Class 18

Two or four miles, the distance that was "long" in week one, is now called "easy." It let you recover from Tuesday's truly long run and refresh for next Tuesday's 5K or 10K test.

Today I emailed the class quiz. You have until the final class day to send your answers to me.

TODAY'S EASY 1.9 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this shorter distance)

Andrew -- 14:24 (7:34 pace, -52 sec. per mile)

Garrett -- 13:04 (6:52s, -7 sec.) 2nd best pacer, tie

Neal -- 13:04 (6:52s, -37 sec.)

Tara -- 15:58 (8:24s, +7 sec.) 2nd best pacer, tie

Nicole -- 16:15 (8:33s, -13 sec.)

Jerry -- 15:31 (8:10s, -1:10)

TODAY'S EASY 4.0 MILES

(same info as above)

Michaela -- cross-trained

Lucas -- 30:09 (7:32s, +4 sec.) best pacer, earning extra credit

Joseph -- 37:04 (9:16s, +51 sec.)

Osbaldo -- cross-trained

Isaac -- supported

Joshua -- 35:41 (8:55s, -20 sec.)

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.