Run-walk-run really works AND Kickstarter campaign info

A few weeks ago, I was in a pit of despair and thought I might have to give up running. This completely sucked because it’s only been the past few years that I’ve at long last fallen in love with running. It took me more than 15 years of regular running to finally discover that running is a sport I enjoy and can be (somewhat) good at! 

Dizziness struck

As you might recall, what happened a few weeks ago was that the consistent dizziness I was experiencing while running more than 6 miles got really bad during my third half marathon of 2022. The dizziness was so bad that three different times during the race I worried about fainting. Thankfully I did not faint, as I stopped running and walked and breathed deeply and intentionally until the dizziness ended. The walking slowed my run time down, which caused more disappointment and hopelessness.

Luckily I figured out with relative speed to go see a cardiologist, which I am doing on October 4th. I will keep you posted on how that goes. Fingers crossed my heart is okay. 

Don Soule, Marathon Man

The other amazing thing that happened is that I had a helpful conversation with 73 year old marathoner Don Soule. Don is AMAZING! We call him The Marathon Man because most years he runs 3 or 4 marathons IN A YEAR! Don has a pacemaker and he is a run-walk-run expert. 

Run-Walk-Run to the rescue

Run-walk-run is a method I’ve used many times. I own a few of Jeff Galloway’s books and I’ve read them cover to cover, more than once. I have his run apps on my iPhone and I’ve used them for years, and blogged about them.

Galloway is the founder of the Galloway Run-Walk-Run method. Certainly he is one of the most vocal about the advantages of run-walk-run. A few of the advantages Galloway hypes are injury prevention or near total avoidance of injury. Plus in my experience the walking bouts allow the heart rate to stabilize, which in my case, reduces dizziness to near zero.  

Well, as luck would have it, Don personally knows Jeff! He’s run a few marathons with Jeff, talking and running with him for a few miles. He’s also run-walked-run at a marathon or two with Jeff’s wife Barb. 

Run-Walk-Run Ratio

Turns out that my idea of run-walk-run isn’t what Jeff, and now Don, think is the best way to do it. Meaning, I thought it was best to attempt to go longer with running and shorter with walking. I showed up to a long Saturday run after my half marathon disappointment intending to do 4 minutes running, 30 seconds walking. Don happened to be near me as I was figuring out how I would do this and he started telling me about the advantage of doing much shorter run sessions followed by short walk sessions. 

45 seconds run/15 seconds walk

I’m always willing to give something new a try. Don has seen me run for more than a year and he noticed that I’m a pretty good sprinter. He thought I would do really well with a shorter run, shorter walk pattern. I do tend to walk fast, likely because of the many fast dogs I’ve had over the past 17 years, they got me in the habit of fast walking. 

Don’s pattern is 45 seconds running followed by 15 seconds walking. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this pattern, thinking it might be difficult to feel a sense of flow. But I was willing to give it a try. WONDERS NEVER CEASE!!!

Fall in love with running, again

I fell in love with running EVEN MORE doing this run-walk-run pattern! It is possible to do ANYTHING for 45 seconds and during those 45 seconds I can often sprint and move more quickly than I usually do. This reminds me of being a 6th grader and participating in Field Day races and flying across the field. I smile remembering the joy and delight of the sunshine and the feel of the air as I ran as fast as I could with my classmates. 

Moving meditation

Then comes the 15 second walk where I walk quickly and I notice my heart rate comes down and my body adjusts. Then before I know it I get to run fast again. It is easy to get used to the pattern of going between running and walking, especially after doing it a few times. I like shifting gears. It causes me to pay attention to what’s happening in my body moment to moment. It’s like a moving meditation, drawing me back to my body over and over and over again. 

Twin Cities 10 miler tomorrow

The Twin Cities Marathon and 10 Mile races are tomorrow Sunday, October 2nd. I’m doing my last big race of 2022, the 10 miler. It’s also the 40th anniversary of the Twin Cities Marathon! I’m committed to doing a run-walk-run pattern the whole race. I’m resting up, eating well, and hydrating with intention – all in preparation for my big run finale of the year. Fingers crossed all goes well with the dizziness. I will let you know!

Kickstarter is approved!

I thought it would take 3 days for Kickstarter to approve my campaign, instead it took them just 3 hours. I am a rule follower, so of course I read all their rules and then followed them.

The campaign will launch on Wednesday, October 12th and now’s the time to follow along as we get to October 12th. 

Here’s the link to see the preview page and become a follower. You’ll get notification on October 12th when I launch the campaign.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mariruddy/extreme-healing-finding-your-inner-endurance-athlete

Please mark your calendars for October 12th, 2022, as I need at least 53 people to pre-order a paperback copy at the $25 reward level to hit 11% of my campaign goal on Day 1!! 

Thanks for being one of the people who make this book a published reality!

Are you on my email list yet? If not,here’s your chance to sign up today!

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