Class 9 (no 10)

That's it for this week. Enjoy your extra day off, and stay safe wherever the holiday weekend takes you. Good running to our people in Saturday's races.

Distances on Monday will bump up to 1.75 and 3.5 miles.

TODAY'S EASY HALF-HOUR

(everyone went about 30 minutes, with no exact times or distances recorded; plan was to walk, walk-run or run easily to recover from Wednesday's run)

Brianna

Jason

Jasmine

Linfeng

Jacob

Marissa

Sara

Dustin

Huimin

Jianguo

Yidi

LESSON 9: ROAD HAZARDS

The biggest threat that a runner faces, by far, is the car. Traffic zips within arm’s length. A moment’s attention lapse from either you or the driver can bring disaster – for you, not the well-armored driver. The best way to defuse this risk is to avoid the roads. But this greatly limits your running options, especially in hours of darkness and a seasons of foul weather. When using the roads, follow the rules that your mother taught you by age seven: stay off the busiest streets, look both ways before crossing, face the traffic (by running on the left), and run when and where you can see and be seen. Run as if every car is a lethal weapon, which it can be.

LESSON 10: GETTING HURT

Runners get hurt. We rarely hurt ourselves in the sudden, traumatic ways skiers and linebackers do, but the injury rates run high. Most of our injuries are self-inflicted – from running too far, too fast, too soon or too often (and sometimes on surfaces or in shoes not right for us). Prevention is usually as simple as adjusting our routine. Immediate treatment seldom requires total rest, but only a change in activity. Use pain as your guide. If you can’t run steadily without pain, mix walking and running. If you can’t run-walk, simply walk. If you can’t walk, bicycle. If you can’t bike, swim. As you recover, climb back up this exercise ladder.