The Galloway Method at Ayala Triangle

I gave the run-walk method (or more popularly known as the Galloway Method) a try. I read this first at takbo.ph in Jinoe's HK marathon. [Read it but beware - you might cry after doing so]. Anyway his idea was to run for 6 minutes then walk 1 minute.

That really sounded great for me. I planned to do it at the Green Miles run because I was doing 15k (not even in training have I gone over 11K). But during the race apparently I couldn't stop. I thought I would just go running as long as I can then walk when I can't anymore. I finally decided to walk when I reached 11K.

I googled a bit more about the Galloway method and found one striking statement (from a takbo.ph forum) - it takes a bit more EQ to actually stop running and walk for a while. Hmmm.. I have always been known for my low EQ so I guess that's probably one reason why I couldn't stop during the Green Miles. [Remember the Marshmallow Test? If I was ever in one, I would have probably eaten the marshmallow before it touched the table].

So I tried out actually forcing myself to do it - just to see for myself what will happen [and to prove that my EQ has improved! :P]. The result was unbelievable.

I did rounds at Ayala triangle park and if my estimates and my math were correct (and so were the readings from Adidas miCoach), I completed 5K. I did 5 min/1 min run-walk. My time? 20 mins 45! My 5K PR is around 32 mins!

Well, if the distance was off, I'm pretty sure I was almost at 5K so add a few minutes and I will still be well below my PR. Interesting.

I honestly thought it wouldn't be very effective for shorter distances but I guess I was wrong.

And now, stepping back and thinking about my thinking (that's Philo for you!), I believe what happened here was that my mind was motivated to do faster runs because I would be stopping after 5 minutes anyway. And having relaxed legs, I could still run at the same pace after my 1 min walk. I guess it's more of a mind over body thing [and I got fresher legs] so I did runs that are way above my average pace.

In addition, I think the Ayala triangle path was also easier compared to my other training grounds. :P So my goal for this week is to try this out at MMP!

In the final analysis, I believe you should still do what works for you. You can run-walk, run-jog, or if you can, just run! I think the point is to enjoy your runs, not to get injured, not to distract other runners, and to simply just have fun!

Winning is another thing though. :P Now how do I do that? :))