You might think the run/walk method explains itself—and it nearly does. You’ll find 95 percent of the instructions right there in its name. But what about that final 5 percent?
That missing percentage is the time you spend transitioning between your runs and walks. Jeff Galloway, the late creator of the run/walk method, uses two terms to describe these periods of speeding up and slowing down. He calls them “accelerating” and “gliding,” respectively, and they matter more than you might realize.
In fact, Chris Twiggs, the chief training officer and national program director of Galloway Training, tells Runner’s World that accelerating and gliding correctly are essential to getting the most out of the run/walk method. Every few minutes, you feel like you’re either a sprinter launching out of the blocks or a car slamming on its brakes. Both of those not only waste a lot of energy but also put unnecessary strain on your muscles and joints.
The way to fix this is by practicing the acceleration glider drill, Twiggs explains. Once runners have mastered this technique, they not only find that they feel more energized and less sore, but they also usually find that their race times improve. So what exactly is the acceleration glider drill, how and when should you do it, and what benefits can you expect from practicing it?
Here’s everything you need to know to incorporate it into your training routine. To reap the greatest benefit from the run/walk method, you don’t want to transition between walking and running too quickly. These should be smooth and gradual changes in your pace, Twiggs explains.
The first part is smoothly taking yourself from a walking pace up to the pace you want to maintain while running,” he says. That’s called the acceleration. Let’s assume you’ve been running for a while and your watch beeps to signal that it’s time to walk.
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