Class 6

The runs will be a little out of synch this week. I’ll be away at the end, so the week’s faster run will move to Thursday and the second easy walk/run to Friday. Experienced instructor Keith McConnell will sub for me that last day.

Tuesday will bring the now-standard easy half-hour. Walk, walk/run or run – whatever seems easy to you.

TODAY’S 1.65 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to last Monday’s run; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; hills and stop lights made this course slower than last week's)

Brianna – 23:07 (14:00 pace, +40 sec. per mile)

Guangyu – 23:07 (14:00s, +40 sec.)

TODAY’S 3.3 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to last Monday’s run; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; hills and stop lights made this course slower than last week's)

Vadim – 32:48 (9:56s, +58 sec.)

Becky – 35:16 (10:41s, +31 sec.) day's best pacer

Nathaniel – 32:48 (9:56s, +1:04)

LESSON 6: COOLING DOWN

When the run ends, resist the urge to stop suddenly. Instead, walk to cool down more gradually. If the warmup shifts gears between resting and hard running, the cooldown period is a necessary transition from racing to resting. Continued mild activity gradually slows down the revved-up metabolism, and also acts as a massage to gently work out the soreness and fatigue products generated by the earlier effort. The pattern and pace of recovery are set in the first few minutes after the running ends. Some advisers will tell you to run easily during the cooldown, but walking gives the same benefits with much less effort – and you’ve already run hard enough. After this walk is the best time for stretching exercises, which loosen the muscles that running has tightened.