for exercise, and don't do it all that fast, and it is still working for me. You can try swining your arms while you are walking, or maybe carrying weights to add to the calorie burn

risenonlytofall

I walk between 6 and 8 miles a day on average, sometimes more. If you aren't used to walking long distance your legs will probably be very sore by the end of the day, but it's not going to cause any long term damage. We evolved with walking as our primary means of travel.

In addition, you might not be walking fast but the calories will add up, especially if there is an incline.

jenniferinfl

Alright, good, relieved to hear that. I know it's only so fast that your supposed to add running miles, but I figured that walking miles probably counted differently. The trail is VERY hilly for Florida. I mean, nothing like what most northerners have at their disposable, but a very hilly trail for us. lol My butt was burning pushing that stroller today.. lol

So, I will treat my running miles on the treadmill as a separate thing from my walking miles. It's funny, I don't use the incline on my treadmill at all, but my 5k worth of miles walking only took a couple minutes more on the trail than it does on the treadmill and the trail was really hilly. Always thought I'd heard that the treadmill was easier than walking outside, but, it seemed the other way around for me. May just be mental though.

Biodemon

No damage will be done. You will just be increasing your activity level a lot and that means, you will burn a lot more calories, therefore, you need to eat more to keep your body from starving and burning muscle instead of fat.

ixap

You should be okay. Maybe shorten or skip your treadmill run for the first couple of weeks so that you ease into the mileage.
For now I think the increased activity is plenty of benefit. But if you get to a point in the weeks that you don't feel overly sore from your exercise, and the walks are so slow they don't feel beneficial for you, you could try doing the walks with a weighted vest or pack to increase the calorie burn and challenge.