There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what it means to run a marathon. For sure I was among those who thought that a finish “didn’t count” if it involved any non-running steps. My very first half marathon (actually my first-ever race) was a bit of a nightmare. I was completely undertrained, and it was cold and pouring rain the whole time. And I was convinced I had to run it all. Somehow I dragged myself across the finish line “running” at the pace of Flash the sloth from Zootopia, but it was quite a while before I wanted to put any running shoes on my feet again. But I was not yet enlightened.
A few years later I ran my first marathon. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore, and then I walked for miles. Also not very fun. And I was still not enlightened. And I did it again. Now I did happen to notice that time that runners were using (rather annoying) timers that beeped a whole lot, but I wasn’t sure what to make of them. For sure, I thought anyone I saw walking in the first mile of the race was doomed. The third time I went for the Disney Marathon, I got this wild idea to actually do a training program. I download a bunch of materials from the runDisney website, and I was introduced to the Jeff Galloway method.
Now there’s much more to this program than I can cover in this post, so I recommend you go straight to the source for all the sweaty details and learn all you can at jeffgalloway.com. The core of the program is simple, by breaking your run into short run-walk-run intervals, you conserve your strength and last longer during a race.
Now I was super skeptical. How can you possibly finish a marathon within the time limit with so much walking going on? Well, guess what – that energy you conserve during the walk intervals helps you to run faster during the run intervals than you would be running if you didn’t take the walk breaks… it all evens out. Most runners I know who have switched to these types of intervals end up with similar times for runs with no intervals. But guess what… at the end of the run, you’re in much better shape than you would be if you ran the whole distance, and the whole experience is so much more enjoyable.
At my age and weight, I’m not sure that I could complete a marathon if I tried to run the entire way. But guess what, I don’t have to do that! This method has afforded me years of long-distance running that I don’t think I would have had otherwise. I’m still in the game, and I have Jeff Galloway to thank for that.
For sure I made plenty of mistakes, mostly by keeping my run intervals too long. Once I finally read all the materials on Jeff’s website, I realized that my run intervals should be 90-seconds or less. It’s only the elite runners that run for 4 or 5 minutes at a time, like I was attempting. Total gamechanger for me to find the right intervals. It’s definitely OK to try out different intervals while you’re training, or even during a race. You can make it what your body needs in the moment.
The only thing you really need (other than to read through his training plans) is a way to time the intervals. For years I looked at my watch a lot and did a lot of math. When I discovered I could program my Garmin watch to buzz at me for various intervals, it was such a blessing. I’m not sure how I missed out on that fetaure before. I think most sports smartwatches will do this – for me it’s a must-have feature. If you don’t have access to an interval timer on your watch, for sure there are lots of free interval timer apps on the web that will do the same thing.
There’s lots more to the Galloway Method – go check out his website! Have you run the Galloway Method? If you’re a fan or not, I’d love to hear about your experience. Drop a comment!
Disney Park Runner 