|
 |
Thu Aug 27 · 🇺🇸 |
Home•Blog•News•Share•Apply•Plans•Store
|
 |
🌍 Receiving this in the wrong language? Update preferences in the footer → Español 🇪🇸 |
|
👋🏻 Hey Reader!
Thursday August 27 · Short edition
Yesterday we kicked off the Chicago series and several of you wrote me something along these lines: "Henri, I can't even run a 5K yet — this is way over my head."
Relax. Today is for you.
If you started recently or you're thinking about starting, the first four weeks decide whether this becomes a habit or just another attempt.
|
|
The mismatch that causes injuries
|
WEEKS
for your heart
|
MONTHS
for your tendons
|
You'll feel capable of more than your structure can tolerate. That's the risk.
|
|
|
|
👟 The mistake I see every January (and every September)
Someone decides to start. They go out Monday and run 25 minutes because "it felt good." Wednesday they repeat it. Friday their knee hurts. The next week they run twice because the pain didn't fully clear. By week three, they've stopped.
It isn't a willpower problem. The first weeks of running don't look like the ones that follow, and treating them the same is the most common mistake I see in new runners.
|
|
📅 The plan, week by week
Three sessions a week, always with a rest day between each. And one rule that overrides all others: if you can't hold a full conversation, slow the pace — not the time.
|
| WEEK 1 · Establish the pattern, not the volume |
|
1 min running / 2 min walking × 8 (24 min total). No continuous running yet. The temptation to "hold on a bit longer" is the most dangerous of all, precisely because it doesn't feel dangerous in the moment. |
| WEEK 2 · Extend the intervals, not the total |
|
90 sec running / 90 sec walking × 8 (24 min total). Total time doesn't change — the ratio does. It's a progression of stimulus, not volume, and it's the safest way to adapt the Achilles, plantar fascia and shin. |
| WEEK 3 · First continuous block |
| Two sessions of 3 min running / 1 min walking × 6, and a third with 10 continuous minutes. This is where people get excited and want to see how far they can go. Resist it: the point of those 10 minutes is low-intensity continuity, not maximum effort. |
| WEEK 4 · Consolidate, don't accelerate |
| Two sessions of 15 continuous minutes and one of 4 min running / 1 min walking × 5. By the end of the month you should be able to run 15 to 18 minutes straight with no warning signs. That's the real goal — not speed, not distance. |
|
|
✅ YOU'RE FINE IF…
Fatigue is diffuse and clears with a good night's sleep.
Your heart rate drops faster after finishing than last week.
You look forward to the next session, not dread it.
|
|
|
⚠️ PULL BACK IF…
There's sharp pain, always in the same spot.
Pain lasts more than 24-48 h after running.
You change your footstrike to "dodge" a niggle.
|
|
|
🧠 If a warning sign appears, the right response isn't resting a full week or pushing through because it's on the plan. It's dropping intensity and volume for that specific session, keeping the frequency if you can, and watching for 48 hours. Compensation creates a second injury on top of the first. |
|
|
What I look at in someone's first month
I don't look at how many minutes they ran on the last day. I look at the trend: did heart rate drop on the same segment compared to week 1? Does the same interval feel easier? Those two data points say more than any distance number.
I also ask how they slept that night and how they felt the next day climbing stairs. In new runners, recovery counts as much as the session — usually more.
|
|
|
|
Your question today
Which of the four weeks are you in — or which would be your week 1?
Reply with the number. If you're about to start, tell me what day you head out first.
|
|
|
🎁 Run together, earn rewards
Know someone who wants to start running and doesn't know how? This email is exactly for that person. Every subscriber through your link brings you closer to the next reward.
|
 |
|
Your personal link to share
[RH_REFLINK GOES HERE]
VIEW MY REWARDS →You have [RH_TOTREF GOES HERE] referrals · Code: [RH_CODE GOES HERE]
|
|
|
|
Coach Henri
USATF · TrainingPeaks · Certified Functional Strength Coach
Tomorrow: what a properly structured week actually looks like.
|
|
|
Pray 🙏 · Love ❤️ · Run 🏃♂️
USA · COL · VEN
Unsubscribe · Update preferences · Actualizar preferencias
© 2026 Project Management of Running LLC · El Paso, TX 79911
|
|
