Congratulations to Anindita, Bhavna, Cindy and Sweta on running the 10K! I can’t wait to hear all about it on Thursday. You all looked amazing. It’s great to have your first race behind you – and the next one to look forward to! For this Tuesday, you guys should just run a nice-and-easy 45 minutes please! Jess will be there this Tuesday to run with you.
A couple of save-the-dates for all-WRW functions (now that you’re getting closer to graduating):
Wednesday 9 March – WRW pub quiz at Warrington Pub – details to come
Wednesday 23 March – pre-race coffee at Regent’s Bar & Kitchen (the cafe near the open air theatre on the Inner Circle) starting around 9:30 am
Both of these functions are for everyone – you don’t need to be coming to Berlin to attend.
Next week – ASL break week
Next week is a rest week to let your body recover from the work it has been doing to build up your muscles. The schedule has you running 60 minutes on Thursday. You’re also supposed to now be running 60 minutes on Tuesday. If you are away and can’t run, it’s OK. But if you can, try to get a least a couple of runs in even if only for 30 minutes. I will be here next week so we will plan to do our Thursday run as usual.
This week – gels!
This week we are going to try gels on the run. Gels are basically carbohydrates to give your body some extra fuel during the race. For the most part, we train in a way to teach our body to use fat as a fuel. Fat is easier to access as an energy source and requires less fine-tuning in terms of timing carb intake during exercise. Our bodies have about 1000-1200 “easy access” calories available which will get most ladies about 10-11 miles (depending on their weight and fitness level). After that we will use gels (carbs) to fuel that last 2-3 miles of the half-marathon. We, your coaches, will tell you when you should take the gel. We will plan to use them on our longer runs going forward so we get used to taking them – we don’t want anything “new” on race day to throw us off! On Thursday, we will bring a bunch of gels that you can sample. You can try different flavors and brands and decide what you like (it may be helpful to keep the packet if you like it so you remember it). We will bring our selection to a few runs and then you can buy your own either online or at running stores. In general, gels don’t taste great but they will either give you a boost after about 6 – 8 minutes or, if you’re like me, they will keep you from losing energy.
Some of the gels we have are called isotonic and have more liquid so you may not need water with them. Others are more like the consistency of jam and you’ll want water to wash it down. So please please bring your water with you. We will also have some Shot Bloks and energy jelly beans if you want to try those. Some people like the Shot Bloks which are chewy rather than jam-like. This is a very individual thing – some people like fruity flavours, some like chocolate, etc. Different brands can have different effects on your stomach so it’s important to try them first.
Places to buy gels:
Runners Need stores or runnersneed.com (individual GU, SIS, TORQ, Shot Bloks, sport jelly beans)
amazon.co.uk (may only be available in boxes but you could share with others in the group)
wiggle.co.uk
energysnacks.co.uk (individual packets available)
https://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com (individual GU, TORQ, Clif Shot Bloks and gels)
Ocado (Clif Shot Bloks, SIS isotonic gels)
Some of you have asked about water bottles. Here are a couple that I have found are easy to carry. You can also just bring a small disposable water bottle – it doesn’t need to be anything fancy.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Performance-Runners-Bottle-Size/dp/B009HMZT9Y/ref=sr_1_16?crid=I48QQNR4P4YO
https://www.blacks.co.uk/15907635/ronhill-fuel-flask-250ml-15907635/?istCompanyId=d92b362f-ac8a-4a8a-87ca-c56eafad7955&istFeedId=2f99410f-1124-43d5-8232-86c184f09479&istItemId=ilprmrmxt&istBid=tzlt&gclid=CjwKCAiA9aKQBhBREiwAyGP5laALsZm1ILrfgzNfpJ6CHY07WfpJhKvme0kq5Awa4rOY7P6DPTP-vBoC9ZsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
The Schedule
(this week) Week 25 Feb 17 – 100 min = Big Ben and back
Week 26 Feb 24 – February break – 60 min run
Week 27 Mar 3 – 110 min = Wembley
Week 28 Mar 10 – 120 min = Canary Wharf or Canada Water
Week 29 Mar 17 – 90 min = TBDWeek 30 Mar 24 – 130 min = Kew Gardens
Week 31 Mar 31 – 45 min = easy run through Regents Park
RACE DAY!
Don’t forget – your Tuesday runs are now 60 min long and the weekend run is 45 mins. It is CRITICAL that you are running 3 times a week at this point. Put it in your calendar and get it done 🙂
The route this week – to Big Ben and back
It was a huge deal when we ran here in October. Now we are running there AND back! For this run we head to Hyde Park via the usual route and run along the eastern edge of the park to Hyde Park Corner, under the arch and down Constitution Hill. Run pass the Victoria Memorial down the mall and enter St. James Park. Run over the pond and out of the park, turning left onto Birdcage Walk and down into Parliament Square to Big Ben, then turn around and run the same route back to Starbucks.
