Month-long break from running replaced with daily walks; five insights gained
Lily Canter, a running enthusiast, found herself facing an unexpected change in her routine when a physiotherapist advised a 'proper rest' from competitive running. This rest period coincided with a change of routine at home, requiring Lily to take on all dog-walking duties for her foxhound-trailhound, Zippy, who needs a minimum of two hours of exercise daily.
During this rest period, Lily discovered that walking could offer many benefits beyond calorie burn. Consulting personal trainer Rachel Macpherson, she learned about the positive impact of walking on cardiovascular health, overall well-being, and even mental health. Walking can help reduce blood sugar and pressure, aid weight balance and digestion, and keep joints, bones, and muscles mobile.
To Lily's surprise, a two-hour walk burns around 400 calories, which is more than she expected. This discovery encouraged her to switch to 14 hours of walking per week, taking up about the same amount of time in her week as running. This new routine helped her wake up earlier, starting at 6am during the week and 8am on weekends.
However, Lily found walking boring, slow, and a waste of time compared to her usual running routine, which involved running six days a week, anywhere from five to 20 hours across seven days, with about a third of these runs being with Zippy. Despite this, she found that walking provided her with the same mental clarity as running.
Looking forward, Lily plans to incorporate more hiking, particularly on elevated terrain, to improve her walking speed and reduce the risk of injury during ultra-marathons. She completed a 250km ultra-marathon in the past and experienced the body toll due to excessive running. The Marathon des Sables, a 250 km ultra-endurance event in the Sahara Desert, is noted as a challenging event that often requires substantial recovery afterward.
In addition, Lily discovered that walking is a great cross-training exercise for endurance runners to maintain aerobic fitness. She believes that this change in routine has improved her lifestyle, helping her manage sleep disturbances, irritability, IBS, and lower-back ache that were caused by not running. Overall, Lily's transition from running to walking has been a journey towards better health and well-being.
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