Dear Beginner Runners,

Well done for a great run last week!  You ran steadily, at a comfortable pace and seemed to find the run relatively easy, even though it was a big jump from running 15 minute intervals to 25 minute intervals. 

As I discussed with some of you, this week we will be running to Runner’s Need in Holborn.  This is a great place to buy whatever you need for running, be it new shoes, warmer/waterproof jackets, or hydration systems.  Now is the time to consider what sort of hydration system you will want – as our training runs get longer, you need to carry water or some sort of drink with you.  This is also a good time to pick a few gels to taste – soon we will need to take gels during our runs, and there are all sorts of flavours/textures etc, so I suggest you pick a few out and try them.  Please remember to bring your Oyster cards, as we will be jumping onto the tube at Holborn station to head back to SJW.

We will be running two 30 minute intervals separated by a 5 minute walk (yes, I know, last week should have been a 5 minute break and I only gave you 3 – sorry, that was unintentional, and I honestly thought it was supposed to be 3 minutes!)   The route will take us along the canal, so we will have uninterrupted running for 30 minutes.  Those of you who run at a faster pace should migrate to the front of the group (but still keeping behind me) before we get to the canal – once we are on the canal, it will be harder to overtake.  We will exit the canal at the edge of Islington, at the place commonly known as ‘the Wall’ among our WRW group.  At the exit we will turn right on Muriel/Rodney St, and cross Pentonville Rd to Pentonville Rise and onto Kings Cross Road which becomes Farringdon Road.  A word of caution, there will be a section of  the side walk on Farringdon Road that will be very busy with pedestrian commuters, so please bear that in mind, and be considerate and run single file – we are a large group and we want to avoid bumping into people.  At Clerkenwell Rd, we will turn right, and follow the road where it will turn into Theobold’s Rd.  Turn left onto Grays Inn Rd, and then right onto Holborn where we will run and turn right on Proctor.  Runners Need is above Evan’s Cycle Store on Proctor Rd.  Finally, please remember to stretch, stretch, stretch after these runs – you will start to feel it and may get hurt if you don’t!

Second and Third Weekly Runs

A few of you asked me last week about your extra runs on Tuesday and at the weekend.  Beginning the week of December 16th, your second (Tuesday) run should only be a 45 minute run – there is no need to copy the run we do on Thursdays as this will start to get longer and longer.  The third run of the week, at the weekend, should be a 35 minutes of non stop running – no more walking intervals after Thursday!

That’s it for now, I look forward to seeing you next week!

Syma