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Jeff Galloway approach to R/W/R London Marathon 2014 -Help!
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Chris - yes, it was a very hot day here today - over 23 degrees when we were out shopping this afternoon.
Any chance you can get to a physio to get your ankle looked at? They would be able to advise whether to run or not. But you are right to think in the long term, better to DNS than to get injured and be out for a long time
I've just sat on my balcony at 6.30am with the first coffee of the day and it's warm. On the 2 Oct! WHAT is going on with this weather?!
I chatted to brother this weekend, he has run the London Marathon I think 4 times. He made the following suggestion: At the VLM the noise from the crowd will be so loud that you won't hear your alarm every 4/1 minutes to time your run/walk. Constantly looking at your watch to check your time is going to getting very annoying over 26 miles so run to each mile marker and then walk for a bit, then run to the next one.
I can see my brother's point about the noise and watch checking, but wondered what experienced run/walkers have to say about running pretty much a mile before the walk break? This seems a long time to me (I do about 12m45s min miles with R/W 4/1). Do other have other suggestions?
I have tried run walking without a watch and it was very nice though I think I probably run a bit longer than if I'd timed myself.
Hi all
just thought I'd bring this thread back to the top for all the new to marathon runners and anyone worried about not making it to the start line because of injury.
just to update on my situation. I ended up doing 3 marathons last year, all using RWR. The last on New Years Eve was a PB. I finished it in 5:35:43. I am about to do another low key marathon next Sunday, only 3.5 weeks after the last one. I have 9 booked for this year. I will RWR all of these. Any questions do ask.
you will be shocked, I'm sure, to know that I run all my marathons usin 30secs run/30secs walk throughout, and from the very first mile. It is perfect for a 5:15-5:30 marathon. The constant move from ru to walk and back relieves the pressure on the body and gives as good a protection from injury as you can get. The shorter the segments the more protection you get.
Hi Chris, yes I am shocked I suppose! I dont plan to do a marathon in the near future but would be interested to hear how you train for this kind of marathon and how much time is actually spent per week in training. as im 52 this year and only just started back on c25k after a very long layoff, im interested in anything that is more gentle on the body!
Polly
Hi Chris - brilliant to see how you are progressing and that is a brilliant PB! Are you still getting coaching from Jeff?
I ended up doing 2 last year - I did York too in October, but training in the run up to it wasn't ideal and I ended up nearer 6:30 but I finished and it was a great marathon, and I wasn't last!
I am planning on Manchester in April and probably Nottingham in the autumn. I am still doing rwr and will probably use 30/30 - that is what I am using on my longer runs at the moment,
Pollym2
there is losts of info on this thread and I would definitely look at Jeff Galloway's site. Jeff now e-coaches me from America. Which is great. I do 3 runs (sometimes 4) per week. The long ones come round every 3 weeks. I am hoping to start doing marathons on those weeks. It is the best approach to running I have ever come across. I still continuously run when I go to the club and I have improved my pace within the group. I was a bit worried, well a lot really, last year that run/walking would mean I would not be able to run continuously. I can reassure you this is not the case.
Hi Mathschick
good to heaR you are still running. As you can see above I am still working with Jeff, and am still improving. I found that not leaving such a big gap between marathons really helped. My last marathon was very comfortable and my recovery time is amazingly quick now. It will be interesting to see how my body copes this Sunday, as 3.5 weeks is a very fast turnaround. I feel great, but you never know how you really are until you put it to the test. I am doing London and York this year, as well as a marathon in New Zealand in March. The others are low key affairs. If all goes well, I will be trying to do my first back to back marathons in early December.....but there is a long way to go before that.
oh New Zealand sounds amazing!
I really enjoyed York - really well organised and the marshals were excellent - I think the attitude of the marshals can really make a race special, or make it awful if they are grumpy!
I am still combining a lot of triathlon stuff with my running - so lots of biking and swimming.
Have you done a Tri yet? I swim like a brick and would have to get off the bike and push on the downhills as the speed would scare me to death. Ha. Probably not a good sport for me.
Hi Chris, very interesting! I definitely find that when run walking I go faster on the run part! I suppose I just cant shake the idea that im cheating so hate to walk! I am going to try it though when doing my longer runs!
Chris - i have done a few tris and am aiming at a half ironman this year. The downhills on the bike scare me too!
polly - run/walk has made a massive difference to me and last year I finally finished my first marathon and had a whole year injury free. I did a second marathon too. As Chris said - the recovery is amazing. First day after my first marathon I was expecting to struggle, but I was fine. And after the second I was back at work the next day no problems.
Lovely to see this thread back. Run walk saved me at my trail half yesterday. Had my knee all strapped up after overdoing it 2 weeks ago and had already decided to walk the really steep muddy bits and walk bits of the other climbs were needed but had a major slump after the steepest downhill bit about 8 miles so I started running 20 - 40 steps then walking the same (depending on sleepiness) it got me going again. Finished only 4 mins slower than when I did the race last in June fully fit and no pain after.
Am definitely going to be doing a lot more walk run this year as I'm doing the marathon distance of this race in June, my first ultra in August then Snowdonia marathon in October.
Mathschick - that sounds amazing. Half ironman, sounds like a huge challlenge. Run/walk would be really good for keeping going after the swim and bike. I'm told lots of people use it. Great that you have had a year without injury too. It has got to help increase fitness Levels.
Chrissi - Jeff says that most people can use run/walk to keep theor fitness up during periods of injury. One of the worries with stopping training following injury, is that you come back weaker than before the injury, this leaves you even more vulnerable. It beats months stuck cross training in the gym.
Chris - thanks for advice am definitely going to use walk run for a couple of weeks till I'm sure knee is definitely ok (no pain since last weekend so think it was just a bit of overuse from trying to do Insanity at full pelt and ignoring the protests from my legs to slow down a bit)
Was planning on getting out this last week but floored by the worst cold I've had for years Monday on another sign id pushed myself a bit too much I guess.
Mthschick - I'm in awe of anyone who can do a tri let alone a half ironman. Completely agree about marshalls makng or breaking a race especially at the back end of the field.
I think you really have to not worry about what other people are thinking/doing. Last year with run/walk in the last few miles of every race I did I overtook people that were much younger and fitter looking than me! for me that was brilliant
Hi all, I've been reading this thread as I am thinking about the LM again next year (scary even to say it!) and would like to try RWR.
I did it in 2005 and did 5.20 (of which at least 20 mins was loo stops, I am sure!). I don't want to set a time target if I do it again, just to get round and enjoy it (which I really didn't last time - like a dead man walking from about mile 19).
I wondered if any of you did it today, and if you used RWR, how did it go?
I've looked at JG's site and am slightly confused about how to decide my RW ratio. If I was looking at a 12 min mile pace in his tables for long training runs, does that mean average of 12 mins across the run and walk parts, or 12 min miles for the run parts only?
Thanks in advance!
hi tiger
It means average of 12 min miles combining the running and walking
I think the best thing is to do a magic mile (info on his website about that) and use that to guide what pace and ratio you should be using
Hello one and all! Been reading with interest. I did VMLM this year using 2.15:45 and finished strong in 4:53. Just signed up for e coaching and currently trying 30:30 for long runs.
hi charlie!
that's a great time to finish VLM in - well done
I am training for Nottingham marathon now, just wish it wasn't so hot! I am doing 30:30 on my long runs, and then all kinds of things on my shorter runs.
Hi - I have a running dilemma!! I have entered for my first marathon (Jersey, October 2017) but before that I have my third half marathon in Inverness in March...
My first half was Bath in March 2016, I tried to run all the way, had to run-walk from mile 9, having struggled for miles 6-7...
My second half was the GNR in September 2016, which I set out from the first to run-walk JG fashion, using the 4/1 ratio - I knew I couldn't run it all because I had a dreadful cough...
I enjoyed the GNR far more than Bath even though I finished half an hour slower!
Should I try to run all the way round in Inverness - or do I go for the more enjoyable option and run-walk...?
do whatever you want. What is your training like now? Will you be able to build up to running all the way by March? Nothing wrong with doing run/walk though so if that is what you want to do, train that way
Thanks very much! I try to run 10 miles every weekend but the last few weeks I've either run that distance in 2 sessions (morning 5 miles, afternoon 5 miles), or else run-walked it (which I did last week as I'd hit and bruised my knee getting off the train), so I should be able to get up to a non-stop run in a half... I guess I need to decide what I want my goal to be and go for it! Thanks for the advice