Why is even a slow, short jog much more taxing than a long walk?

Question

I’m trying to do Couch to 5K at the moment to improve my personal fitness.

I can do long walks of an hour or more (10k+ in one go) with relative ease.

Yet a one minute run (which is Week 1 Workout 1 in C25K!) at an INCREDIBLY slow jogging pace is pushing my heart rate nearly to dangerous levels and I am finding it immensely challenging.

So what is it about a light jog that makes it so much more difficult than walking?

In: 38

Answer 1

Simple answer–you’re simply doing a harder activity when jogging, by moving faster. So you’re doing more work (energy) in less time.

If you’re doing a C25K (ie: aren’t already a runner), then you’re finding that the change of land speed is not linear from standing still to running, with regards to energy. There’s a much bigger jump in effort/energy required to jog than to walk, even if you move the same speed. This is the point that a lot of C25Kers stop at because the difference is jarring. Jogging slowly is just really hard too–you’re moving up and down rather than just running. Keep pushing past this part, and you’ll be able to jog with more natural form at a sustainable pace.