Walking is incredible exercise, but few of us go out and do it at an intense effort for hours. The hours upon hours of being on your feet for the 13.1 miles you have to walk can take a toll on your body when not done right.

Finish your run with some gentle stretching.Walking a half marathon is not as easy as it may sound. You can also do a run/walk combination or cross-train. Your short-run should be at a very easy (EZ), comfortable pace, which helps loosen up your muscles.

Sundays: This is an active recovery day.

You should be able to breathe easily and talk in complete sentences comfortably during your run. Run the designated mileage at an easy, conversational pace.

Saturdays: This is the day for your long, slow, distance run.

It's important that you're feeling strong and rested for your Saturday long run. If you're feeling very sluggish or sore on Friday, take a complete rest day.

Fridays: Do a cross-training (CT) activity (biking, swimming, elliptical trainer, etc.) at easy-to-moderate effort for 30 to 45 minutes.

It's also beneficial to do overall body strength training at least once a week to build muscle endurance and reduce injury risk. Others are cross-training (CT) days when you should do a cross-training activity (biking, walking, swimming, elliptical trainer, etc.) at easy-to-moderate effort for 30 to 45 minutes.

Wednesdays: Some Wednesdays are designated rest days.Or run a few miles at 5k-10k goal pace (tempo run) to test pacing. If you are feeling tired, it's okay to run at an easy pace. Tuesdays and Thursdays: After your warmup, run at a moderate pace (slightly faster than your long run pace) for the designated mileage.Rest is critical to your recovery and injury prevention efforts, so don't ignore rest days.

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