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...