11.96 km Run Walk Workout: 5 x 1 km Intervals for Endurance and Speed
A breakdown of my 11.96 km run walk workout featuring five 1 km running intervals, consistent pacing, heart rate analysis, and lessons learned from a challenging endurance session.
11.96 km Run Walk Workout: 5 x 1 km Intervals for Endurance and Speed
This morning’s workout was a strong 11.96 km run walk workout combining endurance training with faster running intervals. The session followed a simple but effective structure: a 1 km walk followed by a 1 km run, repeated five times, then a final walk to cool down.
The aim was to build aerobic fitness, improve running speed, and maintain consistent effort throughout the session.
Workout Summary
- Distance: 11.96 km
- Duration: 1 hour 29 minutes 27 seconds
- Average pace: 7:29 per km
- Average heart rate: 120 bpm
- Maximum heart rate: 159 bpm
- Calories burned: 923 kcal
Workout Structure
The session was completed using a walk/run interval approach:
- Walk 1 km
- Run 1 km
- Repeat for 5 running intervals
- Walk the remaining distance as a cool down
This format allows quality running efforts while keeping overall fatigue manageable. The walking sections provided enough recovery to maintain good pace during each running kilometre.
1 km Running Interval Splits
- 1 km: 4:52/km
- 2 km: 4:36/km
- 3 km: 4:42/km
- 4 km: 4:36/km
- 5 km: 4:28/km
The biggest positive from this workout was consistency. Each running interval stayed close in pace, and the final 1 km was the fastest of the session. Finishing stronger shows good pacing control and improving endurance.
Heart Rate Analysis
The average heart rate of 120 bpm shows that the overall workout was controlled, despite the harder running sections. The highest heart rate reached 159 bpm during the faster intervals.
- Extreme effort: 11 minutes
- Anaerobic: 14 minutes
- Aerobic: 12 minutes
- Fat burning: 48 minutes
- Warm up: 2 minutes
The combination of lower-intensity walking and faster running created a balanced workout that challenged both endurance and speed.
What Went Well
- Consistent running pace across all five intervals
- Strong finish with the fastest kilometre saved for last
- Nearly 90 minutes of total movement building endurance
- Good balance between aerobic training and higher-intensity efforts
Lessons From This Session
This type of run walk interval workout is a useful way to improve fitness without needing to run continuously for the entire distance. The walking recoveries allow faster running segments while still building overall endurance.
The next progression could be increasing the number of running intervals, reducing recovery time, or adding an easy continuous run on another day to complement the harder sessions.
Final Thoughts
Today’s 11.96 km run walk workout was a challenging but rewarding session. The combination of steady recovery walks and fast 1 km efforts produced a well-rounded workout that improved endurance, speed, and pacing confidence.
Consistency is the key to progress, and sessions like this are a great way to keep building fitness over time.
