Class 10

Good luck to our many runners who are racing this weekend: at intramural track meet (Lyanne and Amina), Eugene Half-Marathon (Matt, Jessica, Becky) and Wildflower Triathlon (Anna). Any others?

We hit the term's halfway point today. Thursday’s distances, for those not recovering from races, are 3.3 and 6.6 miles. You’ll run the neighborhoods south of campus.

TODAY’S TWO-MILE TEST

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to go faster; * = better than first week’s test at half this distance)

Bryce – 20:19 (10:09 pace, +28 sec. per mile)

Peter – 14:40 (7:20s, -1:02) day’s 2^nd most improved

*Lyanne – 22:35 (11:17s, +38 sec.)

Alex – 19:11 (8:35s, -11 sec.)

Zach – 14:40 (7:20s, -43 sec.)

*Amina – 22:35 (11:17s, -48 sec.)

Michael – 14:58 (7:29s, +1:29)

Elliot – 19:59 (9:59s, -59 sec.) day’s 3^rd most improved

Blake – 19:20 (9:40s, no target)

Doug – untimed

TODAY’S FOUR-MILE TEST

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to go faster; * = better than first week’s test at half this distance)

Matt – 25:58 (6:29 pace, -15 sec. per mile)

*Lauren O. – 37:22 (9:20s, -1:07) most improved, earning extra credit

Miranda – 47:44 (11:56s, -1 sec.)

Tyler – 26:44 (6:41s, -42 sec.)

Austin – 25:58 (6:29s, -19 sec.)

Lauren W. – 36:35 (9:08s, -32 sec.)

LESSON 10: GETTING SICK

Take illness symptoms as seriously as those of injury. But instead of using pain as a guide, substitute the words fever and fatigue. The most common ailments are the flu and colds. Never, ever run with the flu’s fever. Don’t just rest while feverish but take an additional day off for each day of the illness, or you risk serious complications. Colds are more mundane – and more common. They usually pass through you in about a week. Rest during the “coming-on” stage (usually the first two to four days). Then run easily (slowly enough not to cause heavy coughing and nose-throat irritation) during the “coming-out” stage.

Class 9

We’re into the fifth week already. This means Thursday will bring the “midterm” in which you’ll go twice the first week’s test distance – either two or four miles. (Today’s routes were the same ones you'll see again in the final week’s 5K and 10K tests.)

However, if you are racing this weekend, you can skip this test in favor of the bigger one you’re facing soon afterward. As always, you earn credit for these races – be they Eugene Half-Marathon, Wildflower Triathlon or Intramural track.

TODAY’S 3.1 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; if you didn’t time yourself out at stoplights, you probably ran faster than listed here)

Bryce – 30:02 (9:41 pace, +9 sec. per mile) day’s 3^rd best pacer

Alex – 27:43 (8:56s, -22 sec.)

Alyssa – 28:00 (9:02s, +4 sec.) day’s best pacer, earning extra credit

Elliot – 34:00 (10:58s, -48 sec.)

Jessica – 36:00 (11:36s, no target) after hour run on Sunday

Becky – untimed, after hour run on Sunday

TODAY’S 6.2 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; if you didn’t time yourself out at stoplights, you probably ran faster than listed here)

Peter – 51:51 (8:22s, +19 sec.)

Matt – 41:49 (6:44s, +7 sec.) day’s 2^nd best pacer

Amina – 1:14:59 (12:05s, +54 sec.)

Dillon – 47:00(7:35s, +29 sec.)

Lauren O. – 1:04:50 (10:27s, +41 sec.)

Miranda – 1:14:06 (11:57s, +21 sec.)

Tyler – 45:52 (7:23s, +35 sec.)

Anna – 53:06 (8:34s, -12 sec.)

Zidi – 1:01:16 (9:53s, +37 sec.)

LESSON 9: GETTING HURT

Runners get hurt. We rarely hurt ourselves in the sudden, traumatic ways skiers and linebackers do, but the injury rates run high. Most of our injuries are self-inflicted – from running too far, too fast, too soon or too often (and sometimes on surfaces or in shoes not right for us). Prevention is usually as simple as adjusting our routine. Immediate treatment seldom requires total rest, but only a change in activity. Use pain as your guide. If you can’t run steadily without pain, mix walking and running. If you can’t run-walk, simply walk. If you can’t walk, bicycle. If you can’t bike, swim. As you recover, climb back up this exercise ladder.

Class 8

See again what a difference, in pace, that the rest breaks make. Most of you ran your fastest of the term today – and much faster than in the nonstop test the first week.

Tuesday’s runs, along the river, will reach 3.1 and 6.2 miles. Next week brings racing for many of you – at the Eugene Half-Marathon, the Wildflower Triathlon and the Intramural track meet. This means you need to taper, so ask me how to modify (or even skip) class runs, especially on Thursday.

TODAY’S 3 X ONE-THIRD-MILE INTERVALS

(with total time for one mile and comparison to first week’s nonstop mile test; target was to go faster; if you didn’t time yourself, I divided your team time by two)

Bryce – 7:45 (-18 sec.)

Peter – 5:22 (-1:43) day’s 3^rd most improved

Alex – 7:45 (-14 sec.)

Zach – 5:22 (-1:44) day’s 2^nd most improved

Elliot – 7:23 (-2:15)

Blake – 5:23 (no target)

TODAY’S 3 X TWO-THIRD-MILE INTERVALS

(with total time for 1.95 miles, per-mile pace and comparison to first week’s nonstop mile test; target was to go faster; if you didn’t time yourself, I divided your team time by two)

Lyanne – 18:10 (9:05 pace, -2:44 per mile) day’s most improved, earning extra credit

Matt – 11:09 (5:34s, -36 sec.)

Amina – 1.33 miles in 12:04 (9:05s, -2:41)

Doug – untimed

Dillon – 11:28 (5:44s, -1:23)

Miranda – 20:01 (10:00s, -1:28)

Tyler – 11:15 (5:37s, -44 sec.)

Austin – 11:09 (5:34s, -32 sec.)

Anna – 14:00 (7:00s, -33 sec.)

LESSON 8: TAKING TIME

Your second most valuable piece of equipment, after shoes, is.... no, not shorts and not T-shirt. You can wear other clothes than those. Your next most vital item is a watch. Buy a digital model with a stopwatch feature, and make time your main way of keeping score. Time can make you an instant winner by telling exactly how fast you ran a distance, and maybe how much you improved your personal record (“PR,” in runner-talk). Another, more subtle value of the watch: It lets you run by time – by minutes instead of miles. This has several benefits: freeing you from plotting and measuring courses, because minutes are the same length anywhere... easing pressure to run faster, because you can’t make time pass any faster... finishing at the assigned time limit no matter your pace, which settles naturally into your comfort zone when you run by time.

Class 7

Distances grow. Next Tuesday you’ll reach the namesake of this class, 5K or 10K (3.1 or 6.2 miles) – not as a race or test but as another long run in your buildup.

Thursday will bring your second set of intervals (of three this term). You’ll do either 3 x one-third-mile or 3 x two-thirds with a rest break between segments. This time I’ll match you with a teammate of about your speed, as you each run every other lap.

TODAY’S 2.9 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; if you didn’t time yourself out at stoplights, you probably ran faster than listed here)

Alex – 26:59 (9:18 pace, +46 sec.)

Alyssa – 26:01 (8:58s, +22 sec.)

Elliot – 34:08 (11:46s, +1:32)

Blake – untimed

TODAY’S 5.7 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; if you didn’t time yourself out at stoplights, you probably ran faster than listed here)

Peter – 4.6 miles in 37:03 (8:03s, +1 sec.) best pacer, earning extra credit

Zach – 4.6 miles in 37:03 (8:03s, +22 sec.)

Doug – 8:04 (10:11s, +43 sec.)

Dillon – 40:30 (7:06s, -1:04)

Jessica – 7 miles on Sunday

Lauren O. – 55:41 (9:46s, -41 sec.)

Miranda – 1:06:14 (11:36s, -18 sec.)

Becky – 4 miles on Sunday

Tyler – 38:50 (6:48s, -6 sec.) day’s 2^nd best pacer

Austin – 38:48 (6:48s, +13 sec.) day’s 3^rd best pacer

Anna – 50:02 (8:46s, +43 sec.)

Lauren W. – 55:04 (9:40s, -28 sec.)

LESSON 7: GOING EASIER

Pacing isn’t just for a single run. It’s also something you practice from day to day throughout the week. Some runs must be hard if you’re training to race, but most runs must be easy to compensate for that effort. In other words, you run less than your best much of the time – neither long nor fast. You can calculate ideal pace for easy runs several ways: at least one minute per mile slower than you could race the same distance; or about 75 percent of maximum heart rate; or simply whatever feels comfortable, not too fast or too slow. The last of these guidelines is the simplest to use. What feels right usually is right.

 

Class 6

Today we faced some Oregon weather reality for the first time this term. We still held class, as we always do unless the whole university is closed (which is extremely rare), and most of you came and ran. I hope you're happier than you did it than if you hadn't.

This was the only time all term when I award a prize to the leader at each distance. That's because this type of run gives everyone an equal chance to finish first. The real purpose today was teaching you to push the pace in the latter stages of run, the closing mile or two in this case.

Tuesday's run will step up to 2.75 or 5.5 miles. This will take the route through the neighborhoods south of campus.

TODAY'S SLOW/FAST "16 MINUTES"

(with actual time and comparison of second half with 1st; target was to finish under 16:00, or run a so-called "negative split")

Peter -- 13:45 (-2:15 for 2nd half) 1st to finish, earning extra credit

Alex -- 16:06 (+6 sec.)

Elliot -- 16:28 (+28 sec.)

Jessica -- 15:27 (-33 sec.) 2nd to finish

Zidi -- 15:45 (-15 sec.) 3rd to finish

TODAY'S SLOW/FAST "32 MINUTES"

(with actual time and comparison of 2nd half with 1st; target was to finish under 32:00, or run a so-called "negative split")

Lyanne -- 29:59 (-2:01 for 2nd half)

Matt -- 29:53 (-2:07)

Amina -- 31:12 (-48 sec.)
Michael -- 27:32 (-4:28) 1st to finish, earning extra credit

Doug -- 31:32 (-28 sec.)

Dillon -- 30:20 (-1:50)

Lauren O. -- 29:15 (-2:45)

Miranda -- 29:40 (-2:20)

Becky -- 31:16 (-44 sec.)

Austin -- 28:04 (-3:56) 2nd to finish

Anna -- 28:32 (-3:28) 3rd to finish

Lauren W. -- 31:06 (-54 sec.)

LESSON 6: GOING FASTER

A little bit of speed training goes a long way. In fact, a little bit is all you should do because, in excess, speed kills. Most runners can tolerate fast training that totals only about 10 percent of weekly mileage. This can come two major ways and one minor one. The first big way is as intervals – a training session of short, fast runs with recovery breaks between. The other main way to train for speed is the tempo run – at race pace or faster for a shorter distance. The smaller way to gain and maintain speed is with “strides” – ending the warmup by striding out for a hundred yards or so, one to five times, at the top speed that you would ever race. Strides also have value at the finish of a relaxed run, as a reminder to push at the end of a race.