Marathon training using walk breaks

June 7, 6:42 PMSF Diet and Exercise ExaminerDiane Taylor

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Photo courtesy of Big Sur International Marathon

Training for a marathon often seems like it will take a minimum requirement of a few months of strenuous training and a whole lotta pain. It's a careful balance between building the body up and tearing it down to get ready for the 26.2 mile run on race day. Some runners don't even sign up for a marathon knowing how difficult it is to stay committed to a fitness goal over time.

But it doesn't have to be that way. A marathon training program that includes scheduled walk breaks has been shown to have the following benefits:

• quicker recovery for muscles
• stronger finish at the end of the race
• easier to follow and therefore easier to stick to
• reduced risk of injury
• faster finish time

World class athlete Jeff Galloway has been successfully using this training technique (the Galloway Marathon Training Program) on thousands of athletes from beginners to veteran runners. 

The breaks aren't for when you get tired. They are built into the schedule and are determined by your pace. If you run a 10-minute mile, you will run 3 minutes and walk 1. This can be both physically and psychologically easier to handle when heading out the door for an hour run. It breaks up the monotony and eases the pounding on your body.

Purists might be tempted to think this method is not for serious runners. Testimonials say otherwise. While this method is great for beginning runners or first-time marathoners, experienced endurance athletes who have hit a wall with their time or have reoccurring injuries are reaching PRs (personal records) with this method.

Besides increasing your finish time, it may be a way to extend your running career by a few years and keep that race t-shirt inventory fresh.