Hi Everyone,
I hope you have had a great weekend! We are covering a lot in this week’s email so try to bear with me.
This week
Both Megan and I will be away this week. Micki will run with you as an extra coach as will Litsa Savastano. For the run, we will be running a total of 22 minutes, slipping in a few 4 minute blocks. Going forward, the amount of time spent running starts to increase more quickly since you have built the base you need to start to run longer. It is really important to get that second run in each week so you keep that base up and build from there. Anyone on this list who hasn’t been out running with us – now is the time to jump in before we are too far along in the program.
Race Announcement
It is possible that the race will be announced this week while I am away. I know for many of you the idea of a race is surreal and a bit crazy. But I also know several of you feel that way yet are determined to make it happen (YAY!). If you are ready to commit, I would encourage you to book your flights as soon as the announcement comes out. We are a large group of runners and I have personally witnessed the flight prices increase in prior years as runners book their flights. I wouldn’t want you all to wait to book and miss out on cheaper prices. If you are not ready to commit, that is fine, too. We will have the beginner breakfast next week to talk about the race and hear from past beginners which may help allay your fears. But you don’t have to decide right now or even in the next few weeks, I promise.
Stretching and Warm Up
We are going to try something new this week at the start. Rather than walk for 5+ minutes to warm up, we are going to do a series of exercises designed to get your muscles warm and limber. Hopefully we can build this into our routine and it would be great for you to try it on your Tuesday run as well. I don’t have a proper link for the exercises as they were prescribed to a runner friend from a physio to help her avoid injury. The coaches this week will lead you in the exercises and I will send you what I have in next week’s email so you can try it on the following Tuesday.
For post-run, walking at the end is intended to act as a cool-down. As we have said, it is very important to stretch after the run which is why we build in that time before heading in to Starbucks/Pret. This link provides some good stretches: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/how-to-stretch-after-a-run.aspx
Physio and other experts
A few of you asked about aches and pains. If you are feeling like something is hurting, please go see a professional. We have several people listed on our website: https://womenrunningtheworld.com/training/expert-help/
Victor St. Ange is the physio that many people in the running group use. He is terrific and he can do an overall analysis of how well your muscles are engaging as they are needed. The con is that he is very popular and it can take a few weeks to get an appointment.
Many runners also swear by Christian Antonee and I believe he is easier to book on short notice.
Tuesday Runs
We heard from several of you that the Tuesday runs have been a bit fast. This is very common with the beginner group. It is hard to keep a slow pace, but it’s important to try to do it. You will all feel better for it. If you are in the front, don’t feel the people behind you are pushing you to go faster – they aren’t! And if you’re in the back, you don’t need to try to keep up with those in the front. Run the pace that is right for you.
You should be running around a 13 – 13 ½ minute mile on Tuesdays, maybe even slower. This translates to a little faster than an 8 ½ minute kilometer. You can use apps on your phone to show your pace. Apps I’ve used in the past are MapMyRun, Runkeeper and Strava. You do not need a running watch! As a beginner, it’s nice to be able to focus on building your stamina and creating a bond with your group, not worrying or thinking about your pace and distance. Use the apps to guide your pace, as a quick check in. Also, make sure you set it to auto pause so it doesn’t calculate you standing still as part of your pace – otherwise it will show your pace as artificially slow.
If you are feeling like you don’t want to talk during the run, SLOW DOWN! Sometimes it helps to designate a person to keep the pace and you can switch off each week. Let us know how it goes!
Here is the route we did last Thursday in case you want to repeat it:
