The scheduled use of walk breaks bestows mental and physical control over fatigue
By using my method and determining a specific run walk run strategy, you activate the conscious brain. This takes control away from the reflex brain. Your control over this process reduces stress and activates positive attitude hormones. With this method, you choose the length of a run segment. It should be short enough so that you know you can do it. This breaks up the longer runs into segments that are doable. Walk breaks erase fatigue, reduce pain, and lower stress. During the walk break, you can enjoy the endorphin attitude boost.
You determine how much you run and how much you walk
One of the wonderful aspects of running is that there is no definition of a runner that you must live up to. There are also no rules that you must follow as you do your daily run. You are the captain of your running ship, and it is you who determines how far, how fast, and how much you run or walk. While you will hear many opinions on this, running has always been a freestyle type of activity in which each individual is empowered to mix and match the many variables and come out with the running experience that he or she chooses. Walk breaks can keep the first-time runner away from injury and burnout and can help veterans to improve time. Here’s how it works.
Walk before you get tired
Most of us, even when untrained, can walk for several miles before fatigue sets in, because walking is an activity that we are bioengineered to do for hours. Running is more work, because you have to lift your body off the ground and then absorb the shock of the landing, over and over. This is why the continuous use of the running muscles will produce fatigue, aches, and pains much more quickly. If you insert a walk break into a run before your running muscles start to get tired, you allow the muscle to recover instantly, increasing your capacity for exercise while reducing the chance of next-day soreness.
The method part involves having a strategy, which allows the conscious brain to be in command. By using the right ratio of running and walking, you will manage your fatigue. Using this fatigue-reduction tool early will save muscle resources and bestow the mental confidence to cope with any challenges that may come later. Even when you don’t need the extra muscle strength and resiliency bestowed by the method, you will feel better during and after your run and finish knowing that you could have gone farther.
Beginners will primarily walk at first. By inserting short segments of running followed by longer walk breaks, your muscles adapt to running without getting overwhelmed. As you improve your running ability, you will reach a point where you can set the ratio of running and walking for that day.
The run-walk method is very simple: You run for a short segment and then take a walk break, and you keep repeating this pattern.
Walk breaks allow you to take control over fatigue in advance so that you can enjoy every run. By taking them early and often, you can feel strong, even after a run that is very long for you. Beginners will alternate very short run segments with short walks. Even elite runners find that walk breaks on long runs allow them to recover faster. There is no need to reach the end of a run feeling exhausted if you insert enough walk breaks, for you, on that day.
Walk breaks
give you control over your fatigue and can virtually eliminate injury;
give you confidence and stimulate positive attitude hormones;
erase fatigue for most of the miles on most runs;
push back your tiredness wall;
allow for endorphins to collect during each walk break, improving attitude;
break up the distance into manageable units (“one more minute until a walk break”);
speed recovery;
reduce the chance of aches, pains, and injury (and the negative peptides they can bring);
allow you to feel good afterward—doing what you need to do without debilitating fatigue; and
give you all of the endurance of the distance of each session—without the pain.
A short and gentle walking stride
It’s better to walk gently with a short stride. There has been some irritation of the shins when runners or walkers maintain a stride that is too long.
No need to eliminate the walk breaks
Some beginners assume that they must work toward the day when they don’t have to take any walk breaks at all. This is up to the individual, but is not recommended. Remember that you decide what ratio of run walk run to use. There is no rule that requires you to run any ratio of run-walk on any given day. I suggest that you adjust the ratio according to how you feel.
I’ve run for over 50 years and enjoy running more than ever because of walk breaks. Each run I take energizes my day. I would not be able to run almost every day if I didn’t insert the walk breaks early and often. I start most runs taking a short walk break every minute.
How to keep track of the walk breaks
There is now a Galloway timer that beeps and vibrates (about $20). There are also several watches that can be set to beep when it’s time to walk and then beep again when it’s time to start up again. Check my website www.jeffgalloway.com or a good running store for advice in this area.
How to use walk breaks
Beginners usually start by running for 5 to 10 seconds, walking for the rest of each minute.
Veterans can use the following guide, based upon pace per mile, to set up the walk breaks. If you feel good during and after the run, continue with this ratio. If not, run less until you feel good.
When challenged, decrease the run amount and increase the walk.
On long runs, take the walk breaks a lot more frequently to speed up recovery.
Veterans can reduce or eliminate walk breaks during the last 25 % of their races.
Walk break strategies
The frequency of walk breaks is usually tied to the pace per mile. But it is always OK to walk more frequently if you want or need to do so. Here are the current strategies:
RUN WALK RUN STRATEGIES | |
Pace per mile | Run time/Walk time |
7:00 | 6 minutes/30 seconds (or run a mile/walk 40 seconds |
7:30 | 5 minutes/30 seconds |
8:00 | 4 minutes/30 seconds (or 2 minutes/15 seconds) |
8:30 | 3 minutes/30 seconds (or 2 minutes/20 seconds) |
9:00 | 2 minutes/30 seconds (or 80 seconds/20 seconds) |
9:30 – 10:45 | 90 seconds/30 seconds (or 60/20, 45/15, 60/30, or 40/20) |
10:45 – 12:15 | 60 seconds/30 seconds (or 40/20, 30/15, 30/30, or 20/20) |
12:15 – 14:30 | 30 seconds/30 seconds (or 20/20 or 15/15) |
14:30 – 15:45 | 15 seconds/30 seconds |
15:45 – 17:00 | 10 seconds/30 seconds |
17:00 – 18:30 | 8 seconds/30 seconds (or 5/25 or 10/30) |
18:30 – 20:00 | 5 seconds/30 seconds (or 5/25 or 4/30) |
Note: You may always divide each of the amounts by 2. Example: Instead of running a 9 minutes per mile pace using 2 minutes run/30 seconds walk, you could run for 60 seconds and walk for 15 seconds.