RunningAHEAD - Topic: Questions about group running...Comments on Galloway..Ect

BenBuck6

posted: 7/3/2008 at 9:46 AM

So, my life has been hectic to say the least for the last 4 weeks, but on Saturday I started running again after a few week lay off. It was my first group run. We are using the Galloway method, but I will get to that. Anyway, we had 3 groups in our group. A beginner group (they did the run/walk for 4 miles - most of these were avid walkers trying to move up to running), a middle group ( 8 mile run/walk for folks that have been running a short time and not in prime shape), and the advanced group that ran 12 miles run/walk style. I was in the middle group. Here is my dilema...I am definitely not there with the fast group yet but the middle group was too easy and I found myself pushing them too hard and having to back down. I could have kept up with the advanced group using the run/walk system they were using but it wouldn't have been the typical long easy run I am used to. So right now, I am a tweener. Do I lay back or push to join the fast group? Our target race is a marathon in December. Right now, my plan is to do the long run with the middle group and train using the advanced group's training plan...hopefully I will catch them after some weight loss (30 more lbs). Now to Galloway...I think this is great system for me...being my first marathon. I ran the 8.2 miles just above I normally would and felt like I could have gone another 5 miles easily at that pace (my group did a 3 min run 1 min walk). I can see the debate about it though. Anyway, back to my problem...push for the fast group or stay with my group? Also, I like the group running...I am a social person but I am also very competetive. So knowing the times of the person ahead of me gives me something to shoot for.

2008 GOALS GET BELOW 175 (at 175 now) RUN 6:00 MILE (at 6:29) RUN BELOW 25:30 5K RUN BELOW 55:00 10K RUN A MARATHON (DEC. 6TH - MEMPHIS - ST JUDE)

JakeKnight

posted: 7/3/2008 at 9:55 AM

I'd stick with the slower group. The single biggest factor in improvement is remaining uninjured; conversely, the reason most people fail to reach goals is pushing too hard too soon and getting hurt. At this stage, especially for marathon training, you can't run too slow. If you need more distance, run a few extra miles on your own later. As for Galloway - as I've said before, I love the guy. He got me started. I still walk in most of my training, and I think its why I never, ever get hurt. But with that said ... don't be a slave to it, and don't be afraid to move past it. At some point, you'll find yourself just skipping some or all of the walk breaks. Especially during the race itself. Just let that happen when it does. I no longer see any need for walking in marathons, except to drink at aid stations for a few seconds. It'll happen naturally at some point. Same thing for the walk/run ratio - don't be a robot that always does that 3:1 or 5:1 or whatever. If you don't feel like walking, don't. Maybe walk more on uphills, less on down. Find what works best for you, on that day and on that course. I like Galloway - but I think the biggest problem with him is people either taking his advice out of context, or failing to understand that it needs to be flexible and adapted specifically for the individual.

E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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jEfFgObLuE

I've got a fever...

posted: 7/3/2008 at 9:58 AM

Quote from JakeKnight on 7/3/2008 at 9:55 AM:

I like [insert name of any advice guru in any field here] - but I think the biggest problem with him is people either taking his advice out of context, or failing to understand that it needs to be flexible and adapted specifically for the individual.

Not so much fixed as generalized.

On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

JakeKnight

posted: 7/3/2008 at 10:08 AM

Quote from jEfFgObLuE on 7/3/2008 at 9:58 AM:

Not so much fixed as generalized.

Good point.

E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com
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BadDawg

posted: 7/3/2008 at 11:14 AM

Quote from JakeKnight on 7/3/2008 at 9:55 AM:

As for Galloway - as I've said before, I love the guy. He got me started. I still walk in most of my training, and I think its why I never, ever get hurt.

Ditto. I'm knocking on wood for both of us Jake, hoping that crack I just heard wasn't a medial distal tibia...

E.J.
Greater Lowell Road Runners
Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

spaniel

Feeling the growl again

posted: 7/3/2008 at 11:20 AM

Assuming you don't have an injury-prone history, I would use the faster group for "workout" days, and the slower group for easy/long run days.

"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

JimR

posted: 7/3/2008 at 11:24 AM

Group runs of this nature are about distance, not speed. You can suggest/ask if the 8 mile group can be split up into slower and faster subgroups, but I'd just go with the flow if I were you.

Questions about group running...Comments on Galloway..Ect (Read 540 times)