April 2nd Preview

You go out of town this Sunday, running to Springfield and back. Those eight miles begin at eight o’clock from the Eugene Running Company. You run the first four with our marathoners, who continue to 19 that day.

The route: Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Alton Baker restrooms and onto road. Follow road to the end at ponds. Turn right onto canal path and follow it under I-5, past boat ramp, to end of path at D Street in Springfield. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: canal path, road, Alton Baker, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 7.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at four miles (D Street turnaround). Weather forecast: starting temperature in 40s with little chance of rain.

WEEK FOUR 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.