Long distance runners...do you use the 5min/1min run/walk??

Jonny00GT

Jonny00GT

Chapter Presidents
May 19, 2011
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#1
I just heard about this yesterday. One of the guys in my running club said his first half marathon is still his fastest cause he did the race with his sister and they did an easy warm up and then ran hard for 5 and walked for 1. He finished in 2:12, I think. Yes, that's not blazing to the fast people, but to me, anything under 2:30 would be awesome for my first half coming up in November! (barefoot ofcourse!!)

Any pointers would be great!

-Jonny
 
#2
Jeff Galloway has a book or

Jeff Galloway has a book or something about this. I have no patience. If I stop to walk, even just to get water, I have a hard time getting going again. I need discipline.
 
#3
During my long run last

During my long run last Saturday (13.1 miles) I stopped every 15 minutes to drink some of my Hammer Perpetuem. I walked for maybe 20~30 sec everytime, just enough to take 3 good sips without rushing. I am not coordinated enough to drink while running. If I try, I end up out of breath and with most of the drink on my shirt or face.

I didn't try to go fast but it was the fastest i did on that distance, 2:18. And I had plenty of energy left. Last May I ran the same route in 2:25 but I was not walking so regularly and I didn't have good nutrition/hydration plan and I ended up exhausted and sore.

I would say, try it and see how it works for you. I used to think that walking was cheating when I started running less than 18 month ago but I totally changed my mind. At the begining, the walking breaks similar to Couch25k were what got me started.
 
#4
For a half marathon,

For a half marathon, depending on the amount of water stops, I personally found if you start a little slower than your race pace to get your legs and your breathing into a good rhythem (that doesn't look right), then pick up to your race pace. You should be able to get through to the water stations (I am used to them every 3 miles or so) for your walk/hydration points. I am not supersonic fast either but using this stragedy I have been able to whittle my time down to a 2:02 for the first half of my marathon that I ran last weekend.
 
#5
If you want to do it make

If you want to do it make sure you train it, tinker with the schemes a bit initially and then go with the one that feels the best. Or read his advice too, he is more specific.

FWIW sometimes I want to kill the run/walkers because you pass them, then they pass you over the entire race. Bastards!!!!
 
#6
LOL, Abide!!  I know what you

LOL, Abide!! I know what you mean! "Hey...that only counts as one pass, damn it!!!"

Good point about not trying something new for the first time at the race. I noticed I run faster with my running club, in spite of that fact that we always stop 3-4 times for water breaks where the coolers were put out.

After telling my wife about it yesterday, she did 4:1 this morning and finished her hour at just under 5 miles with an avge pace between 11 and 12min/mile where she normally runs 5 miles in 1:15+ at 12-13m/m when she runs straight through.

I'm definitely going to give it the shake down next week on my long runs. If it works for me, I'll use it in my 15K Oct 30th as a test run for my Half in November. I need to play with it and see if 5min is long enough. My rate comes down pretty quick, so I'm sure 1min of walking is fine, but I gotta find the right balance.

Thanks for the feedback!

-Jonny
 
#7
A friend of mine ran CC for

A friend of mine ran CC for Penn State and his fastest time on a CC course (17min and something) was the result of 400m sprints followed by a period of walking to recover. I've noticed that when I run, the further I get into my workout, the more my pace drops no matter how hard I try to push myself. Even a minute of walking allows me to jump right back into my 'race pace' without too much of an issue.
 
#8
Although I can see why it

Although I can see why it isn't very popular I'm a big fan of walk breaks. Mostly because, as a bit of a newbie runner, I still have a hard time keeping my heart from reaching red line when I run. So when it comes to longer distances I am faster, run with better form, and feel better aftwards when I take breaks. I used to think this was cheating... but now I just consider it part of my running survival strategy.

Perhaps if I was better at managing my pace, or even just had better conditioning, I could run more non-stop... but once my wheels start turning I find it hard to hold myself back.

I like to take these breaks early in the run, before my HR is through the roof, and my legs start using up their energy stores. If I'm still feeling good at the end... which I usually do with these breaks... I can always choose to finish strong. So manditory breaks at the start and optional breaks at the end... that's my approach.

For the record I always try to not stop abruptly in the middle of a pack with people pacing behind me... it's just bad form. I signal and pull up out of the way when I can.

There are several online walk/run pace calculators.

The link below is the one I use most... do the math... I think you'll be surprise how little a few intervals of walking will affect your overall pace.

http://www.thatpagethere.com/gallowalking.html

S. Pimp.
 
#9
In Marathons and any training

In Marathons and any training run longer than 12/13, I'll walk every mile to drink/GU. About 10 seconds is all I take or a hair more if I shake out my legs, eat my gu or salt packet, get the drink in, wipe sweat and then go. One must be careful in a race situation because stopping in the middle of the course will piss people off. I tend to pull to the side at speed and stop when I know no one is behind me. It works well to grab you water from the water stop and pull over there because many people are stoping or slowing down anyway. If you go beyond the tables you'll be doing yourself and everyone a favor.

With this said, not sure how well it does for me as I been doing it ever since I started running long distances. I can't really compare it to straight running.
 
#10
I'm interested to hear about

I'm interested to hear about the results. I think it likely takes a lot more discipline and mental focus to do the walk breaks which is likely why people end up being faster, not really so much because of the way it physically allows recovery which I am very skeptical about (sustained mental focus is key to running fast IMO and changing pace every few minutes encourages that). You might not know this, but some peope train mostly running straight through and use run/walk for speed sessions and race efforts.
 
#12
Angie Bee wrote:walking

Angie Bee said:
walking hurts more than running for me. The transition between gaits just doesn't work for me. Running seems more relaxed and efficient to me.
Click to expand...



...and that was what I was looking for. I wasn't sure if I was the only one. I have to completely change the way I walk barefoot to lead more with the knees and land flat footed or it hurts my heels after a while. Still, I'm going to give it a shot some time this week. I want to compare times to my PB 5K and see how it washes out doing maybe a 5min run 30sec walk.

Funny thing is, I just finished one of 3 books I picked up at half priced books, "Running and Racing after 35" and picked up Jeff Galloway's 5k, 10k and marathon training book and what should I find, but the run walk method! Just sort of reinforced the legitimacy. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

-Jonny
 
#13
This is pretty interesting. I

This is pretty interesting. I do the intervals just for breathing purposes. (asthma) I would get frustrated and upset in the beginning of our training but now knowing that I can last longer on long runs I do it and don't worry about it. My husband can run straight through without stopping and often leaves me way behind but I just tell myself one day I will get there. Our first half is in November and it feels like it's right around the corner and I'm not ready yet! I will have to give the 5/1 a try on our next run and see how it goes.
 
#14
Jonny00GT wrote:Angie Bee

Jonny00GT said:
Angie Bee said:
walking hurts more than running for me. The transition between gaits just doesn't work for me. Running seems more relaxed and efficient to me.
Click to expand...



...and that was what I was looking for. I wasn't sure if I was the only one. I have to completely change the way I walk barefoot to lead more with the knees and land flat footed or it hurts my heels after a while. Still, I'm going to give it a shot some time this week. I want to compare times to my PB 5K and see how it washes out doing maybe a 5min run 30sec walk.

Funny thing is, I just finished one of 3 books I picked up at half priced books, "Running and Racing after 35" and picked up Jeff Galloway's 5k, 10k and marathon training book and what should I find, but the run walk method! Just sort of reinforced the legitimacy. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

-Jonny
Click to expand...



I think you nailed it. For me, it's like a completely different sport to walk/run than to just run. When you throw barefooting into the mix it gets even weirder.
 
#15
I was run/walking in my

I was run/walking in my marathon last weekend only due to the heat and the rough terrain and it was my worst time ever. I ran a 4:46:17 marathon in 30C heat . My best time is 4:00:07 in 0C-15C temp where I didn't walk through any drink stations as I tend to cramp up and find it very painful to start running again. I found this out while on a 40Km run. Ran into friends around the 19km mark and had a chat for about 10min and my legs just felt like death when I tried to restart. So i vowed I would run the whole way.

Both marathons were barefoot.

My first marathon I ran in VFF's and walked through all drink stations and also cramped and had a rough run in the rain around 13C the whole time .Ran 4:39

I think the key if you do the run/walk combo is to start early and keep to a schedule and that should reduce cramping and keep your legs from building up too much lactic acid. I should try it sometime but it's a bit much to keep in my head when running barefoot for 42km. Have enough on my plate:)
 
#16
I did my best to run this way

I did my best to run this way this morning. It was okay. I wasn't quite ready to stop running after every five minutes to walk a minute. I think I'll tweak it a little next run and go maybe 8 minutes. I did find I was able to recover my breathing better along with some Buteyke style breathing. I was able to keep up with my husband better which is good cause I don't like eating his dust. I was able to run a little faster too which I liked a lot.
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#17
For me running and then

For me running and then walking causes me a lot of cramps and then I also end up with a lack of motivation to start running again. I find what works best for me is to start at a slow pace, and gradually, usually about every mile, pick up the pace, and then finish strong by sprinting the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile.
 
#18
So a couple weeks ago, hubby

So a couple weeks ago, hubby had a conversation with a marathon runner and they were discussing intervals of 2:1. I've been doing that for over a week now and I must say that I like it that way. Running 2 minutes and walking 1 has proven to be very effective for me especially now that the air is getting cold. I plan on running like this for our first half and see how it goes. After that I will increase interval timing.
 
#19
Nick, I used to be like that

Nick, I used to be like that but now I don't have problems at all and I feel great ofter a long run.

I don't use the 5 to 1 formula but I should. I use the 10 to 1, run for 10 mins and walk one min. I am going to try the 5 to 1 on my next long run.
 
#20
Barefoot Dama wrote:Nick, I

Barefoot Dama said:
Nick, I used to be like that but now I don't have problems at all and I feel great ofter a long run.

I don't use the 5 to 1 formula but I should. I use the 10 to 1, run for 10 mins and walk one min. I am going to try the 5 to 1 on my next long run.
Click to expand...

Post up how you like it. I'm going to try it in a race situation for the first time on Sunday for my 15K...see if I'm fresher at the end than the last couple times I've gone 9+ miles...

-Jonny
 
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