Walking question
 

This might seem like an obvious question, but how do you know when you're ready to try walking at normal speed?

I've been doing slow walking (in comfortable trainers with good cushioning) for several months. I'm now walking every day, and 2x or 3x on some days. Most of the time, my body still "wants" to go slow, so I'm still taking things very deliberately, but I don't know whether this is because I'm now used to going slow (sort of a chicken-or-the-egg scenario).

Does your body "let you know" that it's OK to start going faster, or do you have to push yourself a bit and see what happens? I guess I could try walking for 15 mins slowly and adding in a few minutes of normal walking here and there and gradually build up.

In my experience, I have to push myself a bit and then see how I do. You could add "fartleks" (small random bursts of speed) into your walk and see how that goes. You probably need to pay attention to how you feel afterwards as well as during -- at least for me, the overload doesn't usually show up until later.

Test yourself. Make sure you have a couple days afterwards that you dont have much to do in case you experience a setback. But sounds like you have been taking it nice and slow and resting a lot, so it will hopefully go well for you! Good luck!

I pushed myself a little bit at least once a week and I noticed I felt worse immediately after but the next time I went out, it was easier to do. This "pushing" isn't the amount of pushing you do when healthy... it's minor but you will feel it. Don't push it all the time though. You'll know when it's too much and you will feel awful and crazy. : ) Once a week was enough for me. More than that and I would feel aggitated.

I think it's varies based on the person. I just started walking again. The first couple of days my head was pounding. I kept going and it got better. I dream about running but I'm afraid of bouncing my brain around like that. I do bursts of fast walking. I get nervous because of my clumsyness. I do miss the days of running carefree, doing gymnastics in the yard. I think all we can do is try and see. :)

Good luck...