Galloway plan three 20+ mile long runs???

[WaDiWo]

Hi all!

im following jeff galloway's "official" training plan for the Goofy this january 2014. I had to modify it a bit schedule-wise and my last long run was the 15 miler.

looking ahead, his plan calls for a 20 miler, and 23 mile, and a 26 miler before the race?? most plans ive seen will have maybe one 20 mile long run.

has anyone, or does anyone really do these 3 up to the mileage they say? i just dont want to risk injury.

thanks!

 

[flatlandcycle]

Hi all!

im following jeff galloway's "official" training plan for the Goofy this january 2014. I had to modify it a bit schedule-wise and my last long run was the 15 miler.

looking ahead, his plan calls for a 20 miler, and 23 mile, and a 26 miler before the race?? most plans ive seen will have maybe one 20 mile long run.

has anyone, or does anyone really do these 3 up to the mileage they say? i just dont want to risk injury.

thanks!

I do 26 if I am doing Galloway run/walk marathon training. He assumes that people will go out and do a "practice" marathon anyway. Many people bonk, during the marathon, at the distance of their longest run. He provides for plenty of easy weeks between these long efforts. Running and walking tends to be a bit less harsh on the body. He doesn't get hung up if you walk a little more during these long efforts.

 

[DrMomof3]

In prep for NYC, I did 21 miles, 25 miles, and 27 miles.

Amanda

 

[DoctorK]

In prep for NYC, I did 21 miles, 25 miles, and 27 miles.

Amanda

That was Galloway run-walk-run, right?

 

[paxsarah]

I do 26 if I am doing Galloway run/walk marathon training. He assumes that people will go out and do a "practice" marathon anyway. Many people bonk, during the marathon, at the distance of their longest run. He provides for plenty of easy weeks between these long efforts. Running and walking tends to be a bit less harsh on the body. He doesn't get hung up if you walk a little more during these long efforts.

I agree with this in terms of the reasons why it makes some sense to go all the way up to 26 miles on a Galloway plan, vs. another plan that doesn't incorporate run/walk/run. I followed a Galloway beginner plan for my first marathon (non-Disney) and went all the way up to 26, though I haven't done it since. His beginner plans at least (I'll admit to continuing to use run/walk/run while using non-Galloway plans, so I'm not that familiar with the specifics of his intermediate/advanced plans) are very light on miles during the week and the overall mileage is very much loaded into the long run. This goes against most conventional wisdom, but works as long as you're running the long ones conservatively with run/walk. I did way more overall weekly miles with a Higdon plan that only went to 20 miles (x3), but each 20 mile week also had two 10 mile runs.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

More mileage = greater fitness and strength. Unless you have a compelling reason not to go the whole distance, you should do it. Just remember that it is supposed to be at an easy pace, not your race pace. When you are finished you should feel good, not exhausted. The long run (or run/walk) has to be fun. If you let it become a grind in training, you will fear the race itself.

 

[cewait]

I am going to be the contrarian on this subject - at least to some degree. Or maybe I am just a little skitzo this evening.

First, if one signed up for the Galloway plan, I would run his training plan - especially at this point in time. I would not yield from the plan unless injury or life get in the way.

Now for the skitzo part...

I do not believe that one must run 26 miles to have a successful marathon; or for that matter, 20 miles. I find that for many folks, the longer the long run, the greater the chance for injury. There is a fine balance between over and under training.

I will caution that for those who are training under the Galloway (or other minimalist plan - those with very little mid-week running) that Jeff's plan relies on the runner completing the weekend work. So if one thinks I will run 30 minutes twice a week and then only run 16 miles as my longest long run; fate may/will catch you on race day.

If one is a first time marathoner, I will look to pushing mileage up to some 20+ distance; depending on the runner's mental abilities. What Jeff saw when he laid out these plans was that many folks were simply failing because they left a 10k for marathon day past their longest training run. For many, this is just too much of a leap of faith.

For those who train 4-6 days a week, I would not feel as compelled to push out all that far, especially for those with a few marathons under foot. What I adapt for many folks is a 3 - 3.5 hour max training run. This comes from the tri world and I find that it works well for many runners.

So, train the plan you are on. If this is your first time, you will appreciate seeing some of the last 10k before race day.

 

[taratru]

I am going to be the contrarian on this subject - at least to some degree. Or maybe I am just a little skitzo this evening.

First, if one signed up for the Galloway plan, I would run his training plan - especially at this point in time. I would not yield from the plan unless injury or life get in the way.

Now for the skitzo part...

I do not believe that one must run 26 miles to have a successful marathon; or for that matter, 20 miles. I find that for many folks, the longer the long run, the greater the chance for injury. There is a fine balance between over and under training.

I will caution that for those who are training under the Galloway (or other minimalist plan - those with very little mid-week running) that Jeff's plan relies on the runner completing the weekend work. So if one thinks I will run 30 minutes twice a week and then only run 16 miles as my longest long run; fate may/will catch you on race day.

If one is a first time marathoner, I will look to pushing mileage up to some 20+ distance; depending on the runner's mental abilities. What Jeff saw when he laid out these plans was that many folks were simply failing because they left a 10k for marathon day past their longest training run. For many, this is just too much of a leap of faith.

For those who train 4-6 days a week, I would not feel as compelled to push out all that far, especially for those with a few marathons under foot. What I adapt for many folks is a 3 - 3.5 hour max training run. This comes from the tri world and I find that it works well for many runners.

So, train the plan you are on. If this is your first time, you will appreciate seeing some of the last 10k before race day.

I completely agree with the bolded. Even the best marathoners in the world don't necessarily go that far in one run...it's just too hard on the body. For my first full, I did two 20s and completely hit a wall - because of my lack of fueling and inexperience, not because I didn't go the full distance. For my last full, I had multiple 16-19 milers and only one 20, and I pr'd by over 20 minutes.

Now that I think about it, before my first 10k, I only ever went 5.5 and before my first half, I only went 10. There's just something about race day that seems to push me through the finish.

However, all that said, Galloway is a different beast altogether. My best advice? Follow the plan. It's a plan that works for people. See what happens and then reassess for future races.

 

[DrMomof3]

That was Galloway run-walk-run, right?

Yes. Using run/walk.

Amanda

 

[flatlandcycle]

I dug a little deeper into your specific issue. I missed the part that you were behind in training. If 15 mi. was the longest run-walk so far, I would top out at 23 mi. on Dec 22. You don't have time to ramp to 26 mi safely.

 

[WaDiWo]

I dug a little deeper into your specific issue. I missed the part that you were behind in training. If 15 mi. was the longest run-walk so far, I would top out at 23 mi. on Dec 22. You don't have time to ramp to 26 mi safely.

thanks for everyone's responses!
yes i am a bit behind because i ran the Atlantic City half marathon on a weekend that was supposed to be a 3 mile run, so i just made that weekend my 13 mile weekend ... a bit delayed.
going for 7 and 17 miles this weekend.

thanks everyone!

 

[cherrybomb11]

I had this same question when I was planning my training calendar. I am following the official plan and every marathoner I've talked to has looked at me like I'm nuts when I say it goes up to 23 and 26 miles. But like someone else said, the weekly mileage is so low that it's balanced by the extra long runs. People who are running 10 mile weekday runs can get away with topping out under 20 miles, but we are trading that for the 26 mile long runs. If it were possible to run a good marathon with just two 3 mile runs and only top out at 18 miles, everyone would do it. I keep telling myself that Jeff wrote this plan from experience; he wouldn't put it out there if he thought it was dangerous. "Trust your training"

I'm at 17 miles this weekend too. Because I got registered late, I will be slightly behind and only able to top out at 23 miles.

 

[WhereInFlorida]

I had this same question when I was planning my training calendar. I am following the official plan and every marathoner I've talked to has looked at me like I'm nuts when I say it goes up to 23 and 26 miles.

And people who do not run think you are nuts for going out that long too, it is a no-win situation

Just cannot compare a running-only plan like as Pfitz, Daniels, McMillan, etc. with Galloway as the other plans have you running at different paces for different runs, some faster than MP, most slower. Just different animals.

 

[cewait]

And people who do not run think you are nuts for going out that long too, it is a no-win situation

Just cannot compare a running-only plan like as Pfitz, Daniels, McMillan, etc. with Galloway as the other plans have you running at different paces for different runs, some faster than MP, most slower. Just different animals.

Or said another way, these plans put you into a midweek run that has a defined purpose. Tempo, hill speed work. Galloway basically sends runners out for a 30 or 45 minute run with the purpose of loosening the legs.

 

[Villains_Rock]

I've trained with both Higdon and Galloway in the past and was much stronger at my finish after the Galloway training cycle. Could have been anything (weather, nutrition, stronger core...etc)....but I did feel more confident with my training. I didn't do three 20+ runs, only 2 and I never did 26 miles. I think I did 20, 22, 24...and it worked out great.

 

[DOOM1001]

Someone mentioned how race day just has a way to push you through the finish and I would totally agree with that.It makes going the entire 26.2 miles much easier.I look at the full marathon distance like a journey,it's a long way but there's so many things that keep you entertained throughout the race that it's almost easy going the distance.I don't follow any plans as I do my plan.For training before last years marathon I did 4-7 miles on the treadmill a couple of times a week mixed in with 7-8 outside runs between 8-18 miles,that's a far as I went,18 miles.In the race I ran pretty much the first 14-15 miles and then run/walked the rest of the way,it's just what works for me.Maybe someday I'll try doing the full using the Galloway method but I don't think I would go over 20 miles 3 times in training.