Class 8 (slow/fast 2 & 4 miles)

Today’s route was a late switch, but the distances were no accident. You’re gearing up for another test – this one at two or four miles later. Today you ran the second part of that distance at test effort.

Six from class are representing all of us in Sunday’s Eugene Marathon. Philip is going that distance… Alex, Gentry, Bill, Kelly and Tyler are running the half-marathon.

They’ll be recovering on Tuesday. For the rest of you the runs are 3.1 and 6.2 miles.

TODAY’S SLOW/FAST 2 MILES

(with total time and comparison of first- and second-half pace; target was to finish faster; if this was an easy pre-race run, no time was taken; * = faster than first week’s test)

Leah – 22:35 (10:54 & 11:11 miles, +17 sec.)

Olivia – 16:39 (8:30 & 8:09, -21 sec.)

Wyatt – 13:42 (7:33 & 6:09, -1:24 ) day’s best speedup

Elizabeth – 22:12 (9:38* & 12:34, +2:56)

TODAY’S SLOW/FAST 4 MILES

(same info as above)

Noe – 29:24 (7:33 & 7:09 paces, -24 sec. per mile)

Mak – ran untimed

Bill – ran untimed

Calvin – 35:20 (8:43s & 8:56s, +13 sec.)

Kelly – 33:44 (8:33s & 8:18s, -15 sec.)

Omar – 28:19 (8:33s & 6:36s, -57 sec.) 2nd best speedup

Kyle – 27:05 (7:01s & 6:31s, -30 sec.) 3^rd best speedup

Colleen – 30:35 (7:47s & 7:30s, -17 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 (2.8 & 5.5 miles)

Today’s lesson, “Going Easier,” is most pertinent to runners doing this Sunday’s Eugene Marathon or Half. It’s time to taper the training. You can’t cram for this type of test by running too much, too late.

If you’re not racing this weekend, Thursday will bring another slow/fast run. It’s different from the earlier one, this time going two or four miles by distance instead of running by time alone. The purpose is still the same: speeding up after halfway.

TODAY’S 2.8 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance – except that it was OK for Eugene marathoners and half-marathoners – marked with * – to ease off the pace as they prepare for Sunday’s races)

Leah – 35:57 (12:34 pace for 2.9 miles, +46 sec. per mile)

Olivia – 25:06 (8:58s, -9 sec.)

Wyatt – 22:00 (7:51s, -26 sec.)

*Tyler – 18:24 (6:34s, -1:47)

Mike – 22:06 (7:53s, no target)

Maca – 25:18 (9:02s, +3 sec.) best pacer, earning extra credit

Elizabeth – 38:10 (13:38s, +1:52)

TODAY’S 5.5 MILES

(same info as above)

*Alex – 42:53 (7:47s, -20 sec.)

Daniel – 50:49 (9:14s, +36 sec.)

*Gentry – 41:02 (7:53s for 5.2 miles, -31 sec.)

Noe – 41:46 (7:35s, -11 sec.)

Mak – 38:27 (6:59s, +15 sec.)

*Bill – 52:40 (9:34s, +8 sec.) 2^nd best pacer, tie; after 5K race on Sunday at 8:35s, 2^nd in age group

Calvin – 53:30 (9:41s, +15 sec.)

Omar – 37:55 (6:53s, -30 sec.)

Kyle – 37:43 (6:51s, +8 sec.) 2^nd best pacer, tie

Colleen – 44:14 (8:02s, -15 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 (2xHalf & 2xMile)

See what a difference those rest/recovery breaks make. (Sunny, dry day helps too!) Your running times today averaged 25 seconds per mile faster than the same distance, same course as the first week.

Our marathoners and half-marathoners are little more than a week away from your Eugene race. I strongly urge you skip next Thursday’s class (or come for a very easy run, not speed training) as you taper for the big event. Also plan to spent the following week recovering.

Tuesday’s run will be either 2.8 or 5.6 miles. It will take you through the neighborhoods south and west of campus.

TODAY’S 2 X HALF-MILE

(with total time for one mile and comparison to first week’s nonstop mile test; target was to go faster, which rest break allows)

Leah – 8:20 (-1:07) day’s most improved, earning extra credit

Olivia – 7:19 (-34 sec.) 2^nd most improved, tie

Tyler – 7 miles on Wednesday evening

Mike – 6:01 (no target)

Maca – 7:31 (-34 sec.) 2^nd most improved, tie

TODAY’S 2 X MILE

(with total time for two miles, per-mile pace and comparison to first week’s nonstop two-mile test; target was to go faster, which rest break allows)

Alex – 12:46 (6:23 pace, -11 sec. per mile)

Gentry – 14:43 (7:21s, -5 sec. vs. 1^st weeks one mile)

Noe – 11:55 (5:57s, -34 sec.) 2^nd most improved, tie

Philip – 10:56 (5:28s, -23 sec.)

Mak – 11:02 (5:31s, -27 sec.)

Bill – 16:33 (8:16s, +11 sec.)

Calvin – 15:45 (7:52s, no target)

Kelly – 14:33 (7:16s, -31 sec.)

Omar – 11:10 (5:35s, -33 sec.)

Kyle – 11:01 (5:30s, -27 sec.)

Colleen – 14:09 (7:04s, -18 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.

Class 5 (2.5 & 5.0 miles)

This was the first time you all went to the river. From now on you’ll alternate between that route and the neighborhoods toward Amazon Trail on Tuesdays. These will become quite familiar, even as they grow steadily longer.

Thursday will bring your introduction to intervals here. This means totaling the familiar one or two miles, but breaking each into two parts with a recovery break between. Which lets you go faster without apparent increase in effort.

TODAY’S 2.5 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your first long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; times are from my watch and yours probably was faster because of long stoplights at Franklin)

Leah – 29:30 (11:48 pace, +2:02 per mile)

Olivia – 22:48 (9:07s, +26 sec.)

Wyatt – 20:43 (8:17s, +26 sec.)

Tyler – 20:43 (8:17s, +1:42)

Maca – 22:19 (8:58s, -17 sec.)

TODAY’S 5.0 MILES

(same info as above)

Alex – 40:36 (8:07s, +34 sec.)

Daniel – 43:13 (8:38s, no target)

Noe – 38:49 (7:46s, +12 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer

Philip – 34:44 (6:56s, -16 sec.)

Mak – in Boston supporting sister’s marathon

Bill – in Boston supporting wife’s marathon, and 5K at 9:26s

Calvin – 47:09 (9:26s, -1:04)

Kelly – 41:07 (8:13s, -19 sec.)

Omar – 36:59 (7:23s, -10 sec.) day's best pacer, earning extra credit

Colleen – 41:24 (8:17s, +17 sec.)

LESSON 5: GOING LONGER

Distance, unlike speed, is almost limitless. No matter what your level of talent, no matter how many years you have run, no matter how old your personal records are, the possibility of covering longer distances still exists. This helps explain the appeal of the marathon. First-year runners can take pride at finishing one in twice the time the leaders take to finish, and longtime runners can feel good about going the distance an hour slower than their PR. Not all runners can go faster, but just about anyone can run longer. It isn’t a matter of talent, but only of pacing, patience and persistence. However, you can’t take big leaps in distance all at once. The safe limit for progress is about 10 percent per week – for instance, no more than a half-mile added to the recent five-mile run.