But it is also possible that the method can help you better your time too. Galloway himself set his best time of two hours and 16 minutes in the 1980 Houston Marathon event when he took a 15- to 20-second walk break every two miles. For me, this method helped me shave 11 minutes off my previous marathon time.
What are the disadvantages of the walk and run method?
Although the run and walk method has tons of amazing benefits, it also comes with some drawbacks. For one thing, people like me who are used to running non-stop may have a hard time finding their rhythm at first, though Galloway thinks that eases up the more you do it. The switch between running and walking was a bit distracting during a few training runs, though it didn’t bother me during the race.
What’s more, the plan can be psychologically difficult to follow early in the race, when you’re feeling fresh and raring to run, and everyone around you is still running. That’s something I dealt with in London, when literally everyone was passing me during my first handful of walking breaks and I had to control my urge to keep up with the pack.
How can the walk and run method be put into practice?
As we mentioned earlier, there’s no set way to split your run and walk intervals—the best pattern is the one that works for you, says Hamilton. The key though is to try it out during your runs before you try it out during a race.
That was a problem for me: During an 18-mile training run, I tested a ratio of three and a half minutes of running to 30 seconds of walking, and found that the high frequency of walking breaks made me feel like I needed to run. when I finally started to pick up the pace again. That ended up seriously fatigued my muscles, and I finished the race with a slow and painful shuffle. Had I tried that specific run-to-run ratio for the first time, my London experience might have been drastically less fun. (Instead, I chose to go with a 30-60 second walk after every mile, which felt really doable.)
To be successful, Hamilton says, “you have to accept the fact that you’re not trying to ‘make up’ for the walk break in the run segments.” I reminded myself of this several times on race day morning, as I knew that if I was left to my own competitive devices I would surely pick up the pace during race intervals and exhaust myself.
Related to this, don’t worry about walking fast during your breaks either. The goal isn’t to do a “power walk,” Galloway says, since a long stride, especially one that doesn’t come naturally to you, can cause more fatigue and even more injury, he says. Just walk normally and comfortably.
If you’re using the walk-run method in a race, start with a more conservative ratio so you can preserve muscle strength, says Galloway. Then, if you feel good after a third or a half, you can adjust your game plan at that point. During the last third or quarter of the run, you can make further adjustments, and in some cases stop walking breaks altogether; that’s what I did after mile 21.
On the tag front, if you’re running in a crowded race, signal to the people around you that you’re about to take a walking break by waving your hand as you move to the side of the road, Galloway says. This will reduce the chances of you catching the runners directly behind you off guard by suddenly slowing your pace. Then, before you start running again, look around to make sure you’re not going to cross or start right in front of someone, she adds. Everything is courtesy.
Finally, if you are concerned about the stigma of walking during a foot race, which Safely it was, until I realized how much it was actually helping me, knowing that “there’s no shame” in slowing down, Hamilton says. He just remembers this: the way you choose to complete a distance doesn’t change the fact that you got to that finish line.
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