Countdown to NYC: Galloway Method

I have a small confession… I totally underestimated the commitment of running a marathon. Whew, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I feel a little better. Seriously, training is becoming a part time job that is soaking up my free time and energy. However, I refuse to give up, and I recently devised a new game plan to get through the next couple months of training. The first step was to get some HELP. I got a few recommendations from my running pals and I decided to turn to the guru, the Jay-Z of running, Jeff Galloway. Ok, maybe he is not Jay-Z, but his running method is one of the most widely used marathon training methods in the history of training methods. I picked up a copy of Marathon: You Can Do It! The title alone makes me feel a little more empowered. “Yes, I can!” In his book, Galloway details his famous training plan, the Galloway method. The gist of the method is that by taking short breaks throughout the run, you can run a faster race and injury free. Here are a few specifics about the program. 1. Intervals – Basically, you are balancing running with walk breaks. The training plan recommends 3:1 and 2:1 intervals. However, after trying these intervals, I realized that what works best for me mentally and physically is to run 10 minutes and walk 2 minutes. I started doing this because I wanted to run through my first mile, which takes me about 10 minutes. Also, since I am training in the middle of summer, I’ve found that I like having a water break around every mile, which is what this pace averages out to. 2. Injury Free Running – Say what? Yeah, injury free is pivotal for me in my old age. This method can be injury free because you are only running three days and cross training for one day. The cross training days consist of swimming, cycling or some other low impact exercise. Although it doesn’t help that much with overall endurance, the cross training does help with fat burning and to keep you from wearing out your joints. The book also gives helpful advice on nutrition and mental preparedness. Have you guys implemented the Galloway method into your training? What are your thoughts? Did you run a faster race? Were you able to run injury free?

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