Class 12

This was your final negative-split exercise, running the second half faster than the first. It mainly showed how well you can finish if you don't start too fast.

Good luck to our runners who race this weekend: Isaac, Leslie, Brooke and Juan in the half-marathon, and Michaela and Osbaldo in the marathon.

Tuesday's distances will be 3.5 and 7.0 miles -- unless you raced, in which case you'll do little or nothing. I hope you still will come to class to receive our praise.

TODAY'S SLOW/FAST 2 MILES

(with total time and comparison of one-mile laps; target was to finish faster, which everyone did)

Andrew -- 15:57 (8:28 & 7:19 miles, -1:09)
Lyanne -- 18:31 (9:18 & 9:13, -5 sec.)
Garrett -- 13:17 (6:58 & 6:19, -39 sec.)
Neal -- 13:20 (6:58 & 6:22, -36 sec.)
Leslie -- 19:18 (9:44 & 9:34, -10 sec.) before Sunday's Eugene half
Tara -- 17:47 (9:47 & 8:04, -1:39) day's 2nd best speedup
Nicole -- 17:49 (9:56 & 7:53, -2:03) best speedup, earning extra credit
Brooke -- 17:18 (9:44 & 9:34, -10 sec.) before Sunday's Disneyland half
Jerry -- 16:18 (8:53 & 7:25, -1:28) day's 3rd best speedup

TODAY'S SLOW/FAST 3.9 MILES

(with total time and comparison of per-mile pace for each lap; target was to finish faster, which you both did)

Michaela -- ran 4.3 miles, before Sunday's Eugene marathon
Joseph -- 33:16 (9:03 & 8:00 pace, -1:03)
Osbaldo -- ran untimed, before Sunday's Eugene marathon
Isaac -- ran untimed, before Sunday's Eugene half
Joshua -- 31:55 (8:18s & 8:03s, -15 sec.)
Juan Carlos -- running Sunday's Eugene half

LESSON 12: 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.