Hi everyone,
We are so impressed with you all!  You guys made those longer segments seem easy.  It was fun to see the Frieze sculptures along the way – I’m so glad they still put them up even if the Frieze itself has gone virtual this year.  If you want to know more about the sculptures, click here:  https://www.frieze.com/sculpturelondon  There is also an audioguide to the sculptures:  https://www.frieze.com/article/your-guide-frieze-sculpture-2020-regents-park.  The sculptures will be up until 18 October.

Thank you to Sue and Micki for guest coaching this past week.  Renata will be away for much of October as she needs to be in New York for an appointment.  It’s crazy how one appointment can take you out of commission for so long on either side these days!  I am going to be away this week as well so we will have 2 new guest coaches to cover for me and Renata – Magali and Shannon.  Magali and Shannon were both beginners and are also great people (as all beginners are!) so I know you’ll enjoy running with them this week.

Jess’ Running Thoughts of the Week
Jess is sharing a new running phrase/idea to keep in mind as we run each week.  I meant to include the first one in last week’s email but forgot so I am including both last week’s and this week’s here.

Last week:
Who are you right now? Take it slow. First impressions matter. Before the run: How are you feeling? Think about this during the run and after see if you are exactly the same. Let’s go!

This week – 
Never start a run to lose something. Always end the run having gained something. So let’s try to end the run positive by starting the run positive. Are you trying to lose weight? Can you change that to getting fit and healthy? Are you trying to lose stress? Why not gain peace? Think about gaining not losing.

Covid Note
One of our runners has tested positive for Covid.  She last ran with the group on 1 October and did not exhibit symptoms until 3 days later so she was not contagious based on current guidance during our run.  Even so, she has already notified anyone she was close to for longer than 15 minutes that day.  We are looking forward to having her back with us when she is recovered!

Running This Coming Week
This week is ASL’s October break and some in the group may not be around for the Tuesday run.  But not all of you are ASL and not all may be going away, so please reach out to each other to see who is available to run and when.  If you are away, try to get one run in between now and Thursday, even if it’s just a few 3 or 4 minute intervals.  Don’t worry about keeping track of how many intervals – just get out there and run/walk for about 35-40 minutes if you can.  We want your legs to get used to running on a regular basis.  And if you’re traveling, use it to explore where you are!
For the Thursday run this week, we are starting to increase our running increments, doing 4 and 5 minute segments.

Running the Week After (week of 19 Oct)
For Thursday 22 October, we have our run to Big Ben so clear your calendars for this beginner group milestone!  PLEASE NOTE – this is during one of the parent-teacher conference days at ASL.  You will be able to select your conference time starting this Wednesday so please try to work around this run if you can.

Running Kit
I know there have been questions about recommended gear for running and where to buy it.  First, know that you don’t need to run out to buy things unless you want to (always good to have a shopping excuse!).  My beginner year I bought super cheap stretchy cotton yoga pants at Sports Direct (for literally less than £10 each) and a super cheap running belt (that I still use) and then bought things like shoes and running tights when I went back to the states at Christmas.  I was also not convinced I would last at this running thing beyond Christmas so was reluctant to buy running tights that I would never use again (of course, this was before everyone walked around in running tights as normal wear – my daughter told me she was embarrassed to walk to school with me when I was wearing them because “Who DOES that, Mom??”…)

The coaches recommend you consider the following gear to get you through the training season:

Rain jacket – it does rain here and it’s not going to stop us.  You want one that is breathable if possible (although again, I got by for almost 3 years with a super cheap not-breathable lightweight waterproof shell that I already owned).  They can be very expensive but you don’t have to get an expensive one by any means – just do some web searching.

Baseball cap – good for keeping light drizzle off your face, helping with sun, taming your hair; does not need to be an official running cap – just something you are comfortable in

Thermal layer/light fleece – I have two weights of fleece.  As we get into colder months, the heavier fleece is all I’ve ever needed for a warm layer for running.  Some runners swear by the inexpensive Uniqlo lightweight down jackets as an extra layer.

Running gloves – again, I have two weights of gloves for various temps.  You just want something form fitting that won’t soak up sweat
Ear warmer band and/or warm hat – I have both of these because if it’s really cold, I want a full hat but sometimes I just want ear protection.  Any wool or fleece hat that isn’t floppy is fine.

Running belt – I discussed this in an earlier email but will copy what I said then here in case you missed it:First, a running belt choice is really individual.  I have purchased at least 5 over the years and I keep coming back to the cheap one I bought when I was a beginner.  This is the current version of what I have although you’ll have to get it from a third party seller on Amazon.  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karrimor-Unisex-Audio-Belt-Black/dp/B00SJ14CYM/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3FAC1AWMVK7GZ&keywords=karrimor+audio+belt&qid=1567680746&s=gateway&sprefix=karrimor+audio%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-2
This other one is fairly close to it  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Befekt-Gears-Waterproof-Sweat-proof-Adjustable/dp/B07Q9PZ3TN/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp?keywords=karrimor+running+belt&pd_rd_i=B07Q9PZ3TN&pd_rd_r=1292ac68-678a-4ef8-b296-e6d3eff20b7f&pd_rd_w=oznXy&pd_rd_wg=buQsq&pf_rd_p=7dc56c0d-8a5f-4d97-9143-7233b106859a&pf_rd_r=H3VB8XV6VER7G83PRTCZ&qid=1567680547&s=gatewayhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Karrimor-Unisex-Audio-Belt-Black/dp/B00SJ14CYM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1536333617&sr=8-4&keywords=karrimor+running+beltThe reasons I like it:

• it has 2 pockets so if you pull your phone out of the bigger one, you don’t have to worry about your keys or money or whatever being pulled out at the same time because those can go in the smaller one
• the belt is not stretchy (some people really love the stretchy belt (Spibelt is the popular brand) but I don’t, maybe because I got used to the non-stretchy one)
• it doesn’t soak up sweat like the kind that some runners like – the FlipBelt
• it’s cheap so if you don’t like it, you don’t feel like you’ve wasted too much money

For a belt that holds water bottles, this is the sort of thing I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/Karrimor-Unisex-Bottle-Belt-Black/dp/B00SJ12WNU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536334083&sr=8-1&keywords=karrimor+bottle+belt
And Jess has just discovered a new option at NinePine that she loves:  https://www.nine-pine.com/collections/accessories/products/running-utility-waistband?variant=32254434082897  and you can use her discount code for 15% off: womenrunningtheworld.15
I can tell you, though, that every runner will have her favorite belt for various reasons so it often comes down to trying one and if it doesn’t work, trying another.

Places to buy:
Runners Need (both in store and online) for clothes, gear and shoes (they do gait analysis)
Wiggle (online only) for gear
Asics store on Oxford St for shoes (they do gait analysis)
London Designer Outlets by Wembley (Asics, Nike, New Balance Adidas are all there) for better prices
Sports Direct/Lillywhites (not a great experience but can get cheap stuff there)
Amazon

Have a great week!
Your coaches