Every breath you take
There are two basic rules for breathing. Your breath should be relaxed and from the belly. Your belly should expand as you inhale and flatten as you exhale.
Using proper form and technique helped Ria finish her 800m race without stopping or walking. This is something she has never done before. "Working on breathing properly and relaxing while running," says Ria, really helped with the race.
How often? How fast? How far?
You do not have to go out every day. Every other day may be best at the beginning. Take one to two days off each week.
Use the "talk test" to establish how fast you will be going. Run or walk slow enough to maintain a conversation and fast enough to produce perspiration. Running up hills will add stresses to your body so, beginners, design your courses to avoid hills. If you must include hills in your route, walk until you are strong enough to run on them.
Beginners should run or walk for minutes – not miles. A brisk 20-minute walk is a great place to start. Your goal is to build up to running for 20 minutes non-stop. You should be able to reach this goal in about 10 weeks with the program provided.
Be sure to warm up with five to 10 minutes of brisk walking and cool down with five to 10 minutes of slow walking. Your walk segments should be brisk and your run segments should be run at a conversational pace.The 10-week run/walk program for kids:
| Week | Run/walk ratio (in minutes) |
| 1 | Run 1, walk 2. Complete sequence 7 times. |
| 2 | Run 2, walk 2. Complete sequence 5 times. |
| 3 | Run 3, walk 2. Complete sequence 4 times. |
| 4 | Run 5, walk 2. Complete sequence 3 times. |
| 5 | Run 6, walk 1. Complete sequence 3 times. |
| 6 | Run 8, walk 1. Complete sequence 2 times. |
| 7 | Run 10, walk 1. Complete sequence 2 times. |
| 8 | Run 12, walk 1, run 8. |
| 9 | Run 15, walk 1, run 5. |
| 10 | Run 20 minutes non-stop |
Have fun and enjoy the run!
Page 2 of 2 – Learn the proper techniques for walking and running for relaxation on page 1.
