Jeff and I had a date!

[cheekychipmunks]

Not quite a blind date but only my second time dallying with him since starting running.

I hadn’t run since last Thursday having been sideswiped by the cold which swept through our entire family, and bearing in mind I’m down to run the HUHM on Sunday, doing a trial run/walk today seemed wise. I swore never EVER to repeat the experience I had in March when I ran two HMs on my local soggy wind blown common 2 weeks apart. Seriously, it was hard! 😩 So when Linda suggested the HUHM and the inevitable FOMO struck, I decided to sweeten the deal by seeing if Jeffing would help.

So will it? It remains to be seen. It didn’t feel a whole lot easier, but then again I’ve had a week off and my legs and body were a bit wobbly. I chose an 8/2 minute run/walk ratio and my overall time for 5k this morning was fairly similar to a slow recovery continuous trot. But I’m promising myself that if I’m having a hard time on Sunday I’ll drop down to the HU10k on the fly (if I’m allowed linda9389 ?)

Any Jeffing advice would be greatly appreciated from all you experts out there! 🙏🏻

Oh, I’m not discussing my Garmin on the post. Suffice to say Black Friday can’t come soon enough! 🙄

[TailChaser Marathon]

Good old Garmin! What was it this time? Too wet/dry/hot/cold/sweaty/windy/high/low?

I think you’re still recovering cheeky. You probably need to give yourself more time. Considering you should still have the GSR in your legs, it should be easier.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

It’s such a diva TC. I have it set to give me pace alerts, which now I can’t seem to turn off 😩 One moment it buzzed giving me one pace, literally 4 steps later it gives me another completely different pace - and then another … and nothing running-wise had changed! It repeated that cycle every so often, and at one point I also had the Triangle of Doom (out of battery) which promptly went away after 30 seconds and it worked as normal. Silly watch. It was more stressful than the run itself! 😂

I’ll persevere with it for Sunday and see how it goes. My cold will be a few days further down the line too, so yes hopefully it’ll feel easier. 🤞If not I’ll bail after 10k like a sensible chipmunk. 😇 🐿

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Everything crossed for you cheeky 🤞🤞🤞 Useful to have that 10k option.

My watch is set to give pace alerts. Very occasionally it might bother and I get shocked by it as I’ve got used to it not happening. Most of the time it can’t be bothered. You’re totally right - divas the lot of them 🤣

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to TailChaser]

I’ve been known to swear at mine out loud whilst running! That might have happened today in fact! 🤣

[TailChaser Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I shout at mine loudly when it tells me my heart rate is too high. Very useful for social distancing 🤣

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon]

The only Jeffing I have done is when I have had to walk part of a hill, because it was new and steep or I just didn’t feel like running it on the day. Neither has happened very often.

I did take a 2.5 minute breather on a short run last week; I too had a cold. It was amazing how quickly my heart rate reduced and how comfortable the rest of the run felt. Your underlying fitness is so good that I think you will find a jeffed HM a comparative doddle, provided that your cold has well and truly cleared up. Go cheeky!!

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Thanks for your confidence in my fitness BC. You’re right though, colds are nasty things and take it out of you more than you imagine sometimes. Ordinarily I wouldn’t even consider Jeffing, and I doubt if I’ll go back to it after Sunday, but on this occasion I think it’ll be my saviour! 🤞

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

🤞 indeed. I think jeffing has its place, particularly on long runs with big hills ( where you can make up time on the downhill stretches), or when recovering from illness or injury. I am programmed to just run really. Probably daft at my age…..no surprise there for anyone who knows me!🤪

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

I think you and I have the same programmer BC! 😂

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Going off to try a really slow hill run…..I know that I will have to walk a bit this time, but the comeback has to start somewhere!

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Gooo BC! 💪

[Beachcomber66 Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Well, that was tough! I walked the peaks (and a bit more) and speeded up on the flat and the down slopes. Total ascent of 148 metres, most of it over three peaks on a 1k stretch. 37:09 is a slow time; my best on this run is 33:19 on 9 November last year(the last time I ran this route), but it is a start. Quick way to strengthen quads and glutes or back to IC! We will see! So glad I tried it; reading your jeffing post planted the idea, so thanks CC.

Hill Run Profile

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Beachcomber66]

Woohoo, nothing wrong with that BC! You’re back. 💪👊 🏃‍♂️

[RunWillie Marathon]

I’m certainly no expert but I have read his run / walk method book. 30 seconds walk is recommended for most running ratios. Hope that’s helpful 😍

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Gosh 30 seconds of walking isn’t much is it RW? As I’m not used to it I’m not sure how helpful it would be - possibly more faff having to stop start all the time! I’ll see how I get on!

[RunWillie Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Here’s a quote from the book “note: 30 seconds has been found to be the longest effective walk break at paces of 9 min/mile and slower”

I’ve got his recommended run walk strategies if you want to give me your pace/mile. My fastest mile is 8:30 so Jeff suggests 3 min run and 30 sec walk for that for example. 😍

[skysue16 Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Interesting 🤔

[RunWillie Marathon in reply to skysue16]

I’ve stopped Jeffing but did it for 6 months to keep my heart rate down. 30 second walk breaks does seem to help with that. I’m back running all of my runs for now 😍

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

I’m glad that it worked for you RW. I’m just using it to make the run achievable now. Initially I’d decided to try jeffing as an experiment, but it turns out that it’ll be a necessity I think! I’ve barely run any distance this last month due to various reasons! Oh well, let’s see. 😅

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to RunWillie]

Ahh that’s kind of you RW. However, it’s only going to be a one-off as I wouldn’t be able to run an entire HM at the moment due to my lack of running recently. I’m certainly a lot slower than you even when fully fit!

I’ve had some interesting advice so I’ll take a bit of it all and see how I go on Sunday. 😀

[RunWillie Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I’m not sure I’m known as fast on Strava & I only release the running legs once a week at Park Run 🤣 You will be fabulous cheekychipmunks as always❤️🏃‍♀️

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon]

Can’t give you any advice about Jeffing Munks but a cold can really take it out of your so I’m not surprised you’re probably still feeling the after effects.

If I was ever to consider training for a FM then I’d definitely try Jeffing so I’m really interested in how you get on at the weekend 🏃‍♀️

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

Thanks IP! I’ve been looking at MyPaceCalculator.com which lets you input your average run and average walk speeds as well as how long you’d like to go for both intervals, and it gives your anticipated finish time over all distances. It’ll be interesting to see how accurate it is on Sunday, but I won’t be a hero and might give myself permission to bail after 10k if I’m not feeling it. Colds are a darned inconvenience aren’t they? 😠🤧😩

[Irishprincess Administrator Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

That sounds very logical 🙂. I guess the tricky bit is working out the length of intervals ….. good luck 🍀

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Irishprincess]

I have my (very diva-like) Garmin programmed to tell me when to run/walk so once I’ve decided exactly what ratio to stick with, it SHOULD be easy enough to follow IP. That’s if I can decipher which flipping buzzes are what. I get too many notifications, and I can’t seem to work out how to get rid of them! 🤦‍♀️

[misswobble Marathon]

I Jeffed 2 marathons. I’ve always run/walked on runs too. I suppose it’s a natural progression as it’s what we did on C25k. Save your head to save your legs sorta thing 🙂

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to misswobble]

That’s good to hear MW. May I ask what sort of ratios you used? Is 8:2 way off for example?

[Sandie1961 Half Marathon]

Glad to hear you felt up to going out 😃 I haven’t tried jeffing, although there was a jeffer when I did my HM who did an almost identical time. I find I struggle to start running again if I walk so tend to just keep plodding away. On a positive note, my Garmin Forerunner 645 Music (belated birthday pressie from Mr Sandie) arrived today. Goodness knows if I’ve set it up properly as the instruction book is decidedly sparse. Guess I’ll find out when I go for my run tomorrow 🤞

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Sandie1961]

Ooo well jell Sandie! Enjoy your new toy. I’m hoping to enjoy a new toy of my own from Santa because mine is certainly out of favour! 😅

[Sandie1961 Half Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

Even better, it was half price in a pre Black Friday deal from Wiggle allowing me to upgrade from the 45! Result 🥳🥳

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Sandie1961]

Brilliant! 👏 👏

I’ll be helping Santa out by searching for good deals too! I want to return to a Forerunner of some sort as the Vivoactive is all mouth and no trousers in my experience. 🙄

[Cmoi Marathon]

I've never tried proper Jeffing and can't imagine I will. I don't like the idea of programmed walking intervals and generally I'd rather run than walk.

However, when training for the trail marathon, I had to change my approach, and stop thinking that walking equals failure. Now I walk when I physically can't run the terrain, or when it's clear that walking will be faster than running. If I'm running longer distances I'll also walk tougher sections just to save energy - no point in wearing myself out and having to cut my run short.

The ultra trail routes (115km and 72km) were the same as the maratrail over maybe 30km. It was definitely a learning experience to see that many of the ultra runners - and experienced trail marathon runners - were walking as well as running.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

Thanks for your reply Cmoi. 😀 I certainly can’t compare my terrain to yours and I don’t run far compared to you either, but I can certainly see how taking walking breaks is useful in that respect.

I don’t think I’ll be returning to Jeffing after this weekend - I simply don’t tackle anywhere I can’t physically run, although I do slow right down on steep hills. However this weekend has been preceded by shocking training for numerous reasons and I don’t think I’d be doing myself any favours by trying to run the whole distance. I’ll see how I get on! 😀

[Cmoi Marathon in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I've not run further than 12k-ish since the marathon, so know how you feel cheekychipmunks . You'll be fine though 👍😀

As for not tackling anywhere I can't physically run, I'd be very limited in where I could go in the forest if I had to be able to run everywhere. It's not just the gradient, it's also the constantly changing terrain. That's the challenge and interest for me, and of course I love being in those surroundings too.

I must admit though that I'm glad I didn't recce either of the two trail events I did. If I had, I'd have assumed I wasn't capable of completing them. As it was, I had no choice, so just got on with it!

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Cmoi]

Sometimes you just have to don’t you? I had to do just that on 2 separate race days where the temperature was 28 degrees. No way would I have run if they hadn’t been races - but I did!

[RunBrianRun Half Marathon]

I’m in the middle of that cold right now and it’s taken my running legs away from me. But just as well because the osteopath also banned me from all open chain exercise for two weeks while I’m under treatment. I think Jeff has a rightful place in a running routine especially when coming back from the IC but also when I simply have to take it easy. Give him time and I’m sure he’ll grow on you 😂👍

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to RunBrianRun]

Arghh that cold is a right pain isn’t it Brian? Hope yours improves soon, although maybe it’s a blessing in disguise as you probably don’t feel much like running! A bonus when on the IC I suppose!

Mine is definitely dwindling, and I’ll be better still by the weekend, but I think Jeffing is the sensible thing for me to do, especially as I’d promised myself never to run another HM on my favourite unforgiving little common! Maybe I’ll enjoy Jeff accompanying me? I’m looking forward to it (sort of!) 😅

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

You do whatever you wish Cheeky! But my money is on you finding 21.1k 😀

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to linda9389]

Haha, yes I fear that will be the case Linda! I thought writing down that cutting it short could be an option would help, but I’m pretty sure it won’t! 🤣

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles]

I’m also in the middle of that cold and my running legs went off after Brian’s, I’m planning a 5k saturday and have said I’ll jeff if it’s hard to keep running, my friend said she’s run back if i drop behind, i tried 30s run 30s walk once and it worked well until i ventured onto the beach and had to walk one run part and after that i was in a muddle, i hope your HUHM goes well, the cold runs away and the garmin behaves

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Oh crikey this cold is sweeping most of HU it seems Sola. Better than that “other thing” though ….. hope you feel better soon. 🤞Good luck with your run on Saturday. 😀

Gosh 30s intervals. I don’t know how I’d do with all that stop/starting. I suppose the HM is long enough for me to mix things up though! Maybe 5k like that, then different ratios for the other 3 x 5ks. It would mean I wouldn’t need to rely on my pesky Garmin’s buzzes; I’d just keep an eye on the time and distance “manually”. It might make the time fly by too (maybe!)

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles in reply to cheekychipmunks]

I think just run a bit walk a bit would work, the buzzing watch drove me nuts having to look to see what i was supposed to be doing then walking one of the runs because i was staggering up the beach, but i think when not 100% it means don’t get exhausted, i’m only about one of five at work who hasn’t caught that other thing and we are in our knees covering for others, out of isolation now so feeling fairly safe I can’t wait to run again

You don’t stop start kind of glide to faster or just slow enough to walk and time was similar to my usual time

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to SueAppleRun]

Today my watch was buzzing all over the place and mostly it was to tell me my pace. Wildly different numbers each time and sometimes within a few seconds of each other. It drove me bonkers. 🙄 I’m promising to be sensible on Sunday as I know I’m still not 100%. We’re going away for a week next Wednesday and Mr Cheeky wouldn’t forgive me if I made myself worse!

That said, here’s hoping this winter is a little less dire than last, and we can all enjoy our running snd other activities safely. Stay safe at work too, it sounds like you’re up against it.

[SueAppleRun 10 Miles in reply to cheekychipmunks]

The buzzing watch is irritating, we did a garmin plan and mine kept buzzing, each time I looked it said too slow!!! it doesn’t know how old i am. I’m hoping we’ve had our round of colds and the other thing for this winter,

Look after yourself and run happy

[sparky66 Half Marathon]

Hi cheeky chipmunks 👏Your in👏👏👏

..you just go out there and Jeff...run.. trot.. plod.. stop for drinks.. work it..

Repeat..

Go girl..you got this!!!

We in it together 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to sparky66]

Haha, thanks Sparky, I’ll do just that! 😅 I know I have run several HMs non-stop so I’m not trying to prove anything to myself, but it’s hard to let go sometimes! But yes l’ll be sensible and have fun! 🤣

[JonathanP 10 Miles]

Afraid I can't offer any advice on jeffing Cheeky - the only time I've ever tried it was the GSR and that was out of necessity not design! Hope all goes well on Sunday.

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to JonathanP]

Ahh don’t worry Jonathan! It’ll be out of necessity for me on Sunday too. I daren’t even check my recent running stats as it’ll show me how little mileage I’ve done since the GSR! 🙄😅

[Teresa1632 Marathon]

Think positive! One cough, and everyone will give you loads of space! I suggest you drop your ratios. Try 30/30, or 60/30. It sounds counter intuitive, but really does work - conserves energy and you will still be on target. (I did a marathon on 20/30, and was overtaking loads of people near the end.)

Good luck!

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Teresa1632]

Gosh that’s interesting Teresa, I’m heading out for a short 20 minute run now. My watch won’t let me input 30s, so I’ll try 2:1 and see what happens. Thanks for that. 😀

[Hidden]

I am in a Jeffing group on Facebook and most people Jeff with a ratio of 30 sec / 30 sec or 60 sec / 30 sec. I myself found I ran too fast with such short ratios. Instead I Jeff all my runs at a ratio of 4min30 / 0min30 and it is because of this Jeffing that I actually love running!

Jeffing (yes even with 30 secs walking) causes my heartrate to remain ok, I feel energetic after a run instead of exhausted and I can do longer distances.

My time running 5K straight or Jeffing it is about the same. But wwhen running straight I feel exhausted and I don't enjoy myself. While with Jeffing I feel energetic and enjoy myself. So for me it is Jeffing all the way!

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon in reply to Hidden]

Wow thanks BS. It sounds like it really works for you! I did a short run this morning and used 3:1. I was going to do 2:1 but my fat fingers entered it wrong in my watch and I couldn’t be bothered to change it! Anyway. it felt ok so I’ll aim to do similar on Sunday and see how I get on. I’ll be reverting to just running next week though! 😀