Galloway training my way to Philadelphia!

I wanted to finish my thoughts on how I'm preparing for the Philadelphia marathon this year and how my methods can relate to anyone. To reinterate what I previously said, my belief is, participating in a marathon is more a mental challenge than a physical one. Once you convince yourself you can do it, you need to make sure you are properly prepared for the challenge.

I will admit that I am not prepared to do a 4 hour marathon, nor a 4:30 marathon. In truth, it would take a lot of time in training to be able to reach those goals. Don't get me wrong, I would like to set that as my goals. But, my one hour commutes and personal committments limit the time I can train for a marathon. So, my goal this year is to shoot for a 5 hour marathon. That is roughly a 11:00/mile pace.

I will be using the Jeff Galloway run/walk method. Jeff Galloway is a former Olympian and advocate of what I'm preaching of 'where there's a will, there's a way'. There are different variations of run/walk depending on your goal level. If you are interested in finding out more, check out his website: http://www.jeffgalloway.com/

I have participated in three marathons in my life and I have used run/walk in two. The idea behind run/walk is, by taking walk breaks, it will save your energy at the end of the race when you need it most. It is also important to note that you should use run/walk in your training as well and not just on the day of the race. Again, the details are on the website, but you should start using it when you start to do your 16 mile or longer long runs.

I tested this theory out before my first marathon in an 18 mile race on Long Beach Island, NJ. I was running 6 minutes and taking 1 minute walk breaks. It definitely felt funny stopping to walk after the first 6 minutes and watching people pass me. But, when I hit mile 16, I was passing the same people who were passing me at mile 1. So, it does require patience, for, afterall, this is a marathon you are doing.

For, Philadelphia, I plan on doing 9 minute run, 1 minute walk for no other reason than it will be simpler to calculate on my Garmin watch. Doing the 6/1 is fine in the beginning, but, try doing that calculation after 20 miles (heck, try to remember your name after 20!). Will I reach my 5 hour goal if I do it that way? I dunno. It's my strategy going in and, if it doesn't work, I'll try something else next time.

So, you see, you don't have to RUN a marathon in order to participate. In fact, Jeff Galloway preaches that you can actually lower your time substantially with run/walk. So, think about it. Give it some thought of checking this off of your lifelist right after 'Visiting the Grand Canyon' but before 'running with the bulls in Pamplona'. I'm guessing you will finish and say 'never again'. And then two months later, when the aches go away, you will be looking on websites on where you want to do your next marathon and will forget about running with those bulls.

Note: Congratulations to my friend Kelly on an excellent performance at the Baltimore marathon. She was only 1 minute off her goal time and I bet she could have reached that time if she saved her strength and didn't yell at the hills throughout the race. Congrats to my friend Steve (SteveRunner) on setting a PR at the Bay State marathon over the weekend. He came oh-so-close to his 4 hour goal but I know he can reach that time in Philadelphia! And, finally, congrats to the worldwide half community of runners on an excellent effort over the weekend!
Finally, some words for Mr. Bill McGurk of Folsom, PA. But first, dear readers, please read the bottom letter in this link entitled Limit marathoners to follow along: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20071014_Letters____Phils_show_true_leadership.html

Mr. McGurk sent a letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer which was printed in the Sunday edition of the paper (The 700 Level). This letter was in reference to the issues in this year's Chicago marathon and marathons in general. Mr. McGurk stated that 'greed is the main culprit' for the troubles at Chicago and questions how many people were actually in shape to run 26.2 miles. He also states that 'in Philly, people were still running-if you can call it that (his words)--six hours after the marathon began. You aren't a runner. You are a wannabe.'

I suggest, Mr. McGurk, you read the following article from the Baltimore Sun of why people would spend 6 hours out there on a marathon course.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/bal-md.marathon14oct14,0,3187438.story
Everyone has their own personal reason for doing this. It doesn't always have to be about winning. And, who are you to determine what a certain time a marathon should be? Most marathons DO have certain time limits for runner's to finish the event. In fact, when I ran the Cape Cod marathon, I knew I had to finish under six hours. I trained properly for the race but sustained an injury and limped home. But, I did it! And, I'm damn proud of that accomplishment!

So, following your logic, Mr. McGurk, I am calling on a ban of all softball/basketball/bowling/whatever amateur leagues you play for because you guys aren't real. You are wannabes. You might get hurt. You are causing our insurance rates to go up. How dare you guys have a goal in life!

So, Mr. McGurk of Folsom, PA, why don't you do some research on websites and blogs and find out the REAL reason why people would subject themselves to participating in a 26.2 mile or any running event. It's not always about kicks and giggles. It might just open your eyes!