Hello everyone,

We’ve had a great start to our running season!  Thanks so much for making an effort to get out and get into a routine right away.  Thanks as well for welcoming all of our new runners into our “pack”.  I really, really appreciate the very welcoming nature of our group.  Most of us can remember what it feels like to be new to London or new to the running group.  It’s tough!  Remember feeling like maybe you’re holding people back, or that everyone seems to know everyone else, or that everyone seems to know all the routes.  It doesn’t take long to realize that none of us know anything (just kidding – it’s only me that doesn’t know anything)!!!  We’re just out running and having a great time.  So anyway….  Thanks again!  I know we can be an intimidating group just due to our numbers – thanks for helping me reach out to new runners and not scaring away new additions.  That being said; please continue to send people my way.  I’m happy to chat with them and help them figure out which group they might most enjoy.  You girls are the best!!!

Before we get to routes, here are a few announcements:

Group Half-marathon:  Our yearly half-marathon trip will be to Bratislava, Slovakia this year.  The date is 24 March, 2013 so put it in your calendars!  I hope this choice is OK with you.  It’s tough choosing a race.  After sorting through the calendar avoiding school events, holidays, there are only three weekends that we could race.  After narrowing down dates, we need to find a race that meets all of our criteria.  I think Bratislava will be perfect!  The weather should be very similar to London (possibly a bit more chilly) so we won’t have to fight the heat like we did in Lisbon, Turkey and Cyprus in prior years.  I will create a page on our website dedicated to race/travel logistics and post information there for easy access.  Race registration is not open until 10 January so for now nothing needs to be done…. Except, of course, run!!  One very important note – the half-marathon trip is for runners only.  No husbands, no kids, no non-runners.  I’m happy to explain the “why” some day when we’re running, but for now I just wanted to get that out there.  This way everyone knows what the deal is early on in the process.

Functional movement assessments:  If you have a history of injuries or are keen to prevent injury, consider setting up an appointment with Christian.  He can do a one hour assessment of how you are moving functionally and give you advice and/or exercises to improve your situation.  He also offers blocks of sessions to work on functional movement.  It’s not a bad idea to start off your training from a good position!  Attached is a flyer with more information and Christian’s contact details can be found on our “Experts” page of the website.  Christian also offers powerbag classes which are good fun.  I’ll attach that flyer as well.

Weight management:  Anyone wanting help with weight loss/management, consider contacting Anne-Marie.  She is offering a four week program including nutrition advice, recipes, wellness coaching and practical cooking tips for £350.  Anne-Marie will tailor the program to meet your needs;  for example, it could include training sessions if you choose.  Annemarie’s contact information is on our “Experts” page of the website.

Social activities:  I’ve asked Kelli Montanaro to help organize some social functions for our group, so expect to see some emails from her.  We’re trying to keep things fun!

Website updates:  We’re getting there…..  I’ve figured out how to link our website to files containing our training programs so they are easier to read.  So far I’ve only done the training program for the half-marathon in the fall.  If you look at that page you’ll see a new link that hopefully will open a non-fuzzy version of the program.  Let me know if it works (or doesn’t!!!).

                                                                                                            xo,

                                                                                                            Paula

Monday, 3 September

Hyde Park loop (8 miles) – we’ll head over to Lisson Grove, run down to Hyde Park, then turn right or west to run along the north edge of the park.  The full perimeter of the park is an 8 mile loop back to SJW.

Serpentine loop (5-6 miles) – if you prefer less mileage, run with the group to Hyde Park, turn right or west with us, run along the north edge of the park until you reach Carriage Rd.  At that point we’ll keep going straight but you’ll turn left or south to run along Carriage Rd.  Cross over the Serpentine then turn left or east just past the bridge.  Run alongside the water until you reach the pedestrian bridge that takes you past the park café.  Then head back towards Speakers Corner and return to SJW either up Seymour/Lisson Grove or by the US Embassy then up Baker Street.

Speakers Corner (4-5 miles) – run with the group to Hyde Park, once we’ve entered the park do a small loop keeping to the north side of the Serpentine.  Head back to SJW either up Seymour/Lisson Grove or by the US Embassy then up Baker Street.

On Monday, Patricia and I will be running with the group around Hyde Park and cutting off at Kensington Palace to do a longer training run through Richmond Park and down to New Malden.  You’re welcome to join us but we will be doing some very specific heart-rate range work which means you may not be happy with the pace.  The route is gorgeous but there are not a lot of transport options between mile 7 and mile 18.  I’m not trying to discourage you – I just want to explain how it will work.

Wednesday, 5 September

The Wall (6 miles) – this route is a little bit boring, but it will be good for our new runners to get familiar with it.  We head down towards Regents Park then get to the canal and run east past Camden.  Just before Islington the canal is blocked so we call it “The Wall”.  We then turn around and run back to SJW.  This is a great route to a tempo run.  Go for it ladies!

The canal (any distance) – join the group and head down to the canal.  Run half the distance you want and turn around and head home.

Friday, 7 September

Everyone heads up the hill!  Yeah!  It’s hard but you’ll feel great at the finish.  You have lots of choices in terms of distance – see below:

The Heath (8 miles) – we’ll run this route again on Friday so people can start to learn it.  It’s great to know this route as we often get pretty strung out in the heath.  Once this route becomes familiar to most of us, then we’ll throw in the western heath route from time to time.

The Darcy route (6-7 miles)

The Betsy route (5 miles)

Hampstead tube station (4 miles)