June 25th Results (1.5 miles)

Thanks for introducing yourselves today. That helps me get to know you, but more importantly you get acquainted with each other – and see what a wide range of histories (running and otherwise) you bring to this class.

Starting today, I award “extra credits” two ways – for who comes closest to matching last week’s pace (Al and Joyce at plus 7 seconds per mile), and who improves most from one run to the next (Ben at minus 15 seconds per mile).

TUESDAY’S 1.5 MILES

(with per-mile pace from my watch; your own time and distance might have varied)

Al – 25:29 (16:59 pace)

Joyce – 25:29 (16:59 pace)

Ashley – 16:21 (10:54 pace)

Beth – 16:24 (10:56 pace)

Laura – 16:21 (10:54 pace)

Malisa – 23:51 (15:54 pace)

Carolyn – 21:05 (14:03 pace)

Anne – 15:13 (10:08 pace)

Will – 14:09 (9:26 pace)

Debbie – 23:51 (15:54 pace)

Aatrayee – 18:43 (12:29 pace)

Ben – 10:23 (6:55 pace)

LESSON 4: Your Pace

Pace has two meanings, one mathematical and the other physical. The first – a key figure for any runner to know – is a calculation of your minutes/seconds per mile. Divide the total time by the distance (remembering to convert seconds to tenths of a minute; an 8:30 mile is 8.5 minutes). The second meaning is even more important: how you find your best pace. On most runs, this means pacing yourself comfortably – neither too fast nor too slow. There are several ways to arrive at that pace. The most technical is to wear a heart-rate monitor and to run between 70 and 80 percent of maximum pulse. Another is to know your maximum speed for that distance, then add one to two minutes per mile. The simplest: Listen to your breathing; if you aren’t gasping for air and can talk while you run, your pace is not too fast. Your effort should stay constant through the run, but your pace-per-mile seldom does. Expect the pace to pick up as you warm up.