Sunday Results

First, big thank-yous to Jean and Tonya for taking care of local business while I flew away to play. If it's any consolation, I sweat through what felt like 200-percent humidity on my long day in Omahot.  

Everyone training for the Mount Angel races now comes down in distances. The Oregon events are 13 days away.

TODAY'S 10.1 MILES FOR MARATHONERS

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 10.11, and comparison to your last long run; target was either to go faster, as speed training, or to match that pace, for recovery)

Jean -- 11 miles on Saturday, 2:01:54 (11:05 pace, -3 sec. per mile) best pacer

Tatiana -- 21 miles on Saturday, 4:24:50 (12:36s, +16 sec.)

Chris -- 1:48:01 (10:47s, -3:43) most improved

Russell -- 1:27:42 (8:40s, +12 sec.)

Rhonda -- 1:42:48 (10:10s, -1:16)

Guests:

Jerry -- 11 miles in 1:42:48 (9:20s)

Norm -- 11 miles in 1:23 (7:36s)

TODAY'S 11.1 MILES FOR HALF-MARATHONERS

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 11.15, and comparison to last long run; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Neal -- 2:04:55 (11:12 pace, +13 sec. per mile) 

Audrey -- 8 miles in 1:37:04 (12:08s, -39 sec.) 

David -- 1:44:00 (9:19s, -31 sec.)

Michele C. -- in Eastern Europe for son's wedding!

Jeff D. -- 2:06:11 (11:18s, +44 sec.)

Amy -- 1:57:55 (10:34s, -25 sec.)

Brian -- 1:26:55 (7:47s, -28 sec.)

Laurel -- half-marathon relay race in Carlton, OR

Michelle R. -- 7 miles in 1:10:38 (10:05s)

Jake -- 1:35:00 (8:32s,m-15 sec.)

Max -- 1:41:09 (10:00)

Jeanette -- 2:14:12 (12:02s, +17 sec.)

Don -- 1:54:05 (10:14s, +40 sec.)

Sunday Previews

This Sunday is the only time all summer when you half-marathoners will run longer than the marathoners, at 11 versus 10 miles. It’s also my only time to skip out on you (while visiting family in the Midwest for the long holiday weekend). Everyone will start at 7:30, at the Eugene Running Company.

HALF-MARATHON PREVIEW:

The 11-mile route (with a later turnaround than the 10): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn right onto bike path, to Valley River footbridge and across. Turn left, past Ferry, to Autzen footbridge and across. Continue to end of path at wooden foobridge near stadium. Turn AROUND and come back the same way: Autzen, Valley River, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 11.08 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Ferry Street, four and seven miles. Weather forecast: starting temperature in mid-50s with some clouds and day’s high of 76.

Week Five Lesson for Half: Your Pace

Question: How fast should my long runs be?

Answer: Let your pace find itself. Don’t try to force an arbitrary pace (such as a half-marathon time goal) onto these runs. Instead, run comfortably, letting whatever happens with your pace happen. Finish with the feeling that you could have gone a little longer that day, which you will soon enough. Our more experienced runners might want to train for speed during the week. I recommend that this come between Tuesday and Thursday (when organized fast-training groups, independent of ours, are available) to give enough recovery from the last long run and before the next one. If you run a shorter-distance race during this training period, make it easy. A full effort there would conflict with your weekend long run, which is far more important during this training cycle.

MARATHON PREVIEW:

The 10-mile route (with an earlier turnaround than the 11): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn right onto bike path, to Valley River footbridge and across. Turn left, past Ferry, to Autzen footbridge. Turn AROUND at brick crosswalk and come back the same way: Valley River, Ferry and store. GPS distance is 10.11 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Ferry Street, four and six miles. Weather forecast: starting temperature in mid-50s with some clouds and day’s high of 76.

Week 16 Lesson for Marathon: Your Strategy

Question: What is the best way to pace myself during the marathon?

Answer: 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 to bolt from the starting line far faster than your training pace. 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. 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 miles. This is where you reward yourself for your early caution, by passing instead of being passed. Being the passer rather than the passee is a lot more fun.

EWEB Half-Marathon Training

Training for a long race goes better if you run with a group that shares your goal and a coach who has helped hundreds runners reach it before. You set the goal, and we provide the group support and coaching advice for carrying out a proven training plan. This fall we point toward the EWEB Run to Stay Warm Half-Marathon (November 23^rd).

The Eugene Running Company has sponsored this training group since its launch in 2005. More than 500 runners have joined us, and their finish rate in halves and marathons is greater than 99 percent.

The Team meets at the Running Company on Sunday mornings at 8:00. The fee for this program is $50, payable at the store before training begins.

We welcome runners of all abilities and experience levels. However, we strongly recommend that you have run at least four miles before this training begins. Eugene Running Company group training on Sundays and Mondays can help you build toward our starting distance. To reserve a spot on Joe’s Team, contact the coach: joesrunteam@gmail.com. The calendar for this fall:

             

September 21st -- 5 miles

September 28th^-- 6 miles

October 5th ^-- 7 miles
(October 12th -- no team run; Joe is away)

October 19th -- 8  miles

October 25th -- 9 miles

November 2nd -- 10 miles

November 9th -- 11 miles

November 16th -- one hour

November 23rd -- half-marathon race at EWEB, 9:00

This Week's Runs

Team runs this week: Sunday, 11 miles for half-marathon, 10 miles for marathon, at 7:30 from Eugene Running Company.

Signup has started for our EWEB Half training, opening September 21st. Registration continues for my UO fall 5K/10K class, beginning September 30th.

Sunday Runs for Marathon/Half

Training topped out at 21 miles for our Oregon Marathoners today. Our runners in that half will peak next Sunday, when I won't get to see you. (I'm making my annual trip to see Midwest family.)

Thanks to Audrey for long and cheerful service to the marathoners, and to Tonya and Jeff for taking great care of the half-marathoners' run.

TODAY'S 21 MILES FOR MARATHONERS

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 21.00, and comparison to your last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Rashi -- 16 miles in Minnesota, 2:31 (9:26 pace, -44 sec. per mile)
Jean -- half-marathon race in Vancouver, BC, on Saturday
Tatiana -- half-marathon race in Vancouver, BC, on Saturday
Chris -- 5:04:45 (14:30s, +1:56)
Jeff M. -- 10+ mountainous trail miles on Saturday
Jeanine -- 14.2 miles in Newport
Sara -- about 20 miles on Saturday; first 8 with Laurel
Russell -- 2:58:01 (8:28s, +7 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer at this distance
Rhonda -- 4:00:12 (11:26s, -3 sec.) day's best pacer at this distance

Guests:
Norm -- 17 miles in 2:15:45 (7:59s)
Jerry -- 4:00:12 (11:26s)

TODAY'S 10.1 MILES FOR HALF-MARATHONERS

(with per-mile pace, based on GPS average of 10.15, and comparison to last long run here; target was to match that pace for this longer distance)

Neal -- 1:51:36 (10:59 pace, +21 sec. per mile)
Audrey -- 7 miles on Saturday, 1:29:34 (12:47s, +48 sec.)
David -- 1:39:58 (9:50s, -31 sec.)
Michele C. -- 1:46:48 (10:31s, +35 sec.)
Jeff D. -- 1:47:23 (10:34s, -14 sec.) day's 2nd best pacer at this distance
Amy -- 1:51:36 (10:59s, +21 sec.)
Stephanie -- about 9 miles with marathoners
Brian -- 1:22:02 (8:05s, +19 sec.)
Jake -- 1:29:00 (8:46s, -11 sec.) day's best pacer at this distance; after 5K race on Saturday
Jeanette -- 1:59:19 (11:45s, -26 sec.)
Don -- 1:37:02 (9:34s, +25 sec.)

Guests:
Deanna -- 11 miles in 1:57:03 (10:38s)
Elly -- 11 miles in 1:57:03 (10:38s)

Mount Angel Course Tour

The team wanted “something different” this fall, so I pointed you toward the Oregon Marathon and Half in Mount Angel. It’s so different that, until yesterday, I’d never even visited that town about 20 miles northeast of Salem. This will be the team’s first race ever where we’ll go purely on faith – without any of us ever running the course, in use for the first time on September 13^th.

Yesterday I spent many pleasant hours in and around Mount Angel. This was mainly a scouting mission, but Barbara and I also ate lunch at the classic Glockenspiel (near the race start) and toured the world-famous Abbey Library (sitting even higher than the first big hill you’ll climb). Notes from the drive up and around:

LOCATION. It’s 1½ to 2 hours from Eugene/Springfield, depending on your route and speed. I-5 to Woodburn, then east is the simplest way. Salem is your best bet for Friday night lodging.

COURSES. Only the first, 13^th and 26^th miles are in town. Most of the running is through farmlands – where filberts, hops and food crops dominate the landscape. Shade is scarce, but roads are more winding and scenic than, say, Coburg’s.

HALF-MARATHON. It’s one big loop (with marathoners through 13 miles), starting in downtown Mount Angel and finishing on the track at Kennedy High School. The biggest hill peaks in the first mile, at the Abbey road. From there it’s downhill or flat through 11, before climbing slightly and gradually in the last two miles. Roads are all paved.

MARATHON. Marathoners split from halfers at the high school, and from there run a different second loop. It includes three mile-long segments on gravel farm roads. The highest hill (which I didn’t see because it’s a private lane) tops out at 19 miles. The next-to-last mile features a steep downhill (on gravel), and the last mile has a short climb.