Per title. There have been quite a few posts lately from new runners who are frustrated with having to either run more slowly than they want to or having to take walk breaks in order to keep their heart rate down.

First, I'm a big fan of Coach Jeff's Run/Walk/Run system, and if you're new at this, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Second, I am well aware that I run slowly; I am a dedicated runner, just not a fast one.

Anyway, the first two screenshots are from yesterday's run. You can see I kept the pace mostly steady, but took a break after the first mile. My heart rate really started creeping above where I wanted it during the second mile, so I started taking walk breaks every half. By the time I got close to the end, I decided to take more frequent walk breaks.

Today I was deliberate about it, programming set time intervals into my Forerunner (265s) so it would alert me. I actually ran the running intervals slightly faster than my run pace yesterday. Regular walk intervals - consistently, from the beginning of the run, much earlier than I felt I "needed" - allowed me to keep my heart rate down where I wanted it. I also covered slightly more ground, and my average pace was the same as yesterday's, even with the walk breaks. 

Garmin called my efforts yesterday a Base run, which I felt; today's efforts got categorized as a Recover run, which I think is hilarious.

Anyway, hope this helps someone who is struggling mentally with the idea of walking to keep their heart rate down!

In praise of run/walk