April 3rd Preview

You reach a milestone, so to speak, this Sunday by moving into double-figures mileage at 10. You'll also run exact the same distance as our marathoners.

The course (with an 8:00 start from the Eugene Running Company): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don't cross. Turn right onto bike path, to Valley River footbridge and across. Turn left, to Autzen footbridge and turn AROUND at brick crosswalk. Come back the same way: Valley River, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 10.11 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Skinner Butte playground (3.5 and 6.5 miles). Weather forecast: starting temperature in 40s and sunny!

WEEK 6 LESSON: YOUR SPEED

Question: Should I train for speed during the week? And can I run short-distance races to improve my speed?

Answer: Do nothing for speed that might interfere with going long. Distance is far more important than speed in this training program. You’re mainly preparing here to go the 13.1 miles, not to meet or beat a time goal. Never substitute fast for long. Add a fast-training day in midweek only if you have recovered fully from the latest long run, or if you can be ready in time for the next one. Run a race only if it replaces one a training run of similar length scheduled that weekend. Running a short race does give you experience in dealing with the race-day atmosphere, which differs greatly from ours during training.

March 27th Results (9 miles)

Easter affected our location and lineup, but stopped few of us from completing our scheduled distance this weekend. For some this was even longer than the listed nine miles.

Thanks to Rachel Frede and Steve Modee for helping on the course today.

TODAY'S 9 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 8.95, and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; results here don't account for stop times and detours, so you might have gone faster than listed)

Jean -- 1:34:30 (10:33 pace, -17 sec. per mile)
Becky -- 1:35:52 (10:42s, +31 sec.)
Trina -- 1:50:30 (12:14s, -31 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:42:30 (11:23s, +23 sec.)
Chris -- 2:13:27 (14:54s, +20 sec.)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Neal -- McKenzie Half in 2:14:36 (10:17s) 3rd in age group
Michele C. -- 10 miles on McKenzie River Trail
Tatiana -- 9 miles in Portland, 1:42:23 (11:22s, +20 sec.)
Rachel F. -- 9 miles of walking on Sunday
Anna G. -- 7.4 miles in 1:10:33 (9:32s)
Amy -- 9 miles in Roseburg, 1:13:03 (9:08s)
Stephanie -- 9 miles from home, 1:41:01 (11:33s)
Liz -- 9 miles on Saturday, 1:30:59 (10:06s)
Lauren -- 9.5 miles of Eugene Half course
Russell -- 11.9 miles with us, 1:42:30 (8:36s)

March 27th Preview

Complications abound this weekend. It's Easter and the store won't open, so we'll start/finish at Alton Baker Park. It's McKenzie River Half day, and some runners will choose that race. And I'm due back from a spring-break trip, but barely and could be delayed. If you can make it there, you'll still run the scheduled nine miles.

The route, from Alton Baker parking lot with 8:00 start: bike path to Owosso footbridge and across. Turn left, to end of residential street called Copping. (You'll part with our marathoners at this point.) Turn AROUND there and go back in opposite direction: Owosso and Alton Baker. GPS distance unmeasured but about 9.0 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at turnaround (4.5 miles) and finish. Weather forecast: starting temperature in 40s with low chance of rain.

WEEK 5 LESSON: YOUR PACE

Question: How fast should my long runs be?

Answer: Let your pace find itself. Don’t try to force an arbitrary pace (such as a half-marathon time goal) onto these runs. Instead, run comfortably, letting whatever happens with your pace happen. Finish with the feeling that you could have gone a little longer that day, which you will do soon enough. Our more experienced runners might want to train for speed during the week. I recommend that this come between Tuesday and Thursday to give enough recovery from the last long run and before the next one. If you run a shorter-distance race during this training period, make it easy. A full effort there would conflict with your weekend long run, which is far more important during this training cycle.

March 20th Results (8 miles)

Early warning for next weekend, which is Easter. There'll be no store opening, so we'll use the Alton Baker parking lot as our start/finish area. Details will coming on Wednesday.

Thanks to Shivaun for opening the store, to Michele ("Shelli") for helping on the course, and to Michael for his photo work.

TODAY'S 8 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 7.95, and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Neal -- 1:24:03 (10:34 pace, -13 sec. per mile) day's best pacer
Jean -- 1:26:13 (10:50s, +16 sec.)
Tatiana -- 1:27:45 (11:02s) welcome back to the team!
Stephanie -- 1:34:33 (11:53s, +1:08)
Steve -- 1:24:03 (10:34s)
Liz -- 1:20:20 (10:06s, +14 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer
Becky -- 1:21:00 (10:11s, +39 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:27:32 (11:00s, +23 sec.)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Anna G. -- 7.6 miles in Spokane, 1:11:06 (9:24s)
Lauren -- 8.2 miles in Boston with Laurel
Trina -- 8 miles, 1:42 (12:45s)

March 20th Preview

So far, you haven't set foot on the Eugene Half-Marathon course in Sunday training. That will change (slightly) this week, when you cover the 12th mile -- twice.

The course (from Eugene Running Company with an 8:00 start): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don't cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Alton Baker parking lot and onto road. Continue past Autzen Stadium to end of road ponds. Turn left on canal path, under I-5, to end of path at D Street in Springfield. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: canal path, road, Ferry and store. "Mile 12" of the Eugene Half is Autzen to I-5. Sunday's GPS distance is 7.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Springfield boat ramp, about 3.5 and 4.5 miles. Weather forecast: starting temperature in 50s with light rain likely.

WEEK 4 LESSON: YOUR EXTRAS

Question: If I have raced this distance before, can or should I do more training than this program lists?

Answer: More isn’t necessarily better. For these months, please buy into this program of long runs as written. It has a proven record of success, with runners who follow this training plan the closest usually doing the best in our designated race of the season. Stick to the scheduled distances on Sundays, neither shorter nor longer, and take as many of these runs as possible with the group. The average increase of one mile week already pushes the safe limit of 10 percent, and one of the goals here is to keep you healthy throughout the program. Adding extra miles could put you at risk of injury, and a goal is to get you safely to the starting line.

March 13th Results (7 miles)

Good running under tough conditions this morning: rain plus wind plus early start. Thanks to Shivaun Black for opening the store an hour sooner today. And to Rachel Frede and Nancy DeSilva for weathering the storm to help on the course.

TODAY'S 7 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 6.95, and comparison to last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Jean -- 1:13:39 (10:34 pace) welcome back to the team!
Anna G. -- 1:02:07 (8:55s, -39 sec. per mile)
Peace -- 1:07:13 (9:40s, -48 sec.)
Liz -- 1:08:34 (9:52s, -2 sec.) day's best pacer; welcome back!
Desiree -- 1:21 (11:39s, +5 sec.)
Anna S. -- 50:08 (7:52s, -3 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer
Trina -- 1:23 (11:56s, -8 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:13:51 (10:37s, +9 sec.)
Russell -- 1:04:23 (9:16) after marathon last Sunday

OTHER RUNS

Tatiana -- half-marathon race in Portland on Sunday
Stephanie -- 4.4 miles with us
Becky -- 7 miles on Tuesday, 1:07:05 (9:32s)
Lauren -- 7 miles in Springfield on Saturday
Rachel W. -- 4 miles with us

March 13th Preview

We're back together at near full numbers, and I'm back where I belong, this Sunday as you advance to seven miles. First 4.5 of those are with our marathoners.

The route (with an 8:00 **DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME** start from the Eugene Running Company): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don't cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Autzen footbridge and across. Turn right, to Valley River footbridge and across. Turn right, back to Ferry and store. GPS distance is 6.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Ferry Street (three miles). Weather forecast: temperature in 40s with rain and wind likely.

WEEK 3 LESSON: YOUR WEEK

Question: What should I do during the week, between long runs?

Answer: On weekdays “rest” and “easy” are the key words. The biggest mistake half-marathon trainers make is trying to increase all their running. The longer you go on Sundays, the less you can or should do the other days. My recommended easy run is one lasting 30 to 60 minutes (usually closer to the half-hour than the hour) at a relaxed pace, totaling no more than two hours of running between Sundays. Training by minutes instead of miles encourages you to run easily, because you can’t rush time the way you might do with distance. I also urge you to take a day or two off (easy cross-training is okay those days) after the long run and one rest day before the next one.

March 6th Results (6.1 miles)

Our early starting half-marathoners completed that phase on Saturday at the inaugural Cottage Grove Half. Our team alone accounted for eight percent of the finishers, and one age-group winner (Steve Modee).

Thanks to Shivaun Black for opening the store on Sunday. And to Neal Benson and Rhonda Zimlich for taking over team support in my absence.

TODAY’S 6.1 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 6.11, and comparison to your last long run here, if any; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Peace – 1:03:58 (10:28 pace, +30 sec. per mile)

Anna S. – 44:20 (7:15s, -2 sec.) day’s best pacer

Trina – 1:13:44 (12:04s, +48 sec.)

Nobuko – 1:04:00 (10:28s, -38 sec.)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Neal – Cottage Grove Half in 2:07:28 (9:39 pace, -1:08 per mile)

Jean – CG Half in 2:31:46 (11:35s)

Tatiana – CG Half in 2:31:46 (11:35s)

Rachel F. – CG Half in 2:15:44 (10:22s, -26 sec.)

Liz – 6.1 miles later Sunday, 1:00:30 (9:54s, -3 sec.)

Steve – CG Half in 2:00:43 (9:12s, -38 sec.)

Becky – 6.0 miles in Portland, 56:01 (9:19s, -46 sec.)

Desiree – CG Half in 2:01:26 (9:16s, -2:18)

Guest on Sunday:
Don Wheeler – 7 miles in 1:07:30 (9:38s)

Cottage Grove Half-Marathon results

Fewer than 150 finished today's inaugural half-marathon on the Row River Trail. A dozen of them were ours. I'd say the organizers were happy to have us.

If you missed your chance to run there today, you'll get another chance next Sunday. We'll take a field trip there for training.

SATURDAY'S COTTAGE GROVE HALF RESULTS

(with official times and paces; target was (1) to finish, (2) to better the pace of your last long run with us, which everyone did)

Neal -- 2:06:28 (9:39 pace)
Michele C. -- 2:17:07 (10:28s)
Gina -- 1:58:33 (9:02s)
Jean -- 2:34:46 (11:35s)
Tatiana -- 2:31:46 (11:35s)
Rachel F. -- 2:15:44 (10:22s)
Amy -- 1:50:26 (8:25s)
Leah -- 1:54:09 (8:42s)
Steve -- 2:00:43 (9:12s) 1st in age group!
Desiree -- 2:01:26 (9:16s)
Jeanette -- 2:07:14 (9:42s)
Rhonda -- 2:31:54 (11:35s)

March 6th Preview

I’m away this weekend, but our Sunday six-mile run will go as scheduled. Some of our experienced runners (whose Cottage Grove Half is this Saturday) will take good care of you with directions, drink service and results-taking. Help them by making sure they write down your time at the end.

The route (from Eugene Running Company with 8:00 start): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path (being careful not to follow marathoners, who turn the other way), to Autzen footbridge and across. Turn right, to Ferry Street Bridge. Turn AROUND there and back the same way: Autzen, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 6.11 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at halfway. Weather forecast: temperature in 40s with light rain likely.

WEEK 2 LESSON: YOUR DISTANCE

Question: Why do we only meet as a group once a week, for the long run?

Answer: The weekly long run is by far the most critical. You could run almost nothing else during the week and still do fine in the half-marathon. Or you could run almost daily, skip too many long runs and not do fine. Make sure you take the long ones, and recover well in between. We increase the distance by one mile a week from five to 11 miles before easing down to six miles the final Sunday of training. Don’t jump ahead of yourself by thinking too soon, “Can I run 13 miles?” You’ll get there when you get there. For now, think only of training for six miles, then seven, then...