August 14th Preview

Half-marathoners and marathoners and come back together (or almost) this Sunday. The shorter distance is seven miles, the longer one just a single mile more. Eight o’clock start for all from the Eugene Running Company.

The seven-mile route: Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Alton Baker restrooms and parking lot. Continue on road to end at canal path. Turn right, under I-5, to boat ramp in Springfield. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: canal, road, Alton Baker, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 7.00 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at near boat ramp (about 3.5 miles). Weather forecast: sunny and starting temperature in 60s, but warming quickly toward day's high in 90s.

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.