Jeff Galloway's Blog

April is “marathon decision month”

Most of the folks that I work with to train for marathons, make their choice in April. Why so early? The major marathons are so popular that they fill up quickly if you don't sign up as soon as you can. It is also true that most of those who enter Marathons in the Fall are currently doing very little running and know that they need to rev it up. Each day this month, on the average, I am in front of an audience of runners who fire constant questions about how to avoid “the wall”, staying injury free, estimating potential improvement, and running faster this year. I always recommend that the first goal be to finish in the upright position. 

My greatest satisfaction is the evolution of a series of simple training components that give the individual almost complete control over how he or she will feel at the end of long runs and on the big day. You don't have to puke or hit the couch or bed after long runs if you follow a few easy steps. Last year I put out a revised version of the training manual for my groups to reflect the updated information: GALLOWAY TRAINING PROGRAMS.

The popular marathons for the fall and winter are Portland OR, Marine Corps Marathon (online registration opens April 30), Chicago (almost full), NYC (lottery now open), Breast Cancer Marathon but there are many, many more to chose from!  A great resource for choice is www.marathonguide.com. Be sure to read the reviews.

This past week I had a delightful spring fun run out of my Phidippides Store in Sandy Springs GA, and then headed for Florida:

* Sarasota: A new Fleet Feet store in this city will host our Galloway Training Program. We had a great turnout for the first kickoff. Pat Jones is the director.

* Daytona: We had an overwhelming turnout for the kickoff on Saturday. The members and the group leaders seem to always have a good time together.

* Lakeland: The fun run around Lake Hollingsworth was a real treat. What a beautiful and clean city. Our running store partner, Fit Niche, does a great job in fitting and advising runners - in a beautiful new location. This group is growing significantly, due to the friendly leadership of our director Brendan.

* Tampa: We continue to have great leadership with co-directors Linda and Iris. Our running store partner, The Running Center has been a good resource. It was great to see so many members that have been with us for years, welcoming the new members. 

For more info on these and other Galloway Training Programs, go here.

Mizuno has been a great resource. Their representatives provide knowledgeable information and some special discounts for our members.

Sidelights: Between clinics on Friday I went for a run and interrupted the mating of two black snakes. One was crossing the road toward the mate when I approached, and it retreated. I don't believe, however, that this was a serious interruption in the expansion of the snake population.

In Lakeland, Florida, cars stop for swans crossing the road. I witnessed one such crossing that took a very long time.

The rest of April:
* Charlotte NC - On April 23rd, an evening “meet and greet” at the Dowd YMCA on Wednesday, 7:30pm.
* San Jose CA - On April 24th, a running school from 12:30-5:30 pm, then a meet and greet (email ccmiller@mindspring.com for more info)
* Carmel CA - On April 25th, a Friday morning session of gentle running, eating, italian recipes, with myself and Pepe
* Monterey CA - Saturday, April 26th clinics at the Big Sur Marathon expo with book signing
* Big Sur Marathon—Sunday morning along the coast. I've not found a more beautiful marathon course!
* Cincinnati:  On April 30th I’ll be giving out last minute instructions for The Flying Pig Marathon.

Enjoy your runs---Jeff

On The Road With Jeff- April 15, 2008

Thought for the week:
There are very few activities in life that can significantly improve the quality of a person’s life. When done correctly, running and other endurance exercises can help you energize your life--every day.

Catch the energy of Springtime:
Been a bit lazy this Winter? That's OK, most runners have had some slack weeks. If you'll ease back into running with 10-30 seconds of running followed by 30-50 seconds of walking, from the beginning, your body will adapt to the running motion without getting overwhelmed. With the right run-walk-run ratio, running doesn't have to hurt. There's a “re-starting program” in my free newsletter which will appear in a few days. If you aren't signed up for the free newsletter, visit www.JeffGalloway.com.

Texas:
I like visiting Texas, and I like the people of Texas...for the most part. A few days ago I had a great series of Galloway Training kickoffs, with lots of new runners, in College Station, Waco, Temple, Houston and Austin. There's no better place to run than Town Lake in Austin, on a beautiful Spring morning. Because of the excitement about the new Rock N Roll event in San Antonio this October, it is one of our featured races in the Galloway Training Program schedules.

Waco incident—blast from the past:
It was a thrill to run on the track in Waco where Michael Johnson trained and raced. The distance runners on the Baylor track team were nice enough to slow down so that I could take a warmup loop with them. During the run, one of the local rednecks pulled ahead of us in his pickup, on a road full of gravel, and “scratched off” sending rocks in our direction. I don't know why this personality type enjoys harassing runners, but I've had numerous incidents in various areas of the country over the years. Unfortunately, one of the young runners ran up and confronted the driver who jumped out of the truck carrying a big pipe wrench. Needless to say, the pace for the rest of the run was a good bit quicker, and we survived by being quicker on our feet.

Running is alive and well in DC and Baltimore:
Karen and Bobby Levin hosted me at their Fleet Feet store in Baltimore on Saturday, April 12. We had a great turnout for the kickoff of the Fall season. Some of the veterans in this program became injured during the past year, because they did not follow the run-walk-run guidelines on long runs, which they had been told to use. You can't take too many walk breaks on long runs.

On Sunday we had one of the largest turnouts for the DC Galloway program kickoff—including a new program in Northern Virginia. My 5 hour Running School was so much fun that we stayed around talking and I had to rush to make my plane back to Atlanta.

This week:
Please join me, or tell your friends about my free clinics: St. Petersburg FL (Fri, 4-18), Sarasota (Sat morn 4-19), Daytona Beach (Sat aft 4-19), Lakeland (Sun morning run and 1pm on 4-20), and Tampa (Sun 6pm, 4-20). For more information, contact the local director on the "Training Group" page. You can also view my schedule on the "Where's Jeff” page.

My next two marathons:
April 25-27—Big Sur International Marathon. On Friday I'll be one of the hosts and presenters in a wonderful weekend at the Big Sur International Marathon expo, and will run the race with my wife Barbara. We will be doing 1-1s, enjoying the scenery. I've not found any marathon more beautiful than Big Sur. This is a well-run event with fun weekend activities.

May 17th—Ogden Marathon. I believe that this course could be one of the fastest, anywhere. There is a downhill boost for the second half unlike any that I've experienced. Barbara and I will be pacing one another again. If you are in the area, please stop by my clinics which are hosted by the Marathon committee.

The Olympic Quest

When I qualified for the US Olympic Team in 1972 it was unexpected and joyful. This is my story.

From the time I took my first running steps, as a 13 year old, representing my country in the Olympics symbolized the peak athletic experience. But this was a dream, disconnected from the reality that I was a fat kid who struggled to finish every workout during my first year of running. I failed miserably in the test of future distance running potential, qualifying for the state championships, during my first 3 years of high school.

Finally, in my senior year, fitness and racing intelligence came together and I finally competed in the Georgia championships, and continued to compete in college (without an athletic scholarship). Upon graduation, at the high point of the Vietnam draft I did not make any national ranking list and was not invited to join the Olympic development teams from any of the armed services. With a draft number of “3” I enlisted in the Navy. Most of my service was aboard a ship on which running was not possible. I gained about 20 pounds, and lost my conditioning. Upon my release from active duty, I had no vision of my running future. Running at any speed made me feel better. But I was 25 with no career path and felt the need to get on with my life. Friends, family members, and I posed a question that I could not answer: "Why would I want to spend 2 years or more working oneself to exhaustion for something that would never help me with my professional life?"

The decision to continue strenuous training was inspired during many night watches aboard ship. To stay awake, we talked, and sports experiences were shared often. The statement that was said often, haunted me as I drove from California to Atlanta in 1970: “If I had (a certain opportunity), I would have (accomplished something significant).”

I chose graduate school at Florida State University, to prepare for a teaching career. Running the trails of the Appalachicola National brought a joy to training that I had never experienced. I also joined the brand new Florida Track Club. My only goal was internal: to see how good I could be. I continued to improve gradually but made no one's list of prospects for the 1972 Olympic team. This did not bother me—I was enjoying the journey.

A breakthrough experience for me was training with my FTC teammates Frank Shorter and '68 Olympian Jack Bacheler in Vail Colorado. For 8 weeks we drew off one another's strengths and humor. The revelation that changed my life was discovering more spiritual strength inside than I knew was there. I needed to improve about a minute in the 10K to qualify for the Olympic trials and applied this new empowerment during the AAU national championships, a few weeks before the Olympic trials.

Even in my own mind, I was an outside contender for a spot as a marathoner, with no chance in the 10K. But since I had qualified for the shorter race, I “lived my dream” running in the trial heats, qualifying for the final. When the gun fired for the race to pick the 10K team, I dropped into last place for the first mile. Then, I made it a game to see if I could catch the next person ahead of me. Picking off one and then another runner I enjoyed the moment. With about 6 laps to go I suddenly realized that I was in 2nd place! I cannot describe the joy as I qualified for the Munich team, just behind my friend Frank Shorter.

Teammate Jack Bacheler was not a 10K qualifier and it became my mission to pace him through the marathon trial, one week later. He seemed to be suffering from over training earlier in the year so I kept us on a fairly conservative pace, passing runners throughout the race. We entered the stadium together with only one spot left on the team. At the finish line, I dropped back and Jack made the team.

Helping my friend gave me more satisfaction than any medal, record or trophy. This experience showed me that the joy in helping others unleashes powers inside us that can change lives for the better—including our own. So pursuing an unlikely dream for two years connected me to the principle upon which I've based my career.

You never know...

Jeff Galloway
US Olympian

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