Who is the Jeff Galloway of triathlons?

Tons of people (runners) would disagree with this and with the 'Galloway method' of run training. 

 The first name that comes to mind for me for triathlon training is Friel but probably because his book is titled the 'triathlon training bible' and is probably a book and a name that a lot of people would recognize.  That doesn't mean he is the premier tri coach or that his methods are best, just  that he is well known  like jeff Galloway.

To be fair, I would categorize Galloway as a premier coach for beginning runners, just like Terry Laughlin/Total Immersion are best known for beginning mid-life swimmers.  Both have name recognition and appeal to the couched masses.

Once you get to the point where higher performance becomes more of an objective there are other coaches/methods that may be more effective.

I've always been a disciple of Joe Friel.  A read the Training Bible when I first got involved with triathlon and my first coach was one of his associates.  A few years ago I also had the opportunity to do a weekend workshop with him which included some one-on-one time with Joe.   Some of Friel's periodization strategies are getting a bit dated, but his methods can still be effective if you have the discipline to follow them.

Going back to Galloway for a moment, I adopted his run/walk method after I missed most of 2010 after partially tearing my left Achilles tendon.  I continue to deal with both degenerative tendinosis on both my Achilles and chronic patella tendinosis in my right knee. Integrating walk breaks into my training runs has allowed me to manage my injuries and at age 60 I feel it also aids my recovery ability.  In fact, since adopting the run/walk, I've been able to increase both my running frequency and volume significantly while remaining injury free for the past three years.  I know that some of the chest-thumping purists look down on the "Gallowalkers", but it's definitely been of benefit to me and many others.

Mark

For advanced runners- Pete Pfitzinger's book is quite popular

McMillan?

Jack Daniels (the running coach, not the hooch)?

My problem with Galloway, is that he's got people believing that it's faster to run/walk than it is to run at a sustainable pace.  Which is just wrong.  Once you can comfortably sustain a running pace and form at below threshold Z2 or Z3, I don't see any purpose to gallowalking.  

Referring back to my previousl post, if I didn't take walk breaks, I couldn't run pain free more than a couple of miles due to my knee and Achilles.  I've done a lot of trial & error runs and determined that my pain-free theshold is about a 4:1 ratio.  That 1 minute walk break is just enough to keep things in check.

Am I ever going to win a race or even my AG? Probably not.  But at least Galloway lets me keep at it.  It also hasn't kept me from getting faster (and yes, I know I'm still turtle slow). 

To each their own.  Don't judge just because things aren't they way you think they should be.  If you can run all day without taking any breaks, than great for you.  Not all of us can, but not for the lack of effort or commitment.

Mark