Class 20 (and last)

That’s it for this term. My fondest hope (and my chief measure of my success as a teacher) is that it won’t be the end of running for you. I’d love to see you in a future class, at a race, or on the streets and trails of town in years to come.

For the third term in a row – and this had never happened in the previous 15 years of teaching – no one ran into trouble with absences. Attendance was never better than this fall, when TEN of you had zero misses (after extra credits were added). 

Sam and Alex took every scheduled run – Alex winning the attendance prize on a tie-breaker with her three extra-credits. As a non-credit student, she didn’t even have an attendance requirement, but ran every day because she chose to do it. That’s the spirit I strive to teach.

Students often teach me as well, with lasting lessons that will help future students. Yours was to simplify the long-run routes so fewer people will get lost. I’m sorry if you were one of them, but the next class thanks you.

Now that your running class has ended, I won’t suddenly forget you. I’ll remain available indefinitely to answer any running questions or concerns.

TODAY’S 30-MINUTE RUN

(only runners’ names listed; no exact times or distances recorded, or paces calculated; this was meant to be a relaxed run to recover from Tuesday’s test and to end the class on an easy note)

Bryce

Alex

Rachel

Jake

Becky

Jonathan

Eleanor

Sota

LESSON 20: RACE RECOVERY

One of the most important phases of a training program is also one of the most overlooked. This is what to do after the race. It doesn’t end at the finish line but continues with what you do – or don’t do – in the immediate and extended period afterward. How long recovery takes depends on the length of the last race. The longer it was, the longer the rebuilding period. One popular rule of thumb is to allow at least one easy day for every mile of the race (about a week after a 10K). One day per kilometer (or 10 days post-10K) might work even better if the race was especially tough. During this period take no really long runs, none very fast, and avoid further racing. Run easily.