Hi everyone,
I hope you had a great break and are ready to get back down to business this week with some rested legs!
A few quick reminders for the run this week:

• eat something before the run
• bring your Oyster/Contactless card
• we will be bringing the gels again this Thursday.  Bring water!  Try a different gel and then go out and purchase a few of your own.  We will keep bringing our stash until it runs out but you will need gels for Canary Wharf and Kew as well as the race.  You will want to have at least two for the race just in case.

We’re coming into the final stretch
I know you all know this, but we have one month until race day and we have 3 longs runs left(!!).  You all are amazing and you ALL can do this.  Don’t worry about the times and the distances – they are long but we are in this together and we will DO THIS!
If you are feeling stressed about it, please talk to any coach.  We have all run several races and have all trained in this way and we are happy to talk to you about it.

A few announcements:
1) Kew Run – PLEASE NOTE we are changing the Kew run to be TUESDAY March 22, not Thursday March 24, so that Cindy doesn’t miss this critical run.  You will do your short run as usual the weekend before and the 60 min run on Thursday.  I’ll remind you the week before but please put it in your calendar as you will likely not get back home until around noon or later on Tuesday.
2) WRW Quiz Night – next Wednesday 9 March, WRW is taking over the Warrington Pub for a quiz night and all of WRW are invited, regardless of if you’re going to the race.  It’s going to be super fun.  It’s £2 to do the quiz plus any food or drinks you order.  Doors open at 6:30 and the quiz starts at 7:30.  Here is the link to the Evite so you can RSVP!  RSVP here
3) WRW pre-race coffee – WRW hosts an all-WRW coffee a week or so before the race.  ALL are invited, even if you are not coming to the race.  No cost – WRW picks up the tab.  It is after the regular MWF Wednesday run and it will be at the cafe next to the Regents Park Open Air Theatre starting probably around 9:30.  It’s not required – it’s more of a social thing with maybe a few minor announcements about the race but nothing that we won’t let you guys know separately.  But it’s a nice way to start seeing who else you’ll be running with after the race and meeting in Berlin if you’re coming.
4) This week’s run – at the moment, there are strikes scheduled on the Underground on Thursday that could seriously impact service.  Our run traditionally ends at Wembley Park station next to the stadium, on the Jubilee Line.  If the strikes go ahead and are causing issues, we will instead end at Wembley Central and add a little on around that station in order to meet our mileage goal.  Wembley Central is on the Overground line that goes to South Hampstead, near Swiss Cottage.  The Overground will not be impacted by the strikes.  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this.

Electrolytes
Sometimes runners like to put electrolytes in their water.  In general, we advise against this.  Runners really only need to worry about electrolyte replacement if you are running really hard (which you aren’t, and won’t be even during the race) or if it’s really hot (which it is NOT here).  And even if it is hot during the race, the point that electrolytes might be at all useful will be towards the end of the race and you certainly will be done with any liquid you have brought along by that point.  Few, if any, of the MWF runners use electrolytes during their runs.  On race day, there may be electrolyte drinks available at the water stations but we strongly advise you NOT to take them because they will not be anything you have tried before (it’s always some local random drink) and you do NOT want to try something during the race that you haven’t already tested.  By drinking regular water during your runs, you are replacing the water your body is sweating out and also keeping your body used to taking in regular water, which is what you should be doing during the race.  Drinking electrolytes after the race will be fine (and I have to say, nothing tastes better than a beer after a race and the German Olympic training coaches agree https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/43127307).  If you have any questions about this, feel free to ask me or any of the coaches.

The Schedule
(this week) Week 27 Mar 3 – 110 min = Wembley
Week 28 Mar 10 – 120 min = Canary Wharf
Week 29 Mar 17 – 90 min = TBD
Week 30 Mar 22 – 130 min = Kew Gardens (this is a Tuesday)
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 🙂

This week’s run
Wembley is one of my favorites.  There are many people who do not love this run as much as I do so I am going to tell you why I like it and you can tell me your own opinions of it at coffee 🙂

Why I like the Wembley run:
1) You see many sides of London along the canal Some runners complain that parts of the canal are very ugly.  This is true.  However, I enjoy seeing the transition from city and the older buildings along the canal and newer gentrified condos to the industrial parts to the country parts, with glimpses of Wembley Stadium along the way.  I feel like it’s the real London – many sides, not always so pretty but always something to look at.  And as you keep going, it changes.
2) You see a part of London you otherwise wouldn’t – Wembley No, not the stadium but the streets.  There is a large Hindu population and there are many shops with brightly coloured saris and trinkets that are fun to look at.  And there is an amazing Hindu temple that was built in 2010 that took 14 years to build from stone from India.  It is incredible.  Look for it on the left hand side of the street.
3) It has a long, uninterrupted stretch of canal running Once we get on the canal, we run for about 6 miles.  I believe this will be the longest stretch of uninterrupted running you will have had so far.  One of the things that makes me love this run is that it was on this part of the run in my beginner year that I had a running epiphany – I felt like I could just keep running forever.  I think I had settled into that pace where you feel good, you feel like you’re just cooking along and you can chat and run and all is good.  I hadn’t really felt like that before and it was a great feeling.  Some of you may have already had that feeling, some may never get it, but having a nice long uninterrupted stretch may put you in a similar place.  I hope so!4) You get to say you ran to Wembley!Most people have heard of Wembley.  And people in London know it’s a ways out.  So it’s fun to be able to say you ran there – so impressive!

The route
RunGo:  https://routes.rungoapp.com/route/9xjWne66GU
Start out heading west on Circus Road, turn left on Grove End to St John’s Wood Road and go west, turning left on Cunningham then right on Aberdeen to work your way to the canal entrance on Blomfield. Continue out the canal and exit at Alperton, see photo below, not quite 7 miles in. Turn right at the top of the stairs, cross the bridge and take the first right onto Ealing Road. Just after the turn you’ll see the Alperton station on your left. Follow Ealing Road to the High Road and turn right. You’ll see Wembley Central on your right for the 8-mile route. For 9 miles, continue until you make a left on Park Lane which becomes Wembley Park Drive. Continue past the turn off to the stadium on the right and up to Wembley Park Tube Station (Jubilee and Metropolitan lines).  There is a Costa just down the steps towards the stadium so we will head there for coffee afterwards for those who can stay.