Wednesday, August 24, 2016

August 28th Preview

Sunday is one of those rare times when our half-marathoners and marathoners are in synch. You all run the same nine-mile course, which is…

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 Valley River footbridge. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: Autzen, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 9.15 miles.

Eight o’clock start from the Eugene Running Company. Bring a drink for delivery at Ferry Street (about three and six miles). Weather forecast: sunny with starting temperature in 60s, rising to an afternoon high in 80s.

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.

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