July 3rd Preview

If your immediate goal is the Coburg Half, you peak in training distance this weekend at 11 miles. Shorter distance is available if you’re running Butte to Butte on Monday.

Be aware that the store, streets and paths will be busier than usual with the Olympic Trials in town through July 10^th. The route (from the 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 Autzen footbridge and across. Turn right, past Ferry and Valley River to Owosso footbridge and across. Back to Ferry and store. GPS distance is 10.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at about 4.5 and 8.5 miles (Valley River footbridge on either side). Weather forecast: sunny with starting temperature in 50s, rising toward an afternoon high in low 80s.

WEEK 8 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.

June 26th Results (10 miles or so)

I hope you enjoyed our field trip to Row River as much as I did while leading you there. It's always worth the drive for me.

One more step up in distance remains before the Coburg Half. We’ll take that one on the holiday weekend, at the usual time (8 o’clock) and place (Eugene Running Company) despite the Olympic Trials swirling around town then – and the Butte to Butte the following day.

TODAY’S 10 MILES

(these are approximate per-mile paces based on 10.0 unless you told me a different distance; target was to run a pace you expect to hold for 13.1 next month)

Neal – 1:42:36 (10:17 pace)

Michele – 7 miles in 1:13:38 (10:31s)

Jean – 1:47:28 (10:44s)

Tatiana – 1:49:53 (10:59s)

Jeff – 10.2 miles in 1:49:34 (10:44s)

Amy – 11 miles in 1:39:12 (9:00s)

Leah – 11 miles in 1:30:27 (8:13s)

Jeanine – 2:00:05 (12:03s)

Liz – 1:43:14 (10:19s)

Miranda – 2:01:41 (12:10s) longest run ever!

Rachel – 11 miles in 1:39:12 (9:00s)

Jeanette – 1:47:59 (10:49s)

Guest:

Sergio – 11 miles in 1:29:27 (8:08s)

OTHER RECENT RUNS

(those reported to me)

Bill – 10.3 miles on Saturday in 1:38:55 (9:36s)

Jenna – paced Shannon Oliver in Western States 100
Stephanie -- in Eugene

Laurel – in Massachusetts

Jeanine – Bubble Run 5K on Saturday
Becky -- in North Carolina

Trina – 10 miles on Saturday in 2:06:40 (12:40s)

Sara – in California

Max – in British Columbia

Jeanette – 11 trail miles on Saturday

Rhonda – in Vermont

June 26th Preview

It’s time already for our traditional, once-per-training-cycle field trip to the Row River Trail near Cottage Grove. The distance is 10 miles this Sunday, with an 8:00 start from the Mosby Creek trailhead. (We’re running the 10 instead of the 11 down there because the following Sunday is busy enough with the holiday weekend.) Directions to that spot and an offer to carpool or caravan, from the Eugene Running Company, come to you by email.

The route: start at the bridge near trailhead parking lot. Head east and south on paved path to the “8.0” milepost. Turn AROUND there, then back to Mosby Creek. GPS distance is 10.10 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at four and six miles (same spot, the “7.0” milepost). Weather forecast: sunny with starting temperature in 50s, rising quickly toward an afternoon high in mid-80s.

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.

June 18th & 19th Results (9.1 miles & Prost8K/5K)

Phase one of this busy weekend was the team’s nine-mile training run in Eugene on Saturday. Thanks to Kellen for opening the store that morning.

Phase two was the Prost8K/5K in Springfield. Neal won his age group in the 5K, and three others placed among the top three at one distance or the other.

I've taken an informal poll on moving next Sunday's run to the Row River Trail near Cottage Grove. So far the vote is unanimous: DO IT! That distance will be 10 miles, with an 8 o'clock start from the Mosby Creek Trailhead. I'll give directions and car-pool options in the midweek preview.

SATURDAY’S 9.1 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 9.15; target was to run at a pace you’ll be able to continue for a half-marathon next month)

Neal – 1:38:20 (10:44 pace) 

Jean – 1:38:20 (10:44s)

Tatiana – 6.85 miles in 1:13:11 (10:41s)

Jeff –  1:39:59 (10:55s)

Stephanie – 1:50:43 (12:06s)

Leah – 1:15:38 (8:16s)

Liz – 1:31:45 (10:01s) 

Rhonda – 6.67 miles in 1:18:24 (11:54s)

SUNDAY'S PROSTATE 8K/5K RESULTS

(with official times and paces)

Neal -- 5K in 26:04 (8:24s) 1st in age group, 2nd overall
Jean -- 8K in 47:54 (9:39s) 3rd in age group
Tatiana -- 8K in 52:02 (10:04s)
Rhonda -- 8K in 48:33 (9:46s) 3rd in age group
Joe -- ran/walked 5K in 37:28 (12:04s) 2nd in age group

OTHER RECENT RUNS

(those reported to me) 

Michele – Epic Relay, Portland to Eugene, on Friday-Saturday

Amy -- 8 miles in Roseburg at 8:23s

Laurel – 6 miles in Boston on Sunday

Sara – in New York City

Max -- Epic Relay, Portland to Eugene, on Friday-Saturday

Jeanette -- Dam Marathon in Oakridge on Saturday, 5:02:25 (11:39s)
Joy -- Dam Marathon in Oakridge on Saturday, 4:27:17 (10:12s)

June 18th & 19th Preview

We have two run options this weekend. You can go nine miles on SATURDAY, or run the Prost8K (or 5K) on Sunday… or do both.

Saturday’s run starts at the Eugene Running Company at 8 o’clock, with the store opening about 15 minutes earlier. Packet pickup for Prost8K also happens there, starting at 10. (The race itself begins at 8, at the Oregon Urology Institute south of Gateway Mall, where it finishes.)

Our route: Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Autzen footbridge and across. Turn right, past Ferry Street to Valley River footbridge. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: Autzen, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 9.15 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at about three and six miles (Ferry Street). Weather forecast: cloudy but dry with starting temperature about 50.

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 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.