March 19th Preview

You step up to six miles this Sunday – actually 6.2, which is 10K in metric. You run the first 5K with our marathoners, who are continuing to 17 miles.

Your 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, to “1.5” milepost at Campbell Senior Center. Turn AROUND there, then go back the same way: Autzen, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 6.19 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at halfway. Weather forecast: starting temperature in 30s with little chance of rain.

WEEK TWO LESSON: YOUR DISTANCE

Question: Why do we only meet as a group once a week, for the long run?

Answer: The weekly long run is by far the most critical. You could run almost nothing else during the week and still do fine in the half-marathon. Or you could run almost daily, skip too many long runs and not do fine. Make sure you take the long ones, and recover well in between. We increase the distance by one mile a week from five to 11 miles before easing down to six miles the final Sunday of training. Don’t jump ahead of yourself by thinking too soon, “Can I run 13 miles?” You’ll get there when you get there. For now, think only of training for six miles, then seven, then...