The Run / Walk Combo
Applying walk breaks uniformly through a long run requires a certain level of patience as I get into running mode and am suddenly interrupted for a minute of walking. However, long runs become more palatable especially in warm and humid weather. This strategy is commonly referred to as Gallowalking, named after Jeff Galloway.
I know that walking is the mortal enemy of running. Walking has a connotation of being bad when in fact it can help in the long run. Going through my 2008 running log data, I composed of graph of how much distance is walked when I applied this technique to some of my long runs, including a marathon. In reality walking is interspersed throughout the course of the run, but in the graph the walking is lumped at the top.
Walking distances range in the ballpark range from 1 to 3 miles for a long run. The details of the long runs when I applied the Gallowalking technique are listed below. Starred walking distances* included an interval where I skipped one walk break.
| Date | Ratio (min) | Run (mi) | Walk (mi) |
| 6/15/2008 | 5:1 | 9.99 | 1.06* |
| 6/28/2008 | 5:1 | 11.8 | 1.31* |
| 7/13/2008 | 5:1 | 14.06 | 1.64 |
| 7/26/2008 | 5:1 | 16.29 | 1.72 |
| 8/9/2008 | 4:1 | 14.1 | 1.6* |
| 8/30/2008 | 4:1 | 20.12 | 2.92 |
| 9/20/2008 | 3:1 | 6.65 | 1.31 |
| 9/21/2008 | 3:1 | 14.21 | 1.84 |
| 11/2/2008 | 7:1 | 23.82 | 2.35 |
I cannot say for certain that this improves my marathon time, as I will need to apply this strategy to a marathon in the same warm and humid conditions that I have in the past. When running a marathon in NYC last year, I was blessed with temperatures of climbing into the low fifties (degrees Fahrenheit) in the afternoon. That’s unheard of in Florida.
Not Me
Someone whistles to my right. I catch a glimpse of someone sitting in the comfort of their back porch chair. An arm is raised into the air and I see their hand giving someone a “thumbs up” gesture.
A group of teenagers mention how hot it is. Thanks for mentioning that. As they sit by the side of the road, I hear “How does he do that?” and “He must practice a lot.”
Routes Less Traveled
Location: Wesley Chapel, FL 33544
A white arbor marks the beginning of an asphalt trail that winds its way through the backyards of the Seven Oaks community. Often times a pond separates rows of backyards from the exercise path. Take note that one or two footbridges are unlit at night, and you won’t be able to see where you are stepping.
The start of this route begins at a Sam’s Club parking lot, located on the north side of SR-56 about 2-3 miles east of I-75 (exit 275). It’s best to turn left at the light at the Seven Oak’s entrance if you are coming eastbound from the Interstate.
The first white arbor is located approximately .35 miles from the parking lot and the trail ends shortly after 2 miles after which you have the option of running on the sidewalk or in the bicycle lane of the road. Landscaping prevents you from running a continuous route on the grass.
If you take close look at the map by clicking on the picture, you’ll notice a location labeled Wooden Footbridge. The trail appears to end at a residential road but if you look carefully to your right, you will notice that it continues on the other side of the road a block down the street. It took me a year of running this route to finally discover it.
Total Distance: 4.5 miles.
An extension of this route adds approximately 1.8 miles. Continue south after reaching the analog clock and make a right onto another asphalt trail. The beginning of this trail appears south of the Professional Park at a large green box marked 1133.
Total Distance: 6.3 miles.
In the Long Run
The cornerstone of any long distance training program is the long run. You think that there’s no way you can possibly travel that far of foot, and ultimately, you will prove yourself wrong.
Comparing the weekly long runs of three publicly available training programs out on the Internet, you have the following graph. This plots the distance of the long run and not the weekly accumulated mileage.
Galloway’s “to-finish” and Cool Running’s intermediate training schedules share the same sawtooth pattern of long run mileage. Higdon’s intermediate program is a steady upward climb to the end goal.
Commonalities
To provide balance to the seating arrangement, I pick a front chair on the left side of the room. I have only seem him in passing once and little is known about him. Likewise, the same could be said about most people who don’t sit in the general vicinity of me.
He must be right-handed as I’m the first lucky person picked. After telling everyone what I do, I have to share something non-work related about myself. Most people who know me know what it is. I go through the list.
“Well, in high-school I roller-bladed around my neighborhood. No, that was after being on the swim team. Then, I did SCUBA diving for awhile. Then, I got into running and I’m kind of stuck with it.”
The progression from thing to thing is over a span of ten to fifteen years and not necessarily in that order.
He responds with, “Oh, I’m a runner too.”
After some more talking he mentions, “We should go jogging sometime.” The probability of that happening is up to par with me winning the lottery and being blasted into space with a barrel full of monkeys.
As introductions circle the room, a few mention that they run. I already know who does. She mentions that she’s getting ready to run her first 5K. That’s new.
The guy in back of the room mentions he bikes the entire trail on the weekends. My first thought is, “How far is that?” Followed by a, “Holy s***,” as I vaguely remember. The mileage that he says comes close to the temperature of a warm summer morning in Florida.