I had a pretty hot date with Teddy Treddy yesterday morning. I say hot because one of the air-cons at the gym was busted! My training plan called for 8 miles and I won’t lie, the distance made me nervous. I have not run that long in AGES. After reading so much about the Galloway”Ralking” method (running + walking), I decided to give it a shot. Psychologically, eight run/walk segments seemed more digestible than the idea of running 8 miles straight up. I’ll give you a break-up:
What it’s all about:
- The Galloway Walk/Run method is a ‘highly structured approach that inserts intermittent walk breaks in between bouts of running.’
- To control fatigue, ralkers stick to a ratio of running to walking. I went with the 9/1 method (run for 9 minutes, walk for 1 minute).
- To receive the most benefit, Galloway suggests you take walk breaks before you even start to feel fatigued. It felt very odd to take a walk break when I didn’t “need” it but I didn’t want to knock it.
Why try this method according to Galloway:
- Conserve resources: By using muscles in different ways from the start, your legs can keep their bounce. Also the workload is distributed among a variety of muscles rather than just placing all the workload on running muscles.
- Postpones fatigue: I was shocked how great my legs were still feeling after 5 miles in.
- Speeds up recovery: less damage to repair because the early walks erase fatigue, and the later walk breaks will reduce muscle overuse and/or breakdown. Just for the record, my legs didn’t experience an ounce of soreness this morning.
- Faster overall pace: sounds too good to be true? I thought so too!
Why try this method according to Me:
- The 8 miles flew by
- Knowing I had the walk break coming up encouraged me to run a little faster & harder
- Facilitates pacing during a long run without the concern whether you’re setting off too fast/holding back too much
- I ended my run feeling strong & alive as opposed to sloppy & exhausted.
The name says it all–> ralking really is rocking! 😆
It’s safe to say that I’m a Galloway convert. I was a bit skeptic about the claim that my overall average pace would increase but proof is in the pudding:
- Last week I ran 7 miles in 68m26, which is an average pace of 9m46 per mile
- Today I “ralked” 8 miles in 76m57, which is an average pace of 9m36 per mile
- Bear in mind that during yesterday’s ralk, I reached 7 miles at 67m30, which is an average pace of 9m38 per mile (8 seconds faster per mile than last week)
I now have no doubt that I’m going to smash my 10-mile goal, and probably in a better time than I expected. I definitely see a half-marathon in my near future. For all the skeptics or running purists that claim walk breaks are a sign of weakness/giving up, I’ve got 6 words for you: See ya at the finish line!
How do you tackle your long runs/improve your overall speed?
Interesting post. I usually just head out strong, at a pace I can hope to maintain and if I need to walk, I walk.
I love you for this post! You know how much I love walking “breaks!” I totally think you should sign up for a half 🙂
Yess, I knew you would be on board about walk breaks :)! There is a half mara here in January which is already shut for registration…hopefully I can run for a charity!
Hmmm I should try this next time I get my arse to le gym (which might be today). Ralking sounds like my type of stride!
Do itttt, you’ll feel like a Ralk-star…hahah 🙂
I took some walking breaks on my run today! I felt like total poop so it was necessary 🙁
Woo well done for sticking out the run though 🙂
This actually sounds really good! As of today I’m officially training for a half marathon in March so I need all the help I can get. Just out of curiosity do you run outside or on a treadmill?
Right now I’m running on a treadmill..it’s too hot in Mumbai to run outdoors and I’m not committed enough to wake up at 5 am to run ha! When I’m in London though, I only opt for outdoor running–> I try to make the most of it while I can!
Wow, this is a really informative post! I’ve never heard of the Galloway Method, but it seems really effective! Ralking 8 miles in 76 minutes is really fast. I feel like I would be much more productive doing ralks like this instead of just running straight through like I usually do. Thanks for the info!!
I hate to say it but I was one of those ppl who thought walk breaks = giving up…totally not true! It was an excellent run and definitely more efficient! Give it a shot, I think you’ll be a fan too!
Ha! Totally should have used this method properly when I ran a 10k on the weekend. Kinda was doing unintentionally due to my stupid knee injury but I tend to try and run too hard too fast so I’m gonna have to go back to the basics and build back up this way.
Although I find it harder to do when running outside then on the treadmill – have the same problem?
Hope your knee was feeling okay after the 10k! One reason I think I will stick with Galloway for long runs is because of injury- I can’t imagine having to take a hiatus from running! As for outdoor running- a lot of people find it harder than the treadmill but I actually find it easier..probably because I’m not so focused on the numbers!
Ralking sounds doable to me 🙂
Love this informative post!
Super doable!
I love your brinner party idea on your last post! Such a cute way to switch things up, and not to mention absolutely delicious looking! This is a great post too, very informative! I’m slowly getting into a workout routine, so I love to hear about new techniques and concepts!
I think that Galloway method is awesome, but I like your term of “ralking” even better! 8 miles on the treadmill is hardcore! 6 is pretty much my max on the treadmill. I improve my speed through workouts on the track and what not. I love long runs! I rarely go further than 8 miles in my training so it’s extra special when I get to do more!
Just found your site! LOVE the run walk method for long runs. Really makes the run go smoothly.
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