The Dorking race is a week away so we have some gentle runs planned for the next few days.  That must be great news for those of you who have been doing speed work leading up to the race.  You’re done with that!  Yeah!  Could I take this opportunity to just say congratulations to you?  I know that type of training is a new thing for some of you and you’ve done it well.  It’s hard, but it does pay off.  It’s also less social.  Normally we get to chat and run, but that’s kind of difficult when you can’t breathe.  So anyway, that’s behind us but let me know if you would like to incorporate tempo/speed training into your schedules for next year.  I’m happy to help you think through how you could continue pace work on a regular basis or write periodized training programs for specific events.

Monday is a holiday but for anyone available/interested in running we will be doing about 8 miles.  Originally I was thinking we could do some fun and different route, but with it being a day off of school/work, we’ll probably do a loop that gets people back to Starbucks at a reasonable time.

Tuesday is the “open day” of the week.  So far, I know Randi wants to run so we’ll be doing 6 miles together – join us if want!

Wednesday is 6 miles of easy running.  I’m getting kind of tired of Notting Hill and the Wall so was thinking of doing more of a fun destination run with a coffee finish away from SJW.  So if you’re interested, bring your Oyster card.  If you have a busy day and need to get back to SJW, feel free to do one of the regular routes.

Thursday is going to be a lovely 3-4 mile gentle pace route for the Ease Back into Running group.  Last Thursday we went to Wandsworth Commons and had such a nice run.  We all agreed we must go back there sometime and finish at Jamie Oliver’s Recipease for a cooking class.  I’ll bring more tootsie rolls this week, but I’m thinking they won’t be needed!

Friday should be about 4 miles of pretty easy running for those of you doing the Dorking race.  Would anyone be interested in a delayed start (10:00am) for a 5 mile run down to Borough Market?  I’ll be at Starbucks at 8:15 for a 4ish mile run then will probably hang around for an hour or so and head down to Borough Market at 10:00.  Let me know if you’re interested in the 10:00 run so I’ll know who to be looking/waiting for.

The school-year is winding down and I’m starting to think about our schedule for next year.  I will be starting a new beginner’s running group on Thursday, 1 September.  Please let me know if you have any friends who might would be interested.  I have 5-6 ladies who are somewhat curious about running.  I usually start these groups with 10-12 and a few fall out over the first month or so.  The criteria is simple – they must be non-runners.  “Closet runners” who can do a few miles on their own are demotivating for those girls struggling to jog 60 seconds.  I’m thinking of starting a regular Tuesday morning run for mid-level runners (the “closet runners” may fit perfectly into this group).  Do you think that would work – would people be interested in doing that?  Lastly, I’ll definitely be planning another half-marathon for next year but am thinking of throwing in a few more races of varying distances.  We’ll see how the Dorking 10-miler goes.  Maybe some of you would like to do some more local 10k races or 8-10 milers????  I think it’s nice to have some different goals.  What do you think?  Any feedback would be most appreciated!

Hope to see you this week,

Happy Running,

Paula