Dear Beginner Runners,

What an incredible run to Canary Wharf by all of you!  Kavita and Colleen – great job for getting out early – we loved having coffee with you both and well done for manoeuvring it all alone!  For those of you who ran with the coaches, you did a great job too – chatting throughout most of the run, and keeping your sense of humour, and negotiating your way along the canal with all those crazy bikers!  Julie, Leeann and Peg, hats off to you for getting out this morning and running it instead of enjoying a lazy Sunday, after what must have been a hectic few days at ISSTs.   It is so hard to believe that 6 months ago you were asking me if it was time to walk, after only a couple of minutes of running!

Ladies, 21 days to go!  You are all ready, the next few weeks is just about fine tuning, and preparing ourselves mentally.  You could actually run the 13.1 miles now if you had to (Karen showed us that by running it last week) but the next few weeks will be about making the whole thing easier.  This week we will be stepping down the mileage and time. We will run down to Hyde Park, and run the entire circumference of the park and then back up to Starbucks in the High Street.  This way we will also have the upslope on the way back to help prepare for the gentle slopes of the race.  This Hyde Park loop is a good one to know as there are many ways you can lengthen or shorten it. 

A few things to keep in mind for the race weekend:

1. Take a few options in the way of athletic clothing for race day.  The weather seems to be changing all the time, and having more rather than scrambling around to find extra layers, is safer.  Having said that…

2.  Don’t do anything different on race day than you have been doing.  Wear the clothes/shoes that you have been wearing.  Also, eat the same breakfast.  By now you should have all figured out what is best for you in these long runs.  A lot of people swear by oatmeal/porridge a couple of hours before the run.  If you can’t eat that far ahead of and are running out of the door then simple white carbs are the best – a piece of toast with nut butter, half a bagel with half a banana, etc, the closer you are to the run, the simpler the carbs should be.  If you have a specific breakfast, consider bringing whatever food you may need with you so you are not put out on race day.  We will check out breakfast on the Saturday and if there is something specific that you want that is missing, we can try to find a grocery store so that on Sunday, you have exactly what you want. 

3.  Carry your shoes on the plane with you.  If your bags get lost for whatever reason, you will always be able to find clothing amongst the others travelling with you or at the race expo.  You will not find shoes as easily and do not want to be running in a brand new pair, so having them with you on the plane takes care of that. 

4.  Pack your gels in a Ziploc bag in your checked luggage.  Even if they are less than 100 ml, some airport security people can be funny about gels and make you throw them out.  You will need at least 2 gels for the race and I would carry a couple more just in case.

Fingers crossed the weather stays this glorious for the next couple of weeks – I am checking out the Kew route tomorrow to make sure it isn’t too muddy with all the rain we have had this past winter!

Syma