September 4th Preview

Only one more month remains until your marathon and one more step up in training mileage after this Sunday’s 19. The first five of those miles will be with our half-marathoners.

The course (with an 8:00 start from the Eugene Running Company): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and turn left onto bike path. To Autzen footbridge and across. Turn right, past Ferry Street and Valley River bridges, to Owosso footbridge and across. Back to Alton Baker Park (east end of parking lot). Turn AROUND there and go to Owosso and Ferry. Cross bridge there (skipping Autzen loop) and back to store. GPS distance is unchecked but close to 19.0 miles.

Bring two drinks, the first for delivery at Skinner Butte playground (3.5 miles), turnaround (10.5 miles) and finish; the second for Owosso (6.5 and 14.5 miles). Weather forecast: sunny with starting temperature in 50s, rising to an afternoon high in 70s.

WEEK 17 LESSON: 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.