April 23rd Preview

An oddity of scheduling lets you run LONGER than our marathoners this Sunday – 11 miles for you, 10 for them. It’s your longest planned distance in this training cycle.

The route (with an eight o’clock start from the Eugene Running Company): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path, then to Autzen footbridge and across. Past Valley River footbridge, to "1.0" milepost. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: Autzen, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 10.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at 4.2 miles and 6.7 miles (small playground at “0.25” milepost). Weather forecast: starting temperature in 40s with rain possible.

WEEK SEVEN 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.