We Run 4 M&Ms - Our First Run Together!

Let me start by saying that I am very competitive. I am very driven. I was surprised when I first saw our intervals and pace time. This is the same exact pace group that I ran with last year! But now we're slower. Some think that we should be faster. I thought that too. I want to run faster...until it's time for the Magic Mile and then I'm of the philosophy that speed kills. So perhaps it's the teacher in me that wants to make sure that her students are well-informed and taken care of. That is why I am going to try to explain exactly why we need to run the pace we have been assigned by Jeff Galloway himself via Chris Twiggs!

If you are already a consistent runner, then this pace and the walk breaks can be even harder. But the point is, as Jeff Galloway says over and over again, the slower we go, the faster our recovery. As our runs get longer this will be very important. Right now it's hard with the short mileage runs but pretty soon we'll be upping the mileage and it will be important to make sure we are sticking to our pace! So - here are the facts from our training book and ultimately, our coach:

Our training manual - Have you read it?

Many times, almost to the point of being repetitive, Jeff Galloway reminds us that Long Runs are meant to be run slowly. Starting on page 3, number three in the box states "Slower is better on the long ones: the slower you go, the faster you will recover, while receiving all of the endurance." On our run today, many of us held conversations and stayed social during most of the run. That is how it should be! We don't want to be huffing and puffing and miserable! This is our time to have fun, make new friends and enjoy our running lives!
Like I said before, I am not truly a fan of speed. In my opinion I run slow. It's all relative though. Each one of us can compare ourselves to others who may be fast or slower but...

One of my best friends is super fast - at least I think she is - with her 7 minute miles and less sometimes! I tell her I'm the tortoise and she's the hare! But she doesn't train for & run marathons, I do! Another friend thinks I'm super fast! Because compared to her, I am! So you see, it's all relative! Jeff Galloway on page four of his book (one of the most important pages for wrapping your brain around this concept!) says "Twenty miles with walking breaks equals 20 miles run continuously...at any speed (but you recover faster with walk breaks). Forget about speed on the long ones. Focus only on the component of endurance." So our goal is to BUILD endurance with our long runs. Go slow enough to recover so that we can get in our workouts during the week. Adding speed to our long runs can "increase the chance of injury" and can "sacrifice the quantity or quality of [our] speedplay later in the week." Your weekday workouts (Mon-Thurs) could be a time to get in a speedplay session. That is one of my goals this training season: to get faster. I will do this by performing speedplay/speedwork. Jeff has a section in his book on running faster beginning on page 106. I plan to use the treadmill to help me with this and will work on my version of "Yasso 800s" to increase my speed. (See my post on Yasso 800s for more info.) But on Saturdays during my long runs, I will run slow!

Check out pages 3 - 8 for more information on how our training programs with the Jacksonville Galloway group and Galloway groups around the country are set up. I love how on page 8 he includes a point for us competitive runners "But I have a time goal, even if it's my first one..." Let me tell you about first time marathon time goals: Don't have one! I know, I tried that route. I went out with a 5-hour pace group and ended up going too fast in the beginning. I wasn't able to run after about mile 17 - I had to walk only! I learned a valuable lesson: Run your own race and listen to your body! It's your first marathon! Run it, live it, enjoy it and finish strong!
Right now we are in training! We must build and get stronger. We must regain the endurance we had last season or build up an endurance we have never had before. This seems to be Jeff's favorite quote in the beginning of the book! I even found it in the "speed" section too!

from pg.4, Galloway Training Programs

Those of you in our "13 minute" mile pace group are thinking, "Huh? Wait! I ran an 8:something Magic Mile! See! We should be faster!" But hold your horses! Now go to page 13...

from Galloway Training Programs

See that very last line there? Yep, that one. I did the math. Go ahead. You try it! Or better yet, head over to Jeff Galloway's website and let him do the math for you. See below...

So there is our range - if we hit between 12:24 and 13:03 as our Marathon Training Pace, we are doing what we should to help us stay injury free, recover faster and get those Monday - Thursday workouts in!
We did pretty good today - a little fast, but like someone in the group said, we were excited to be in our new group! We'll tone it down a few seconds next week and be perfect!

From my Garmin watch

Now pick up your Galloway Training Programs book and read or refresh. Check out "The Long One" section on pages 9-11 as well. My favorite part is the first paragraph:

"Whatever your goal, the long one will help you more than any component of your training program. 

By going slowly, you can burn more fat, push back your endurance barriers 

and go faster at shorter distance races."

Feel confident that we are getting stronger, staying injury free and happy! None of us have time to spend all day on the couch! Too much life to live!

So in closing, here's a summary! Thanks Jeff for doing it for me!

Galloway Training Programs, pg. 11

See you next week! Run Strong! Run Forever!

Half a M&M ~ Marcia :-)