Does “slow down” mean walk for me?

Notice:  Just to be clear, this post is targeted towards those that have an Ironman as their “A” race in 2007 and are in their off-season.  If your “A” race is an olympic distance race, cycling road race, etc., this may not (or may) apply.

Does “slow down” mean “walk” for me?

 I have been emotionally struggling with the idea lately that I need to start walking during my runs.  It is a strange thing when my ego gets in the way of training “optimally”, but it seems to happen a lot.  Admitting that I need to start walking doesn’t feel right, even though the data is telling me that it just might make me faster later in my race year.

 Where did this idea of walking come from?

At the ”Long Course Training Clinic” I attended in November, Bobby McGee spent some time discussing his ideas about implementing a run / walk practice in workout sessions and during a race. The thing that really caught my attention was when he said that he had an athlete go under 2:30 for a marathon, using a run/walk approach.

I am not a fast marathoner (nowhere close to elite) but even thinking about walking and still being able to go around 3 hours has never crossed my mind.  I have always assumed that I would have to run the enire distance to break 3 hours.  Add into that concept the idea of walking during a 45 minute run and it seems even more difficult to do, because I normally don’t fatigue a great deal during an easy run of 45 minutes.

What are the benefits of walk/run during a run?

1.  One of the biggest benefits that this type of program can have, especially during this time of year, is that it helps keep the run below the aerobic threshold (or at the bottom of Friel’s zone 2).  I will often find myself trying to run in December the same type of workouts that I ran in late spring or summer (my peak run time).  This can lead to running all my workouts at a “tempo” pace.  This is not an ideal situation when I’m trying to solidify my base fitness.

 2.  Another benefit to this type of workout is that it allows you to practice what you will be doing in your race.  I do not know of many athletes that compete in Ironman that never walk during the marathon leg  (actually I’m having trouble thinking of anyone).  One of the points that Bobby made during his session was that you need to practice this methodology in training in order to use it on race day.  I agree.  When you see athletes walking during a marathon, it rarily is the type of walking that McGee suggests.  It is better to walk earlier and walk quick, then to walk late and hardly crawl.

 Additional links and sources:

 1.  Here’s a link to a thread on slowtwich.com that an interview with McGee was posted:  Bobby McGee interview.  You will see throughout the thread various opinions about the efficacy of this type of training.  But sometimes it is reassuring to my ego to see athletes way better than me that don’t have a problem with walking, such as Barb Linquist.

2. In his write up of a “Bobby McGee session“, Gordo Byrn wrote:  “With his novice runners, they are not allowed to run until they are able to run at (or under AeT).”  Another humbling thought!  (Use the link and read the article for more ideas).

Walking in workouts:  My first week experience.

After a Tuesday morning run from John’s Run / Walk shop, I decided that implementing this was probably ideal for me right now – if not necessary.  I finished that run at the back of the group (common) but I found my workouts the next two days sub par because I had to work too hard on that run.

My first attempt, I used the 10min run / 1min walk method.  I found that my heart rate climbed to my heart rate “ceiling” pretty quick and a 1 minute walk allowed it to recover, but a few seconds after I started running again I was at or above that ceiling.  Therefore, I started using a 5min run / 30 second walk pattern.  It has helped out, probably due to the fact that I start my walks earlier without letting the heart rate climb too high too early.

I have noticed that as I get further into a run, the recovery during the walks is less and less.  For example, yesterday on a 50 minute treadmill run I would see my heart rate drop 20-25 beats in 30 seconds early in the run.  Later in the run, it was only dropping 5-8 beats.  The goal has been met though as I have been able to complete my runs, maintaining a heart rate below my aerobic threshold.

Just some ideas to consider on your next run.  I’ll let you know how my fitness tests come out as I move through the winter months and use this methodology.

garyd