Eugene Half Preview

It’s here at last, the Eugene Half-Marathon. Two months after our group training began, the big morning that once seemed so far away is so near that it appears in the week’s weather forecast. Those conditions: Sunday morning temperature of 45 at 7:00 start time and 59 at 10 o'clock, sunny and dry.

Weekend plans and tips:

Pick up packet at soccer fields west of Hayward Field on Friday (1:00 to 6:00 P.M.) or Saturday (9:00 to 6:00 P.M.). Parking on or near campus is tight, so consider leaving your car at Civic Stadium (the one that burned), 20th and Oak, and taking the free race shuttle from there. It runs every 10 minutes during expo hours.

On Sunday morning I’ll station myself in front of the Law School, 15^th and Agate, from six o’clock on. Due to security restrictions, I can take none of your excess clothing or other supplies to the finish area.

I’ll stand at Agate and 15^th to watch most of you at about your nine-mile mark. I need to leave there by 8:30 to see our first half-marathoners finish.

Michael Lebowitz will shoot photos before, during (at nine miles) and after your race. Save a smile for the finish line. Tears of joy, and relief, are okay too.

Nothing will contribute more to your final result than starting at the right pace for you. What’s “right”? Close to the pace of your longest training run with the team. This means you need to feel like you’re holding back in the early miles. If designated pace leaders match your needs, start with them.

You’ll run the last 200 meters on the famous Hayward Field track. Remember to look up and left to see yourself on the big screen. I’ll be near the finish line. If you don’t want a hug from me, hide in a crowd or keep running out the gate after you finish!

If you enlist pacers who aren’t entered, ask them to stop short of the Hayward gate. Only runners wearing visible numbers are allowed onto the track.

Parking on race day will be difficult in the campus area. You’ll do better taking a shuttle from one of the remote spots: at the Valley River Inn, Autzen Stadium, Eugene Hilton, or Springfield Holiday Inn Express. Shuttles start running at 5:30 A.M.

The best places to watch on the course: (1) near 18^th and Agate for the start and the ninth mile; (2) Hilyard and 33^rd, about three and six miles; (3) Valley River Center, about 18 miles and then 22 by walking across the footbridge. Drive to the west of the course to avoid road closures and delays. Don’t even think about riding on the bike path portions; it’s too crowded.

Your fans can see the finish at Hayward Field, with only the west grandstand open. You can reunite with them at the artificial-turf field, adjacent to the finish area, as you exit the track.

If you have late problems, text or call me at 541-953-7179.

Worry is normal this week. Some of you even use the words “freaking out.” I’m available for psychological counseling all week. The most comforting statistic I can give you is this: 99.5 percent of our past runners who’ve reached the starting line have finished (illness on race day or pre-existing injury, not a race-caused problem, stopped the other 0.5). If you get to the start healthy, you’re almost certain to cross the finish line.

WEEK 10 LESSON: YOUR SUCCESS

Question: How can I judge how well I run in the half-marathon?

Answer: A great beauty of running is that it gives everyone a chance to win. Winning isn’t automatic. You still have to work for success and risk failure, especially when the event is a half-marathon. But unlike other sports there’s no need to beat an arbitrary standard (such as “par” or an opponent’s score). You measure yourself against your personal record – which you might be setting for the first time in this half. To the runner, the personal record, or PR, represents one of the greatest advance in the history of this sport. The invention of the digital stopwatch worn on the wrist turned everyone into a potential winner. Here was a personal and yet objective way to measure success and progress. No one can set a PR but you. No one can break a PR but you.

April 24th Results (one hour)

Two months later, your training together is done. Race day is just a week away.

Thanks for trusting me with that training. Now trust the training to take you the remaining miles, as it has for hundreds of half-marathoners before you in this program.

You aren’t the same runner you were in February. Your concept of what is “long” has changed, for one thing. But better than that, the support you give to and receive from each other has allowed you to come this far.

In midweek I’ll post detailed instructions and advice on next Sunday’s race.

Thanks to Lindsey for opening the store this morning. And to Michael and Rhonda for their photos.

TODAY’S ONE-HOUR RUN

(with no exact times or distances recorded)

Michele C. – 9 miles

Jean

Tatiana

Rachel F.

Amy

Stephanie

Chris

Peace

Liz

Jessica

Becky

Desiree

Anna S.

Trina

Rachel W.

Nobuko

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Neal – ran in Georgia

Anna G. – ran in Bend

Lauren – Bend Half-Marathon, 2:37:56 (12:03 pace)

 

April 24th Preview

It’s down to this – one last run together before Eugene. As always when the race is this close, it’s the same run for all, half-marathoners and marathoners – one hour.

Why run by time? Two reasons: It removes the emphasis from distance and pace, letting you relax on a day for doing just that. And it lets everyone finish close together, letting you feel more like a team than on any other run.

The route (from the Eugene Running Company at 8:00): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path, then onto Pre’s Trail near restrooms. Follow the water on woodchip trail until your watch reads 30 minutes. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way. I know that many of your will still GPS your distance and pace, but I won’t record or report it.

Bring a drink for delivery at Autzen Stadium in both directions. Weather forecast: starting temperature in low 40s with rain likely.

WEEK 9 LESSON: YOUR STRATEGY

Question: What is the best way to pace myself during the half-marathon?

Answer: Even if you’ve done everything right in training, you can cancel all that good with as little as one wrong move on race day. The first and worst bad move is to bolt from the starting line far faster than your training pace. Crowd hysteria and your own raging nervous system conspire to send you into the race as if fired from a cannon. Try to work against the forces of the crowd and your natural desires. Pull back the mental reins at a time when the voices inside are shouting, “Faster!” Be cautious in your early pacing, erring on the side of too-slow rather than too-fast. Hold something in reserve for the late miles. This is where you reward yourself for your early caution, by passing instead of being passed. Being the passer rather than the passee is a lot more fun.

April 17th Results (5.9 miles)

By the time we meet again, we'll be in single-digit days in the Eugene countdown. A sign that it's getting real: today's Register-Guard carried a preview section on the May 1st event.

Thanks to Shivaun Black for opening the store today. And to Michele Clemo for helping on the course, the day after her long trail race.

TODAY'S 5.9 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 5.90, and comparison to your last long run here; target was either to match that pace for this shorter distance, for recovery, or to go faster, for speed training)

Jean -- 59:51 (10:08 pace, -26 sec.) day's most improved
Tatiana -- 1:02:14 (10:32s, -12 sec.)
Nancy -- 10.15 miles in 1:30:00 (8:52s, -17 sec)
Rachel F. -- 58:16 (9:52s, -25 sec.)
Anna G. -- 55:11 (9:21s, -17 sec.)
Peace -- 1:01:25 (10:24s, -3 sec.) day's best pacer
Liz -- 59:51 (10:08s, -8 sec.)
Jessica -- 7 miles in 1:28:11 (12:35s, no target)
Becky -- ran 4 miles
Desiree -- 8 miles in 1:40 (12:30s, +51 sec.)
Trina -- 1:11:42 (12:09s, -13 sec.)
Rachel W. -- 55:11 (9:21s, no target)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Neal -- Corvallis Half-Marathon, 2:05:28 (9:35s) 4th in age group
Michele C. -- Hot Springs trail 18-mile, 4:47:45 (16:00s)
Anna S. -- 6.0 miles on Tuesday, 44:27 (7:23s, -12 sec.)
Nobuko -- Corvallis Half-Marathon, 2:27:27 (11:16s)

April 17th Preview

Most of you drop down in distance by almost half this Sunday – except the several who run either the 18-mile trail race on Saturday or the Corvallis Half-Marathon on Sunday. If you’re running with us and think the distance isn’t long enough, feel free to join the marathoners on their 10-mile run.

Your six-mile route (from Eugene Running Company at 8:00) avoids serious conflicts with the Run for Autism being held that morning at Alton Baker Park. Our run: 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 Ferry Street Bridge. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: Autzen, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 6.11 miles. (Marathoners continue past Valley River footbridge to “0.5” milepost before turning back.)

Bring a drink for delivery at halfway point (Ferry). Weather forecast: sunny with starting temperature in low 50s (with day's high reaching 80s).

WEEK 8 LESSON: YOUR TAPER

Question: How much should I run the last week before the race?

Answer: Run as little as your conscience will allow. It’s too late now, with the half-marathon just days away, to do anything that will make the race go better. But it’s never too late to make a mistake – most commonly running too far or too fast – that will come back to bite you on race day. Take at least as many rest days as you would before a weekly training run. Take nothing longer than you would on a normal week’s easy run, and ideally shorter. You won’t forget how to run this week, and you’ll race better the more rested you are.

April 10th Results (11.1 miles)

This is as far as your training takes you before the Eugene Half. Distances will decrease the next two weeks as you freshen up for that race.

Thanks to Sara Tepfer and Rachel Walker, Jean and Tatiana Cordova for helping on the course today. And to the drivers who got everyone down to Cottage Grove and back.

TODAY'S 11.1 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Neal -- 1:53:03 (10:11 pace, -23 sec. per mile)
Michele C. -- last 8.9 miles of Gina's 22
Nancy -- 14 miles in 2:08 (9:09s, +22 sec.)
Peace -- 1:56 (10:27s, +25 sec.) longest run ever
Liz -- 1:54 (10:16s, +8 sec.)
Anna S. -- 1:24:11 (7:35s, -1 sec.) day's best pacer
Lauren -- 12 miles in 2:20 (11:40s, +35 sec.)
Rachel W. -- 4 miles after helping support 11-milers
Nobuko -- one-hour run before next week's Corvallis Half

Guest:
Rhea -- 1:59:49 (10:47s)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Jean -- 11 miles on Saturday
Tatiana -- 11 miles on Saturday
Anna G. -- 8.5 miles in Tucson, 1:19:20 (9:20s)
Amy -- ran in Seattle
Becky -- 9 miles on Tuesday
Trina -- 11 miles in Bend, 2:16 (12:22s)

April 10th Preview

Once each round of training, we take a road trip to the Row River Trail in Cottage Grove. This is that week, which also brings the longest run of this cycle -- 11 miles. Directions for driving or car-pooling to the to the start, along with a course map, come by email.

The route (with an 8:00 start from the trailhead gazebo at 10th and Main in downtown Cottage Grove): follow the paved path to the "5.5" milepost (these posts appear every half-mile, starting at "3.0"). Turn AROUND there and come back the same way. GPS distance is about 11.1 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Row River Road underpass (about four and seven miles). Weather forecast: starting temperature in high 40s with little chance of rain.

If you can't make this trip, I recommend running a similar with the Eugene Marathon preview on Saturday. It starts at 8:00 from the turf fields between the Rec Center and Hayward Field on 15th.

WEEK 7 LESSON: YOUR POTENTIAL

Question: What can I expect my half-marathon race time to be?

Answer: The best predictor of the final race result, I’ve found with previous marathon and half teams, is the pace of the longest training run. For a half-marathon, for instance, a runner who trained at 9:00 per mile (for the 11 miles at which our program peaks) can expect to finish the race at very close to that pace. Nearly all of our runners come within 15 seconds, plus or minus – or 8:45 to 9:15 in this example. As with any reliable gauge, this one isn’t based on what you dream of maybe doing someday but instead on what you really have done lately. I don’t say this to drain any of the mystery or surprise from your racing. Mainly I want you to know going into the race what a smart starting pace for you will be. Running at that rate early will assure a better finish.