Fast Group runners – please read this before Monday morning’s run.  Otherwise there will be lots of confusion!!!!  To read online so you can see the maps, click here.  If you’re not sure which group you’re in, email me and we can sort it out.

Hello Runners,

Just as soon as everyone figures out what’s going on, I’m going to change things up a bit.  I think I’ve done enough preaching about doing the weekly long run at a slow pace – I’ve pleaded my case based on my own personal experiences and even brought in the big guns of Runners World to no avail.  Ladies, this is fine.  I’m serious – this is one of the things I love about our running group.  Everyone makes their own decisions and is responsible for their own training.  Both Mid-level groups are working out very well pace-wise.  We’re running fun places and everyone seems to enjoy the routes and pace.  The Fast Group isn’t working out as smoothly.  The pace range is too extreme.  There’s no way we can keep runners together and it’s really not fair to try.  The ladies wanting to run long at a fast clip shouldn’t be burdened by those who are trying to rein in their long run pace and vice-versus.  The quick pace of the front of the group is creating a wake that is sucking in some of the ladies wanting to control their long run pace.  So, how about this as a solution?????  I think it’s easiest to break that group into two sections – for now we’ll call the faster-paced group the Fast Group Speedsters and the controlled-pace group will remain the Fast Group.   We have marathon and half-marathon trainees in both sections so I’ll lay out routes for each of you.  Sometimes the routes will be the same between groups but often they will be different.  I’ll be running with the “pace-controlled” group so those of you in the speedy-section need to study the route maps.

In the weekly emails, the routes will be laid out by groups:

Fast Group Speedsters – Marathon trainees
Fast Group Speedsters – Half-marathon trainees
Fast Group – Marathon trainees
Fast Group – Half-marathon trainees
Mid-level I (Sherry, we will work out your route each week)
Mid-level II

Garuda Gym contacted me last week offering some discounts on sessions/classes for our runners (valid until 30 April).   I don’t know of this gym but some of our runners go there.  They teach the Garuda Method.   For a link to their website – click here.

Routes this Week

Monday, 18 February

Fast Group Speedsters – Marathon Trainees (13 miles for London and Stratford-on-Avon runners, 14 miles for Paris runners):

Three Parks (13 miles) – This is an efficient way to get your 13 miles done and you’ll have the opportunity to stretch your legs as most of the route is park running.  Head down to Hyde Park via Lisson/Seymour.  Do the north, west and south boundaries of Hyde Park (notice SW corner on map) then head into Green Park.  Run to Buckingham Palace then into St. James Park.  Do the full perimeter of St. James then head northwest up the steep hill in Green Park towards The Ritz.  From there run back to Wellington Arch and cross over into Hyde Park.  Run towards Speakers Corner exiting at the War Animal Monument.  Follow Baker St. all the way to Regents Park.  Do a near-full perimeter of Regents Park exiting at the mosque and finishing at Starbucks in SJW.  Paris Marathoners, if you are running with this group just add a mile in Regents Park to get to 14 miles).

Fast Group Speedsters Half-Marathon Trainees (9 miles on your schedule):

Two or Three Parks (9 miles) –                       Option #1 

This is an efficient way to get your 9 miles done and you’ll have the opportunity to stretch your legs as most of the route is park running.  Start with the marathon trainees and then you have two options – you can do the Hyde Park loop then add Green Park then head back to SJW via Baker/Gloucester (see map #1) or you could hang with the marathon trainees for the first 8.7 miles of their run and run.  You would then                                 Option #2

finish at Marble Arch. To the right is the map for the marathon trainees in the Speedster group.  Where they head towards the US Embassy on Brook St., you carry on north to Marble Arch.  Take a tube/bus/cab home from there.

Fast Group Marathon Trainees (13 miles for London and Stratford-on-Avon runners, 14 miles for Paris runners):

Finsbury Greenbelt to Westfield Mall Stratford (13 miles) – This is a great route.  We don’t do it often because it involves running up to Highgate (and we do hills on Fridays).  With most of our runners recovering last week, we should be OK to head up the hill on Monday morning.  The route goes up Fitzjohns, on to Highgate then across the Finsbury greenbelt to Finsbury Park.  From there, we head east to the river Lea then south to Hackney Wick then through the Olympic Park to finish at either the Stratford station or Westfield Mall.  I love this route – it’s a little bit of everything.  There are long stretches of non-stop running along the greenbelt (which is gorgeous if you haven’t been there) and the river Lea, then some street running thrown in for good measure.  I’ve never run through the Olympic village to finish at Westfield Mall (or the station) so it may be a bit of an adventure for the last mile.  Paris Marathoners – if you run this route you can easily pass Hackney Wick by 1/2 mile and turn around the meet us at the station to increase the route to 14 miles. 

Fast Group Half-Marathon Trainees (9 miles on your schedule):

Finsbury Greenbelt to Clapton (9 miles) – This is a great route.  We don’t do it often because it involves running up to Highgate (and we do hills on Fridays).  With most of our runners recovering last week, we should be OK to head up the hill on Monday morning.  The route goes up Fitzjohns, on to Highgate then across the Finsbury greenbelt to Finsbury Park.  From there, the marathoners will head towards the river Lea and you will continue down Clapton Rd. to the station.  It’s a bit fiddly to get home from Clapton so if you need to be back earlier – consider running the Fast Group Speedsters Half-marathon Trainees route (it’s a loop back to SJW or a finish at Marble Arch and quick commute home); however, you’ll miss out on a great route.  The Finsbury greenbelt is spectacular.   

Mid-level I – (6 miles tempo or mid-paced on your schedule): 

For those of you training for the half-marathon in Bratislava, I would consider only doing two more tempo/speed sessions, then in March allow your body 3 weeks to “cool-down” for the race.  It’s the best way to avoid injuring yourself before the half-marathon.  For anyone who’s been injured, it’s a good idea to just do a mid-paced run instead of tempo/speed work.   

Notting Hill (6.5 miles) – I think most of you know this route now but there is a map to the right.  It’s a nice mix of canal and street running (with some window-shopping opportunities thrown in!!!!).

Notting Hill (6.5 miles) partial tempo run – If you want to try a bit of tempo work, but love the Notting Hill route – then do both!!!  Jog to the canal, once you get there, run hard until the Ladbrook Grove turn-off (where we exit off the canal).  From there, run a steady pace for the rest of the route and enjoy the streets of Notting Hill.  

Western canal tempo run (any distance) – If you want a more intense tempo work-out than the one above, jog down to the canal, do your tempo work on the canal, turn around and do tempo work on the canal back to Maida Vale.  From there, jog back to Starbucks in SJW to cool-down. 

Mid-level II – (9 miles long run on your schedule):

Hyde and RegentParks (9 miles) – This is an extremely efficient 9 mile run.  Head down to Hyde Park via Lisson/Seymour then do the full perimeter of the park.  Notice the cut-out that is required in the SW corner of the park.  Exit Hyde Park at the War Animal Monument then head north up Baker St. to Regents Park.  Do a near-full circumference of the Inner Loop then head back to Starbucks via Charlbourg.

Wednesday, 20 February

Fast Group Speedsters – Marathon Trainees

Fast Group Speedsters – Half-Marathon Trainees

Fast Group – Marathon Trainees

Fast Group – Half-Marathon Trainees

For those of you training for the half-marathon in Bratislava, I would consider only doing two more tempo/speed sessions, then in March allow your body 3 weeks to “cool-down” for the race.  It’s the best way to avoid injuring yourself before the half-marathon.  For anyone who’s been injured, it’s a good idea to just do a mid-paced run instead of tempo/speed work.  All four of these groups could do some version of Notting Hill.  If you want a mid-paced run, enjoy the regular route.  If you want to incorporate tempo work, you can do that on the canal then finish the route or stay on the canal doing an out and back run for a higher intensity session.

Notting Hill (6.5 miles) – I think most of you know this route now but there is a map to the right.  It’s a nice mix of canal and street running (with some window-shopping opportunities thrown in!!!!).

Notting Hill (6.5 miles) partial tempo run – If you want to try a bit of tempo work, but love the Notting Hill route – then do both!!!  Jog to the canal, once you get there, run hard until the Ladbrook Grove turn-off (where we exit off the canal).  From there, run a steady pace for the rest of the route and enjoy the streets of Notting Hill.  

Western canal tempo run (any distance) – If you want a more intense tempo work-out than the one above, jog down to the canal, do your tempo work on the canal, turn around and do tempo work on the canal back to Maida Vale.  From there, jog back to Starbucks in SJW to cool-down.

Mid-Level I – (9 miles tempo or mid-paced on your schedule): Send me your vote for which route you prefer.  I’ll tally the results and let you know what the route will be.  If you don’t vote, you aren’t allowed to complain (and that’s no fun!)!!!!

Canary Wharf (9 – 9.5 miles) – The route for Canary Wharf is below.  It’s a near non-stop run along the canal to the east.  We would take the Jubilee line home.  We would probably arrive to Canary Wharf around 10:00 and it’s a 30 minute tube ride back to SJW.  

                                     —-  OR  —-

Kensal Rise Cemetery and canal (9 miles)  – This is not the most scenic route, but it’s efficient.  It’s a loop down to Maida Vale then out Harrow Rd to the Kensal Rise Cemetery.  We would carry on to Wood Lane, cross back over the canal then run along the towpath back to SJW.  

Mid-level II – (6 miles tempo or mid-paced on your schedule):

Most of this group are not interested in tempo work (which is fine!!!!).  The Notting Hill loop gives you about the right distance and is an interesting route. 

Notting Hill (6.5 miles) – I think you all know this route.  It’s out the canal west then exiting at Ladbrook Grove to run up to Notting Hill.  We usually then head east to Ledbury then jig-jag to Westbourne Grove to run back towards Paddington Station.  Drop down to the canal at the basin (near the Starbucks on the canal) and head back towards SJW along the water’s edge then run along St. John’s Wood Rd then Grove End Rd. to Starbucks.

Friday, 22 February

On Fridays, everyone goes up the hill to Hampstead and/or the Heath.  If you ran the hill on Monday on the Finsbury greenbelt route and are “hilled-out”, feel free to organize a flat route for whoever is interested.  There may be runners who’ve recently been injured (and aren’t running hills) interested in joining you.           

                                                           Happy Running,                                                           

                                        Paula

I’m in Italy and am having trouble with the internet connection.  The computer guy is coming on Monday so hopefully I’ll be back online then. If you have emailed me and haven’t heard back, I’m not ignoring you!!!!  We have wifi in the bar in the village (that’s where I am now) – I’ll stop in here throughout next week if Roberto can’t fix our connection at home. 

Hello Runners,
It’s recovery week!  Yay!  Everyone gets a little mini-break from running next week.  It’s important to “clock your vacation time” with running.  Giving your body a week to rest and recover has huge pay-offs.  Psychologically you’ll be itching to run the following week (hopefully I’m right about that!!!) and your body will thank you for the break.  If you are not able to run at all next week- no worries.  It will be OK.  If you have access to a treadmill, try to get in 2-3 runs of no more than an hour.  If you are staying in London, come out and run with the group.  There are other people who are in town and wanting to run.  Run no farther than 6 miles or no longer than 60 minutes (whichever comes first).  Ideally, you would run 6 miles (or 60 min) once next week then add in another 2 runs of shorter distances (3-5 miles).  Avoid speed/tempo work and even consider running flat on Friday.  I’ll leave route selection up to you, but run somewhere fun!  This week your training should be enjoyable – run somewhere different or do one of those mystery runs where you just head out without a plan in mind.  
To all full-marathon trainees, this is a recovery week for you as well.  Everything above applies to you except the Friday run where you could do an 8 mile hill run (if you want).  It would be better to give yourself a full rest week and follow the advice in the paragraph above but upping the Friday run to 8 miles shouldn’t cause you a problem (particularly if you are not experiencing any aches/pains).
Have a fabulous break and I’ll look forward to seeing you on Monday, 18 February.
                                                          Happy Running                                                           
                                                               Paula

Hello Runners,

We have only two quick announcements before looking at routes:
Darcy Fautz sent me a link to an article about the girl who collapsed and died near the finish of the London marathon last year. Click here for the link to the article. It turns out that Claire Squires (a 30 yr old experienced runner) had added a scoop of “exercise enhancing” product to her water bottle for the race. The product, JACK3D, contained DMAA (basically a legal version of speed). That specific product (from a Texas-based company – Yikes!!!) and DMAA in general are now outlawed but the warning message is still valid. Know what you are consuming – understand what you’re taking – do your research. If a nutritional/dietary product promises improved performance, make sure it’s safe.

That article leads into our second topic….. gels! Yes, I’m still pushing them and I promise they are safe. I met a girl at the Himalayan Challenge who had a severe case of Celiac’s disease amongst a number of other medical conditions. She used Clif Shots in citrus flavours for fuel. She told me that it was the only gel she was absolutely certain was gluten-free.  Ellen Rickert has Celiac’s disease and has ordered a box of these gels. If anyone wants or needs gluten-free gels, contact Ellen at xxx – thanks a million Ellen!!

We’ll celebrate February birthdays on Friday, 1 March. Our birthday girls are:
10th – Sherry Price
14th – Donna McClure (who’s buried in auction work so can rarely run with us – we miss you Donna!!!)
25th – Katy Barrett and Stephanie Guyett (who’s been side-lined for awhile due to injury)
27th – Linda Dolan

Routes this Week

Monday, 4 February
Marathon Trainees: You have 13 miles on your schedule this week. Ladies, you’re rocking this training!!!! Everyone is doing extremely well. Keep it up! This week we’ll be doing a loop, you can expect to be back to SJW around 10:45.

Battersea park loop plus part of Hyde Park (13 miles) – This week you’re running a half-marathon. Wow! We’ll start by doing the Battersea Park loop (the half-marathon trainees will be doing the first 5.5 miles with you). When we get back to Chelsea Bridge, the half-marathon trainees will head north up Sloane St. and we will carry on towards Big Ben. At the House of Parliament, we’ll cut back into St. James Park, then into Green Park, under Wellington Arch to enter Hyde Park at the SE corner. From there, head west to Carriage Rd. and turn right and take the bridge over the Serpentine. From the north side of the Serpentine, take the diagonal paths to Speaker’s Corner then run home up Lisson Grove/Seymour. Marathoners, be conscious of your pace on this run. Some of the half-marathon trainees are choosing to do their Monday long run at a very fast pace. It’s your responsibility to control your pace – you can’t blame a “too fast” training run on everyone around you. Race day will be a similar experience (a bunch of runners taking off really fast) so actually these group runs are great practice. Be smart. Train at the pace appropriate for your race goal.

Half-marathon Trainees in the Fast group (10 mile long run on your schedule): Some of the group prefers to do loop routes from time to time. This is a nice route that most of you know and it will put you back to Starbucks asap.
Battersea Park (10 miles) – I like this route because it is so efficient! 10 miles done – you’ll be back to Starbucks pronto! The route heads down Lisson Grove/Seymour to Hyde Park then down the broadpath towards Wellington Arch. Feel free to go out of the park to cross the street or stay in the park running along S. Carriage Drive then exit at Hyde Park House. If you stay in the park and exit at Hyde Park House, you can avoid a lot of pedestrian traffic. Then head south on Sloane St. all the way over the river to Battersea Park. Run along the embankment to Albert Bridge where you should cross back over the river. At Chelsea Bridge, turn north and retrace your steps back to Hyde Park. Exit Hyde Park by the War Animal monument and run back to SJW via Baker or Gloucester St. If you are trying to keep your long run in a certain pace range, these runs are great practice for you. Some of the Monday runners go fast which is absolutely fine. Everyone gets to do whatever they want to do.

If you are a less experienced racer, use these training runs to practice for race day. At the half-marathon race, people will burst off the start like rockets and you will be best served to avoid the temptation to join them. Why not start practicing now?

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level I group (6 mile mid-pace or tempo run). Some of you did this route in mid-December and really enjoyed it. Do a tempo/fartlek run or just run it at a medium pace.
Run along the canal to Camden. Come off the canal and follow Chalk Farm Rd. south to Mornington Crescent tube station. Veer to the right at that Y intersection to run on Hampstead Rd. south across Marylebone Rd. At Tottenham Court Rd. tube station turn right and run west along Oxford St. Finish the run by taking Baker St. up to SJW. If you want to do some tempo/speed work on this run, jog for 5-6 minutes to warm up. Once you are warmed up, push the pace until you reach the Camden market area. Jog along Chalk Farm Rd. for 8-10 minutes or until you reach the Hampstead Rd. turn. From that Y intersection, try some street fartleks for the next 20 minutes remembering first of all to be careful! Watch for cars! As a reminder, fartleks are varying distances of quick-paced running. The easiest way to do street fartleks is to do sprints (or just quicker paced runs) to the next street crossing or the next rubbish can or the next red light. Just pick a landmark and sprint to that spot. The distance of each fartlek should be different – mix up longer legs (maybe up to 200 meters) with shorter legs (as short as 20 meters). Keep this fartlek session to 20 minutes or less then jog home. One really fun way to do street fartleks is for everyone to take turns choosing the distance or point to run to.

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level II group (10 mile long run on your schedule):
Battersea Park (10 miles) –This is a loop that finishes back at Starbucks. The route heads down Lisson Grove/Seymour to Hyde Park then down the broadpath towards Wellington Arch. Feel free to go out of the park to cross the street or stay in the park running along S. Carriage Drive then exit at Hyde Park House. If you stay in the park and exit at Hyde Park House, you can avoid a lot of pedestrian traffic. Then head south on Sloane St. all the way over the river to Battersea Park. Run along the embankment to Albert Bridge where you should cross back over the river. At Chelsea Bridge, turn north and retrace your steps back to Hyde Park. Exit Hyde Park by the War Animal monument and run back to SJW via Baker or Gloucester St. If you haven’t been running regularly, finish at Hyde Park Corner. That’s about 7.7 miles – it’s plenty of mileage. We ran 9 miles last week. There is no need to do two really long runs in consecutive weeks. We can bump up your mileage after the February break.

 

Wednesday, 6 February
Marathon Trainees and Half-marathon Trainees in the Fast group (6 mile mid-pace or tempo run). This is just an idea – if you’re not interested then follow the Mid-level I Group tempo/fartlek run from Monday.

Track and Fartleks – Jog down Charlbourg, run over the bridge to reach the outer loop of Regents Park. Jog along the sidewalk until you reach the track. Gradually increase your speed as you do one lap around the track. Now you’re ready to go! Do a timed mile on the track (4 laps of the track in the middle lane is pretty accurate) or if you prefer just start your watch and run hard until it signals that you’ve done one mile. Run this mile at about 80-85% of maximum capacity. Another way to think of that is to set a scale from 1-20. 20 is a level of intensity that you could do for 1-2 seconds before you would just collapse. On this scale, run your timed mile between a 16-17. 

After your timed mile, jog another lap around the track to recover. Then jog over to Regents Park. Do a 15-20 minute group fartlek session. This is how it works – break into groups of 3-5 runners based on sprint pace (so the fastest group needs to be in front). Separate the groups by a couple of minutes. Someone in each group identifies the “run-to” point (a bench, rubbish can, the bridge, etc) and does a 3,2,1 count then yells “Go”. Everyone in that group runs as hard as possible to the established “run-to” point. The distance of each fartlek should be different – mix up longer legs (maybe up to 200 meters) with shorter legs (as short as 20 meters). You could do the loop in the map above or just run around in Regents Park until you’ve done 15-20 minutes of fartleks. The torture isn’t over….. then jog back to the track. Do another timed mile run trying to meet or better the time from your first mile. Then jog, walk or crawl back to Starbucks. Here’s an interesting tidbit – supposedly you can take a timed mile trial number and multiply it by 30 then add 3 minutes to get your predicted full marathon time. Multiply the timed mile number by 14 to get a predicted half-marathon time. Kind of cool, huh???

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level I group (10 mile long run on your schedule). So sorry that we have another destination run planned. If you don’t have time to do this route but want 10 miles, run with us to Hammersmith then turn around and retrace your steps.
Kew (10 miles) – We’ll run down to Hyde Park via Lisson/Seymour (normal route) then do a diagonal through Hyde Park towards the SW corner of the park (in front of Kensington Palace). From there head out Kensington High St to Hammersmith, cross over the river, then head west along the river to Kew. If you want the full 10 miles, don’t take the first Kew exit from the river (near the railroad tracks) – keep on running until you reach Kew Bridge then head south to Kew Gardens.

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level II group (6 mile mid-pace or tempo run). You have options this week! Some of you need to purchase some gels and/or hydration belts/bags. One option is to run to Runners Need in Holborn:
Runners Need Holborn (5 miles) – Run along the canal to The Wall. Exit from the canal and head south on Farringdon Road. At Clerkenwell/Theobalds Rd turn right, run about .6 of a mile then turn left on Procter. Runners Need is on your right before you reach Holborn. It sits above Evans Cycle Shop. If you don’t like that option, try the shopping rute (see map at left). The route goes through Regents Park, down Marylebone High St. then takes a 
couple of turns to get to New Bond St. Conduit St. is an easy way to cut over to Regent St. Then head north back to Regents Park, do a diagonal from the broadwalk and finish at Starbucks.

 

 

 

Friday, 8 February
On Fridays, everyone goes up the hill to Hampstead and/or the Heath. This run is working out so well. I’m thrilled for all of you. Everyone seems to be finding the distance that works for them and finding routes that work when the sidewalks are icy. Thank you so much for all helping each other figure out routes and directions. Thank you Jane for studying the heath area maps and figuring out alternative routes. You’re a sweetheart.

Happy Running,

Paula

 

Hello Runners,

I have some news – Kirk and I have decided to leave London in just over a couple of months.  As most of you know, Kirk is working on a 3 year contract with Rio Tinto which comes to an end 31 December 2013.  Recently, the company asked to extend that contract and (after much discussion) Kirk agreed as long as he could work from Texas. For us, this is wonderful opportunity – much better than we could ever have hoped for.  He will continue to travel a lot (he’s usually gone about 60% of the time), but when he’s home, he’ll be able to start easing into retirement.  As this was our choice, the timing is completely up to us.  I’ll stay in London through the Bratislava trip – it’ll be my last “hurrah”!  Then we’ll pack up and depart probably that next week.  Ladies, you are a wonderful group of women.  I love this running group and I love doing what I can to help you with your training.  I will miss you all!

Some of us bumped into Ian McClelland recently in Starbucks.  He organises a running group for recovering addicts and homeless men and women.  Read more about him in an article in the Evening Standard – click here for the link.  Ian is looking for people to join him for some of the group runs and/or races.  In particular, his female members would really benefit from having a runny buddy/mentor from time to time.  Please contact Ian ([email protected]) if you are interested in helping or just want further information on his program.  Ian has experienced homelessness himself – his story is incredibly inspiring.

OK, for our training…..  we have 8 weeks left until the half-marathon.  Ladies, you can do this!  Depending on which program you are following, you have either 5 or 6 long runs left.  That’s it!  We need to start doing some routes which provide non-stop running (such as along the canal towpath or the river path).  The routes in the coming weeks reflect that need.  If you haven’t been running regularly, I would recommend slowing your pace on these routes.  It’s hard to get back into a running routine and it’s doubly hard doing that on a non-stop running route.  It’s very important to get in the last 5-6 long runs.  Each of us should know by now in which group we run and which day is the long run day for that group – so protect that day in your calendar.  Try actually inputting it into your calendar – schedule an appointment for your long run.  That way you won’t inadvertently schedule something that conflicts with your run.  Half-marathons are serious business.  It’s a long way to run.  If you’re going to do it, you need to train properly – otherwise you are almost asking to be injured.  In addition to “scheduling” your long run each week, think about the pace of that run.  I’ve harped on about long run pace, but many of our runners are still uncertain about what is right for them.  Click here for a link to the December 3-7 note – that week I was pleading my case for long, slow runs.

We’ve talked quite a bit about fueling.  Below is an excerpt from a note to the beginner runners last week describing some gels and explaining the basics of fueling.  Most of you have seen this information or are very experienced with mid-run fueling – feel free to jump down to routes if you’re bored.  I have a bunch of these gels in the trunk of my car.  Let me know if you need one.  If you don’t want to read all of this, just take a gel at 8 miles on race day if you’re running at a medium pace for you (not as compared to anyone else) or 7 miles if you are running fast for you.  You may need another gel about 35-45 minutes later.  Try to avoid taking more than one gel within 30 minutes.

Most female runners have approximately 1000-1200 calories of readily-accessible “fuel” for exercise.  Think of that “fuel” as being a tank full of petrol. Most of us burn between 600-900 calories per hour running (so we’ll need between 1500 and 2700 calories to fuel a half-marathon).  So, we can go for runs up to 80-90 minutes without “topping up the tank”.  Just like cars get different gas/petrol mileage per litre/gallon, no two runners will burn/require the same number of calories even if they are running the exact same pace (so these numbers are just guidelines).  As a general rule, if two runners are side-by-side running the same pace, the one more comfortable with that pace will burn less calories (or need less fuel) than the one who is pushing herself.  Weight and fitness levels also play into the equation as do your general well-being at the time.  If you are feeling unwell or particularly anxious on race-day, your heart-rate will be elevated and you will burn more calories.  This fueling issue is one of the reasons I constantly ask you to “find your pace”.  If you are pushing your pace, your body will require more fuel (which can complicate fueling for a first time half-marathoner).  As a runner develops and has more experience, there are some good reasons to push the pace, but beginners are best served by finding their “comfortable” pace and sticking with it.  Once a runner has burnt through the 1000-1200 calories of readily-accessible fuel, it is necessary to top up the “petrol in the tank”.  The easiest way to add fuel to your system is with gels.  Gels are simple carbohydrates.  They come in small packets, are made by a range of companies and come in a variety of flavours.  Most of the gels have similar formulas so when deciding which gel to use, most athletes chose the gel that is most palatable to them.  I’ll bring some gels to the run tomorrow and next week so you can chose one that sounds good to you.  A lot of women chose the gel based on the consistency of it.  The following is a description of some of the most popular gels:

    GU – easily available in the UK, Europe and the US.  Comes in a wide range of flavours – some ladies really like the Espresso flavour.  In my opinion, GU doesn’t taste as sweet as some other gels (some other brands are sickly sweet to me).  The Roctane gels within the GU line of products has a sort of time release on carb delivery so are particularly good for extreme endurance events.  They were originally designed for athletes racing/training 8-10 hours but lots of runners love to use this gel for events like a half-marathon.  If you are sensitive to sugar, the GU Roctane line is a good choice (you get less of a sugar high/drop).  GU Roctane is not as easy to find as the basic GU gel and it comes in less flavour choices.  The consistency of all GU products is mid-range (not real liquidy but not as firm as some other gels).  

    PowerBar – PowerBar Energy is hard to find in the UK but is readily available in the US.  Some runners who prefer a more “liquid-like” gel highly prefer this gel.  It comes in 4-5 flavours and I like them all.  To me, these gels taste like the syrup poured over sno-cones.  PowerBar Gel (not Energy, but just Gel) is a favourite of many runners.  They come in a wide range of flavours and also are available with added caffeine and/or sodium.

    Clif Shots – are the best choice for anyone who is gluten intolerant or needs to avoid maltodextrin.  I understand the citrus fruit flavour is the absolute best for anyone with Celiac’s disease.  I do not have any of these gels to bring on a run.  You can find them in the UK, Europe and the US.  They come in a half dozen different flavours and also are available in gel or shot blocks (blocks are between a gummy bear and jello jiggler consistency).  Personally, I don’t like the blocks – they are too big; I feel like I’m choking on it (but that’s just me!!!).

    Torq – I love this gel and most runners agree with me.  They taste good, the consistency is like a runny pudding, and they are easy to find in the UK.  They come in 5-6 different flavours and everyone seems to have a favourite. 

There are countless more gels to chose from.  These are just the brands that I am most familiar with.  All gels weigh about 40g, they all have 100-110 calories, 25-29g of carbs and about 10g of sugar.  Those numbers don’t change much between brands.  Some gels have added caffeine and/or sodium.  If you sweat a lot, you might consider a gel with added sodium (or talk to me and I can give you some slow-sodium tablets to take while running).  A lot of women love gels with caffeine.  It seems to give them a bigger boost.  With all gels, a runner should feel a lift usually 8-10 minutes after taking one.  Gels work like magic.  They don’t taste that great, but they give runners a boost that is fabulous.  After they kick in, you’ll feel lighter on your feet as though you’ve just caught a second wind.  

Here’s the deal……  it’s almost impossible for a beginner runner to complete a half-marathon without taking in carbs during the race.  Some more experienced runners can (particularly those who are running a race slower than they could) because they have taught their bodies how to use fat as fuel.  For example, your coaches who normally run at a quicker pace may not take a gel during our race.  If they are running what is for them a very comfortable pace, they’ll be using primarily fat to fuel that exercise.  So you’ll need to do at least one gel during the race (two for some of you).  You really need to try gels before race-day so you know what to expect and you know that your body won’t “reject” it.  As we discussed before, sports drink is an alternative to gels but is difficult to carry during the race, we don’t know for sure which sports drink they will be using, we don’t know what formula they will have used to make the drink (how watered down or concentrated it is) so we won’t know how many grams of carbs are in it.  To take a gel, you rip off the top, put the gel between your lips and roll the gel package up from the bottom (like rolling a tube of toothpaste).  You need to do the entire gel (not just part of it).  It is best to drink a bit of water (50-100ml) after taking a gel which brings us to hydration systems.  Our runs are getting very long!  We all need to be carrying water.  We can do another run to Runner’s Need if some of you are still needing to purchase a water bottle/belt/pack.  Let me know!!!

Here’s a little tip for anyone who managed to get down this far in the email….  if you are struggling on a run and everything feels far more difficult than it should be – clinch your right fist tightly…..  so tightly that your fingernails start digging into the palm of your hand.  This pressure initiates auto-processes in the body.  Your body knows how to run.  If despite being properly hydrated and fueled, your running still feels difficult, it’s usually a psychological issue.  If you engage the body’s auto-processes, you begin to run more instinctly.  Basically the physical body just takes over and does what it knows how to do.  On the other hand (literally), if you are wanting to put mind over matter (say, you really, really need the facilities but can’t find a bathroom), clinch your left hand tightly.  This shuts/slows down auto-processes and allows your mind to better control your body.

Routes this Week

Monday, 28 January

Marathon Trainees:  For you, this is a recovery week.  Your mileage drops back to 10 miles.
Canary Wharf plus a loop (10 miles) – Most of you know the Canary Wharf route. You could have a look under the half-marathon trainees description below if you’re unsure of it.  They will be finishing at Canary Wharf and you will add the loop below then meet them at Starbucks.  I probably will not be running with this group on Monday so study these maps if you are unsure of the route.

 

Half-marathon Trainees in the Fast group (8-9 mile long run on your schedule):
Canary Wharf (9 – 9.5 miles) –

For this route, you will join the marathon trainees all the way to Canary Wharf.  Have a look at the map above if you don’t know the route.  It’s not a great idea to run this route alone.  There are places along the canal that are quite isolated.  If you are wanting to keep the run to 9 miles (from your training plan), just walk it in from the base of the steps near the big round-about west of the Colonnade.

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level I group (6 mile mid-pace or tempo run):
Sutherland Tempo/Speed loop (5.3 miles) –

This is the route that was to be followed last week when we cancelled the run due to ice. Either run it at a medium pace or try the following tempo work…..  Jog from Starbucks down Hall Rd, cross over Maida Vale Rd, and continue jogging until you pass the big round-about near the Warrington Pub.  After that round-about, run hard for 1 minute then jog for 3 minutes, run hard for 2 minutes then jog for 3 minutes, run hard for 3 minutes then jog for 3 minutes.  Then start dropping down to do 2 minutes of hard running and 3 minutes of jogging, 1 minute of hard running and 3 minutes of jogging.  Keep following the route – turn right on Harrow Rd. then left to cross over the canal at Ladbroke Grove.  Run along the canal back to Maida Vale.  Once you get to Maida Vale Rd./Edgeware Rd., jog slowly back to SJW.  This type of speed/tempo work is called pyramids.  It’s kind of fun.  Basically you follow this routine over and over from the Warrington Pub around to Maida Vale/Edware Rd.

1 min hard                3 min jogging recovery
2 min hard                3 min jogging recovery
3 min hard                3 min jogging recovery
2 min hard                3 min jogging recovery
1 min hard                3 min jogging recovery

If you need to extend the jogging recovery (particularly after the 3 min hard interval), that’s fine.  You could do a recovery up to twice the length of the hard interval (so after a 3 min hard interval you could jog up to 6 min to recover).

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level II group (8-9 mile long run on your schedule):
Western London route to Knightsbridge tube station (9 miles) – This is the run that was to be done last week but we cancelled due to ice. The route is quite complicated and Betsy LaMaster is out of town so will not be there to lead the way.  If you feel it’s too complicated, you could do the Hyde Park perimeter loop (8 miles) then add a little loop in Regents Park if you want 9 miles. There is a possibility that I’ll be running with this group on Monday – if so, I can show you the way.  The route (see the map to the right) goes out the canal to Wood Lane.  You can identify the exit off the canal by looking for railroad tracks going over the canal.  You’ll run under a bridge then go up some steps to reach Wood Lane.  Run south on Wood Lane past the Shepherd’s Bush triangle down to Hammersmith.  Turn left onto Hammersmith Rd (which is the same as Kensington High Street).  There are options along the way to shorten this run (Wood Lane tube station 5.2 miles, Shepherd’s Bush 5.7 miles, Hammersmith 6.2 miles or Kensington High St 7.7 miles).

Wednesday, 30 January

Marathon Trainees and Half-marathon Trainees in the Fast group (6 mile mid-pace or tempo run):
Sutherland Tempo/Speed loop (5.3 miles) – How about a new type of speed/tempo work? See the description on Monday’s Mid-level I run above.  Give it a try!  It’s kind of fun in a weird sort of way.  If everyone decides to do it, you might consider rotating the time-keeping role so one person isn’t stuck looking at their watch the whole run.

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level I group (8-9 mile long run on your schedule):
Wembley (8 or 9 miles) – This is a great training run.  On your schedule, you have a 8-9 mile long run.  If you prefer 8 miles, finish your run at Wembley Central.  If you prefer 9 miles, run on to Wembley Park.  We’ll head down tothe canal as though we are doing the Notting Hill loop.  Once we reach the canal, it’s a straight run without street crossings or red lights.  We’ll exit off the canal at Alperton and run up Ealing Rd. to the Wembley Central tube/train station.  To stretch the run to a bit over 9 miles, carry on running along the High Rd.  Turn left at either Park Ln or Empire Way (both lead to the Wembley Park tube station).

Half-marathon Trainees in the Mid-level II group (6 mile mid-pace or tempo run):
The Wall (6 miles) – I know, I know, I know…. it’s boring, but it’s what you need at this point.  This route is 6 miles of straight running without street crossings or red-lights.  It’s perfect for your training.If you just can’t take the boredom, run down to Oxford St and do a shopping loop along Regent St. and/or Bond St. and/or Marylebone Rd.

Friday, 1 February
On Fridays, everyone goes up the hill to Hampstead and/or the Heath.  Take it easy if you haven’t done this route in awhile.  Due to the bad weather, some of our runners haven’t been able to tackle the hill since before the holidays.  If that’s the case with you, consider doing one of the shorter loops and keep your pace gentle.

After the run, we’ll be celebrating January birthdays with cupcakes:
4 – Lynn Gilbert
12 – Maureen Fossum
14 – Patricia Stracener
20 – Kathy McMahon
22 – Donna Butler
26 – Pam Wakoff

Happy Running,

Paula