Curious about marathon run/walk ratios

[C. Beth Run.]

I just finished my first half marathon on Sunday. I was able to run the whole way (though I did stop a few times to work out some tight muscles.) And I think some day I might like to do a full. I'm not even sure about it and certainly haven't set any goals for when I'd like to do it, but I'm definitely thinking about it.

I think I'd probably want to move to a run/walk combo for a marathon, at least for my first, to make training feel more doable. I was thinking, if I did 3 miles running/1 mile walking, that might work. A marathon would include 7 running segments (the last one just 2.2 miles) and 6 walking segments. Total 20.2 miles running and 6 miles walking.

I have no idea if this is a good ratio or not. It seems I usually hear about people doing shorter walking segments, so 1 mile of walking seems like a lot. But my thought was that it would give me plenty of time to recover and be ready for 3 more running miles. I'm considering even trying a 15-miler sometime before too long, with this plan, just to see how it feels.

I'm curious, if you do run/walk combos on your long runs, do you have a specific ratio you use? Or do you base it on uphills/downhills? Or just do whatever feels right at the time?

Again, this is very preliminary, but it's fun to think about.

 

[SillyC]

Beth - one of the "problems"

Beth - one of the "problems" with this strategy is that it will mean a lot of time for you on the course, and your long runs in training are going to take a really long time. While short walk breaks (like through the aid station) don't add a lot of time, these long walk breaks will. How long has it been since your last "decent" meal? Are you starting to get sunburn? How LONG have you been on your feet?

If it works for you, it works for you... but it may actually be easier on you to run more and walk less.

 

[saypay45]

Here's the thing about

Here's the thing about establishing a strict run/walk ratio. It's super hard to stick to when you're actually doing the race. At the beginning, you're feeling good, and you don't want to be forced to walk. Near the end, you're exhausted, and might want to walk more than your ratio allows.

I think you should train as if you will run 26.2 nonstop. It can be done. Then if you want to take a break during the race, go ahead a do it. I walked about 15-20 minutes of my first marathon (through every aid station, and up every large hill). Nothing wrong with it.

 

[ajb422]

 If you want to do run walk

If you want to do run walk combos it might be worth looking into Galloway programs. I'm pretty sure he integrates walking into his programs and I think he's the one best known for that so he should know what he's talking about .

Here's a link to the part where he talks about taking walk breaks.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/walk_breaks.html

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Thanks, SillyC, saypay, &

Thanks, SillyC, saypay, & ajb, for the input! I really appreciate it. I think part of it is just wrapping my mind around 26.2 miles. 13.1 was hard!! But I have to remind myself, a year ago I was amazed when I ran 20 minutes straight. I certainly couldn't have imagined plugging along for 2 1/2 hours.

I like the idea of training as if I'll run the whole way, and I also like the Galloway idea since he has such respected training programs. I'm going to think about both of those options, as I consider whether or not this is a goal I even want to set!

 

[miker]

Beth, Hal Higdon also has

Beth, Hal Higdon also has multiple training programs. If I remember correctly, he walked through every water stop in one marathon, and still finished in under 3 hours (if I remember correctly).

I am trying to maintain bf fitness this winter, because next year I want to do a marathon bf. Haven't run a marathon in 4 years because of hip pain. So, we'll see how it goes.

I have never been able to run with a pace group, for the reason SP mentioned above. I want to run too fast early on, then when they pass me later in the race, I don't have enough left in the tank to hang with them. I keep meaning to try one, but that damn adrenalin kicks in and I'm off, for a couple of miles anyway ;-)

But if you do decide to train for a marathon, do not underestimate the long runs. Don't talk yourself out of them, or you will pay for it come race day (Mike, speaking from experience). ;-)

 

[jschwab]

Another alternative is to do

Another alternative is to do long runs straight-through and stick to strict run/walk intervals for the actual race (which are usually much shorter than what you're suggesting, like 5 minutes run/1 minute walk). With my half marathon experience (I've done three) I've come to the conclusion that shorter, harder runs is how I would train for a marathon - max 18 miles for the long run.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

I second the Jeff Galloway if

I second the Jeff Galloway if you are interested in run/walk approach. Nothing wrong with this method. In fact I know someone who ran a 3:50 marathon using the run/walk approach, that is a fantastic time.

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Thank you all for the great

Thank you all for the great input! This is a lot of good stuff to ponder!

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Beth, I have ran four

Beth, I have ran four marathons following the Galloway method, sort of.

The first one I run I did strictly follow what Jeff told me during the pasta dinner.

The other three marathons I follow my own method which is...

Run the first three miles nonstop and after that I follow the 10/1 ratio..run for ten mins and walk for 1 min.

You have to be very disciplined and stick to it even you feel good. Which I guarantee that you're going to feel REALLY GOOD throughout the race and there won't be any recovery time...I swear!

 

[Jimmy Hart]

 Just to say I gave my

Just to say I gave my opinion I've known Galloway a long time and learned his method from him a long time ago. I have used it with more runners than I can count and they have all finished the marathon they used it for. The points people have made are very on point. It is difficult to follow both in training and the race because when you feel good you don't want to stop and walk. I have also used it personally and once I got used to the walking aspect (mentally and physically) I found my runs were a lot easier.

The short one minute walk break gives you a lot of time to recover. Your heart rate comes down, your breathing settles, and your muscles get a chance to clear out and refill some nutrients and oxygen. All in all I say you cannot go wrong with the Galloway method and using it will get you across the finish line in a relatively easy fashion.

Best advice I can give, outside of saying Galloway's method is great, is to tell you to just pick a marathon and go for it. Thinking about it is a vicious cycle and I've watched people who could have run one sit around thinking about it for years because it's scary. You've run a half...with a good training cycle you can be ready to finish a full.

 

[sole_foot]

Another vote for Galloway

Another vote for Galloway with Dama and Jimmy.

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/marathon.html I would recommend picking up his book. I used a variation of his training schedules for my first and have followed it to varying degrees in all my marathons. I agree with Jimmy. Pick a race and go for it. Good luck!

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Galloway really does sound

Galloway really does sound interesting. Sole_foot, thanks for the link, and thank you to everyone else for the advice!

I have some potential stuff happening in the next few months that would prohibit training for a marathon so at this point I've got to keep it at the "thinking" phase. But I suppose I could keep up the long runs I've been doing, so that if marathon training does end up being a good idea in several months, I'm that much closer to it.

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Okay, one more question. I

Okay, one more question. I checked out the link that sole_foot posted, from the Galloway site. He recommends a LOT of walking!! For someone with my (slow) pace we'd probably be talking about a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio! I like the whole "run for 10 walk for 1" idea that Dama has, and I might even be able to get myself to run 5 min/walk 1...but walking for half the time or even 1/3 of the time is something I just don't think I could do. Ideas on how important those super-frequent walk breaks are?

 

[C. Beth Run.]

Thought I'd post a quick

Thought I'd post a quick update. I went on a 6 mile run today and did 4 minutes of running/1 minute of walking. It was so fun!! I was able to run so much faster than I usually do and felt like my legs were looser and more free since they had all those little breaks. My IT band (my problem area) felt some tightness but never cramped up--which I think might be due to all the walk breaks, loosening it up. Plus, while my pace wasn't as fast as it has been on my 5 mile & 10K races, it was definitely faster than most of my 5-7 mile training runs. So I think this is going to work pretty well.

And I've decided, I just won't follow Galloway's advice to have such walk-heavy ratios. I love running; I'm still going to run a large majority of the time. But if I'm walking 20% of the time and it's making me a better runner for the remaining 80%, that's so worth it.