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.