To walk or not to walk?

That is the question. At least the question on my mind lately. When I'm out on a run and I take a walk break, am I a loser?

When I began my training, I totally did a run - walk. Heavy on the walk, light on the run. I began with running a minute, walking four minutes, with six repeats. I slowly took myself from mostly walking to mostly running.

The day I went from mostly running to totally running was all due to brother, Patrick. He had just come home from Iraq, where he was stationed for 15 months. The morning after his homecoming, I got up early to run before I caught a flight back to D.C. As I sat in my Mom's living room lacing up my running shoes, Patrick came in and informed me he would join me on my run.

As we ran around my Mom's Austin neighborhood, Patrick gave me his running advice - Never give up. Slow down if you have to, just don't walk. He is such an Army soldier. No matter what happened over there - his philosophy was to never quit. (Which is one of the reasons he earned a Purple Heart while in Iraq, but that's off the topic.) At the end of that run with Patrick, I'd run for 45 minutes without stopping! (Sure I'd probably only done a 13 minute mile but Wooo Hooo! I did my first "long run" ever!!)

Never, Never, Never Walk ...

So I've got my little brother on one shoulder whispering in my ear and Jeff Galloway whispering in the other.

Who is Jeff Galloway you ask? This guy is an expert in running. He has run over 120 marathons and has written countless books on running technique. He's a big proponent of the run-walk method. He argues that a runner that takes a "walk break" every mile or so postpones hitting the "wall" - the dreaded moment when you just can't go any further. Basically, for every mile you run, you walk one minute.

I've tried the Galloway method on a few of my long runs and I have to admit, I do finish faster. But I also have to admit, I feel a little embarrassed. I'm proud of the fact I can run without stopping. Every time I start to walk I want to tell the person passing me, "Hey, I'm not quitting, I'm just doing the Galloway Method." Maybe I need a shirt that announces that fact ...

I guess you could say that the jury's still out. I'm not ready to drink the Galloway Kool-aid yet. And I'm not sure if I am going to use the Galloway Method in my upcoming half marathon. I don't think I can bring myself to walk at mile one. I'll be too embarrassed.

So, to walk or not to walk? I do not know the answer to that question.

Perhaps you take a little of Patrick's advice and a little of Galloway's advice - Never, Never, Never quit - slow down to a walk to keep pushing on to the ultimate goal - which is to finish.

I'll tell you what I do know, I cherish that first long run that I did back in January. After 15 months of road-side bombs and getting shot at in the desert, sleeping in the barracks, and 48 hours on an international flight home, Patrick chose to run with me - to support me and give me advice and encouragement, rather than sleep-in in a comfy bed and eat my mom's pancakes. For that, I will always be grateful.

And I promise you, Paddy, I will Never, Never, Never quit.