I’ve been reading up on running forums for several months and running magazines for longer, and I think I can identify some of the biggest issues in the running community.
1) Gallowalking. This refers to Jeff Galloway’s method of marathon training/racing, and it’s about as controversial as it gets. Proponents say that combining running with walking during training and the race will lead to faster times than just running—even for 3:00 marathoners. Opponents say that while Galloway has encouraged many people to start running and finish marathons, his method is just that—a good way to finish marathons, not race them or push oneself to peak performance. I think that Gallowalking is not the evil that some view it as and is in fact a positive for getting more people into running, but I don’t believe that it’s the method that will lead to pushing yourself to your limits and lead to your best times. But it’s not a moral issue, so to each his own.
2) General principles for improving your marathon time. 1. High mileage: putting in the time/effort to run 50, 60, 70, 80 miles per week—with most of the miles at an easy aerobic pace—will build a big base that will lead to a high peak. One long run (18+ miles) and one medium-long run (12-17 miles) per week is a good way to ramp up the miles and build strength. 2. After you’ve built up a base, add speedwork: do some combination of tempo runs, marathon pace runs, hill repeats, and intervals (half mile or mile repeats). 3. After a hard workout, be sure to allow for recovery with an easy workout the next day. 4. Don’t go out too fast in the race; try for an even pace that could lead to a negative split.
Of course, there are other principles about tapering, nutrition, hydration etc. that will help—and you should read up on each for the details and variations—so think of this as a mere simplified summary.
3) The mixed blessing of shoes. The advancement in shoe technology is credited for preventing injury, especially for those with pronation problems, and allowing for more people to enjoy running injury-free. But it’s also blamed by some (a minority, I believe) for causing injuries by not allowing the foot to strengthen, so for these folks, the more minimal the shoe, the better; they would advise training in racing flats.
I’ve never tried racing flats—the Asics Speedstar 2 come closest—so I can’t really say. But I can say that cushioned and supportive cushioned shoes have never caused me any problems. At the same time, who knows if maybe racing flats would work just as well if not better for me? In the end, I think all shoe-related issues pretty much come down to “It depends on the person,” so this discussion may be no more resolvable or useful than the age-old “Is this model/brand a good shoe?” I’ve never understood how there can be arguments about one model being better than another since every foot/leg is so different.
There are lots of other issues, of course, which I may introduce another time.
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