Hello Runners,
Goodness gracious – last week was eventful! We had a fabulous run to Wembley, a not-so-fabulous injury along the way, and a great party Thursday night. Thank you so much Sujatha for hosting the dinner. What fun! I’m hoping that this week we’ll continue to have good times but skip the injury bit. At this point in the training, things often start to hurt. Knees become achy, IT bands tighten up, hips start to complain and the rest of the body can follow suit. We are running some seriously long distances. Please be diligent about stretching after running and try to do some stretching each evening. It will pay off. I think most of you have purchased styrofoam rollers – if you don’t have one, consider buying one. (www.physiosupplies.com) They come with instructions/exercises, but I’m happy to further explain how to use one. Email me with your questions. No worries! Also many of you have already met Victor St-Ange. He is a good physio who knows our group well and may be able to help you with injuries (or injury prevention). The spa at Esporta at the O2 on Finchley Road makes his appointments – 020 7644 2400. There are many good physios in our area – please don’t feel obligated to see Victor. I like him and I trust him, but there are other physios around who are very skilled. If nothing is hurting and you have no “niggles”, there is probably no need to set up a physio appointment now.
Beginners, we’re ready for this half-marathon. Seriously! We have one long run this Thursday, then we’re on cruise control next week. The run this Thursday is not important. It’s long, but it’s not important. Let’s not worry about it. Our route will take us all over London. We’ll start by heading down Charlbourg to Prince Albert Rd. We’ll run sidewalks/streets until we can drop down to the canal in Primrose Hill. Then we will carry on running until we reach “The Wall” in Islington. We’ll take Farringdon Road all the way to the river then run beside the river back to Chelsea Bridge. From there, we’ll run through Chelsea, Pimlico, and by Victoria station. We’ll finish at Westminster tube station and take the Jubilee line back to SJW. If you read nothing else, read this….. find your pace on this run ladies. I understand that these long runs are intimidating, but they are much less scary if you are comfortable with the pace you are running. On the run to Wembley, I caught up with Mary, Randa and Sujatha just before the finish. They were tired but they were still chatting. We ran and talked and I was amazed to listen to their voices. It was as though we were sitting having coffee instead of finishing an 8 mile run. It was incredibly impressive. Their fitness levels have sky-rocketed. It made me so happy. I think most of you have done the same. By the time I arrived at the Wembley station, you were all stretching and acting as though you had been for a walk in the park. It’s great. You are all so much stronger than you’re giving yourselves credit for. It appears that your recovery time is down to minutes or less. Experts say that if you are “back to normal” in less than 60 seconds then you are “uber-fit”!!! So congratulations!!!!
I’ll look forward to seeing you this week,
Paula