You Can Do It!

Since I couldn't really find a marathon training program that lasted 3-4 weeks, I decided to figure out my own plan. I've been getting lots of advice from friends and family members (how long should my long runs be, what about speedwork, etc). I've also been looking through the Jeff Galloway Marathon book.

I got it when I first started running, but haven't looked at it in a while. So I picked it up one night last week and I haven't been able to put it down since then. I have known about his run/walk method, but haven't been a huge fan of it. But, I got really excited about it last week as I was reading all the success stories. So, I'm going to try it for this next marathon. I will pretty much walk for one minute every mile during my long training runs and during the marathon. He says when you get to mile 18, if you're feeling good, you can take out the walk breaks and run the rest of the way. By putting in consistent walk breaks (and not cheating by shortening them or skipping any), you will supposedly have more energy supplied for the end. I am really excited about experimenting with this method. I'll try the walk breaks for the first time this Saturday on my 20 mile run. If anyone has any success (or otherwise) stories about this, please let me know. I love hearing how other people train.