Class 5 (2.5 & 5.0 miles)

This was the first time you all went to the river. From now on you’ll alternate between that route and the neighborhoods toward Amazon Trail on Tuesdays. These will become quite familiar, even as they grow steadily longer.

Thursday will bring your introduction to intervals here. This means totaling the familiar one or two miles, but breaking each into two parts with a recovery break between. Which lets you go faster without apparent increase in effort.

TODAY’S 2.5 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your first long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance; times are from my watch and yours probably was faster because of long stoplights at Franklin)

Leah – 29:30 (11:48 pace, +2:02 per mile)

Olivia – 22:48 (9:07s, +26 sec.)

Wyatt – 20:43 (8:17s, +26 sec.)

Tyler – 20:43 (8:17s, +1:42)

Maca – 22:19 (8:58s, -17 sec.)

TODAY’S 5.0 MILES

(same info as above)

Alex – 40:36 (8:07s, +34 sec.)

Daniel – 43:13 (8:38s, no target)

Noe – 38:49 (7:46s, +12 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer

Philip – 34:44 (6:56s, -16 sec.)

Mak – in Boston supporting sister’s marathon

Bill – in Boston supporting wife’s marathon, and 5K at 9:26s

Calvin – 47:09 (9:26s, -1:04)

Kelly – 41:07 (8:13s, -19 sec.)

Omar – 36:59 (7:23s, -10 sec.) day's best pacer, earning extra credit

Colleen – 41:24 (8:17s, +17 sec.)

LESSON 5: GOING LONGER

Distance, unlike speed, is almost limitless. No matter what your level of talent, no matter how many years you have run, no matter how old your personal records are, the possibility of covering longer distances still exists. This helps explain the appeal of the marathon. First-year runners can take pride at finishing one in twice the time the leaders take to finish, and longtime runners can feel good about going the distance an hour slower than their PR. Not all runners can go faster, but just about anyone can run longer. It isn’t a matter of talent, but only of pacing, patience and persistence. However, you can’t take big leaps in distance all at once. The safe limit for progress is about 10 percent per week – for instance, no more than a half-mile added to the recent five-mile run.