25 25 January Note

 
 
Hello Beginner Runners, Raquel and Niyani, thank you so much for hosting our get-together on Friday night. It was so much fun to see everyone in their finest glitter! You are all gorgeous! And goodness, we are a talented bunch. Charlotte’s paintings are absolutely incredible and Mary’s book is a top-notch thriller (I still can’t believe that twisted serial killer story came out of sweet Mary Bracht’s mind). We might should be keeping a closer eye on her!!! Seriously, this is a group of interesting, educated, highly accomplished women. I’m very impressed with ya’ll (that’s my lead-in to the next topic). Kirk and I have finalised our plans and will be leaving London in just over a couple of months. As most of you know, Kirk is working on a 3 year contract with Rio Tinto which comes to an end 31 December 2013.  Recently, the company asked to extend that contract and (after much discussion) Kirk agreed as long as he could work from Texas. For us, this is wonderful opportunity - much better than we could ever have hoped for.  He will continue to travel a lot (he's usually gone about 60% of the time), but when he's home, he'll be able to start easing into retirement.  As this was our choice, the timing is completely up to us. I’ll stay in London through the Bratislava trip - it’ll be my last “hurrah”! Then we’ll pack up and depart probably that next week. Ladies, you are a wonderful group of women. I love this running group and I love doing what I can to help you with your training. I will miss you all! I feel incredible fortunate that our life paths have crossed through this running group. Please keep in touch - let me know how you’re doing. I’m the last person in the universe who hasn’t been converted to Facebook, but my email will remain the same so you can contact me that way. For our training, we are truly on the home stretch now. It may not feel that way, but think of this..... we have only 5 long runs left before race-day (90, 100, 110, 120, 130). That’s it! It’s very important that you get those runs done. Use our Google Doc (Click here for the link) or just email the group to pair up when you can’t join the group run on Thursday. Most of our remaining long runs will be destination routes. I understand that eats up a lot of time and isn’t always convenient. Route selection is tricky. When setting the route, I’m thinking more of avoiding hills, choosing a distracting route so beginners won’t think too much about being tired and finding the right mix of non-stop vs. street running. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be easing into more canal/river path running which usually leads us away from SJW. When doing a long run, to run out the canal and turn around and come back is psychological torture for new runners. So, for those of you who don’t like destination running, I apologise for all of these route selections! I promise there is a method to the madness - careful consideration goes into the routes. I’ll bring the gels on Thursday to Starbucks. You’ll need no more than 10 gels in total (probably more like 8-9) for training runs and race day. Once you decide which gel you like, consider joining up with someone to buy a box of them. They are much cheaper when purchased in bulk. With these gels, you need to drink some water. Our runs are getting long enough that you really, really need to be taking in fluids. Runners Need has a bunch of different options for hydration belts/bags. Consider running there on Tuesday if you still need a hydration system or new shoes. Here is a route that will put you at the store in about 45 minutes: Remember to tell them that you run in our group and they will give you a 10% discount. This is the last Tuesday run which should be 45 minutes long. Beginning, Tuesday, 5 February, the mid-distance run should be 60 minutes long. This past week I mentioned to several of you that there was an interesting article in Runners World about beginning to run. I’ve scanned it (so illegal!!!) and this is a link to the pdf version. It’s really funny and I love the one paragraph that says: Keep your blinkers on. Don’t be in any hurry to learn your pace and put it in perspective. There is only one road: the one you’re on. There is only one body: yours. Until you hear about a guy named Dean Karnazes, you’ll think you’re moving mountains. The author says, much more eloquently than I ever could, what I’ve been trying to tell you for months now. Don’t worry about pace, don’t think about pace. Learn how to run and learn how to enjoy running. If you enjoy it, you’ll keep doing it and that makes me happy. The nicest thing you can ever do for me is to keep running. That’s all I want... just that one little thing.... for you to keep on running! This week our 90 minute route takes us to Vauxhall. This is a perfect way for us to ease into more non-stop running. We’ll run down to Hyde Park the normal way (via Lisson Grove and Seymour) and continue on to Battersea Park via Sloane St. Both Hyde and Battersea parks will provide for straight running without street crossings. In addition, the stretch along Sloane St. doesn’t have many stops. There is a very large Starbucks at Vauxhall station. Usually it’s not a problem for everyone to sit together for coffee so stay on if you have time. From Vauxhall, it’s an 18 minute tube ride home on the Victoria line to Green Park then the Jubilee line to SJW. I look forward to seeing you Thursday! Happy Running, Paula

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlPYNmKuXK9DdHRLeE1vMGd3SlktSURoWkJ2dUFTQlE https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlPYNmKuXK9DdHRLeE1vMGd3SlktSURoWkJ2dUFTQlE https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1PYNmKuXK9DTEJVZ0dtUEQ2NW8/edit https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1PYNmKuXK9DTEJVZ0dtUEQ2NW8/edit

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Did Danja really run with us on Thursday or did she sneak into Whole Foods for the post-run coffee?????  She looks too good to have just run 6.7 miles!!!

25 January Note

Friday, 25 January 2013