Run-walk-run support thread (Jeffing)

[L4ura171986]

Hiya. 40 year old female here. Started running a year ago and did C25K and hated it. But then someone told me about “jeffing” and I love it. I have got up to 13km jeffing doing a ratio of 45 secs running and 30 seconds walking - I feel great after and recovery is quick. My average pace is 7:20 per km which is faster than when I run continuously. I’m running about 20-25 km a week doing this and it’s changed my life. I look forward to all runs. Everything has got better! Any fellow Jeffers here?

I'm a part-time jeffer. I usually run-all at shorter distances but often jeff longer distances and used it to run a marathon a few years ago.

I normally found that I'd get tired and start walking after 90mins on long runs anyway, and jeffing keeps me fresher and times/ paces more consistent.

Thanks for your reply! What ratio of walking / running do you do please?

I’ve just started this and seen much better progress and really good recovery from it. I’m only up to 5k so far

I’m running at about 4.5-6mph

Im not really managing to time myself in splits yet (as trying to stop getting stressed about the splits as this is the reason I started walk/run) but I am going by my HR zone. I will monitor myself into the top of zone 3, then when it gets high i will slow down and walk until my HR goes back to lower end zone 2. This is sometimes about 30 seconds so listening to what my body is telling me has been really good and given me more confidence. All running just wipes me out and makes me feel really stressed!

I am another part time Jeffer! I find it a very enjoyable way to go for a run and I’ve defaulted to it a few times when I’ve been tired, recovering from illness, just wanting a bit of fresh air… My current interval of choice is 60:30 (which allows me to run around 7 min/km comfortably - I feel I could just keep on going!) but I do everything from 15:30 to running continuously. I’ve started taking iron tablets for low ferritin and have found I need Jeffing less than I did before but I still enjoy it. I have been focusing on running continuously recently (as my goals have focused around running 5 and 10K faster) but I’m thinking about going back to Jeffing more if I sign up for another half marathon.

I vary between 30:30 to 90:30. For trail running, I might shift the proportion down to 40:20, same ratio but the frequency works well for long hills or interruptions like stiles and gates that interfere with the rhythmn.

Hello! So nice to read what you’re doing ratio wise.@lightanddreamy I also have low ferritin and am hoping that I will get better. Very interesting that some of you vary your ratios. I feel fixed at 45:30 as I’m nervous about pushing outside of the comfort zone. I am running the London landmarks half marathon in 8 weeks. Planning on going 45:30 but wondering if I should push for 60:30 as it’s race day? Wwyd?

Stick with what you are comfortable with. The pace is sustainable for you so personally I would stick to that. Good luck!

When I ran the Great North Run someone suggested I set my Gym Boss for 15:15. I know it’s annoying having the thing buzz every 15 seconds but I found it SO helpful, especially when it was crowded. My only “rule” was not to walk for more than 30 seconds at a time but other than that I did what the course/crowd dictated and sometimes ran for longer if it was congested or there was a downhill. I think I mostly did 15:30 in the end but it was very flexible. You might like to consider doing the same but I’d try to stick with whatever you have used in training so far as possible,

Hi everyone.

I have always run/walked but only because l get tired... so not true Jeffing.... until last week.

I have entered a 10 mile events... l have never ever been anywhere close to that previously but l tried a 1km run with 30second walk. During that walk l have a sweet or mini biscuit.

I'm not fast - my pace is 8.30/km... but knowing l have these planned walk breaks has really helped me mentally as l don't dread my long run currently

Oh wow! I didn’t know this was a thing. Can someone talk me through how you set your times for walking/running. Is it just comfort level or is there another logic? Off to google too.

Jeff has died!

his obituary is in today’s Times

https://www.thetimes.com/article/56c0a239-8d39-4bfc-95ff-e8619418c59e?shareToken=9c208b4c6809eac338541247324057fb

Currently pregnant and not running but I jeffed my 9th half marathon and got a similar time to my others (2:20-2:30) and felt great. I am a bit slower with the walk breaks but don't care because I feel a million times better because of it. I actually had an afternoon after my long runs instead of just losing the day to being wiped out.

Another jeff-er! Amazing how far I can go and not be tired at the end of a run. I do a longer interval of 10 minutes run 1 minute walk and have incorporated this into run drills, fast runs, long runs. My 10 km time came down by nearly 15 minutes and my pace continues to improve. Was sad to read the recent news of his demise but will always be in awe of the people he has brought change to.

There is an app but I find it confusing.

I set my Apple Watch to tell me when I was in zone 3 HR and when I hit that, I would walk until it went down again into mid zone 2. This would end up being every 1 min or so and r take 15 seconds to go down but I also did it by just how I felt rather than an exact time, I haven’t worked out how to do the intervals another way

Thanks Rivers that’s helpful!

I jeffed a marathon last year. Slightly longer intervals as I found I started to seize up if I changed too often so did 6mins running, 2 mins walking. Finished the marathon a whisker under 5 hrs and had enough energy to go for a beer and then dinner!

I use a timer on my phone rather than Garmin settings. It's easier to adapt the ratio if I need to rather than being tied into it for the whole run.

Gymboss timers are a popular option too.

I jeffed a half marathon 2 months after my marathon so was on old training and the 2:30 pacer was jeffing. She was running the same ratio as me with a gymboss so I turned my timer off and went into sync with her and ran pretty much all of it with her. She said it was unusual to keep a runner for the vast majority of the race but she was doing exactly what I intended anyway!
I really enjoyed that race, it was just laidback with an easily achievable goal.

This is so interesting as I didn’t realise what I did had a name. I am a proud jeffer! I run 3 minutes, walk for one. I wanted to get back into running as I took it to the extreme last time, had a tight IT band, which pulled the tendon(s) all the way from my foot up my leg (self diagnosed tendinitis 😁), but this method has stopped any injury so I’m sticking to it!

Hiya! I am so pleased to hear from other Jeffers. I am currently running 45secs, walking 30secs and my average pace for 17km is 7:20/km. I have a half marathon in 4 weeks and it doesn’t feel insurmountable x