Author: wrwlondon

2017-18 Beginners Week 5

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.
As many of you know, Purvi is creating a What’s App group for you all so you can easily communicate with each other.  This has been a great tool in the past few years for finding others to run with if you can’t make the Tues or Thurs run as well as encouraging each other over breaks.  If you haven’t already, please send Purvi your information so you can be added if you’d like.
Just a note about the training schedule – I noticed that it is incorrect in that it has a 5 minute walk break before the last run segment for this past week.  It should be a regular 2 minute walk break (for whoever is timing you all on Tuesday…).

We are hoping to announce the race destination this week and when we do, I will send out a revised training schedule for us.  Note that the run to Big Ben was originally scheduled for 19 October but since that is ASL parent-teacher conferences, we are going to push it out a week (sorry, Clay!  But hopefully the group will repeat the following week on Tuesday when you are back…).  So SAVE THE DATE for Oct 26 – it’s a great run.  Don’t worry – we will still be running and walking, and there will be plenty of breaks at traffic lights 🙂

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.

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

2017-18 Beginners Week 4

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a great weekend!
For this week, as usual, please repeat last Thursday’s run on Tuesday.
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.
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

2017-18 Beginners Week 3

Hello everyone!
Wow!  We are a big and fantastic group!  Well done on Thursday getting through those 2 minute running intervals with apparent ease.  We are so glad so many of you were able to run together on Tuesday.  It’s great to start to set that routine early on.
So for this Tuesday, as for last week, repeat what we did this past Thursday based on the training plan we sent out last week.
This week we will be adding one 3 minute interval running interval to our two minute ones.  It is absolutely essential we keep the pace very very slow so we don’t allow our heart rates to get too high, both for psychological reasons (so you don’t feel exhausted and worn out when you finish, and start hating it) and for physiological ones (as most of you haven’t run before, you need to give your bodies time to adjust so as to keep injuries at bay).  Please let us know if anything is hurting.  Most aches and pains can be quite easily addressed early on – it’s continuing to run on an injury that causes bigger problems.
We will not be doing much street running just yet, but please make a point of being very careful at the few road crossings we do have – it is very easy to just follow the person in front of you out onto the road without checking for cars or bikes, so please be careful!
A few logistical things for this week –
1) The first St. John’s Wood Women’s Club meeting is on Tuesday at 9:30 am at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue on St. John’s Wood Road across from the cricket ground entrance.  If you are not already a part of this club, I encourage you to come to the meeting to see what it’s all about.  It is completely acceptable to show up in your running gear so it could be fun for you all to do your run and head over together.  If you have any questions about it, feel free to send me an email.
2) The first ASL PCA meeting is on Thursday at 8:30 am.  If you want to go to that and run later, please let me know so we can figure out if it makes sense to have the coaches split and do a later group as well as the regular 8:15.
3)  Finally, if you are on this email list and have decided to not join our group, please let me know and we will take you off the distribution.  Otherwise, it is certainly not too late to join us!
See you on Thursday,
Your coaches
Our photo from this week:
Front row:  Amy Grace (coach), Claudia Figueroa, Shakha Mehta, Nancy Cutler, Anne Scolari, Melissa Kay (coach), Jen Conk, Tessa Erdei, Dani Burke (coach)
Back row:  Hiba Injibar, Vered Regev, Keri Haines (coach), Sara Shahidi, Tracy Lynch, Clay Kelly, Jenn Shulman, Denise Abner, Fernanda Spinelli, Dhana Bhide, Carol Osborne, Barbara Kim, Purvi Sawhney, Megan Marine (coach), Nancy Pace

2017-18 Beginners Week 2

Hello everyone,
We are off to a great start!  We are so excited to get to know you – we clearly have a fabulous group this year as usual!  This is a long email with lots of information so please bear with us.
We have attached our program as a two page PDF.  Please note, however, that the race date is not yet determined.  I have based this schedule on last year’s date and it’s likely that will not be the actual date.  Once the race is chosen, I will revise the schedule accordingly and resend.  One page is the specific running/walking intervals week by week.  The other page is more of broad weekly view of what we are doing.
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 (always 8:15 am for an 8:20 start) and repeat what we did the prior Thursday.  To time your intervals, we find that an app called IntervalTimer works very well.  I’m sure there are others out there, but that one is free and fairly easy to set up.  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!  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 emailing to group to see if there are others who might be able to join you later or on a different day.
So for this Tuesday, 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.  Reign 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.  
I know a few people asked 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 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 Barclays 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.
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 is the photo 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

2017-18 Beginners Week 1

Hello Everyone!
You are on the list for the WRW beginner group.  We hope you are still interested and excited to begin!  The beginner running group starts next Thursday, 31 August at 8:15 am at Barclays Bank in St John’s Wood at the corner of Circus and Wellington Roads.  We are so excited to get going!  If you have changed your mind and are no longer interested in learning to run, or believe you may belong in the regular non-beginner group, please let us know.  Otherwise, you can expect to receive an email from us each week explaining what we’ll be doing the following week.  We expect that there will be more beginners joining us over the next several weeks as the new school year starts.
A bit about your coaches:
  • Amy Grace, and Melissa Kay have previously coached the beginner group so they can help you with what to expect during the year.  Amy was a beginner 6 years ago and Melissa has been running with WRW for over 4 years.
  • Dani Burke, Megan Marine and Keri Haines are new to coaching and are excited to go on this journey with you!  They have been running with WRW for 3, 2 and 1 year(s) respectively.
  • Jane Novak is the overall leader of Women Running the World and will also run with us many weeks because she loves getting to know everyone!
A bit of information about the program:
  • Very important – this group is for women who have never run before.  If you can run even a mile or two, you likely belong in the regular running group that meets Mon/Wed/Fri.  We need to all be working through this process together – if someone is running circles around us, it’s demoralizing.  Plus, it will be boring and frustrating for you.  Feel free to talk to any of the coaches about where you belong.
  • The program is gentle, but it’s still difficult.  For the first few weeks, we will be out there less than 45 minutes.  We will do a 5-10 minute walk to warm up, then we will jog very, very slowly for 60 seconds, then walk for 2 minutes.  We will repeat the 1 min jog, 2 min walk pattern 10 times, then finish with a 5-10 minute cool-down walk back to Starbucks.  So when we have finished our session we will have jogged for a total of 10 minutes.  Over the weeks, the jogging intervals increase gradually but we continue to go at an extremely slow pace.
  • We understand it’s difficult to believe, but by late December you will be running a steady 60 minutes without any walking breaks.  By March, you will be fully prepared for a half-marathon (13.1 miles).  We have not yet chosen the half marathon location but we expect it will be in late March/early April.  More on this to come!
  • Our training schedule will prepare us for the half-marathon, but please know that you do not have to go on the trip or have any intention of running those distances.  You do not have to commit to anything!  That is the beauty of this group….  you don’t pay to be part of the group and you don’t have to commit to a long-term program.  If you try it for a few weeks and don’t like it, you stop.  No hard feelings – at least you will have tried.  All of that being said, the women who end up most successful with the program are those who make a mental commitment to being there week after week.
  • Each Thursday, we will run with the group, set the pace, tell you when to run/walk and set the route.  We will also encourage you to start meeting up one more day a week either as a group or as several small groups (most of the beginner groups in the past have done this on Tuesday mornings but that’s up to you).  For the first 8-10 weeks, this second run each week will be a repeat of whatever we did with you on Thursday.  Believe me, that second run each week (without us) will teach you just as much as the Thursday run.
  • If you know of other people who want to join us, please encourage them to come and start with us.  It is very difficult for people to join the group after a month or two as by then we are running quite a bit, so tell them to come and come now!  Particularly keep an eye out for women new to London who might would be interested in joining the group.  For many new-comers, by the time they hear about the group, it’s too late (we’ve made too much progress) for them to catch up.
  • We will address injuries/aches/pains as we go.  Most problems can be dealt with without having to stop running.  We have a list of specialists that we can guide you to.  It is much better to see someone quickly than to let something minor turn into something bigger.
A few guidelines:
  • Come dressed however you choose.  There is no need to buy a lot of running clothes at this point and definitely do NOT buy a new pair of running shoes yet.  We can tell you where to go in London once you’ve settled into the program.  One year a beginner ran in jeans for the first 3 months as she was convinced she wouldn’t become a runner and didn’t need to invest in running clothes.  So no worries about how you look, just show up.
  • Be on time.  We do not operate on an RSVP system so whoever is there at 8:15 runs.  If you’re late, you will be left behind.  For any of you dropping off young children or have other complications, just let us know.  We’ll try to figure something out.
  • No dogs or strollers allowed (sorry!).
  • Always carry with you a bit of money and an Oyster card (and possibly a Starbucks card).  For awhile we won’t be getting very far from SJW, but it’s nice to know you always have the option mid-run to grab a cab/tube/bus if you have a problem.  Also most of the women stay for a coffee after the run.  This is a great time to ask questions or discuss concerns as sometimes we don’t all get a chance to talk to each other during the run.
The program works – we promise.  Countless women have come through it successfully.  It’s hard, but it’s good fun and the sense of accomplishment you will feel is simply more than we can put down in words.  So give it a try, show up on 31 August and see what happens.  We know it’s scary – most women are terrified, some don’t sleep the night before the first session, some show up feeling queasy, but don’t worry.  We are all in the same situation.  We are doing this to learn how to run – it’s impossible to “slow down the group” or “hold people back”.  You can do this – we promise.  We’ll hold your hand or pick you up and carry you if need be – just show up.  That’s all you have to do is show up – we’ll guide you through each step along the way.
See you next Thursday!
Your coaches

2016-17 Beginners – Week 30

Hi everyone,
Kew – done and dusted!  You guys rocked it, as we knew you would.  We are SO proud of all of you amazing women and we can’t wait to run with you one week from today!
So – this is it!  The last week of you being Beginners!  Next week you will officially be ex-Beginners.
This email is a little long – feel free to read it or skim it or ignore it, whatever works for you.
This week’s plan
Tuesday – do your normal 60 minute run but don’t push it.  Thursday we will just do 45 minutes around Regent’s Park at a slow pace.  The goal this week is to enjoy your running (!!) and your group.  Relax!  If you push the pace this week, it may make your legs feel a bit heavier than normal on Sunday from the muscle damage that comes when you are building up muscle (you may have noticed this on your weekend runs after a long Thursday run).  Your training is done, you are READY!  As Paula said in the final email my beginner year, this week is about finding the joy in running and in your amazing group.
After the run on Thursday, we coaches will hang at Starbucks so you can ask any questions.  And feel free to email any of us this week if there is something on your mind.
Notes for the weekend
You’ve received Jane’s great and detailed email about the race.  I am sure there is so much information coming at you that it’s a little overwhelming so I’m going to just list a few things that you may have skimmed over:
  • Bring your running shoes on the plane – they are the most important thing for the weekend (and I usually bring my bra and socks since they will fit easily and they are also important to me)
  • Cut your toenails, or bring clippers
  • If you have space, bring your roller if you use one – you will be anxious, which can tighten up your muscles, so better to have it so you don’t worry about it so much [note – I will be bringing mine so if you need one, you are welcome to borrow it!]
  • Overpack the possible running outfits – the clothing isn’t bulky and better to have what you suddenly want than wish you’d packed it
  • Bring at least 2 gels – better to have too many than too few
  • Consider having some Starburst or Tootsie Rolls or jelly beans along with you on the race – they can give a quick little “wake up” for your mouth that can help
  • Don’t forget your hat!
A few other things:
  • Try to get a good night’s sleep on FRIDAY.  Getting good rest at least one of the two nights before the race is important so get yourself to bed at a decent hour on Friday.
  • This week, try to eat well.  What you eat the week before is more important than the night before.  Keep your protein intake fairly high, don’t drink too much alcohol, drink water slowly but consistently.
  • On Saturday and Sunday nights, the beginners will all sit together (with your coaches) at dinner, so we will have plenty of time to answer last minute questions on Saturday and then CELEBRATE TOGETHER on Sunday.  Yay!
  • On race morning, we will group you with your assigned coach(es) similarly to what we’ve been doing the last few Thursdays.  We will all go to the start line together and we will start off together but you should stay with your assigned coach until she says it’s OK to go ahead.
  • If you run with music when you run on your own, consider bringing music for the race.  We are lucky to have such a high coach to runner ratio, but there is still a good chance you will end up running on your own for part of the race.  Be prepared for that mentally as well as musically.  The great thing is there are so many WRW runners (and plenty of non-WRW runners) that you won’t be running all by your lonesome on a road
  • The race is likely going to feel very crowded at the start.  Most of you ran the 10K and so know what that is like.  We will feel like we are crawling and then it will start to break free.  It’s at that time that we will need to closely watch our pace so we don’t get too carried away with the crowd.  Your coaches will do the watching so you don’t have to.
  • As we’ve discussed, there is a hill around Mile 11 (or 18 km since the race will be signed in km).  Try not to worry about the hill – you’ve done similar hills and we will just take it slowly.
  • Psychologically, when a stretch seems long, it can help to try to visualize running in London for a similar distance – like running back from Hyde Park is about 2 miles, visualize running to and crossing Oxford Street, then up towards Marylebone Road and on to Park Rd.  And if your legs are feeling tired, try doing some high stepping or side shuffling to wake your muscles up.
  • Also as Jane noted, try to take time to ENJOY the race.  Look around at the scenery, the other runners, the spectators.  Think how far you have come since running for 1 minute in September – you are all INCREDIBLE!
After the race
Next week, you officially become part of the regular WRW group.  Congratulations!  You will receive an email each week with the suggested routes for the week.  Generally, the runs after the race tend to be fun destinations.  We no longer need to worry about mileage, it’s more about being social and keeping fit (since we can use that as an excuse to eat all the good things at Borough Market…).
For the first week after the race, don’t worry about getting right out there to run.  You may or may not feel sore from the race – a lot of it will depend on the weather and how hard you push at the end.  My beginner year, my group got together the Thursday after the race and did 3 – 4 miles in Regents Park, just to get out there and to reconnect with each other post-race.  Also, for those of you willing to brave Fitzjohn’s and the Heath, we are happy to run with you next Friday or the Friday after, or the Friday after break, to give you a few tips on running up the hill.  It’s hard, but it’s such a great feeling to get to the top.  Plus, the Heath is beautiful.
I know it can be tricky to start running on MWF after you’ve gotten into such a TTH schedule for the year.  It can also be intimidating to run with all those super scary advanced MWF runners.  But trust me, ALL of you are running at paces that EASILY fit within the larger MWF group.  Your coaches will help connect you with the women in your pace group and I swear, they are all really nice.  And you will meet many of them this weekend.  So please please come out and run with us whenever you can.  It will also make it easier for the fall if you meet some of your fellow pace group runners over the next month or so before school gets out.
We will see you on Thursday!
Amy

2016-17 Beginners Week 29

Hi everyone!

I was so sorry to miss last week’s run – it sounds like it was a good one.  But I had an amazing trip to Jordan – I’ll tell you all about it on Thursday.  We’ll have plenty of time for me to describe the wonders of Petra!
Well, this is it!  Our last big run before the race!  You may be a bit nervous about the run, and that is normal.  You all can do this – and we know you know you can do it.  It’s a long run, and it will feel long, and that’s OK.  We will make sure you are not running too fast and we will get there and it will be AWESOME!
Congratulations to Julie who already hit this major milestone today!  And thank you to Melissa for guiding her on the run.  We are SO proud of you!
OK – a few things:
  • Use this run to try out what you might wear in Warsaw – your shirt, waist pouch, hat, leggings, socks.  If the weather isn’t cooperative, it’s OK to wear different bottoms, but it would be good to wear your expected shirt so you make sure it doesn’t chafe.  We want no surprises on race day that something that worked for a 6 mile run suddenly starts chafing at 9 miles.  Right now, the weather looks to be a high of about 50 and a low in the upper 30s.  With the race at 10 am, the temp will probably be in the low 40s to start.  If it’s sunny, it will feel a little warmer but it seems that it will be a temperature we’re very familiar with and that’s perfect.
  • Bring your Oyster card or contactless card to take the tube back plus money for Starbucks
  • Bring a gel, maybe two and maybe something like jelly beans, starbursts, etc.
  • Bring water
  • Eat well and get a good night’s rest the night before and don’t go out partying 🙂
  • Stretch the night before if you can
  • Eat something for breakfast
A note about bathrooms along the run – around mile 5, there is a Costa Coffee attached to the Hilton Hotel on the Kensington High Street (just past the intersection with Holland Road) which has a few toilets.  There is also a Starbucks at mile 5.7 but it only has a single toilet.  We are not going to plan a stop – it’s better to keep running – but if you need to stop, a coach will wait for you and other coaches will continue on with the group.
If you have any questions/concerns, let one of us know.  Otherwise, we’ll see you Thursday!
The route:

We start out the normal way running to Hyde Park. Once in the park, we’ll turn to the left and run down the main walkway as we regularly do, to Hyde Park Corner. At the end of the walk, turn right to follow the main cross route in the park—beware of the bike lane! When this ends at West Carriage Drive, cross the road at the crossing and continue on the pathway towards the southwest corner of Kensington Gardens. We’ll run out of the park at the Broadwalk, turning right onto Kensington High Street and continue for about two miles until we reach the Hammersmith Tube gyratory. Run counter clockwise towards the left, ending up on Queen Caroline Street which gets you to St. Paul’s Church green. Run along the green to the right, heading to and crossing over Hammersmith Bridge. Exit Hammersmith Bridge Road to your left, go down the stairs and run under the bridge onto the Thames footpath. Now it’s time to enjoy the view as we run along the Thames for almost four miles—it’s beautiful!

This is the bridge just BEFORE the bridge we exit on.  I find it useful to know what this looks like because then I know it’s the next bridge where we get off the path:

We will exit at the Kew Bridge, see photo below:


Run UNDER the bridge and then turn left, past a couple of tiny shops and garages. Run through the small parking lot until you see the stone steps leading to the top of the bridge.

At the top of the steps turn right towards town (not back over the river) and run along this road [Kew Road] for about a third of a mile until you reach a 3-way intersection.  At the 3-way intersection, veer right and follow Kew Road along the boundary wall to Kew Gardens until you reach the first main pedestrian entrance to Kew Gardens, the Victoria Gate. Across from Victoria Gate, is Lichfield Road (it is only sign posted on the left-hand corner). Follow Lichfield Road straight into Kew village. Starbucks is on the left where we’ll all meet up to congratulate ourselves on such a great run!

2016-17 Beginners Week 28

So yeah, Canary Wharf… been there, done that!  You guys are AMAZING!  What a great run!  It was wonderful to see all of your smiling faces at the end, including Tamar and Melissa.  I’m so happy you two came out to cheer the group and celebrate.

Rachel – no more tripping over things for the next few weeks, OK?  Please?
We leave for Warsaw in two and a half weeks.  I’m hoping that’s starting to feel a bit more like “YAY!” rather than “YIKE!”  Or maybe a bit of both.  We are in the home stretch and you guys are STRONG.  If you had to, you could do the race now.  The next few weeks are just about making it easier.
As the trip approaches, Jane will send more detailed emails about the weekend including timing and where to meet for meals, the tours, and anything else scheduled.  She’ll also send some trip packing tips which I will emphasize and add to in a future email.  If you have any questions at all about the race or the weekend, please don’t hesitate to ask.  I know it can be scary not knowing how it’s all going to play out and we want to make you all feel as comfortable and psychologically ready as possible.
I think I have everyone’s photo book information.  If you haven’t already, don’t forget to respond to the dinner choice email survey.  And I believe Sue is collecting £5 for the bus that will take us to and from the race.
This Week
This week is a bit of a break week.  This doesn’t mean we get to take it easy, unfortunately.  It just means we don’t increase our time/distance.  We are letting our bodies recover a bit from the last few long runs, giving the muscles time to repair before we move on.  We’re going to do a Hyde Park/Sloane Square/Westminster run that will give you some stretches of non-stop running and a few red man breaks.  Neither Meg nor I will be there this week sadly for us but we will have at least one guest coach to help guide you and set the pace.
Don’t forget to bring your Oyster card for the ride home.  You won’t need your gels this week unless you really want the practice.
This week, we are going to start running immediately from Barclays.  In the race, you won’t have a walk to start running so let’s start to get used to running from the start.  Make sure you are warmed up a bit before you get to Barclays and keep moving while we wait for the group to gather.
The Route
Start out running down Circus to Hall Rd.  Cross Maida Vale and go left at Warrington Crescent at the traffic circle.  When you reach Warwick Avenue (you’ll see the tube), turn right onto Clifton Gardens.  At the end, turn right onto Blomfield and then right onto Westbourne Terrace Rd.  Go under the Westway and stay on Westbourne Terrace until Sussex Gardens when you’ll bear right and enter Hyde Park at the Italian Gardens.  Go diagonally right and hook around Round Pond and run back through the southern part of Hyde Park along the straight path.  Exit Hyde Park just after the end of the Serpentine, going past the French Embassy.  Cross Knightsbridge and turn right and then left on Sloane Street.  Run all the way down through Sloane Square and keep running on that road (which turns into Chelsea Bridge Rd).  At the river, turn left and run until you get to Westminster.

2016-17 Beginners Week 27

Hi everyone!

I am looking forward to seeing your smiling faces tomorrow morning for our Canary Wharf run.  It’s going to be great!
A quick note – you probably saw the request Jane sent out about seating at Sunday’s post-race dinner.  Just so you know, the beginners will all be seated together with the coaches.  The email goes to everyone going on the trip automatically – I just wanted to make sure you all knew the drill.
Before we begin our run, there will be some filming for the race video that should take just 5 minutes.  I believe this is with all of the runners who happen to be running tomorrow, not just the beginners.
OK – for the run, don’t forget:
  • eat something before the run
  • bring water
  • bring a gel if you have one
  • bring your Oyster card
  • bring money/credit card for margaritas and breakfast burritos!
If there are any gels left (which I assume there are), we will bring them in case you haven’t had a chance to get your own yet.
As with last week’s run, we will split into pace groups at the start but the groups will be fluid – if you feel like you want to slow down, there will be a group just behind.  Also, note that this run is a run to Canary regardless of the time.  It is an estimated 120 minutes but if you get there a bit sooner or a bit later, that is OK.  Our training is now more about the distance, not the time, and the time is just a guideline.  We will take our gels about 70-80 minutes into the run, roughly around the Victoria Park area.  And we will see if we can take them while continuing to run…
A quick note about the route – there is work happening along the canal towards Canary so we will have to get off and get back on.  It’s pretty straightforward, I just wanted you to be aware.
DETOUR
Exit the canal at Camden Road, which is where the canal is now blocked. Turn left on Camden High Street and then make your first right. On the map, this is Castlehaven Road which becomes Harley Road but it is not well marked on the street. Turn right on Kentish Town Road. You can reenter the canal at the Kentish Town Rd bridge. There is a small unmarked entrance to return to the canal along the construction boards.
Canary Wharf route
Section One – Canal to the Wall
The route starts out as the Wall.  Run along Prince Albert Road to join the canal at Charlbert Street.  Run along the canal for approximately 3 miles until the canal pathway ends at the famous “Wall.”  [with the detour above]

Section Two – Angel Roads
We need to run through the Angel neighbourhood until we can re-enter the canal path.   At the wall follow the ramp up to Muriel Street.  Take a right and then an almost immediate left up a path that winds between the apartment buildings.  See the picture below for the entrance to the path.



Keep going straight on the path and it will become Maygood Street.  When you get to the intersection of a main road (Barnsbury Road) turn right.  Run until you make the second left onto Chapel Market.  (There is a metal archway saying Chapel Market and a zebra crossing at the intersection.)  Follow Chapel Market until the end.  (NB:  There is a public Ladies Room at the end of White Conduit Street, which intersects with Chapel Market about midway.)  Turn right at Liverpool Street to the major road Upper Street.  Cross Upper Street and turn left.  (NB:  Angel Tube Station is to your right if you are going home from here.)  Make your first right at Duncan Street and follow until the end.  The entrance to the canal path will be directly in front of you.  Go straight along the canal (NOT a sharp right turn.)

Section Three – Canal to Limehouse Basin
We run for about 4 miles following the canal path past Victoria Park to the Limehouse Basin.  We exit the canal path at the wire looking bridge – see picture below – and take the brown brick steps up to the left.



Section Four – Limehouse Basin to Canary Wharf
At the top of the brick steps, go straight.  At the Limehouse Gallery and Bronze Age shop turn right.  Run along the water until you reach the second metal foot-bridge leading to a park.  Cross the bridge and run through the park.  After the park, you’ll run straight, under an arch and the water will be on your right.  Run with the water on your right until you see the long flight of steps next to Royal China – see picture below.  You’re almost there!  Only a third of a mile remaining!

Run up the steps and straight ahead, through the small park to India Drive and then veer slightly right along Cabot Square.  You’re heading for the big skyscraper building in front of you.  Stop when you see the sign for the Canary Wharf DLR Station at the ‘mall’ entrance on the South Colonnade.  We’ll meet at the Starbucks inside the building, just right of the entrance.  After a much earned coffee, we’ll head to the Canary Wharf Tube station [Jubilee Line] and tube it home to SJW.  Congratulations!

2016-17 Beginners Week 26

Welcome back!

I hope you all had a great break.  Julie, Krishna, Sue, Meg and I had a great run in the Heath on Thursday.  It’s such a nice place to run.
We have a few housekeeping things to start with this week.
WRW Video Filming this Wednesday, 9 am in Regents Park
Sorry for this last minute notice, but this Wednesday, the group who is in charge of making the video for our celebratory dinner on Sunday night would like to film as many of the WRW runners as possible this Wednesday.  It will be right after the regular WRW group run.  If there is any way you can make it, it would be great because we want EVERYONE to be in this part if possible (even if you’re not coming on the trip).  The group is meeting at 9 am at the entrance to Regents Park from Charlbert Street where the benches are in the park.
Warsaw Photo Directory
If you are coming to Warsaw and haven’t sent me your photo and other information for the photo directory, please do.  I’m not sure who has or hasn’t – I’ll start hunting people down in a week or so, but it would be great if I don’t have to hunt you 🙂
We’re coming into the final stretch
I know you all know this, but we have just over a 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!
The rest of the schedule:
Week 26 – 23 Feb – 110 min = Wembley
Week 27 – 1 Mar – 120 min = Canary Wharf [NOTE – WEDNESDAY]
Week 28 – 9 Mar – 90 min = TBD
Week 29 – 16 Mar – 130 min = Kew Gardens
Week 30 – 23 Mar – 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.
This week’s run
Unfortunately, I am not going to be with you on Thursday.  I am going to St. Louis to help my parents with their downsize move from a house to a condo.  I am very sad to miss this run to Wembley because it 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 next week you can tell me your own opinions of it (because we’ll have a nice long time to chat on our way to Canary Wharf…)
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!
So I hope you all have a FANTASTIC run this Thursday and I look forward to hearing all about it next week.
Reminder – 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 two for the race just in case.
The route
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.

Here’s a photo of the exit off the canal: