“I will never forget the total focus on my mum and her family – nothing was too much trouble and all was explained/discussed. Miraculously my mum could make her wishes known – difficult to communicate, but staff were so patient.”Relative of a St Ann’s Hospice patient All quotations and photographs are used with permission.

E-mail updates

Training for the big night

The Manchester Midnight Walk is designed to be an achievable distance for everyone involved but you may benefit from a little pre-walk training.

Manchester Midnight Walk – Training Programme

It’s really easy to incorporate walking into your everyday life, by making small changes to your daily routine you can easily get fit enough to walk the Manchester Midnight Walk. Below are a few tips to get you started:

Walk to work if possible or if you take public transport why not try getting off the bus a stop earlier or parking your car further away
Why not walk to get your daily paper
Rather than send an email to a colleague, go and see them instead
Walk to get your lunch time sandwich
Take the stairs rather than the lift
Get off the sofa and do some marching on the spot while you are watching your favourite TV programme

It is also worth noting that people who exercise are more likely to eat healthier and less likely to smoke so it can really help boost your health

Week 1: Getting Started

Time: Start with a daily 15 minute walk at an easy pace. Weekly total goal: 60 – 75 minutes.
Walk five days the first week. We want to build a habit, so consistency is important. Spread out your rest days, such as making day 3 a rest day and day 6 a rest day.

Week 2: Start to build the distance

Time: Add 5 minutes a day so you are walking 20 minutes, 4 days a week.
The fifth walking day is a mileage-building day with a walk of 30 minutes.

Week 3: Walk at a Moderate Pace

Time: Add 5 minutes a day so you are walking 25 minutes, four days a week.
Mileage-Building Day: On your fifth walking day, walk for 45 minutes.
Walk at a moderate, determined pace you should still be able to carry on a conversation and not be out of breath, but you may be breathing more noticeably.

Week 4: Building Mileage

Time: Add 5 minutes a day to walk 30 minutes, 4 days a week, at a moderate pace.
Mileage-Building Day: Walk for 60 minutes at a moderate/easy pace.

Week 5: Work on Speed

Time: Walk 30 minutes a day four days a week.
Mileage-Building Day: Walk 90 minutes at an easy pace.
Try building your speed during your shorter walks – if you have not been using arm motion, this can be the key to increasing speed.

Week 6: 10K Mileage

Time: Walk 30 minutes a day four days a week, paying attention to form and speed techniques.
Mileage-Building Day: Your long walk this week should be 10K (6.2 miles) at a moderate pace. If you are already a fast walker, you may have achieved that with the 90 minute walk. This week, measure a route that is 10K and walk a moderate pace.

Weeks 7 and 8: Add Intervals

At this point, you could complete your 10K walk. But if you would like to challenge yourself further and have the time to build your aerobic fitness and speed, add interval workouts to your shorter walks while keeping your long walk at an easier pace.

To introduce intervals into your training you could use lampposts as your markers – walk to one lamppost at a moderate pace and then increase your speed to the next one – repeat this 8-10 times. Alternatively if you haven’t got any markers walk at a fast pace for 30 seconds and then rest for 1½ mins and repeat 8-10 times. When doing intervals make sure that you do a good warm up and cool down.

Mileage-Building Day: Walk 120 minutes at a moderate pace. This may mean that you walk more than 10K, which will help your endurance during the 10K walk.

Week 9 and Beyond

If you still have time before your 10K walk, you can turn your long walk of the week into a simulated race every-other week. Aim to walk it at 80% of the speed that you hope to walk the 10K, rather than keeping it to an easy pace.

You can also increase the distance of your long walk on the week where you are keeping the pace easy. Add 15 minutes to it every-other week. The increased distance and time will help build your stamina and endurance.

Good luck!

Why not take some photos of your training to inspire others – post them on facebook www.facebook.com/manchestermidnightwalk or send them to jwatts@sah.org.uk and we will do that for you!

Choosing the correct footwear

To prevent injury during training or on the night itself, it is vital to wear the appropriate footwear. Common problems that can occur with inappropriate training shoes are:

Blisters
Black Toenails
Shin Splints
Sore Knees.

Even though you will be undertaking a walk it is advisable to wear a running shoe, as running shoes have maximum impact protection through a cushioning system designed specifically to protect your joints.

This information was provided by Brooks UK and Ireland, a running shoes specialist, for more information please visit their website.

Share this page