Hi everyone,For those of you who celebrated, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! All that eating is perhaps good motivation for doing some running…! We have just a few more weeks until winter break and we will accomplish a lot before then. You all can DO this! We are so excited for all of you, how well you are doing. We have several pieces of information below but not quite so long-winded as the past few weeks ?
Holiday Lights Run – December 6
Don’t forget – we are planning to do the early morning holiday lights run on Thursday 6 December. Please let me know if you think you can NOT make it. We will send out the specifics next week but we will start at 6 am and you should be back to SJW around 7:15. It really is a special run so I hope you can all make it!
Milan Hotel
Hopefully you received the email last week about booking for the hotel in Milan for the race. Please let me know if you did NOT receive that email as well as if you have any questions.
Shoes
Some of you may have already purchased new shoes since you started running, but some haven’t. If you haven’t, it would be good to get a new pair before we start increasing our mileage in January. If you’re going back to the US for the holidays, you could pick up a pair there (that’s what I did my beginner year). It’s a good idea to go to a store that knows what it’s doing – that will evaluate your gait and suggest an appropriate shoe for you. In London, Runners Need (a chain with many locations) or the Asics store on Oxford Street offer gait analysis. You want to get new shoes soon so you can make sure they are comfortable and don’t cause any issues. When I was a beginner, I ran the first few months in cross trainers and when I got “real” running shoes, my knees started hurting because I was landing differently in the new shoes. It took several weeks of alternating with my old and new shoes before everything settled and I was glad to have that time.
THANK YOU to Starbucks
Every year, the M/W/F group organises a gift for the employees at our local St. John’s Wood Starbucks. You are welcome to contribute to that effort if you would like (even though we tend to gather at Pret…). We’re suggesting a £5-10 donation if you’re inclined to contribute (donations in an envelope with your name can be handed to me before Thursday, December 13). We also traditionally organise a basket of home-baked goodies, which we deliver along with the cash gift on our last morning before break (Friday, December 14 this year). Email [email protected] if you’re up for baking.
This Week
For Thursday, we are going to run down to Hyde Park and we will be doing 2 25-minute intervals with a 5 minute walk break in between. We will end at the Starbucks at the Green Park tube so BRING YOUR OYSTER CARD!
Directions for the run:
From Barclays, head down Circus Rd and turn left on Lisson Grove. Run to Marylebone Road and cross over to Seymour Place. At the end, turn right, cross over Edgware Road (be careful at this light) and run straight for one block on Seymour Road. Turn left on Stanhope Place and then cross Hyde Park Pl to get into Hyde Park. When you see the silver globe, after crossing North Carriage Dr, turn right. Follow that path to the road (N Carriage Drive) and cross the road (be careful!). Run down the hill to the Italian Gardens and turn left to run along the gardens (the gardens will be on your left). Keep to the path closest to the water and run through the tunnel under the road and past the Diana Memorial Fountain and the cafe. Keep along the water and at the end, bear right to run down onto the path (keep out of the bike path on the right). At the end of the path, go right to make your way out of the gates to Hyde Park Corner and cross over Knightsbridge to run through the Wellington Arch and into Green Park. Run straight and then turn left to go towards the tube station at the far end.
