Class 5

Just like that, we've completed one-fourth of this accelerated term. The track meet will have left town by Monday, so we'll be back "home" on the turf field.

That run will be 1.5 or 3.0 miles.  Monday distances increase by a quarter-mile each week for the shorter one and a half-mile for the longer one.

The simplest and best advice on running form, which I introduced today, is on a free app called "Good Form Running."

TODAY'S ONE-MILE TEST

(time adjusted to account for slightly short course of .98 mile, with comparison to Monday's pace if you ran then;  target was to go faster at this shorter distance)

Jason --  11:27

Linfeng -- 12:13

Marissa -- 12:07 (+17 sec.)

Sanna -- 8:23

Dustin -- 12:32 (+15 sec.)

Huimin -- 12:44

Jianguo -- 12:28 (+1:48)

Yidi -- 12:44

TODAY'S TWO-MILE TEST

(time adjusted to account for slightly short course of 1.96 miles; with per-mile pace and comparison to Monday's pace if you ran then; target was to go faster at this shorter distance)

Jasmine -- 16:28 (8:14 pace)

Jacob -- 15:16 (7:38 pace, -1:10 per mile) most improved, earning extra credit

LESSON 5: WARMING UP

Don’t confuse stretching with warmup. Stretching exercises don’t start you sweating or raise your heart rate. You warm up by moving – first by walking or running slowly, then by easing into the full pace of the day after a mile or so. Recommendation: Walk five minutes (about a quarter-mile, not counting this in your run distance or time), then start to run. Treat the first mile of running as your warmup, making it the slowest mile of the day. The faster you plan to run that day, the more you warm up. For relaxed runs simply blend the warmup period into longer runs by starting slower. On fast days warm up separately by running a mile to several miles – perhaps adding some “strides” at the day’s maximum pace, taken before speed training or racing. Strides prepare the legs and lungs for what you’re about to do.