Walk10K

Walking with or without poles is an excellent form of exercise that will improve your cardiovascular and muscular fitness. Your goal for following the SportMedBC Walk10K program should be to safely and comfortably complete a 10K distance at the end of 13 weeks. Your personal pace is entirely up to you, and you should, for the most part, be relaxed, steady, and able to carry on a conversation. Whether you are a beginner, or already an avid walker the SportMedBC Walk10K Program will provide you with a comfortable progression of distances and change-of-pace to ensure your training is successful. You will have variety and flexibility within the program to progress according to your own level, and as a Nordic Walker you will gradually learn to become more comfortable and efficient with your poles.

LearnToRun10K

If you’ve never run before, or if you’ve not done any running for 3 months or longer, then this is the program for you! You’ll notice the gradual progression in which the walking time decreases as the running time slowly increases, so that by the end of 13 weeks you will be prepared to choose to either Walk/Run10K or Run10K. This carefully tested exercise plan involves three training sessions each week, ranging in length from 28 minutes to 76 minutes. A sports watch can help you time the walk/run segments of your sessions.

There is great flexibility in this program in that if you discover you are most comfortable with a combination of walking and running, and decide not to progress to running only, you can choose the Walk/Run Option after 6 weeks.

The most important thing to remember is that speed at this stage is irrelevant. Your “run” portion should be a very slow jog, always at a comfortable talking pace, (i.e. you should feel as though you could briskly walk as fast as you are running) and be able to carry on a conversation, 2 or 3 sentences at a time, without losing your breath. If you find the pace is too slow, be patient and resist the temptation to skip ahead. You won’t increase your fitness just your risk of injury.

Run10KStronger

You have either already completed the LearnToRun10K program and are ready to progress further with your running, or you’ve been running on your own 2-3 times per week for about 30 minutes, and you’re ready for some variety in a program. Perhaps you’d like to learn to run a little faster, or simply feel more comfortable when you run. Your goal for following the InTraining Run10KStronger program should be to complete a 10K at the end of 13 weeks more comfortably than you ever have before. Your personal pace is entirely up to you, and you should, for the most part, be relaxed, steady and able to carry on a conversation. This program will provide a gradual progression in distances as well as intensity, so that your personal pace will improve because it will feel easier.