After lambasting myself for being so pathetic at running for a whole four years and bemoaning my fate of getting a whole lot slower (yes, I know, there are people out there that can’t even walk but I’m essentially a selfish bitch), I have decided on rebranding myself - companies do it all the time with great aplomb so why shouldn’t I?
I am rebranding myself as an adventure walker. I still love long distance and I still love adventures. The clue is in the picture - I need to walk long distances for days on end and feel fabulous whilst doing it. At the moment I just have to look at a hill to have a panic attack because my lungs and my brain will require several stops to catch my breath. But no matter, because I am going to train like a Trojan!
I am not severing ties completely with my faithful companion, running. He has been with me through thick and thin and a whole shoal of dark times for nearly 30 years. We have done some epic things together and cutting him out of my life would be far too traumatic.
But I have discovered Jeffing. And, no, that is not a form of sport where one tries to bag any man called Jeff (could be interesting though) but a method of run/walk/run popularized by Jeff Galloway, an Olympian and well known American coach, that enables one to go further with less fatigue.
It is not random intervals of running and walking but should be based on what he calls your “magic mile” time. Mine involves 15 seconds of running followed by 30 seconds of walking, rinse and repeat. Faster runners would have a higher ratio of run to walk and the walk should be strong. Runners in South Africa tend to be hard core and think walking is only for when you are tired but Jeffing is popular in America and the UK where Mr Galloway’s legacy lives on.
I have now set goals involving 20km per week of walking and hill hiking and 20km per week of Jeffing which includes two short runs and one long run, so 40km per week of time on the feet. I’ll build this distance up slowly, using the 10% rule.
And of course, let us not forget strength work - I’ve been sucked into many rabbit holes in this regard, but everyone agrees it is absolutely essential for longevity - a goal that has now become something I want and not something in the far off future.