Recently I completed my 8th marathon alongside another Club Synergy member, Elizabeth who nailed her first. 

Not long into my 26 miles I knew that this was one run where "Jeffing" would be making an early appearance if I was going to finish.

What is Jeffing?

Jeffing is a structed run/walk strategy named after Olympian, Jeff Galloway who created to coaching technique to help runners tackle longer distances with less strain on the body.  

It usually involves running for 1-2 minutes followed by walking for 1-2 minutes on repeat and it was my saviour for this marathon.

You can read more about jeffing HERE.

You don't have to run the full way to be a marathoner.

There is a tendency for those tackling a race to beat themselves up if they don't run the WHOLE way but by relaxing this attitude you can enable your body to go further and with less chance of hitting the dreaded "wall".  This applies just as much to those entering their first 5 or 10k as for those taking on 26.2 miles.

Your pace doesn't need to suffer.

Perhaps surprisingly, with a balanced set of intervals (I opted for 90 seconds running/90 seconds walking) you can maintain a pace surprisingly close to continuous running.  Assuming that you stride rather than saunter during the walking portion your pace will not suffer significantly.  

Try it when your mind is playing games with you...

It's often said that running is as much of a mental sport as physical, that your body can go on long after your mind wants you to stop. 

Adopting a jeffing strategy quiets the mind in two ways. 

1. It helps you seize back mental control from those mind monkeys that want you to just stop running. Having a walking "reward" built in is often enough to turn down the noise.

2. Focusing on the time to know when to walk and when to run gives you something else to place your attention on. It helps shut out the negative chatter and think only about the interval you are currently completing

Why am I sharing this?

Whether or not you run races, I'm sure the feeling of having your mind gently suggest that it would be much easier to give up on something is familiar.  Motivation is fickle and this is when discipline and repetition comes into play. 

Next time you want to give up on something, think about how jeffing could work in your situation?

• Could you work in 10 minute bursts with a 10 minute rest in between?

• Could you lower the expectations you are carrying about how "perfect" the finished article must be?