I know that there are many people who successfully employ the run/walk strategy for their marathon in an IM. Has anyone successfully applied this strategy in a HIM?
Not sure if the run is long enough for this strategy to benefit? Any experiences?
I’m planning on a 4/1 strategy in Boise in a week or so. I’ve found that I’m a bit faster over the 13.1 doing the run walk. I also mentally can break down the run into short segments and that keeps me engaged. I’m not going to podium so walking doesn’t bother me.
Can I ask what time youre aiming for in Boise?
I’m around the 93min - 95min mark and wondering if using a run walk strategy would be of any benefit to me. I guess trying and failing/succeeding is the only real way I’ll know but I like to back up training with anecdotal, n=1, evidence first
I’m a fan. Here is how it played out for a 90’ run split at GCT this year. It was a toasty run, and it seems like it was the 8th fastest split.
You can see several peaks on the pace line where I saunter along aid stations.
The math said I was capable of 6:30s, so that 2nd mile looks a bit misplaced. My body quickly made the compelling argument that I wasn’t the man I thought myself to be and settled me into 7s.
I ultimately lost around a minute the last 5k as I started falling apart. At no point did I wish I’d ran harder the first half.
Hope that helps!
Thanks - thats interesting. So you stopped the run/walk strategy and fell apart a bit at the end…wonder how much it would have helped to continue (those endless post race questions you’ll never know the answer to).
So was you plan to run at 6:30 and then walk an aid station (7:00/mile in total)?
- Yes, if you have to walk in an open marathon to complete the distance at your target pace. This is usually those that run slower than a 4:00 open time. or target HIM time of >2:00.
- If your under trained and did too much LSD training and not enough quality.
- If you over biked (see #2)
- There are steep uphills and you need to walk to stay within your target effort level.
Personally I have walked in a 70.3… it however wasn’t a strategy, it was bad GI issues form a poorly executed nutrition strategy starting with poor pre-race decisions.
Now, to intentionally run a 6:30 then walk at 14-16:00 pace is just stupid. Why not just run a pace you can sustain like a 6:40 or simply go out a little slower at the start then pick it up. I think the last 4-6 miles are going to hurt no matter what you do if you rode the bike above a zone 2 pace.
Obviously the idea would be that the combination of your run/walk pace is quicker than the pace you could sustain by only running. I’m not saying I believe it would work for a 70.3, I was just asking if anyone has seen better results.
Chances are I wont change to a run/walk but I’m a triathlete…I obsess about everything and am looking for any possible way to go faster.
Obviously the idea would be that the combination of your run/walk pace is quicker than the pace you could sustain by only running. I’m not saying I believe it would work for a 70.3, I was just asking if anyone has seen better results.
Chances are I wont change to a run/walk but I’m a triathlete…I obsess about everything and am looking for any possible way to go faster.
A run/walk strategy’s only value is for someone who is simply trying to complete the distance. If you’re trying to optimize time, you need to be running and doing the training to increase your sustainable run pace.
So basically we come back to “Train hard, train smart, kick ass” hahaha.
A few years ago Gordo Byrn had a 1:15 run split at Vineman 70.3 using a run walk protocol. If I remember correctly he used the walk segments in the first half to set himself up for the final 10K.
A run/walk strategy’s only value is for someone who is simply trying to complete the distance. If you’re trying to optimize time, you need to be running and doing the training to increase your sustainable run pace.
well nice blunt blanket statement. Unfortunately it’s wrong for some people. No doubt true for you, but were all individuals and things are different.
the reality is there is no one answer here. For some people run/walk works very well. For others, not at all. The way to find out it to experiment and try to see if it works for you. Which should be done in your training, not during a race.
For me, anything over a 10k, I’m faster with a run walk. Especially in a Tri, where I do the walk portion at the aid stations to ensure I get good nutrition in.
But just like every training/race technique out there, its an individual thing. There are some very fast marathoners that run/walk. If your at the very top of the field, I doubt its something that you want to utilize, but if your more of a MOP, it could very well work for you. Again, only one way to find out.
I’m shooting for 6hr30m to 7hr. I’m not a fast competitor but I always finish. This will be my 4th HIM and I’m targrting my 4 min run @ 10min/mile pace and 1 min walk @ 15min/mile pace. I’m shooting for 2hr 30m on the run. Like I said, I’m not quick.
Can I ask what time youre aiming for in Boise?
I’m around the 93min - 95min mark and wondering if using a run walk strategy would be of any benefit to me. I guess trying and failing/succeeding is the only real way I’ll know but I like to back up training with anecdotal, n=1, evidence first
I’d put the train smart before the train hard.
A run/walk strategy’s only value is for someone who is simply trying to complete the distance. If you’re trying to optimize time, you need to be running and doing the training to increase your sustainable run pace.
This is way to general, I’m guessing you’re not over 50. As you get older you gotta pick your spots to run hard Long course. Example, St George and if I remember correctly you raced this year too. No point pushing on some of the up hills on that course better to power walk and push the downhill/flats, I know there are no flats in STG. Also, if you factor in the heat, I slowed to have the volunteers put ice water on the back of my jersey at EVERY water station.
Just my .02
“This will be my 4th HIM and I’m targrting my 4 min run @ 10min/mile pace and 1 min walk @ 15min/mile pace.”
So, if my math is right, that will work out to roughly a 12:20 min/mile avg. As a rough estimate, when you double the distance of a race, you add :15 secs/mile to your pace…so for example your 10K pace is :15 secs/mile slower than your 5K pace…and in a triathlon you generally shoot to run the pace you could do for the double the race length in an open race, so in a HIM you’d be shooting for your open marathon pace. Proabably not as accurate the for slower runners, but the point is running 1 min/mile slower ought to make a huge difference in how hard you are going. In this case, you could run 2 min/mile slower than your 10 min/mile run target and you’d still be 4 minutes faster over the course of the run leg.
You should do a track workout where you do 6x1 mile w/1’ rest, odds run/walk with your 4@10, 1@15, evens @12 min/mile run and see what you think.
http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/run-walk/
Check this out. I believe in this method, have used it since 2000 to great effect in my races.
Galloway’s own experience:
Running 30 seconds at a time got me to Boston
My main marathon companion is my wife Barbara. I enjoy running her pace as we run a marathon each month, usually in about 5 hours. In August, she stepped on a rock and fractured the fifth metatarsal in her left foot and had to use a boot for nine weeks. She encouraged me to run faster in my Fall races. For the first time in 10 years I had to focus on what my goal might be. Thoughts led to the events in Boston and, during a series of contemplative runs, I realized that I really wanted to qualify again.
My first marathon was the Big Wild Life Marathon in Anchorage (a great event). I ran the first half with the Galloway group in Anchorage, using 20/20, and then had to satisfy my curiosity: What time could I run during the second half if I ran a bit faster? I shifted the ratio to (run 30 seconds/walk 20 seconds) and kept picking up the pace. When I computed my pace in the second half, it was only about 10 seconds slower per mile than I needed for my Boston Qualifier (BQ).
My September event was the US Air Force Marathon. I tried various run/walk/run strategies, on the stopwatch, and felt that 30 sec run/15 sec walk felt the best. I stayed just behind the pace group for my goal (4:10) to avoid confusion when I took my frequent walk breaks. I was right on pace and feeling fairly strong at 21 miles, the start of a 3-mile uphill where I slowed down by about two minutes. A good downhill helped me cut a minute off the pace, but I needed another 60 seconds with 1.2 miles. I was tired but because I only ran 30 seconds at a time, I had a lot of resiliency in the legs and picked up the pace. It was tough during the last straight to the finish, seeing the clock tick over the BQ. I was 38 seconds too slow.
This only enhanced my motivation to qualify. I set my sights on Space Coast Marathon in Florida. My last long run was in the Marine Corps Marathon where I ran back to my hotel to get in at least 29 miles (which improves stamina at the end of the race).
Space Coast Day: Due to a potty stop, I got sorted into the starting line behind my pace group, without knowing how far they were ahead. I relaxed and focused on 30/15. I was on pace, mile after mile, and actually started feeling better at 18 miles. Just before the last major course turn, at 19.5 miles, where the course turns and heads back to the finish, I saw the 4:10 pace group. I felt strong and picked up the pace about a minute per mile to catch up with the pace group leader. This was a mistake.
By mile 24, I was feeling the effects of my increased effort, a steady headwind, and about 70F temperature with high humidity. I knew I was slowing down. In retrospect, I probably slipped below the pace needed for about half a mile. At 25 miles, I decided to switch the ratio to 20 sec run/10 sec walk. It worked! My pace picked up and I ran strong to the finish-6 seconds under my goal!
I’m still glowing from the empowerment of qualifying, overcoming a very tough patch late in the race, and making a comeback after a slowdown. Even after 57 years of running, one can make mistakes and learn from them.
That’s nice, but that course appears rolling but overall relatively flat. The really fast guys can run 1:10-1:12… without walking. Maybe that’s faster for him, but maybe he’s leaving some time on the table since some many can run 2-3 minutes faster without walking.
Was there. Love that race. Hope you had a good day. Not pushing the run pace up the hills so you don’t blow up doesn’t mean walking them either necessarily. There’s the middle ground where you run the hills at a efficient pace based on your ability. Perhaps your ability level means you walk (not using “you” and “your” for you personally) and that is totally fine but a run/walk strategy isn’t going to lead to a faster overall time for someone who has the ability to run the entire course if the fastest time is the number one goal.
Making a judgment call to walk aid stations to get in fuel or stay cool isn’t what I’d consider a planned run/walk strategy. I definitely did walk a short section at a couple of the stations to make sure I grabbed some ice but the trade off between losing a few seconds there and missing something you need makes that short break totally worth it.
The OP’s original question as I read it had to do with optimizing a race split which isn’t going to happen with a run/walk strategy if someone has the fitness to already run the entire distance. I’m not saying there aren’t people who can benefit from that strategy but their goals are likely different than the OP’s.
I walk aid stations to make sure I get a gel or water. The rest is also nice. Used that strategy to run around 91mins off the bike.
this is what i do as well. run at my normal pace in between aid stations, and walk the aid station so i dont drown myself trying to drink a cup of water while running. i dont stop at every station, i usually do every other one. sports drink at one, water at the next one and eating a goo just before the water stops.