Class 18

This was another stroll down memory lane. In this case it took you back to your run the first day of class, following the same river path to the same turnaround point.

Tuesday’s run will be your 5K or 10K test. It will go the same way as today, except you’ll add an extra half-mile to mile before turning back.

Yesterday I emailed the class quiz. For those needing to complete it, your answers are due back (also by email) next Thursday.

TODAY’S 2-MILE RUN

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your first week’s pace; target was to go faster without seeming to try any harder than you did in week one; if you didn’t time yourself out at stoplights, I subtracted average stop time of 2:00 from your shouted result)

Katie – 19:30 (9:45 pace, +22 sec. per mile)

TODAY’S 4-MILE RUN

(same info as above)

Erik – ran untimed

Alex – 33:06 (8:16s, -50 sec.)

Jannik – 27:05 (6:46s, -1:51) 2^nd most improved

Daniel – 32:59 (8:14s, no target)

Sarah – 33:39 (8:24s, -1:57) most improved, earning extra credit

Rana – 32:50 (8:12s, -25 sec.)

Claire – 31:58 (7:59s, -1:11)

Julian – 32:46 (8:11s, -26 sec.)

Arthur – 33:31 (8:23s, -14 sec.)

James – 28:47 (7:11s, -1:01) 3^rd most improved

LESSON 18: RACE PACE

Even if you’ve done everything right in training, you can cancel all that good with as little as one wrong move on race day. The first and worst bad move is leaving the starting line too quickly. Crowd hysteria and your own raging nervous system conspire to send you into the race as if fired from a cannon. Try to work against the forces of the crowd and your natural desires. Keep your head while runners around you are losing theirs. Pull back the mental reins at a time when the voices inside are shouting, “Faster!” Be cautious in your early pacing, erring on the side of too-slow rather than too-fast. Hold something in reserve for the late kilometers. This is where you reward yourself for your early caution, by passing instead of being passed.