April 3rd Results (10.1 miles)

We're into the final month before the Eugene Half. Or looking at it another way: one more step up in distance during April, with next week's 11 miles.

Thanks to Bob Coll at the Eugene Running Company for supplying team shirts. If you didn't pick up yours today, I'll have it for you next week.

TODAY'S 10.1 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 10.11, and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Neal -- 1:46:56 (10:34 pace, =) day's best pacer
Jean -- 1:46:56 (10:34s, +1 sec.)
Tatiana -- 1:48:30 (10:44s, -38 sec.)
Anna G. -- 1:37:26 (9:38s, +14 sec.)
Stephanie -- 2:01:06 (11:58s, +25 sec.)
Peace -- 1:41:28 (10:02s, +22 sec.) longest run ever!
Liz -- 1:42:28 (10:08s, +2 sec.)
Becky -- 1:50:35 (10:56s, +14 sec.)
Desiree -- untimed 10.1 miles
Anna S. -- 1:17:00 (7:36s, +24 sec.)
Trina -- 2:02:15 (12:05s, -9 sec.)
Lauren -- 1:52:06 (11:05s, +18 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:50:50 (10:58s, -25 sec.)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Michele C. -- 8 miles with us, 1:32:36 (11:34s); 9+ trail miles on Saturday
Rachel F. -- 7 miles with us, 1:12 (10:17s); 13.1-mile walk on Saturday
Amy -- 16 miles in Kentucky trail relay
Rose -- 5 miles with us
Rachel W. -- 7 miles with us

April 3rd Preview

You reach a milestone, so to speak, this Sunday by moving into double-figures mileage at 10. You'll also run exact the same distance as our marathoners.

The course (with an 8:00 start from the Eugene Running Company): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don't cross. Turn right onto bike path, to Valley River footbridge and across. Turn left, to Autzen footbridge and turn AROUND at brick crosswalk. Come back the same way: Valley River, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 10.11 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Skinner Butte playground (3.5 and 6.5 miles). Weather forecast: starting temperature in 40s and sunny!

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 one 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.

March 27th Results (9 miles)

Easter affected our location and lineup, but stopped few of us from completing our scheduled distance this weekend. For some this was even longer than the listed nine miles.

Thanks to Rachel Frede and Steve Modee for helping on the course today.

TODAY'S 9 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 8.95, and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; results here don't account for stop times and detours, so you might have gone faster than listed)

Jean -- 1:34:30 (10:33 pace, -17 sec. per mile)
Becky -- 1:35:52 (10:42s, +31 sec.)
Trina -- 1:50:30 (12:14s, -31 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:42:30 (11:23s, +23 sec.)
Chris -- 2:13:27 (14:54s, +20 sec.)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Neal -- McKenzie Half in 2:14:36 (10:17s) 3rd in age group
Michele C. -- 10 miles on McKenzie River Trail
Tatiana -- 9 miles in Portland, 1:42:23 (11:22s, +20 sec.)
Rachel F. -- 9 miles of walking on Sunday
Anna G. -- 7.4 miles in 1:10:33 (9:32s)
Amy -- 9 miles in Roseburg, 1:13:03 (9:08s)
Stephanie -- 9 miles from home, 1:41:01 (11:33s)
Liz -- 9 miles on Saturday, 1:30:59 (10:06s)
Lauren -- 9.5 miles of Eugene Half course
Russell -- 11.9 miles with us, 1:42:30 (8:36s)

March 27th Preview

Complications abound this weekend. It's Easter and the store won't open, so we'll start/finish at Alton Baker Park. It's McKenzie River Half day, and some runners will choose that race. And I'm due back from a spring-break trip, but barely and could be delayed. If you can make it there, you'll still run the scheduled nine miles.

The route, from Alton Baker parking lot with 8:00 start: bike path to Owosso footbridge and across. Turn left, to end of residential street called Copping. (You'll part with our marathoners at this point.) Turn AROUND there and go back in opposite direction: Owosso and Alton Baker. GPS distance unmeasured but about 9.0 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at turnaround (4.5 miles) and finish. Weather forecast: starting temperature in 40s with low chance of rain.

WEEK 5 LESSON: YOUR PACE

Question: How fast should my long runs be?

Answer: Let your pace find itself. Don’t try to force an arbitrary pace (such as a half-marathon time goal) onto these runs. Instead, run comfortably, letting whatever happens with your pace happen. Finish with the feeling that you could have gone a little longer that day, which you will do soon enough. Our more experienced runners might want to train for speed during the week. I recommend that this come between Tuesday and Thursday to give enough recovery from the last long run and before the next one. If you run a shorter-distance race during this training period, make it easy. A full effort there would conflict with your weekend long run, which is far more important during this training cycle.

March 20th Results (8 miles)

Early warning for next weekend, which is Easter. There'll be no store opening, so we'll use the Alton Baker parking lot as our start/finish area. Details will coming on Wednesday.

Thanks to Shivaun for opening the store, to Michele ("Shelli") for helping on the course, and to Michael for his photo work.

TODAY'S 8 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 7.95, and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Neal -- 1:24:03 (10:34 pace, -13 sec. per mile) day's best pacer
Jean -- 1:26:13 (10:50s, +16 sec.)
Tatiana -- 1:27:45 (11:02s) welcome back to the team!
Stephanie -- 1:34:33 (11:53s, +1:08)
Steve -- 1:24:03 (10:34s)
Liz -- 1:20:20 (10:06s, +14 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer
Becky -- 1:21:00 (10:11s, +39 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:27:32 (11:00s, +23 sec.)

OTHER WEEKEND RUNS

Anna G. -- 7.6 miles in Spokane, 1:11:06 (9:24s)
Lauren -- 8.2 miles in Boston with Laurel
Trina -- 8 miles, 1:42 (12:45s)

March 20th Preview

So far, you haven't set foot on the Eugene Half-Marathon course in Sunday training. That will change (slightly) this week, when you cover the 12th mile -- twice.

The course (from Eugene Running Company with an 8:00 start): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don't cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Alton Baker parking lot and onto road. Continue past Autzen Stadium to end of road ponds. Turn left on canal path, under I-5, to end of path at D Street in Springfield. Turn AROUND there and come back the same way: canal path, road, Ferry and store. "Mile 12" of the Eugene Half is Autzen to I-5. Sunday's GPS distance is 7.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Springfield boat ramp, about 3.5 and 4.5 miles. Weather forecast: starting temperature in 50s with light rain likely.

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.

March 13th Results (7 miles)

Good running under tough conditions this morning: rain plus wind plus early start. Thanks to Shivaun Black for opening the store an hour sooner today. And to Rachel Frede and Nancy DeSilva for weathering the storm to help on the course.

TODAY'S 7 MILES

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 6.95, and comparison to last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Jean -- 1:13:39 (10:34 pace) welcome back to the team!
Anna G. -- 1:02:07 (8:55s, -39 sec. per mile)
Peace -- 1:07:13 (9:40s, -48 sec.)
Liz -- 1:08:34 (9:52s, -2 sec.) day's best pacer; welcome back!
Desiree -- 1:21 (11:39s, +5 sec.)
Anna S. -- 50:08 (7:52s, -3 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer
Trina -- 1:23 (11:56s, -8 sec.)
Nobuko -- 1:13:51 (10:37s, +9 sec.)
Russell -- 1:04:23 (9:16) after marathon last Sunday

OTHER RUNS

Tatiana -- half-marathon race in Portland on Sunday
Stephanie -- 4.4 miles with us
Becky -- 7 miles on Tuesday, 1:07:05 (9:32s)
Lauren -- 7 miles in Springfield on Saturday
Rachel W. -- 4 miles with us