Hello Runners!
It seems like maybe I say this all the time, but… what a great week running with you all!  The Remembrance Day run was, for me at least, a very meaningful way to mark the day.  Wednesday’s Hillzzz started the day with a feeling of accomplishment, and the Borough Market run was a treat as always.  Scroll to the very end of the e-mail for a glance at this past week’s runs.  Apologies for the late e-mail this weekend– I’ve been fighting technical issues all weekend to get the routes and photos to load into the e-mail (fingers crossed that they appear correctly here… if not, I’ll be back with another try later today!).  

Running this week.  Monday we are running to Finsbury Park via Highgate and the Parkland Walk.  We’ll sneak in the hill (since we didn’t do one Friday), but just remember there are bagels to reward you at the end!  Wednesday we will take on a different tempo workout– the Hyde Park triangle.  The full description is in the “Routes” section below, but basically we run hard along each side of a triangular-shaped route, and we jog very slowly around the corners.  Though your group will spread out during the up-tempo run, use the corners to regroup so that you can set out together on the next long section (tip: the second fast segment is the longest one.)  Friday we head up the hill again to do the Heath route of your choice.  Full directions and route maps are below, as always.

Training calendar.  Our WRW founder, Paula Mitchell, designed the training program we follow each year leading up to our Spring half marathon.  After the winter break, I will start sharing more of her training wisdom.  But in the meantime, here is a look at the training calendar our running schedule is based upon through March 2020.  Our routes team has taken this calendar into consideration when designing our runs, so if you are running the regular routes with WRW you are already following a training plan designed by a very accomplished runner and coach!  There is also a more gradual version of this plan (though not customised to our race date) on our website– it’s a great idea to take a look at this if you are new to running or are recovering from an injury or returning after a hiatus from running.

Announcements and Shoutouts.  Last weekend’s Rocky Run alumni race in Philadelphia was a big success, with almost 40 women coming from all over the U.S. and the world (a few from London– Alysia, Carmine, Darcy…).  If you’ve run with WRW for more than a year, there will also be familiar faces of friends who have moved away from London.  It is such a fantastic thing that this group of alumni including Paula (front and center, below), the mastermind behind our group, have found a way to keep the WRW spirit going outside of London!  And a huge shoutout again to Ariadne Petrucelli for pulling together the organising end of things!

Save the date.  Mark your calendar for these upcoming runs you won’t want to miss:Monday, Nov. 25th, we’re doing a “crazy tights” run to Benugo in St James Park– who will find the wildest tights to wear?  Wednesday, Dec. 4th, we will meet at Barclays at 6:00 am for the annual Christmas Lights run– it’s our own private tour through the mostly deserted streets of central London to view the festive lights.
A happy and restful Sunday to everyone.  Looking forward to seeing you at Barclay’s tomorrow!
xx Micki

ROUTES
Monday 18 November – Finsbury Park via Highgate/Parkland Walk (7 miles) For this run we start up Fitzjohn’s as if we’re going to the Heath, but pass the Heath entrance and continue up Spaniards/Hampstead Lane into Highgate. Turn left down Southwood Lane (the road next to Gail’s) and go down the hill, then veer to the right (not a hard right turn!) onto Jackson’s Lane. Continue down Jackson’s to Archway Road and make a right, then a relatively quick left onto Holmesdale Road. Run a short distance on Holmesdale and the entrance to Parkland Walk will be on your left. Follow the path to Finsbury Park, cross over the train tracks, turn right and run along the western edge of the park and exit onto Seven Sister’s Road. Happening Bagel is across the street, Costa is to the right, and Finsbury Park Station is further down on the right (on the Piccadilly and Victoria tube lines).

Wednesday 20 November – Hyde Park Tempo Triangle
Head down to Hyde Park the usual way at a very gentle pace. Once you reach the park pick up the pace a bit around Speaker’s Corner, and then run very fast down to the SE corner of the park. Jog slowly around the corner while you try to bring your heart rate back down to a recovered rate. Once you reach the straightaway, run hard again to Carriage Road. Slow down to a recover rate again as you cross over the bridge and up to the path, where you will turn right and run hard along the diagonal back to Speaker’s Corner. Jog very slowly back to SJW or, even hop on the bus or tube from Marble Arch. If you are not doing tempo work, you can do this run at a regular pace (if you run back to SJW it is about 6.5 miles).

Friday 22 November – The Heath (4 – 8 miles)
It’s Friday, so we are headed back up the hill to Hampstead Heath!  Choose your route from 4-8 miles, as listed below.  This link will take you to all the Heath route descriptions and interactive maps, and our standard Heath route is shown below.
4 miles:  A great way to ease into running the hill. Run up to the Hampstead tube station and back. If you have trouble running up, think about how easy it will be running down!
5 miles: The Betsy Route
6+ miles:  The partial Heath route OR the Reverse Heath route OR Pergola route
7.5 miles: The Highgate route
8 miles:  The full Heath route

Bonus photos… last week at a glance!