Class 2 (1 & 2 mile tests)

Today’s test – a term I prefer to “race” because you’re not so much competing against others as testing yourself – was the first of three such time trials. The others will be two or four miles at midterm, and 5K or 10K in week 10.

This was the first time I gave a prize. It’s extra credit to the person who improved most over Tuesday’s run. Wyatt scored best today.

Tuesday’s distances will advance by a small but steady amount: to 2.3 miles or 4.6 miles. This will leading to a doubling of the length this term.

TODAY’S ONE-MILE TEST

(with total time for this distance and comparison with mile pace from Tuesday’s run of twice this length; target was to go faster)

Amina – 8:59 (-48 sec.)

Leah – 9:27 (-19 sec.)

Gentry – 7:26 (-53 sec.)

Olivia – 7:53 (no target)

Wyatt – 6:05 (-1:46) most improved, earning extra credit

Samantha – 8:49 (-47 sec.)

Tyler – 5:34 (-1:01)

Maca – 8:05 (-1:10)

Elizabeth – 9:58 (no target)

TODAY’S TWO-MLE TEST

(with total time for this distance, per-mile pace and comparison with pace from Tuesday’s run of twice this length; target was to go faster)

Alex – 13:09 (6:34 pace, -59 sec. per mile)

Daniel – 15:48 (7:54s, no target)

Noe – 13:02 (6:31s, -1:03)

Philip – 11:47 (5:53s, -1:19)

Mak – 11:57 (5:58s, -1:14)

Bill – 16:10 (8:05s, -1:29) 2nd most improved

Kelly – 16:35 (7:47s, -45 sec.)

Omar – 12:17 (6:08s, -1:25) 3rd most improved

Kyle – 11:54 (5:57s, -1:15)

Colleen – 14:44 (7:22s, -38 sec.)

LESSON 2: WINNING WAYS

A great beauty of running is that it gives everyone a chance to win. Winning isn’t automatic; you still have to work for success and risk failure. But unlike other sports there’s no need to beat an arbitrary standard (such as “par” or an opponent’s score). You measure yourself against your personal records. To the runner, a “PR” does not stand for public relations or an island in the Caribbean. It means “personal record,” and this PR may represent the greatest advance in the history of this sport. The invention of the digital stopwatch worn on the wrist turned everyone into a potential winner. Here was a personal and yet objective way to measure success and progress. It didn’t depend upon beating anyone, but only upon how the new numbers on the watch compared with the old ones.