The Run Walk Run Method

by Jeff Galloway

  Running – Getting Started

  This is more than a state-of-the-art book for beginners. It gently takes walkers into running with a 6-month schedule that has been very successful. Also included is information on fat burning, nutrition, motivation, and body management. This is a great gift for your friends or relatives who can be infected positively by running.

  Running Injuries – Treatment and Prevention

  Dave Hannaford is one of the best resources I’ve found in explaining why we get injured and how we heal. He breaks down each major running injury to help you diagnose, treat, and heal. I have written the section on prevention based upon more than 30 years of no overuse injuries.

  Cross-Country Running

  Record numbers of young people are joining cross-country teams at the high school and junior high level. This book has pre-season and in-season training for the various cross-country events with nutrition, motivation, injury trouble-shooting, and other backup information. Specific chapters are included on strategy, hill training and technique, running form, efficiency drills, terrain training, and much more.

  Galloway’s Book On Running 2nd Edition

  This is the best-seller among running books since 1984. Thoroughly revised and expanded in 2001, you’ll find training programs for 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons with sections on nutrition, fat burning, walk breaks, motivation, injuries, shoes, and much more. This is a total resource book!

  Galloway Training Programs

  This book has the information you need to train for the classic event: the marathon. It also has schedules for the half marathon and 10-mile race. New in 2007, this has the latest on walk breaks, long runs, practical nutrition, mental marathon toughness, and much more.

  Half Marathon: You Can Do It

  This new book provides highly successful and detailed training schedules for various time goals for this important event. Information is provided on nutrition, mental preparation, fluids, race-day logistics and checklist, and much more.

  Running – Testing Yourself

  Training programs for 1-mile, 1.5-mile, 2-mile, and 5K runs are detailed, along with racing-specific information in nutrition, mental toughness, and running form. There are also some very accurate prediction tests that allow you to identify a realistic goal. This book has been used effectively by those who are stuck in a performance rut at 10K or longer events. By training and racing faster, you can improve your running efficiency and your tolerance for waste products like lactic acid.

  Galloway’s 5k/10k Running

  Whether you want to finish with a smile on your face or reach a challenging time goal, this book is a total resource for these distances. There are schedules for a wide range of performances; tips on how to eat, how to predict your performance, and how long and how fast to run on long runs; and drills to improve form and speed training. There is also extensive information on mental preparation, breaking through barriers, practical nutrition, and more.

  Trail Running

  Jeff Galloway teaches you to start trail running the right way with his unique way of guaranteeing an injury free running style. The book covers training plans for beginners and advanced runners as well as a wide range of trail running equipment, especially the whole range of trail running shoes.

  Nutrition for Runners

  With Nancy Clark (RD)

  Using material from renowned nutritionist Nancy Clark, Jeff Galloway gives the reader tips on what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and how to combine all that with your training schedule while still retaining the chance to enjoy other aspects of life.

  America’s Best Places to Run

  By Jeff and Brennan Galloway

  This book enhances the running experience by offering access to very special running routes. It gives a preview of the scenery with directions to the start and special instructions to enjoy the area. The book also includes tips on training for trail running, dealing with elevation, running uphill and downhill, terrain issues, and endurance.

  Boston Marathon: How to Qualify

  Galloway’s successful training schedules include all of the elements needed to qualify based upon Boston Marathon standards. Galloway’s magic mile gives a reality check on progress and sets realistic pacing goals for long runs and the race itself.

  Jeff Galloway’s Training Journal

  This is an upgraded version of my original training journal. You’ll have one year of log entries with instructions on how to set up training for various goals, analyze data, track performance, etc. This journal can allow you to organize, stay focused on your goal, and evaluate your training. There is also space for recording the unexpected thoughts and experiences that make so many runs come alive again as we read them.

  Running schools and retreats

  I conduct motivating running schools and retreats. These feature individualized information and form evaluation, and comprehensively cover running, nutrition, and fat burning.

  lolofit apps

  These apps provide daily coaching from me for 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon training. As an extension of my training programs, I have teamed up with lolofit to bring these workouts into your daily life. Now, you can have a custom program, including music with a variety of Run Walk Run® strategies to choose from. Go to www.Jeffgalloway.com and click on the loloFit link.

  Vitamins

  I now believe that most runners need a good vitamin to help the immune system and resist infection. There is some evidence that getting the proper vitamin mix can speed recovery. The vitamin line I use is called Cooper Complete, created by Dr. Kenneth Cooper. In the process of producing the best body of research on exercise and long-term health I’ve seen anywhere, he has found that certain vitamins help in many ways.

  Buffered salt tablets

  The most common reason for muscle cramping is not inserting walk breaks early and often enough in long runs and races. But if your muscles continue to cramp on long or hard runs at very short Run Walk Run® intervals, buffered salt tablets can probably help. The buffered sodium and potassium tablets get into the system more quickly. Be sure to ask your doctor if this product is okay for you, particularly if you have high blood pressure. If you are taking a statin drug for cholesterol and are cramping, it is doubtful that this will help. Ask your doctor about adjusting the medication before long runs.

  Toys: Heart monitors and GPS devices

  Heart monitors

  Left-brain runners who are motivated by technical items and data tracking tell me that they are more motivated when using a heart monitor. Right-brain runners who love the intuitive feel of running find that the post-workout number crunching is often too intense, jolting them out of their transcendental state of running. After talking with hundreds of both types of runners, I came to the conclusion that there are benefits to using a heart monitor, especially for runners who are doing speed training.

  Once you determine your maximum heart rate, a good heart monitor can help you manage your effort level. This will give you more control over the amount of effort you are spending in a workout, so that you can reduce overwork and recovery time. As they push into the exertion zone needed on a hard workout, left-brain runners will gain a reasonably accurate reading on how much effort to spend or how much they need to back off to avoid a long recovery. Many type-A runners have to be told to back off before they injure themselves. I’ve heard from countless numbers of these runners who feel that the monitors pay for themselves by telling them exactly how slow to run on easy days and how long to rest between speed repetitions during workouts. Right-brain runners admit that they enjoy getting verification on the intuitive evaluation of effort levels. The bottom line is that monitors can tell you to go slow enough to recover, how long to rest during a speed session, and what your red zone is during a hard speed workout.

  All devices have their technical difficulties. Heart monitors can be influenced by local electronic transmissions,
and can have mechanical issues. Cellphone towers and even garage door openers can interfere with a monitor on occasion. This is usually an incidental issue, but keep in mind that if you have an abnormal reading—either high or low—it may be a technical abnormality.

  Be sure to read the instruction manual thoroughly, particularly the section about how to attach the device to your body for the most accurate reading. If not attached securely, you will miss some beats. This means that you are actually working a lot harder than you think you are.

  I suggest that you keep monitoring how you feel at each 5% percentage increase toward your maximum heart rate. Over time, you will get better at the intuitive feel, for example, of an 85% effort when you should be at 80%.

  Get tested to determine your maximum heart rate

  If you are going to use a heart monitor, you should be tested to find your maximum heart rate. Some doctors—especially cardiologists—will do this for you. Other testing facilities include human performance labs at universities, and some health clubs and YMCAs. It is best to have the test supervised by someone who is trained in cardiovascular issues. Be sure to say that you only need a maximum heart rate test, not a maximum oxygen uptake test. Once you have run for a couple of months with the monitor, you will have a clear idea what your maximum heart rate is from looking at your heart rate during a series of hard runs. Even on the hard speed workouts you can usually sense whether you could have worked yourself harder. But until you have more runs that push you to the limits, assume that your current top heart rate is within a beat or two of your current maximum that has been previously recorded.

  Use the percentage of maximum heart rate as your standard

  In general you don’t want to get above 90% of your maximum heart rate during workouts. At the end of a long training program, this may happen for a short period during a speed workout, but your goal is to keep the percentage between 70% and 80% during the first half of the speed workout or longer run, and minimize the upward drift at the end of the workout.

  Computing maximum heart rate percentage

  For example, if your maximum heart rate is 200, then:

  90% is 180

  80% is 160

  70% is 140

  65% is 130

  Maximum heart rate for easy days

  When in doubt, run slower. One of the major reasons for fatigue, aches and pains, and burnout is not running slowly enough on the recovery and fun days. Most commonly, the rate will increase at the end of a run. If this happens, slow down and take more walk breaks to keep it below 65%.

  Maximum heart rate between speed repetitions

  To reduce the lingering fatigue that may continue for days after a hard workout, extend the rest interval walk until the heart rate goes down to this 65% level or lower. At the end of the workout, if the heart rate does not drop below this level for 5 minutes, you should do your warm-down and call it a day, even if you have a few repetitions to go.

  Maximum heart rate during speed work

  Run more smoothly on speed repetitions so that your heart rate stays below 80% during speed work. If you really work on running form improvements, you can minimize the heart rate increase by running more efficiently: keeping feet low to the ground, using a light touch, maintaining quick but efficient turnover of the feet. For more info on this, see the running form chapter in this book, or in Galloway’s Book on Running, Second Edition.

  Morning pulse

  If the chest strap doesn’t interfere with your sleep, you can get a very accurate reading on your resting pulse in the morning. This will allow you to monitor overtraining. Record the low figures each night. Once you establish a baseline, you should take an easy day when the rate rises 5-9% above this. When it reaches 10% or above, you should take an extra day off. Even if the heart rate increase is due to an infection, you should not run unless cleared by your doctor.

  Two-minute rule for long runs

  Use the two-minute rule for the pace of long runs, not heart rate. Even when running at 65% of maximum heart rate, many runners will be running a lot faster than they should at the beginning of long runs. Read the guidelines in this book for pacing the long runs, and don’t be bashful about running slower. At the end of long runs, remember to back off when your heart rate exceeds 70% of the maximum heart rate. There will be some upward drift of heart rate due to fatigue at the end of long runs. Keep slowing down if this happens, so that you stay around 70% or lower of your maximum heart rate, even during the last few miles.

  GPS and other distance-pace calculators

  There are two types of devices for measuring distance, and both are usually very accurate: GPS and accelerometer technology. While some devices are more accurate than others, most will tell you almost exactly how far you have run. This provides the best pacing feedback I know of—except for running on a track—so that you don’t start your runs too fast, etc.

  Using more accurate products gives you freedom. You can do your long runs without having to measure the course or being forced to run on a repeated—but measured—loop. Instead of going to a track to do speed sessions, you can very quickly measure your segments on roads, trails, or residential streets with GPS devices. If your goal race is on the track, I recommend that at least half of your speed sessions be run on the track. This relates to the principle of training called specificity.

  The GPS devices track your movements by the use of navigational satellites. In general, the more satellites, the more accurate the measurement. There are shadows—areas of buildings, forests, or mountains—in many areas where the signal cannot be acquired for (usually) short distances. You can see how accurate they are by running around a standard track. If you run in the middle of the first lane (not right next to the inside) you will be running about .25 mile.

  The accelerometer products require a very easy calibration and have been shown to be very accurate. I’ve found it best to use a variety of paces and a walk break or two on the calibration in order to simulate what you will be doing when you run.

  Some devices require batteries, and others can be recharged. It helps to go to a technical running store for advice on these products. The staff there can often give you some gossip on the various brands and devices from the feedback they receive about how they perform in real life.

  The Galloway Run Walk Run® Timer

  Timers take the guesswork out of Run Walk Run®. These devices can be programmed to beep or vibrate for the amount of running and then the amount of walking.

  Those who have trouble taking the walk breaks early in the runs find that they become like one of Pavlov’s dogs as they reprogram the subconscious brain. You don’t have to stress over walk breaks, just listen for the beep.

  One of the benefits of wearing the timer in a race is that the beep will warn other runners near you as you move to the side of the road to take walk breaks. In the beginning of a race, some runners like to use five beeps, and then change to two beeps later in the race.

  When running in quiet surroundings or in nature you can use the vibration mode.

  Credits

  Coverphoto: © Thinkstock/iStockphotos

  Coverdesign: Sabine Groten

  Layout: Andrea Brücher

  Typesetting: Andreas Reuel

  Copy Editor: Anne Rumery

  E-book: Gregor Meisen

  Imprint

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  Jeff Galloway: The Run Walk Run® Method

  2nd revised edition 2016

  Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., 2013

  ISBN 978-1-78255-412-7

  All rights reserved, especially the right to copy and distribute, including the translation rights. No part of this work may be reproduced – including by photocopy, microfilm or any other means – processed, stored electronically, copied or distributed in any form whatsoever without the written permission
of the publisher.

  © 2013 by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.

  2nd revised edition 2016

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  ISBN 978-1-78255-412-7

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