Running To Grow

I am often asked by my new runners why I don't use a run walk approach also known as the Galloway Method. Jeff Galloway is a former Olympian and world famous running coach who developed a run-walk training method where runners switch back and forth between running and walking in order to complete their training and their race. My answer to the question is always the same, I don't use the Galloway method because I run to grow. This often leaves runners confused, wondering what could possibly be the connection between a run/walk training approach and personal growth? This essay attempts to explain what this connection is all about.

About six years ago I was in a bad place. I was 34 years old, struggling with a pinched nerve and chronic back pain that brought on terrible debilitating agony about every six months, each time putting me out of commission for a few weeks. I had seen doctors and had taken MRI's but was not making any progress in improving my condition. Feeling like I hit the absolute bottom I consulted with my mentor who encouraged me to start running and train for a 10k. At first I thought he was joking, I could barely move let alone run 6 miles. To make matters worse, I was completely out of shape and didn't have the energy or the stamina to run around the block. He explained to me that he was serious and assured me that regular exercise would do wonders for my back and my general health. He told me to wait for my current pain to subside and to start training as soon as possible.

The date of the race was set and I had exactly 8 weeks to train and reach my goal of 6 miles. It was about 3 weeks since my mentor had given me the running mandate and my back pain had finally subsided, I was ready to give this crazy idea a try. There was only one small problem, I never ran before and I was completely out of shape. No big deal. I did what most new runners do when they need professional high quality running guidance…I googled it and then downloaded a running app called Couch to 5k. The app was helpful in that it gave me a structured plan and put running in reach as it broke down the workout into a series of run-walk laps that didn’t seem so terrifying. I can still remember my first run that I completed. I literally collapsed from exhaustion after running around the block continuously for only 90 seconds. It was a depressing moment, and a stark reminder that I was no longer 22 years old. It was also at that moment that I knew with certainty that there was no way I was going to run even 1 mile let alone 6. Nonetheless I continued my running thinking to myself that miracles were possible and maybe I would merit one myself.

As I continued to progress in my training I realized at about the 3rd week that I had a serious problem. I was following my schedule religiously running 3 times each week and hadn't missed a run yet. I was making progress and was also so proud of myself. I realized though there was good news and bad news regarding my training. The good news was that the Couch to 5k schedule I was following would definitely get me to a 5k in time for my race. The bad news was that I was signed up for 10k race which was twice that distance. :( Like a good student I went back to my mentor (he was the one that got me in this "mess" to begin with) to ask for some advice on how to get myself out of this quandary. He asked me a few questions about my training and how I was currently running. I explained that I was following a Couch to 5k schedule where I was doing a combination of running and walking and was currently at a distance of about 1.5 miles. He then told me that I should change my approach because this was not the way a growth-minded runner trains. Instead, he advised me to simply run for the entire workout at a slow to comfortable pace and add a short distance to each run to keep increasing my distance. I was a little skeptic about this plan because I didn’t think I had enough time left in my training to reach my goal but I trusted my mentor and gave this new approach my full effort. For the next 2 weeks I kept adding a few minutes to the end of each workout. Each time I added more time I felt like I needed a miracle to be able to run any longer the next time. Then something extraordinary occurred. After reaching 35 minutes of continuous running something changed. Instead of needing every ounce of energy to push myself the extra distance, I felt great and was able to run an extra 12 minutes, which at that point in my running career felt like an entire marathon! That jump got me on track for the 10k and from there I was able to reach 6 miles and 90 minutes of continuous running after only 8 weeks and in time for my first 10k race.

Fast forward 2 years. I was training for the Jerusalem Half Marathon after having finished two full marathons and a few half marathon races. I was also now working with a coach that my mentor had recommended who had significantly helped me successfully complete these races. It was a few weeks prior to the Jerusalem run and my coach had given me a new workout that he had never given me before called an interval run. It included the first mile of slow running then 4 miles of fast running then 2 miles of slow running, another 4 miles of fast running and then another slow mile. As soon as I saw the details of the workout I immediately told him that I could not run this way. When he asked me why, I said that this was not the way of growth minded people. When he asked me to explain I told him that my mentor had already given me instruction years early to only run continuously and therefore an interval workout was not for me. He then put me in my place but telling me that I didn’t know what I was talking about and that not only was interval based running the preferred method of training for any serious runner but that my own mentor runs this way himself. I was shocked and confused by this information and determined to solve this mystery the next time I had a chance to discuss this with him.

A month later after I successfully completed the Jerusalem Half Marathon and had a chance to visit my mentor in Israel, I presented him with my bomb question. I asked him how it was possible that he himself uses interval based running when he had told me years earlier to drop my coach to 5k schedule because that was not the proper way to run? His answer was profound and one of my first but now many life-changing lessons I have learned from running. He explained that when I was just starting to run and following the couch to 5k schedule, my running was inherently flawed. The problem with the schedule I was using was that although it kept building up my running capacity each workout, it always switched to walking just as the running got difficult. By running in that way I was giving up one of the most important benefits of the workout, to push myself just slightly more than I co do previously. That's why he instructed me to instead run continuously and just add slightly more distance to each workout. In that way I could build my capacity and push myself slightly harder each time in order to gain the most out of each workout. However, with the interval runs that he used and my coach recommended there was something completely different that was occurring there. In those workouts the purpose of the "break" was not to make the workout easier. The reason why we slowed down the speed was only for the purpose of being able to run faster. Without those calculated slow laps we would never be able to complete the super fast laps at the desired pace, hence sacrificing significant levels of fitness and speed training that could otherwise be gained. Slowing down for the sake of being able to run faster makes a runner great, slowing down because the workout is getting too hard creates a runner who needs more grit.

So always remember that we run to grow and that much of our run is just a preparation to reach the difficult part of the workout, that is where the real benefit lies and where all the growth occurs.

Wishing you great success in your training.