|
Runners slow down to speed up marathon success
By Carey King
Running a marathon doesn’t have to feel like torture.
That’s the message 1972 Olympic runner Jeff Galloway has been promoting for three decades, since he began a program to help more folks get involved with the sport. And it’s a message Amy Palmer’s been pushing since this past spring, when she moved to Cullowhee and started a Galloway group at the Recreation Center.
“He wants to show people that running can be fun,” said Palmer, 37, an accountant in the controller’s office at Western Carolina University.
Stopping to smile after running some 11 miles this past Saturday morning (July 31) are Patricia Elkins, Frances Placide, Susan Yashenko, Amy Palmer, Victoria Palmer, Marilyn Weeden, Jenifer Pressley, Linda Blakley and David Hoenicke, all members of the Jeff Galloway Marathon Training group. Most finished the training session with a total of 16 miles under their belts, all in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon in October and the Disney World Marathon in January. Though the runners usually set out closer to 7 a.m., they began at 5 a.m. Saturday to accommodate group members who had to leave town later in the day. “Getting up that early wasn’t a problem because your blood gets moving pretty quick,” said Hoenicke. “But that nap afterward sure was nice.”et u
The program is based on the idea that most people are not elite athletes whose muscles can run a marathon’s 26 miles straight. After collecting feedback from other runners over the years, Galloway has developed a pacing system that advises marathoners to run, then walk, run, then walk, all the way through the race.
“Taking time to walk gives those running muscles a break and helps conserve energy,” Palmer said. “It lets the muscles loosen up because walking takes different muscles than running.”
The run-to-walk ratio varies from athlete to athlete: For the experienced, it could be eight minutes of running to one minute of walking. For others, it could be three minutes of running to one of walking. Those just starting out could find themselves running one, then walking two.
“Old-time runners think you’ve got to run the whole thing fast, but most people’s bodies don’t work like that,” Palmer said.
Palmer discovered the Galloway method five years ago in Florida, when she was training with friends for the Disney World Half Marathon and found herself unable to complete the 13 miles needed to finish the race. She’d just taken up running and was pushing herself to run faster in order to keep pace with her group.
“I felt absolutely horrible. I started falling behind and had chills,” Palmer said. “The negative thoughts started running through my mind. I started telling myself that I’d never be able to do it. I was so embarrassed.”
Once at home and recovering, she found a runners’ Web site that led her to a woman training with the Galloway method. She found out that not only had she been forcing herself to run too fast, she’d allowed her body to get dehydrated in the process.
With her new friend’s help, Palmer learned to overcome the dreaded “wall” – that point in a race where a runner’s body is so depleted that it can’t go any further. She started to pace herself and carry power gels and water on long-distance runs to replenish lost glycogen.
“I got myself one of those watches that beeps at me so I’d know when to slow down and walk,” Palmer said.
On the day of the half marathon, packed in a crowd of thousands of runners, plus a few costumed Donald Ducks and Mickey Mouses, Palmer told her friends to go on without her so she could pace herself and “finish it right.”
Taking a walk break after only five minutes of running was “sort of humiliating” since she’d just passed the starting line, Palmer said, but she still felt good at the halfway mark and by the end, had beat each and every one of her friends.
Amazed, Palmer soon started her own Galloway group that grew to more than 100 people in three years. Carried by the encouragement and dedication of those she ran with, Palmer made it through the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., the New York Marathon, the Hops Tampa Bay Marathon and twice through the full Disney race.
“It’s amazing. You can go through the whole marathon and actually finish feeling good and strong,” Palmer said.
Within a week of moving to Cullowhee with her husband and three children, Palmer made an appointment with Jenifer Pressley, the wellness coordinator at the Recreation Department, to set up a Jackson County group.
“When we left Florida, I couldn’t imagine it not being part of my life,” Palmer said.
Pressley ran a marathon in 2002, and excited by the idea, the two started to advertise for new members. They got enough response to hold a first training run in late July. Ten are now signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon in October, with six planning to attempt the Disney race in January.
A $149 yearly membership fee provides each runner with an individualized training program that Palmer devises by plugging each person’s experience level, injuries and planned race date into the Galloway formula. They get T-shirts and a copy of Marathon!, Galloway’s book, plus access to advice from Galloway and other experienced runners in his Atlanta office.
Most importantly, Palmer said, members get the support of others during their weekly Saturday-morning runs.
“When I went to the first meeting, Amy asked me how far I ran, and I said, ‘I don’t,’” said Linda Blakley, a Harrah’s employee and former aerobics fan. “She said, ‘When you join, you will always have somebody to run with,’ and she was right. We all encourage each other. That’s been a big deal for me.”
The group meets every Saturday morning at the Rec Center for a long run, splitting into two pace groups that make various loops, stopping back at the center every now and then to drop off or pick up runners according to their training needs. Currently, the groups are split into 11- and 12-minute milers, though Palmer hopes to divide into four pace groups once more runners join in.
Palmer leads the slower group while Victoria, her 16-year-old daughter, shepherds the rest, reminding them to drink water and “goo” – or eat a power gel – every now and then.
Several members also meet during the week for the two cross-training sessions Galloway recommends, usually faster, shorter runs or weight training. The group’s also planning to take a joint yoga class in coming weeks.
“We want to provide company and support for all runners out there,” Palmer said. “One thing that sets us apart from so many training programs is that we have fun. We talk, we laugh and enjoy everyone we run with. Not only is it training time, but it’s also time to make friends and enjoy being with other people.”
Most group members will share a hotel when they journey to the upcoming Marine Corps and Disney marathons, plus eat a congratulatory meal together once it’s all over. During the races, Palmer said, she expects that most of them will cluster together because of the bond they now share.
“Most people think they’ll run according to their time goal, but they end up running with their friends,” Palmer said. “They realize it’s not important to finish 10 minutes faster. It’s that they prove to themselves that they can get through something they thought was insurmountable.”
The group mentality is strong, but not overpowering, said David Hoenicke, a physician at Sylva Medical Center and member of the group. He’s been able to meet speed goals he never expected while running with a pack.
“I didn’t buy the idea at first,” said Hoenicke, who recently ran a half marathon with Galloway walk breaks in a shorter time than it took him to run the same distance straight through. “It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t seem like it could come out that way.”
Galloway has found that most runners shave about 15 minutes off their marathon time using his method, Palmer said. He’s also found that 98 percent of runners in the program continue the sport after finishing their first marathon, she said, and most finish injury-free.
“To avoid injury is of the utmost importance,” said Hoenicke, who joined the group after hurting his hips during a marathon in April. “The program actually helped me work through my injuries.”
While it’s too late for start training for the Marine Corps run, Palmer said she has a new member set to start training Aug. 21 for the Disney race, and would be glad to have others start with him.
“Almost anyone can get trained for a full marathon in six months,” she said. “More than likely I can get them to Disney for a half or full.”
She can also work in training for runners who are shooting for other marathons on different dates. “If someone finds a marathon they want to run, we can accommodate them,” she said.
Palmer would like to have more walkers join the group, as several thousand are expected to participate in the Disney event. Galloway has a training program for walkers, she said, that has them aim for intervals of slow and fast strides.
“There’s a ton of people around here who walk. I see them,” Palmer said. “We just need to get them involved.”
Only one-half of 1 percent of the population has ever run a marathon, Palmer said, which makes training for one an accomplishment worth celebrating, as the Galloway group did Friday night (July 30) by going out for a big meal of carbohydrate-laden pizza and pasta.
To do distance running, athletes need the sugar of the carbs to keep going, Palmer said, which means group members got to treat themselves to spaghetti, lasagna and plenty of pizza crust in order to prepare for their weekend run.
“I’ve had some trying to go low-carb before, but it just kills,” Palmer said. The Galloway group offers just the opposite, she said: plenty of food, plus plenty of friends and fun.
|
