I swapped running for 'Jeffing' for a week — and now I'm hooked
Let me set the scene — I'm on the train in Berlin, heading to the start line of my third marathon, absolutely terrified. I'd set myself the goal of running sub-four hours, and I'd been training for months to make it happen.
Sitting next to me, a German woman chats, trying to ease my worries. 'I'm going to be Jeffing,' she tells me.
It wasn't till I was back home, marathon medal still on, having achieved my goal, that I thought back to this conversation. What on earth is Jeffing, and why hadn't I heard of it before?
Six years and two marathons later, I tried it for the first time, and I'm hooked. Read on to find out more.
Jeffing is a run, walk technique developed by US Olympian Jeff Galloway. In simple terms, you run for a bit, then you walk, allowing you to keep going for longer. 'By alternating running and walking from the start, runners stay strong, recover faster and finish feeling good,' says Galloway.
Instead of setting out for a run, and continuing at the same pace, Jeffing involves running for between 10-60 seconds, then walking for 30 seconds, from the beginning of the workout.
The intervals are flexible — if you're a more experienced runner, you might want to increase the running element, or decrease the amount of time spent walking. As long as there's some form of walking interval from the offset, you're Jeffing.
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I'll admit, like many runners, I've always been afraid to walk. I vividly remember working with a running coach who had to force me to stand still and recover between intervals on the track.
I'll even try and jog through water stations on race day. I wasn't expecting to like this challenge, but read on to find out what happened when I tried Jeffing for a week.
Of course, a week isn't long enough to see any performance gains, but I didn't feel as exhausted as I would if I'd run for seven days in a row. I'm currently 15 months postpartum, and normally run three times a week for around five miles.
I'm not training for anything in particular, and instead, I use my runs to boost my mood and reduce stress. That said, as I rebuild my fitness, I've definitely felt it in my legs when I've pushed myself too hard, and not properly recovered, with a toddler who doesn't sleep.
For this week, I swapped my morning walks with 30 minutes of Jeffing, and on the days my little boy went to nursery, I ran/walked for longer. By the end of the week, I'd clocked more miles than I'd normally have done, but I felt completely fine in my body.
When done long term, one of the benefits of Jeffing is improved endurance, as the walk breaks allow you to keep running for longer. It can also help you reduce your likelihood of injuries, as the impact is slightly reduced. Running injuries like shin splints or knee pain are common and often caused by overuse.
It sounds very poetic, but one of my favorite things about running is the fact that I get to escape. I put a podcast or an audiobook on, and I forget about work and the mountain of chores waiting for me when I get home.
On the first couple of days of Jeffing, I found that I was constantly checking my watch, waiting for my 3-minute run interval to be over. I didn't feel like I could switch off, so instead, I decided to build the workout on my watch the night before.
Programming the workout into the Garmin Connect app, my Garmin Forerunner 570 buzzed every time I needed to switch pace. This allowed me to get lost in my book again, without having to keep glancing at the screen.
Of course, this isn't essential — you can use the stopwatch function on your smartphone, or an old-school stopwatch and run without any device, but if you have one of the best running watches, or best Apple Watches, I'd recommend building the workout beforehand and syncing it to your watch.
By the end of the week, I was, once again, getting sick. My toddler is a walking petri dish of bugs since he started nursery, and my immune system hasn't quite caught up yet.
I didn't expect to enjoy Jeffing so much. Sure, it's not the fastest I'd run, but it's the first time in a long time I've run every day for a week — and I came to enjoy the walking breaks.
While I'd normally skip the run, I decided to continue Jeffing, but reducing the run interval to 60 seconds and walking for 30 seconds. While I'd never recommend running when you're ill (always listen to your body), I found I was able to keep going, and the movement and fresh air helped me feel more like myself.
I didn't expect to enjoy Jeffing so much. Sure, it's not the fastest I'd run — I didn't set any PR's, but it's the first time in a long time I've run every day for a week, and I came to enjoy the walking breaks.
If you're a beginner, this is a fantastic way to build up your running distances. If you're training for a marathon, Jeffing on your easy runs might be a great way to avoid overuse injuries that might keep you from the start line. Whatever your goal, grab a pair of the best running shoes and get Jeffing — you won't regret it.
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