Galloway Method explained.............

As part of my analysis of my marathon time at Run for the Lakes, I can't help but analyze the Galloway method that I used:

• Run 75 secs
• Walk 60 secs
• Number of intervals 145 1/2

So what does this mean, it means I get to do some extrapolation of my numbers as it relates to running and walking which the numbers geek inside me loves.

For those that just want the analysis, here goes, I first guesstimated my approximate paces for run-walk intervals as I am not sure of how fast (run pace) or slow (walk pace) I managed but it gives you an idea of how much running you still do even when you run 1 1/4 to 1 ratios. You can see my guesstimates for my run-walk ration here and my actual mile splits at the end of this post (my Garmin totaled 26.5 miles).

Galloway Method – estimates for Run for the Lakes Marathon
Estimate 1	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	10,875	181.25	16.91	10.72	4.68
Walking	8,640	144.00	9.29	15.50	6.77
Total	19,515	325.25	26.20	12.41	5.42
Estimate 2	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	10,875	181.25	17.20	10.54	4.60
Walking	8,640	144.00	9.00	16.00	6.99
Total	19,515	325.25	26.20	12.41	5.42
Estimate 3	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	10,875	181.25	17.47	10.37	4.53
Walking	8,640	144.00	8.73	16.50	7.21
Total	19,515	325.25	26.20	12.41	5.42
Estimate 4	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	10,875	181.25	17.73	10.22	4.46
Walking	8,640	144.00	8.47	17.00	7.42
Total	19,515	325.25	26.20	12.41	5.42

So using estimate 2, I ran for ~17 miles at a 10 min 31 sec pace and walked ~9 miles at 16 min 0 sec pace. Doing this pace with the run-walk brought me home in 5 hrs 25 minutes. The way I viewed the run-walk approach is that I did 145 accelerations with 60 seconds of recovery between accelerations. If I had run all of the miles at this pace, my marathon time would have been 4 hrs 36 minutes, if I had walked every mile, my marathon time would have taken almost 7 hrs. So the run-walk approach cost me around 50 minutes off of my best case result but saved me 90 minutes off of worse case.

Considering the knee pain, it allowed me to finish the race with some energy left over and based on my other 35+ marathons it might have been the easiest especially when you consider training, etc....

Galloway provides the following chart for Walk Break Ratios to give you an idea of ratios to pace:

See more at: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training

He lists the following principles for the run-walk approach on his site:

• Continuous use of a muscle will result in quicker fatigue
• The longer the run segment, the more fatigue
• Run Walk Run is a form of interval training
• Conservation of resources
• Quicker recovery
• Less stress on the “weak links”
• Ability to enjoy endorphins
• Reduce core body temperature

To which I think all I have proven all to be true. My weak links were my training and knee and I maintained a consistent pace which I have not done so in the past.

So what changes should I make for the next race, I could simply increase the run by 15, 10 or 5 seconds per interval which would result in marathon times of (respectively):

• 5 hrs 16 minutes 37 seconds
• 5 hrs 19 minutes 8 seconds
• 5 hrs 21 minutes 55 seconds

Interesting experiment to verify and the good news is in less than 2 weeks I can, so I think I will shoot for 85 seconds of running followed by 60 seconds of walking. Surely I can manage 10 more seconds, right and if I do I save about 9 minutes off my next marathon. First up though I need to test the knee today to see if I can run.

I love this kind of over analysis, stay tuned for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

15 Seconds Faster
Next Race	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	11,745	195.75	18.64	10.50	4.59
Walking	7,255	120.91	7.56	16.00	6.99
Total	19,000	316.66	26.20	12.09	5.28
10 Seconds Faster
Next Race	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	11,462	191.04	18.19	10.50	4.59
Walking	7,686	128.10	8.01	16.00	6.99
Total	19,148	319.13	26.20	12.18	5.32
5 Seconds Faster
Next Race	Seconds	Minutes	Miles	Pace (min)	Marathon Time (hrs)
Running	11,136	185.60	17.68	10.50	4.59
Walking	8,183	136.38	8.52	16.00	6.99
Total	19,319	321.98	26.20	12.29	5.37

Run for the Lake Marathon mile splits:

Mile	Mile Pace	Total Pace
1	12:10.39	12:10.39
2	12:18.28	24:28.67
3	12:10.90	36:39.57
4	11:56.52	48:36.09
5	12:27.87	1:01:03.96
6	12:17.83	1:13:21.79
7	12:19.70	1:25:41.49
8	12:21.24	1:38:02.73
9	12:14.07	1:50:16.80
10	12:15.01	2:02:31.81
11	12:09.10	2:14:40.91
12	12:01.69	2:26:42.60
13	11:48.19	2:38:30.79
14	12:17.48	2:50:48.27
15	12:23.92	3:03:12.19
16	12:16.33	3:15:28.52
17	12:15.92	3:27:44.44
18	12:16.27	3:40:00.71
19	12:12.19	3:52:12.90
20	12:51.85	4:05:04.75
21	12:16.91	4:17:21.66
22	12:34.18	4:29:55.84
23	12:22.42	4:42:18.26
24	12:33.80	4:54:52.06
25	13:32.42	5:08:24.48
26	12:03	5:20:27.48
27	5:20.35	5:25:47.83