Class 18

This was another stroll down memory lane. In this case it took you back to your run the first day of class, following the same river path to the same turnaround point.

Tuesday’s run will be your 5K or 10K test. It will go the same way as today, except you’ll add an extra half-mile to mile before turning back.

Yesterday I emailed the class quiz. For those needing to complete it, your answers are due back (also by email) next Thursday.

TODAY’S 2-MILE RUN

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your first week’s pace; target was to go faster without seeming to try any harder than you did in week one; if you didn’t time yourself out at stoplights, I subtracted average stop time of 2:00 from your shouted result)

Katie – 19:30 (9:45 pace, +22 sec. per mile)

TODAY’S 4-MILE RUN

(same info as above)

Erik – ran untimed

Alex – 33:06 (8:16s, -50 sec.)

Jannik – 27:05 (6:46s, -1:51) 2^nd most improved

Daniel – 32:59 (8:14s, no target)

Sarah – 33:39 (8:24s, -1:57) most improved, earning extra credit

Rana – 32:50 (8:12s, -25 sec.)

Claire – 31:58 (7:59s, -1:11)

Julian – 32:46 (8:11s, -26 sec.)

Arthur – 33:31 (8:23s, -14 sec.)

James – 28:47 (7:11s, -1:01) 3^rd most improved

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.

Class 17

You’re coming down in distance now. Both runs this week should feel easy, as you taper for next Tuesday’s 5K or 10K test.

I didn’t get a chance today to recognize the winner of this term’s distance prize. It was Jannik (at 1:58 per mile faster than the first week), followed by Claire (1:17) and James (55 seconds).

Thursday’s run will take you back where this class started, at two or four miles. It will seem shorter now that you’ve gone twice that far.

TODAY’S HALF-HOUR RUN

(no distances and paces recorded, though you might have checked them yourself)

Katie

Maca

TODAY’S ONE-HOUR RUN

(same info as above)

Erik

Jessica D.

Jannik

Rana

Claire

Jack

Julian

Arthur

LESSON 17: EQUAL TIMES

You can predict fairly accurately what you’ll run for a certain distance without having run it recently. You can base the prediction on races at different distances. Pace obviously slows as racing distance grows, and speeds up as it shrinks. But how much of a slowdown or speedup is normal? A good rule of thumb is a five-percent slowdown as the distance doubles, or that much faster pace as the distance drops by half. Multiply or divide by 2.1 to predict your time for double or half the distance. For instance, a 22:00 5K equates to about 46:00 for 10K.

Class 16

Distance has peaked for the term. I sneaked in the longest run a few days earlier than planned, this to take advantage of a cooler morning than we’ve had recently (and will again soon) – and also so you won’t have to think about it during the holiday weekend.

Next week you’ll ease down toward the 5K or 10K test. Tuesday’s run will be 30 or 60 minutes, then two or four miles on Thursday.

TODAY’S 4 MILES

(with per-mile pace and comparison to your first long run here; target was to come close to or better that pace, double the original distance for most of you)

Katie – ran untimed today, but did 4 miles earlier at 9:23 pace

Maca – 35:00 (8:45s, -48 sec. per mile)

TODAY’S 8 MILES

(same info as above)

Erik – 1:09:55 (8:44s, -19 sec.)

Alex – 1:13 (9:07s, +1 sec.)

Jessica D. – 1:15 (9:22s, +5 sec.)

Jannik – 53:15 (6:39s, -1:58) term’s most improved

Daniel – 7.8 miles in 1:10:22 (9:01s, +5 sec.)

Sarah – 1:16 (9:30s, -51 sec.)

Claire – 1:03:07 (7:53s, -1:17) term’s 2^nd most improved

Scott – 1:03:15 (7:54s, -26 sec.)

James – 58:27 (7:17s, -55 sec.) term’s 3^rd most improved

LESSON 16: 10K TRAINING

The 10K program resembles the one for 5K (Lesson 15), but the distances naturally go up for a race twice as long. Again mix over-and-unders – fast runs below the 10K distance (totaling two to three fast miles, not counting warmup, cooldown and recovery intervals, running the fast portion at 10K race pace or slightly faster) and long ones above it (seven to nine miles, at least one minute per mile slower than race pace. Average about a half-hour, at a relaxed pace, for each of the three or four easy runs per week. By slightly modifying this plan, you can run races at two other popular distances – 8K (or five miles) and 12K (about 7½ miles).

Class 15

I wasn’t quite right to tell you today’s run was “exactly the same as the first week’s test.” True, the warmup, the route and the distances were the same. But the weather was not, at 30 degrees warmer today – or about 20 more than ideal for distance running.

Thursday’s distances will be four and eight miles, on the river path. I bumped this longest run of the term ahead a few days because weather looks better this week than next. Plus attendance is typically light the day after a Monday holiday break.

TODAY’S ONE-MILE RE-TEST

(with comparison to first week’s mile test; target was to go faster)

Jessica D. – 7:55 (-16 sec. vs. 1^st week’s 2-mile)

Katie – 10:08 (no target)

Maca – 8:06 (-30 sec.) term’s 3^rd most improved

Brady – 7:42 (no target)

TODAY’S TWO-MILE RE-TEST

(with per-mile pace and comparison to first week’s two-mile test; target was to go faster)

Erik – 16:13 (8:06 pace, -1 sec. per mile)

Alex – 17:08 (8:34s, -29 sec.)

Daniel – 15:42 (7:51s, -15 sec.)

Claire – 14:25 (7:12s, -36 sec.) term’s most improved

Jack – 13:36 (6:48s, -20 sec.)

Julian – 14:14 (7:07s, +6 sec.)

Arthur – 14:58 (7:29s, +1 sec.)

James – 14:11 (7:05s, -34 sec.) term’s 2^nd most improved

LESSON 15: 5K TRAINING

You routinely run 5K and beyond in training. The quickest way to improve your race time, then, is by upping the pace one day a week for a distance well below 5K (one to two fast miles total, excluding warmup, cooldown and recovery intervals). Run at projected 5K or slightly faster, so you become familiar with that pace. On another day, extend the length of one weekly run to above the race distance (four to six miles). Run at least one minute per mile slower than race pace, to make the 5K seem shorter. The three to four easy-day runs each week average about a half-hour each at a relaxed pace.