Hi everyone,
You are all doing so well!  I was about to say it seemed to be a walk in the park for you, except for once we weren’t in the park…    As we noted on the run on Thursday, the canal is a great place to run out for a distance and turn around at the halfway point.  It allows for non-stop running and it’s easy to get to.  But please always be careful of the bikes!
If you haven’t yet joined the group, there is still time to join us and not be far behind, but please join us this week!  Or let me know if you’d like to punt out a year and I’ll keep your info for next year if you’d like.

A couple of dates to put in your calendar:
Thursday 21 October – Big Ben!  We will be running to Big Ben on 21 October, believe it or not! So clear your calendars so you can join us for this major beginner group milestone!  Don’t worry – there will be many traffic lights and stops along the way, and you’ll be ready for it, we promise.  NOTE – this is the first day of parent-teacher conferences at ASL, so PLEASE try to schedule your conferences so you can be there for this milestone run.  For those of you who work, we should be finished with the run by 9:30 and you’ll need to tube home from Westminster.

Thursday 28 October – we will be having a little gathering after the run (location TBD) to talk about the race (which should be announced in the next few weeks).  It will be a chance to hear from some former beginners about their experience, ask any questions and just be social.

Keeping it Slow on Tuesday
I’m hearing that it is a little tricky to keep it slow on Tuesdays.  This is normal – we hear this every year.  At this point, you should be keeping together, for the most part, as a pack.  So one way to help this is to have the slower people up front to set the pace.  Just make sure you don’t crowd them!

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 off for coffee.  This link provides some good stretches:  http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/how-to-stretch-after-a-run.aspx

Now that we are a few weeks in to the program, we wanted to give a bit more information on shoes, nutrition and aches/pains.

Shoes – if you are feeling like you want/need a new pair of shoes, you can go out at any time now and buy some.  Runners Need and the Asics store on Oxford St both do gait analysis and will help you find the proper shoe.  However, you do not need to go out and buy a new pair of shoes if you are feeling like yours are fine.  There may be a point when we will advise you to get a new pair of shoes because if yours are getting old, they won’t have the support you will need as we start to increase our run times.  But for now, as long as you’re comfortable, you’re fine.

Nutrition – it’s good to eat a little something before you come out to run, but you don’t want to eat a lot.  Everyone is different in what works for them so try different things each week and see what works for you.  Things to try – a banana, yogurt, toast with peanut butter, a granola bar.  It’s fine to have coffee before the run.  When we are running longer distances, we will give you more information about nutrition for before, during and after the run, but we aren’t to a point yet where we need to be thinking about it.  More things to look forward to!

Aches – some of you may be experiencing some aches and pains. It is common to have some aches and pains during the first 2-3 months of this program.  For the most part, it’s just our body’s way of telling us “Thank you very much, but I would prefer hanging out at Starbucks and skipping the running part.”  Many of you are already fit through other types of sports/hiking/tennis/etc, but we use different muscles in running and those muscles/joints will speak up.  As a very general guideline, most experts suggest ignoring any pains during the first 10-15 minutes of an exercise session then after that monitoring whether the pain/discomfort is stabilizing or increasing.  If the pain increases while you are running, then you should stop – if the pain is consistent or lessens during exercise then usually you’re fine to continue.  There are experts such as physios listed on the womenrunningtheworld.com website if you are interested.

Other Exercise
All of us will benefit from lots of stretching and some squats or lunges whenever you have a bit of time.  You don’t have to go to a gym to do squats/lunges – you can do them anywhere.  Those exercises build muscle in your legs particularly around your knees.  The stronger those muscles become the more they can help to stabilize your knee joint which is extremely helpful in running.  Don’t let these suggestions overwhelm you!  None of it is required, it’s just the more you do, the easier the running will be.  Lastly on this topic, we are still only running twice a week.  This is SO important.  Feel free to do as much walking as you want, and tennis, or swimming, yoga, pilates or whatever….. but not running.  Twice a week is the perfect amount right now.  In a month or so we will come to a point where we’ll tell you it will be good to add a third run, but not yet.

See you Thursday,
Your coaches

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend!

For this week, as usual, please repeat last Thursday’s run on Tuesday.  Also, please look out for new people joining and welcome them – we may have a few new additions this week.

Here is the link to join the group What’sApp if you are not already on it: 

And there is a WRW group on Facebook – request to join Women Running the World:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/577037932320990

This Thursday’s run time will be just a slight increase from last week’s.  We are taking our time building up to make sure your bodies are becoming adjusted at a nice slow pace.  As always, please let one of us know if you are hurting or struggling.  It is normal for your body to be aching in new ways because you’re using muscles differently.  We get concerned if an ache doesn’t go away after about 10 minutes of running/walking or if you have a sharp pain. If you are having back pain, it may help to think about your posture as you run – keep your shoulders back and don’t hunch over.  This actually opens up your chest and allows you to breathe more easily and will give you better posture beyond running even.

There are a few of you who are either away or about to be away.  Just do your best to get out for the training runs following the plan I sent in the Week Two email. Use your What’sApp group to stay accountable – send photos of where you are running and let them know how it went.  The beginner group is the BEST at cheering you on from afar – use it to help you get motivated!  If you need help, please email me or any of the coaches and we will be happy to check in on your and offer support.

If you are on this email and are not planning to join us this year, please let me know – we won’t take offense!  We don’t want to junk up your inbox any more than it already is.  But if you are planning to join, come on out!  It’s not too late to get started.

Hope to see everyone on Thursday,

Your coaches

Hello everyone,

We are off to a great start!  I was disappointed to miss the first run but I am thrilled to be back in London now and ready to meet you all on Thursday.  We are so excited to get to know you – we clearly have a fabulous group this year as usual!

So… this is another long email with lots of information so please bear with us.

What’sApp Group
Lina and Bhavna have taken the lead in setting up the beginner What’sApp group (thank you!!). Our beginner groups in the past have found it really helpful to set up a beginner What’sApp group.  This makes it easy to connect with one another if you can’t make a Tuesday or Thursday run.  For example, if you can’t make a run, you can send out a message and see if someone else might be around to run with you another time.  This is just for you guys – the coaches don’t need to be on it.   For those of you who are just joining us, you can email to Lina or Bhavna and give them your mobile number to add you.

Just joining this week?
For those of you who are just joining us, don’t worry!  You’ll be fine.  Our routine is this:  on Thursdays the coaches will run with the group.  The following Tuesday, the group will meet at Barclays at the same time (8:15 am) and repeat what we did the prior Thursday.  For anyone who was not able to join us on Thursday, just show up on Tuesday, introduce yourself, and you will be fine.  Also, if you find you cannot make a Tuesday or Thursday run, try messaging the group to see if there are others who might be able to join you later or on a different day.

Tomorrow’s Run/Training Program
As we mentioned in the first email, the Tuesday run repeats the intervals we did on Thursday.  The training plan, with this past Thursday’s intervals, is have linked as a two page PDF.  Please note, however, that the race date is not yet determined (assuming we can do a race!).  I have based this schedule on an assumed date that may not be the actual date.  Once the race is chosen, I will revise the schedule if needed and resend.  One page is the specific running/walking intervals week by week.  The other page is more of a broad weekly view of what we are doing.

To time your intervals, we find that an app called IntervalTimer works very well (see below for what it looks like).  I’m sure there are others out there, but that one is free and fairly easy to set up.  You can also use an old fashioned method of folding a piece of paper 10 times or making 10 marks and move your thumb to hold it on the next mark for each interval.  It generally works best if someone is the official timer person each Tuesday and someone else guides the group.  We will be running in Regent’s Park for the first few weeks so it’s not too tricky to guide.  We are happy to help you all manage it – just ask!  

So for this Tuesday (tomorrow), follow the intervals in the program for week one.  

The key for the Tuesday runs is to go SLOW!  
The founder of WRW, Paula Mitchell, explained the philosophy of running so slow and having walking breaks this way:”Most of us have tried to run at some point in our lives or we had to do it in school.  Usually we have less-than-wonderful memories about running.  In my opinion, most people trying to learn to run go too fast.  They head out the front door like a rocket, chest pounding, lungs gasping for air, legs screaming, etc.  No wonder we don’t stick with it.  It’s horrible.  From my experience, if we start very slowly, run at a very gentle pace and don’t get our heart-rates too high, then we’re OK to keep at it.  When we finish running as a group, you should be feeling like you did something but you shouldn’t be exhausted.  That is the psychological side of it.  From a physiological viewpoint, if you are new to running then your body isn’t necessarily ready to support that activity.  By starting the program very gently we give our bodies time to catch up.  Over the first few weeks, there are small changes happening within your muscular system.  The small stabilizer muscles surrounding joints will strengthen.  The larger muscles which drive movement will start to “wake up”.  Most likely you will not notice these changes in the mirror, but they are happening.  By beginning a new training regime gradually, we can hopefully keep injuries at bay.  This is one of the reasons we definitely need to keep our pace slow on Tuesdays.  Rein each other in!!!  Try to replicate the pace we do together on Thursdays.  If you run too fast, it can lead to injury or make you very frustrated with running.  I’ll repeat this because it’s critical……  keep the Tuesday run SLOW, very SLOW!!!“

During the first few weeks of our program, we’ll continue to have additions to the group and start to see some attrition.  Usually by October, the group settles into a pack and running becomes part of your weekly routine.  For any of you who have some running experience, please consider moving up to our Mon/Wed/Fri groups.  We have another 100+ runners who run a wide range of pace and distance.  You will have people to run with and you will be able to keep up.  The beginner group progresses very slowly and we will continue to keep the group running at a very slow pace.  It’s part of the master plan!!!  One last thing here…  if you are already a runner (therefore have a natural pace/gait), running this slow can actually hurt – that slow pace will create an unhealthy amount of impact on your joints and can throw off your already-developed gait.   Let me know if you want to discuss this – we are happy to talk about how you could transition to the next level in our running group.  Lastly on this topic, if you are already a runner, after a few weeks you’ll be running circles around our true “newbies”.  It’s depressing for them to feel that they are working SOOOOOOO hard and you’re flitting around as though it’s a gentle stroll in the park.  
People often ask whether we run through the winter and in the rain.  The short answer – yes!  The only time we cancel runs would be for icy conditions which are dangerous.  Otherwise, we run in rain, sleet, snow, hail, etc.  That being said, you might consider buying a good running rain jacket.  It needs to be lightweight and breathable.  Runners Need sells them as do most of the outdoor shops, or ask any of the coaches for recommendations.  You might be surprised to hear that we don’t usually have to run in rain.  We like to joke that the sky clears for WRW – it will be raining as you walk to the run and by the time we start running, it’s over.  And if it does rain, it passes over quickly.  It’s rare we run in heavy rain but it does happen.

If you’re in the market for new shoes, we recommend waiting a month or so.  Often, as you start running each person develops a gait and it actually improves (or becomes more efficient) over time.  If you go in now for shoes, they may fit you in shoes that are appropriate for your current gait.  That gait may very well change in the next few weeks so hold off if you can make yourself wait! 

OK – the last few things.  First, our running group has a website:  www.womenrunningtheworld.com.  We will post this email under “Beginners” so if you misplace it and are looking for information, you can find it there.  Our program will also be out there as well as some route information if you’re interested.  So the website could be helpful but don’t worry about any of the other information posted out there for the Mon/Wed/Fri group.  Second, our group has a Facebook page – WRW London.  You can request to join and we will add you.
Finally, here are the photos from our first day.  It’s going to be fun to look back and see us all at the start of our adventure!

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday and hearing about how SLOW you ran on Tuesday!

Your Coaches