January 15th Results (8 miles)

Compared to last week’s conditions, today’s were idyllic. Cold, yes; sunny and dry, YES!

Welcome to the team, Gary Hair, Kyoko Harrington, Jessica Peterson, Lorrie Spenst and Leah Willow. And thanks to Lindsey for opening the store this morning, the day after the team that she coaches had started its training.

TODAY’S 8 MILES FOR MARATHONERS

(with per-mile pace based on GPS average of 7.96 miles; target was to run no faster than half-marathon race pace)

Rachel Frede – 1:11:00 (8:54 pace)

Gary – 1:19:06 (9:56s)

Kyoko – 1:23:43 (10:30s)

Leah K. – 1:06:14 (8:19s)

Jessica – 1:35:30 (12:00s)

Anna – 1:10:00 (8:47s)

Lorrie – 1:35:30 (12:00s)

Elly – 1:11:00 (8:54s)

Rachel W. – 1:11:00 (8:54s)

Leah W. – 1:23:45 (10:31s)

TODAY’S 5 MILES FOR HALF-MARATHONERS

(with per-mile pace based on GPS average of 4.98 miles; target was to run at a pace you expect to hold for a half-marathon in March)

Neal – 1:00:43 (12:11 pace)

Bill – 47:10 (9:28s)

Jean – untimed

Tatiana – untimed

Rachel Farkas – 1:00:43 (12:11s)

Stephanie – 59:48 (12:00s)

Rhonda – 59:48 (12:00s)

OTHER RECENT RUNS

(those reported to me)

Jean – 15 miles on Saturday

Tatiana – 15 miles on Saturday
Julie – Cascade Half-Marathon on Sunday in 1:55:05 (8:48s)
Trina -- 5.6 miles on Monday in 1:04:24 (11:30s)

January 15th Preview

Trying again this Sunday to get started as a marathon team. Ice erased our group’s seven-mile day, so we’ll skip to eight this time – weather permitting. Cottage Grove half-marathoners will join you to go five miles.

The route (with an 8:00 start from the Eugene Running Company): Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn right onto bike path, past Valley River footbridge, to "1.75" milepost near Marist High School. Turn AROUND there and go back the same way: past Valley River, to Ferry and store. GPS average is unchecked but close to 8.0 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at Valley River 2.5 and 5.5 miles. Weather forecast: starting temperature around 30 with little chance of rain.

WEEK TWO LESSON: YOUR EXTRAS

Question: If I have raced this distance before, can or should I do more training than this program lists?

Answer: More isn’t necessarily better. For these months, stick to the scheduled distances on weekends, neither shorter nor longer, and take as many of these runs as possible with the team. The average increase of one mile week already pushes the safe limit of 10 percent, and one of the goals here is to keep you healthy throughout the program. Adding extra miles could put you at risk of injury, and our first goal is to get you safely to the starting line. The only run specified is the weekly long one. No schedule-for-all is prescribed during the week, since how each of you feels and what you need varies greatly. I can give you as much or as little individual advice as you want for planning those runs. The guiding principle for weekdays: nothing so hard that it might interfere with the next long run.

January 8th (Non)Results

It’s never too late for a first-ever. Today was the first time in two dozen marathon training cycles that our first run was cancelled. I never officially called it off; didn’t need to. All of you made that (wise) decision yourselves by not driving to the Eugene Running Company (which had closed for the day, anyway).

The only reason we ever alter or abandon a planned run is dangerous surface conditions. Rain we can handle; cold we can tolerate. But ice is a no-go. Better to miss this one run than to risk missing them all after taking a hard fall.

January 8th Preview

Here we go again, into the 13^th year of this marathon training. It can include a “midterm” race , the Cottage Grove Half on March 11^th. Next Sunday you’ll be joined by half-marathoners when they begin training aimed specifically for the Cottage Grove race.

Meet at the Eugene Running Company for an 8:00 a.m. start. Lindsey Taylor (who coaches a separate training group on Saturdays) opens the store by 7:45.

The route: Oakway and Coburg Roads to Ferry Street Bridge and don’t cross. Turn left onto bike path, to Autzen footbridge and across. Turn right, past Ferry Street, to Valley River footbridge and across. Turn right, back to Ferry Street and store. GPS distance is 6.95 miles.

Bring a drink for delivery at about 3.5 miles (Skinner Butte playground). Weather forecast: starting temperature in 30s with rain likely.

WEEK ONE LESSON: YOUR PROGRAM

Question: What is the rationale behind this training program?

Answer: The weekly long runs are designed to take you far enough to complete the marathon. Our teams have a near-perfect record of finishes, 99-plus percent, for runners who started their marathon. The training distances have needed no changes since this program started in 2005. You also train under conditions that mimic those of the race. Most of our training routes are flat, so if you want to run some hills do so during some of your midweek runs. Our weekend runs are on hard surfaces, because that’s where the race is run. You can seek out softer ground during the week.

What's Next?

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 theirs before. You set the goal, and we provide the group support and coaching advice for carrying out our proven plan. This round of training, number 27, targets the Eugene Marathon (on May 7th).

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

The team usually meets at the Running Company on Sunday mornings at 8:00. The fee for our four months of marathon training is $100.

We welcome runners of all abilities and experience levels. However, we strongly recommend that marathoners have run at least six miles before this training begins.

To reserve a spot on Joe’s Team, contact the coach: joesrunteam@gmail.com. You run with half-marathoners, who are training for Cottage Grove and Eugene at shorter distances. The calendar for winter and spring 2017:

January 8 – 7 miles to start Eugene Marathon training

January 15 – 8 miles  

January 22 – 9 miles

January 29 – 10 miles

February 5 – 11 miles

February 12 – 6 miles

February 19 – 13 miles

February 26 – 7 miles

March 5 – 15 miles (Joe is away)

March 12 – 8 miles

March 19 – 17 miles

March 26 – 9 miles

April 2 – 19 miles

April 9 – 10 miles

April 15 – 21 miles (on Saturday; from Hayward Field)

April 23 – 10 miles

April 30 – one hour

May 7 – Eugene Marathon at 7:00 a.m.

October 9th Marathons

Our marathoners did themselves -- and all of us -- proud on Sunday. Five of them ran marathons in three different states and British Columbia. All finished.

Moving from east to west, Jean Cordova ran 5:19:49 (12:12 pace) and Tatiana Cordova 6:05:51 (13:58s) in the Chicago Marathon. No pair travels better than this mother-daughter team.



At the Twin Cities Marathon, Rashi Arora ran 3:53:03 (8:53s). She lives in that area but synched her training with ours.



At the Portland Marathon, Bill Bezuk ran 4:11:58 (9:37s). This came just a few months after knee surgery.



And at the Victoria Marathon, Leah Kirkland ran 3:40:16 (8:24s). This qualified her for the 2018 Boston Marathon.

October 9th Preview

October 9th, the date you circled a long time ago, and have trained for and thought about ever since, is now here. Safe travels and smooth runs to Rashi in Twin Cities, Bill in Portland, Jean and Tatiana in Chicago, and Leah in Victoria. We're all eager to hear how your races went.

WEEK 22 LESSON: YOUR NEXT

Question: How soon can I run my next marathon after finishing this one

Answer: How does six months later sound? You could run another one much sooner (as soon as a month later, according to the usual recovery timetable). But two marathons per year is a reasonable limit, which is why I schedule only two annual rounds of training for our team. This leaves half the year free to do something other than train for and recover from marathons. Spring and fall are the best times to run this distance because our weather is most reliably cool and dry then. Though we target races in those seasons, it also means doing most of the training in wet Oregon winters and warm summers. If you want to run races in those seasons, keep them shorter.