Running this week 2 – 6 Jan 2012

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a fabulous holiday season.  I can’t believe it’s almost over.  We will ease back into our running next week – each group’s long runs are a bit shorter than what you were doing before the break.  The following week will be back to normal and then we’ll be on a steady program getting ready for Lisbon.

Monday (last of the holiday runs – we will meet at Starbucks at 9:00am) and it will be a mixed group.  Most of you who do your long runs on Mondays have 8 miles on your schedule.  I would recommend the Hyde Park full perimeter loop (one more time!!!) as that is a very easy route to shorten.  I promise our routes will be more interesting the following week.

Tuesday (back to the regular 8:15 start) – Ease Back into Running Group (7 miles) – down to Hyde Park then on to Wellington Arch, over to Green Park then home via Baker Street or Mayfair.  We’ll take this run at a gentle pace then get back to normal the following week.
Wednesday –
Distance Runners – Notting Hill
Pace Setters – Notting Hill
Flex-runners – Notting Hill
Mid-level (8 miles) – Wembley (tube/train home from Wembley Central station)
EBR – if you want to do your mid-distance run on Wednesday, 1) run out the canal with the group when they turn off the canal, turn around and run back to SJW 2) run the Notting Hill route but finish at Paddington

Friday – Everyone up the hill to Hampstead or the heath.  I won’t be there so let’s follow the old route.  I would love to get the new route established as a valid alternative over the next few weeks.  It’s nice to be able to mix it up.

In an effort to provide a bit of “new year” inspiration, I’ve attached pdf versions of the running schedules for the EBR, Mid-level and Flex-runners groups.  The Distance Runners each have their own programs as does the Gentle Runners group.  The Pace-setters are those ladies who are not wanting super-long distances but would prefer to run fast.  For those of you Pace-setters training for Lisbon, your long runs are stable at 8 miles during Jan then start ramping up (beginning on Monday, 2 Jan you have the following long run mileage – 6, 8, 8, 8, 8, 10, 6, 9, 9.5, 10, 11, 8).  I would encourage you (and any of the Flex-runners wanting to push their pace) to break away from the group and go for it.  The 8 miles runs throughout January will give you a great opportunity to run fast, push your pace and see what happens.
Happy Running,
Paula

EBR Lisbon Schedule.pdf

Running over the holidays – Dec 2011

Happy Holidays!

Most of you are not in London over the holidays, but for those of us in town – what do you think of the following schedule?  We could run Mon, Wed, and Fri each week and usually people group up sometime on the weekend for a run.  Let’s change our start time to 9:00am.
Usually we continue to run up the hill on Fridays, so it’s really only the Mon and Wed runs to consider.
Some nice holidays routes could be:
  • Notting Hill (6.5 miles)
  • Shopping route (6-6.5 miles) through Regents Park, down Marylebone High St., at Oxford St. turn left then take New Bond St. down to Piccadilly.  Turn right and head back to Hyde Park then home via the US Embassy
  • Hyde/Green Park loop – (6-7 miles) down Lisson Grove to Hyde Park, down to Wellington Arch, over to Green Park, down to Buckingham Palace, then up the steep hill at the edge of Green Park next to the Ritz, then wind your way home through Mayfair
  • Borough Market – (6-ish miles) the market is open every day from 10-5 for the holiday season except from the 25th-28th.
  • Battersea Park (10 miles) this is always a nice route is anyone is wanting a long run.
  • Hyde Park loop – (8 miles) the full perimeter of the park
  • Green/St. James Park loop – (8 miles) down Lisson Grove to Hyde Park, down to Wellington Arch, over to Green Park, down to Buckingham Palace, then into St. James – do the full perimeter of St. James Park, then up back into Green Park – finish the full perimeter (so go up to the Ritz and run along the north edge of the park), back to Hyde Park then home via the US Embassy.
It’s the holidays!  Do whatever you want!  Email me back if you want to be put on the holiday email distribution list.  I’ll create a group listing so the rest of you don’t have to read all the chatter over the holidays.  Also that way you will all know who else is in town and if anything changes you can communicate more easily with each other.
xo,
Paula

Running this week 12 – 16 Dec 2011

Hello everyone!

You’re fabulous!  I asked you last week to consciously think about your individual training programs for Lisbon and Boom!  Like magic,  you’ve done it!  Thank you.  For those of you who are new to the running group, this will be our last week of a “normal” schedule.  The two weeks over the holidays are a bit more relaxed and a ton of fun.  The groups continue to meet at 8:15am at Starbucks.  We’ve found that is easier than trying to communicate a change in time.  Someone always misses the message and ends up sitting at Starbucks waiting for people to show up!  Of course if that time doesn’t work for you, arrange yourselves separately.  I’ll send out some basic route suggestions next weekend that will cover us for two weeks.  We usually have a mixed group of runners so we settle on a mid-range pace and enjoy getting in some mileage.
Also I wanted to let you know that I was not selected to run with the Olympic torch.  Truly, I’m not disappointed.  To me it was just as much of an honor to be nominated as it would have been to actually run with the torch.  You ladies were so sweet to think of me and take the time to write the nomination letter.
Monday – Canary Wharf (9.5 miles)  Everyone loves this route and it will feel great to leave town on a high note!
  • Distance Runners (10 miles on your schedule) – so either run to Starbucks, run around in circles at Canary Wharf, or just do the 9.5 miles and call it close enough!
  • Pace-setters (8 miles on your schedule) – Your call.  Mile End (on the Central Line) is 7.5 miles or you could do “The Wall” plus a bit of mileage in Regent’s Park or Primrose Hill or you could just go for it and join us all the way to Canary Wharf.
  • Flex-runners (10 miles on your schedule) – You’re flexible!  9.5 is close enough to 10!
  • Mid-level (7 miles on your schedule) – I would suggest “The Wall” with an extension.  Run to “The Wall”, turn around and run back to Camden market.  Come off the canal there and run up Camden High Street (NW direction toward Belsize).  When you get to the Chalk Farm tube station turn left on Adelaide Rd.  Run to Swiss Cottage then come down St. John’s Wood Park to Starbucks.  That route would be just under 7 miles.
  • EBR – Your mid-distance run this week should be 5 miles.  If you are wanting to do it on Monday, you could consider running to “The Wall” which is 6 miles or just turn around a bit early if you want to stick to 5 miles.
  • Gentle Runners (5 miles on your schedule) – “The Wall” or if you want to stick to 5 miles, turn around where the railroad tracks cross over the canal – that’s 2.5 miles from Starbucks so 5 miles round-trip.
Tuesday – Ease Back into Running (8 miles).  Wow!  We’re getting up there!  Last week’s run was amazing.  Everyone did extremely well.  This week we’ll be running one of my favorite routes up to the Finsbury Green Belt.  We will do a little loop in Finsbury Park to get the mileage we need.  It’s a tough run up to Hampstead then on to Highgate, but it’s worth it.  The green belt is beautiful.  We’ll finish at the bakery, grab a coffee and pastries (they also have great pita bread) and head home on the tube.
Wednesday –
  • Distance Runners (6.5 miles on your schedule) – How about the Hyde Park/Green Park/Home through Mayfair route?  Lisson Grove/Seymour down to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park then straight down to Wellington Arch.  Cross the big round-about into Green Park and run down to Buckingham Palace, then up the hill to the Ritz then cross Piccadilly St.  Go north on Half Moon St. then left on Curzon then right on Audley.  Audley turns into Baker St. so take it all the way back to SJW.
  • Pace-setters (6 miles on your schedule) – same as Distance Runners
  • Flex-runners (6 miles on your schedule) –  same as Distance Runners
  • Mid-level (10 miles on your schedule) – What do you think about running to Kew?  This is a lovely route and it’s mostly flat.  I thought about suggesting the Finsbury green belt then over to the river Lea, but that’s a tough run getting up there.  This will be our longest run this year so I think Kew might be a better option.  Is everyone happy with that?
  • EBR – Your mid-distance run this week should be 5 miles.  If you are wanting to do it on Wednesday, you could follow the Distance/Pace-setter/Flex-runners but come home from Green Park instead of running all the way back to SJW.
  • Gentle Runners (8 miles on your schedule) – We have a few options – (1) You could run behind the mid-level group but come off the river at Mortlake (precisely 8 miles) and train back into Waterloo.  Mortlake is about 1/2 mile past Barnes Bridge rail station (which sits just beside the river).  You stay along the river past Barnes Bridge rail station for about 6 minutes of running.  Turn left just before the Stag Brewery and in about 150 meters you reach the center of Mortlake.  The station sits near the middle of the village.  (2) If Mortlake sounds more complicated than it’s worth, the entire route around Hyde Park and back to SJW is 8 miles.
Friday – Everyone up the hill!
  • Distance Runners (8 miles on your schedule) – We can decide on the day whether people prefer the old route or the new route.  No worries!  Both are 8 miles.
  • Pace-setters (7 miles on your schedule) – Either route can be shortened to reduce the mileage.
  • Flex-runners (8 miles on your schedule) – Either route can be shortened to reduce the mileage if you’re not wanting the full 8 miles.
  • Mid-level (5 miles on your schedule) – The Betsy Route is a great 5 mile run.  Let me know if you need an route description.
  • EBR – Your mid-distance run this week should be 5 miles.  If you are wanting to do it on Friday, you could follow the Betsy Route into the heath.
  • Gentle Runners (6 miles on your schedule) – The extended Betsy Route works or you could do the regular Betsy Route but instead of cutting through Belsize on your way home keep running straight down Haverstock Hill to Adelaide Rd.  Turn right on Adelaide, run back to Swiss Cottage then turn left on St. John’s Wood Park and finish at Starbucks.
That’s it!  An update on the Lisbon trip will follow either this afternoon or tomorrow.  The trip is all coming together nicely.
Happy Running!
Paula

Running for the next two weeks 21 Nov – 2 Dec 2011

Hello Runners,

I have some good news and some bad news….  let’s start with the good news.  For most of you, we are using the week of Thanksgiving as a recovery week – a chance to cutback on your mileage and allow your body to rest a bit.  Now for the bad news….  I’m away for the next couple of weeks (that part could be good news for some of you!!!) so the routes will be a bit boring.  I am SO predictable.  I always send everyone on boring routes while I’m away just to make sure I’m missed!
A couple of things about the Lisbon trip – the price of the flight is creeping upwards.  The last I heard someone paid £217.  As I understand, there are no frequent flyer seats available unless you have a higher-tiered card (silver or gold).  Also, the cost of registering for the race goes up after 1 December (I think it’s maybe from €33 to €44).  There still is no pressure – the race won’t over-subscribe, and the hotel has plenty of room.  This is just a cost notification!
Monday (21 Nov)
  • Distance Runners – most of this group is away or we’ve sorted out your runs individually.  For Kelli and Patricia, you could consider The Serpentine Loop or “The Wall” – both of those routes are 6 miles.
  • Pace-setters – (6 miles) The Serpentine Loop down to Hyde Park, west to Carriage Rd, then south along the road crossing over the Serpentine bridge, then down to the Lido running east, then back to SJW via Baker St.
  • Flex-runners – (8.1 miles) the full Hyde Park perimeter.
  • Mid-level – (6 miles) The Serpentine Loop.  I’ve given Michele and Darcy this route description in more detail.  So at Starbucks, just look for them and try to group up.  They will set the pace and lead the group for the next two weeks.
  • Gentle Runners – (4 miles) how about Big Ben?
Tuesday (22 Nov)
  • EBR – (6 miles) – The Serpentine Loop.  I’ve given Beth Dierker and Gayle Walsh the details of this route.  They will lead you and set the pace for the group.  If you’re the type who is tempted to push the pace, try staying behind Beth and Gayle.  I think pace is going to be key for the EBR group.  From most of you I’m hearing that when the pace is restrained, you are happier with the run.  So try to keep it slow and steady!
Wednesday (23 Nov)
A fun run for all!!!  Usually during holiday periods, we have a much smaller group running and despite the pace differences, the group hangs together and does something fun.  We continue to meet at the same time, 8:15am, at Starbucks.  You could consider the shopping route which is down through Regent’s Park, down Marylebone High Street to Oxford Street.  East along Oxford to Bond Street then down Bond Street to Piccadilly.  Turn left (or east) and run to Piccadilly Circus then up Regent St. all the way to Regent’s Park then back to SJW.  This entire route is just under 6 miles but there are endless options to shorten it.  Have fun!
Friday (25 Nov)
Everyone up the hill to Hampstead or the heath.  Again, a lot of our runners will be away for the holiday, but we will meet at the same time, 8:15am, at Starbucks.  Group up however you feel comfortable depending on who’s there and run whatever distance you prefer.  Do pat yourself on the back as the rest of us are probably sitting somewhere, not running, suffering from the-day-after-Thanksgiving sluggishness!
Monday (28 Nov)
  • Distance Runners – most of this group is away or we’ve sorted out your runs individually.  For Kelli and Patricia, I would suggest the Notting Hill loop.
  • Pace-setters – (6.5 miles) – Kelly Ezickson will lead you on a speedy route through Notting Hill.  These ladies will probably be getting warmed-up running with the group down to the canal.  Once they hit the canal, they’re taking off.  If you’re not wanting a fast pace, let them go and try not to get sucked into their wake.
  • Flex-runners – (8 miles) an extended Notting Hill loop.  I’ve asked Kathy McMahon to lead this group – she’s traveling and I haven’t heard back from her.  I tried to time it perfectly when she would be sound asleep in the US.  So, we’ll just assume she’ll say yes (fingers crossed!!!).  This route follows the normal Notting Hill run but after about 4.4 miles you break off at Chepstow and head to Hyde Park.  If you’re wanting to do this route, just look for Kathy at Starbucks and she’ll take good care of you!
  • Mid-level – (6.5 miles) Notting Hill.  Darcy and Michele will lead you – I’ve given them a more detailed route description.  There are a lot of turns so don’t worry if you get a bit lost.  The pace is more important than the exact route.  Try to keep it steady and not too fast.  You can see that there are other runners following this route.  Try to group up together at Starbucks so you don’t find yourself miles into the route running with the super-fast girls.
  • Gentle Runners – (4-5 miles) I have a couple of suggestions.  You could go out the canal towards Notting Hill running at a pushed-pace once you get on the canal.  Run out about 15 minutes (start the clock once you’re on the canal), then turn around and jog much more slowly back home along the canal.  Another idea would be to run out the canal towards Notting Hill, come off the canal at the A4207 (just before where that skateboard park in the old pool is on the canal).  Cross over the canal and run to Harrow Rd.  At that major intersection of the A4207, Fernhead Rd., Harrow Rd, Elgin Ave, and Walterton Rd., take Walterton Road to Shirland.  Turn right on Shirland for less than a block then turn left on Kilburn Park Rd.  Run to Carlton Vale where you turn right heading back to SJW.  Run up to Abbey Rd., turn right and run along Abbey Rd., then take Grove End back to Starbucks.  That route is 4.25 miles.
Tuesday (29 Nov)
  • EBR – Beth Dierker will lead the group again – Gayle won’t be running that day.  The route is 6 miles in total.  You run out the canal past Camden to “The Wall” then turn around and come back the same way you ran out.  Beth has the specifics on the route but basically it’s like we ran to Runner’s Need except you don’t come up off the canal at “The Wall”.  This will be a very tough run.  There are no street crossings – you get no breaks at all.  So watch your pace!  Keep it slow, very slow.  Don’t be disheartened if you have trouble.  It should be hard.  Get the pace right and you’ll be fine.  You can complain when I get back!!!
Wednesday (30 Nov)
  • Distance Runners – most of this group is away or we’ve sorted out your runs individually.  For Kelli and Patricia, you have 9 miles on your schedule.  Maybe the Hyde Park loop (that’s 8 miles) plus a little 1 mile loop either in Hyde Park or Regent’s Park?
  • Pace-setters – (6 miles) The Wall
  • Flex-runners – (8.1 miles) The Wall
  • Mid-level – (8 miles) Hyde Park full perimeter loop.  Again for this week, I’ve given Michele and Darcy this route description in more detail.  The speedsters are heading out the canal east so you’ll be on your own going down to Hyde Park.  This is a great route to work on finding your natural pace.  Instead of running fast, think of trying to keep an equal speed all the way around the park (as though your body is stuck in gear 2).  Just steady, steady, steady.
  • Gentle Runners – (5 miles) Your choice – maybe the canal east stopping at the railway bridge short of “The Wall” or down to Hyde Park adding a 1 mile loop from Speaker’s Corner (take one of the diagonal paths down to the Serpentine, run through the holiday carnival area, then back up to Speaker’s Corner).  Then return to SJW by the US embassy and Baker Street home.
Friday (2 Dec)
Everyone up the hill!  The mid-level, EBR, and Gentle groups are shooting for 5 miles so the Betsy route is a good option.  Most of the rest of our runners will be doing the old route in the heath which is 8 miles in total.  For those of you joining us in Hampstead or along the way, you’d be getting in 6-7 miles.
I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.
Happy Running,
Paula

Running this week 14 – 18 Nov 2011

Hello Runners!

I’ll apologize for what will be a very long email….. sorry!  Our running group is growing and we have such a wide range of paces/abilities/goals.  It’s fabulous!  I am trying to see how we can best organise ourselves to meet the needs of the group.  I keep tinkering with it so it’s not your fault if you can’t figure out what’s going on.  Just as soon as you get the hang of it, I change something.  I’ve always been hesitant to assign people to groups or dictate training programs.  As a result, we have a lot of flexibility, but maybe not enough clarity in how our schedule works.  Over the years we have become quite focused on long-distance running.  I’m hearing from some of you that you would love to do the half-marathon, but more as a “one-off” and you would prefer to run shorter and faster.  Some of you want to run very long at a more gentle pace.  Some want short and slower paced.  Some of you are less focused in your training and would love the flexibility of just deciding week by week if you feel like running long or doing a mid-distance run.  So… I’m proposing that we start to label these training groups just so we can more easily identify other people who may have the same goals as you do.  If you’re not sure where you fit in, send me an email and we’ll figure it out together.
  • Distance Runners – approx. 10:00 min/mile pace for very long runs
  • Pace-Setters – This new group wants to run faster but not crazy-long distances (until late Jan when their long runs will increase to 9/10/11 miles to prep for the half-marathon).
  • Flex-runners – This group likes to run long (usually not over 10 miles or so) at about a 10:30 pace (so faster than the Mid-level runners but slower than the Distance Runners).  Most of this group is not terribly interested in pushing the pace but enjoy running long-distances.
  • Mid-level – These ladies run long distances on Wednesdays at about 11:00-11:15 min/mile.
  • EBR – This group is getting back into running or learning to run longer distances.  Their long runs are 5-6 miles on Tuesdays and those will be gradually increasing in distance from now until the half-marathon.  This group runs an approximate 11:00 pace – no faster!  We’re running at a steady pace but not super-speedy.
  • Gentle-runners – This group is the place to be!  They are training for the half-marathon and like the Pace-setters, they aren’t interested in running extremely long distances yet.  The long runs will build very gradually until mid-March (this week is 7 miles).  The group runs at about a 12:00-12:30 pace.
For anyone unsure of how you should train for the half-marathon, I would suggest you run 3-4 times a week doing 1 long run, 1 mid-distance run, and 1 hilly run.  If you ran a fourth run, it could be fun – whatever you want to do.  The long run is the most important run of the week – if you only have time for one run in a week, it really should be your long run (if you are hoping to do the half-marathon).  This is our long run schedule:
  • Mondays – Distance Runners, Pace-setters and Flex-runners
  • Tuesdays – Ease Back into Running (EBR) group
  • Wednesdays – Mid-level group and Gentle-runners
  • Thursdays – Beginners group
I would encourage you to chose the day you want to do your long run and stick with it.  If you get yourself into a routine, then you’ll usually be doing your long run with the same people and most likely you’ll end up running the race with the same ladies.  I’ve attached a little schedule so you can more easily see what everyone is doing each day.
So after all of that blah, blah, blah – here are our route suggestions for the week.  I run with a different group each day.  I highlighted my runs in red so you’ll know whether to follow me or not.  Some of you have told me you thought you were supposed to run wherever I ran every day and that didn’t always work out so well!!

Monday –

  • Long distance option – 16 miles – along the canal east towards Canary Wharf but exiting the canal at Victoria Park then running beside the River Lea to Ponders End (train back to Liverpool St. then tube home).  I’ll be doing this run at a steady pace after leaving the canal (after 7ish miles) so if you’re interested in doing the full 16 miles but are not sure you can maintain the pace, give me a call or email and we can talk through the options.
  • Pace-setters – 6 miles – to “The Wall” and back.  For any new runners, this is a great route to push your pace.  You would start on the canal with the main group, run 3 miles to what we call “The Wall” (the canal is bricked in and you are forced to go up a ramp onto the street – stop at the wall, turn around and run back alongside the canal the way you came.
  • Flex-runners – 9.5 miles – Canary Wharf (tube home on the Jubilee line).  If you don’t know the route, please pair up with someone who runs your pace (preferably beforewe meet at Starbucks).
  • Mid-level – 6 miles for your medium-distance run – “The Wall” is an easy route to navigate and you would get to run with a lot of ladies as most of the groups are heading in that direction.
  • Gentle – 5 miles – for your medium-distance run – if you wanted to run towards “The Wall” once you go under the train tracks that’s about 2.5 miles – then you could turn around and run back to SJW.

Tuesday –

  • Ease Back into Running group – Our long run this week is between 5 and 5.5 miles.  We’ll be doing a route along the canal (no traffic lights!!!) then down through the city (praying for the “red men” at street crossings) finishing at Runner’s Need in Holborn.  Many of you have been asking about carrying water on our long runs so this will give you the opportunity to buy water bottles that slip over your hand, or tiny backpacks, or waist belts with water bottles.  This store also has a lot more merchandise (running tights, jackets, tops, etc.) than the Camden location.  So bring some money/credit card and your Oyster card.  There are endless options to shorten this route if you don’t want to do the entire 5-5.5 miles.
  • Beginners – Our newest runners group up and do their medium distance run on Tuesday mornings.  Please don’t crash their party!!!  I intentionally leave them on their own as it’s important that they learn to pace themselves, they get to know the basic routes through London, and most important – they learn that Syma, Bonnie, Becky and myself aren’t magic.  They start to get it – they can run on their own or in small groups.  Their confidence grows and their running improves, so let’s leave them to it.  Thanks a million for understanding.

Wednesday –

  • Distance runners – If you ran long on Monday, you might consider doing the Green Park loop (down to Speaker’s Corner, then to Wellington Arch, a loop around Green Park, then home via Baker Street).
  • Pace-setters – 5-6 miles at a good clip!  I would suggest running down to Hyde Park and doing the Serpentine Loop (west from Speaker’s Corner to Carriage Road, then south along the road, cross over the Serpentine on the bridge, then head back east along the water, then back towards Speaker’s Corner and home via Lisson Grove or Baker Street).
  • Flex-runners – If you ran long on Monday, you might consider the Green Park loop.
  • Mid-level – 8.5 miles to Wandsworth Common – This route is a blast!  We’ll head down through Hyde Park, through Sloane Square to the river, along Battersea Park, then head south along the high street of Wandsworth which is packed with cute little shops, restaurants, boutiques, cafes, etc.  We will finish at the Wandsworth Train Station and train/tube home.  Bring your Oyster card and some money (I’m not 100% sure that we can use our Oyster cards from that station).
  • EBR – Some of the EBR group has been doing their mid-distance run on Wednesdays (some on Thursdays).  You have your email distribution list now so group yourselves up for Wed or Thurs. This week’s mid-distance run should be 4-4.5 miles.  An idea would be to run down to Hyde Park, do a very small loop up in that NE corner of the park, then run home by the US Embassy and up Baker Street.
  • Gentle – You have 7 miles on your schedule for your long run this week.  I would suggest hanging behind the mid-level group on their route until they head south from Battersea Park.  You could come back over the river Thames, run back to Sloane Square and tube home from there.  If you don’t like that idea you could do the Green Park loop.

Thursday –

  • EBR – Some of the EBR group have been meeting up on Thursday mornings for a medium-distance run.  See the route suggestion above.
  • Beginners – long run

Friday –

  • All groups head up the hill to Hampstead or the Heath.  I think you know the different route options now, but let me know if you need any further clarification or directions.  We have runners doing everything from 4 miles to 8 miles so you can definitely find someone to run with.
Again, sorry for the length of this email.  Please give me your suggestions on how we can make the group work for everyone.  I promise I won’t have my feelings hurt if you say this or that is a crummy idea.  I just want to make it work.  Thank you so much for being incredibly flexible.
Happy Running,
Paula
PDF-Weekly schedule.pdf

Running this week 7 – 11 Nov 2011

Hello Runners,

I’m happy (just thought I’d share that!).  Ladies, you are amazing.  What a fabulous and inspiring set of women we have in our running group.  It has been such a pleasure to see so many new faces, make new friends and get in some great runs.  Thank you all for being so welcoming to our new runners and so flexible in terms of our routes and pace.  I love that people feel free to show up and join in.  The more the merrier!!
This week on Wednesday, we’ll finish our run in SJW and have coffee at Cafe Richoux at 10:00am instead of Starbucks. We have so many ladies running in different groups now – this will give us all a chance to sit down and relax before the holidays are upon us.  We’re not fitting comfortably into Starbucks, so the room upstairs at Cafe Richoux will allow us to all be together.  Whether you run that day or not, come and meet some of our new ladies, compare training programs, chat about the Lisbon trip and have a chance to say goodbye to Randi who will be leaving London for New Jersey this week.  It would be helpful if you could let me know if you think you may join us.  Cafe Richoux doesn’t need an exact headcount (so I won’t hold you to it) – we just need to give them an estimate.
Monday – We’ll be heading out to Richmond via Lisson Grove, through Hyde Park, out Kensington High Street west to Hammersmith, then over the Hammersmith Bridge and along the river to Richmond.  We’ll take home a tube or overground train back to St. John’s Wood.  Some options:
  • 13 miles – Richmond
  • 10 miles – Kew (and train/tube back) or run to Hammersmith and turn around and run back to SJW
  • 7 miles – Hyde Park – down through the park on the diagonal with the group then instead of heading west on Ken High St. just do a loop around the outer perimeter of the park
  • 6 miles – Serpentine loop
  • 4 miles – Down to Hyde Park, a little loop by Speaker’s Corner, then back to SJW
Tuesday – The Ease Back into Running group will be doing a 5 mile route finishing at Whole Foods in Kensington.  Many of you requested this route after hearing the beginners went down there last week.  We’ll be doing a longer route than they did with a bit more street running.  You will have endless options to shorten the route.  We’ll finish upstairs for coffee (if you have time) then head home (or grocery shop then head home) from the Kensington High Street tube station (or take a taxi if you’re in a hurry).
Wednesday – When one of our runners is leaving London, we try to do a “Sights of London” route.  We have so much turnover in the group that it’s not always possible, but this week it looks like it will work.  We do an approximate 7 mile loop running by some of the touristy highlights of the city.  For those of you wanting a good, 7 mile, steady, training run – this is not for you.  It’s mostly street running and we’ll probably be stopping for a few photos.  After the run, we’ll be having a coffee upstairs at Cafe Richoux at 10:00am instead of Starbucks.
Thursday – Our beginners will be running and I think some of the Ease Back into Running may be grouping up to do a 30-35 minute steady run (maybe in Regent’s Park?).
Friday – Everyone up to Hampstead and/or the Heath.  Some options:
  • 8 miles – Old route – I think it might be a good idea to do the old route this week.  We have several shorter options which start with this route, so we could begin together then split off into different routes and pace groups.
  • 7 miles – Stay on sidewalk up to Kenwood House, go into heath running along NE edge by Highgate ponds, then to the track exiting the heath over the railway bridge, up past Royal Free hospital, then through Belsize home.   Or stay with the group but after Parliament Hill go home by the track, then by Royal Free, then through Belsize back to SJW.
  • 6 miles – The “Betsy” route (see below) plus Parliament Hill.  Instead of exiting on Devonshire Rd, head up and over Parliament Hill, then down to the track and home via the 7 mile option above.
  • 5 miles – The “Betsy” route – I have no idea who created this route (maybe Syma?) but I call it the Betsy route because she recently showed it to me.  It’s up to the Hampstead tube station then Well Walk into the heath, exiting onto Devonshire Road, then home through Belsize.
  • 4 miles – Up to the Hampstead tube station and back home the same way
Please be assured that you are not required to do these long distances to run with the group.  Everyone runs with an Oyster card and some cash so you can put in whatever mileage you want, then grab a bus/tube/taxi home.  No worries.  When we have new runners join the group, it reminds me of how unusual our training is.  You will often hear someone saying, “Oh, I have a meeting, I just want to do 6 miles” or “I only ran 5 miles yesterday”.  Those are long distances!  So let me know if distance isn’t your thing.  I’m happy to help you find some races, talk to you about training for different distance events, or help you develop a plan to get ready for a race.  We don’t all have to be long distance runners.  I’ll still love you!!!
Hope to see you out running this week,
Paula

Running this week 31 Oct – 4 Nov 2011

Hello Runners!

You girls rock!  We’ve had some great runs this past week and such a good turn-out despite the ASL conferences.  We are a dedicated bunch!
Our route suggestions this week are:
Monday – Greenford (10 miles).  This route follows the canal west past Wormwood Scrubs, then over the North Circular, then past Alperton, then south to Greenford.  We’ll take the tube home (Central Line) so bring your Oyster cards.  There is no good coffee in Greenford, but at least it’s inexpensive (you may get change from a £ coin – seriously!).  This is a tough run because there are almost no street crossings – it’s just straight running.
If you are a mid-level runner and will be running on Wednesday, I would suggest you run the Hyde Park Serpentine route.  That run goes down to Hyde Park on Lisson Grove, then run west along the north border of the park until you reach the road which bisects Hyde Park.  Follow that road over the bridge then drop down to the Serpentine, run along the Lido, then cross over the Serpentine and head back past the US Embassy taking Baker Street to SJW.  That is a 6 mile route.
Tuesday – The “Ease Back into Running” group started last week with a bang.  We did 4 miles at a nice pace with lots of street crossings for some opportune breaks.  I know I said we’d do 2, maybe 3 miles, but these ladies can run!  We will do a similar pace and distance this week making sure we have transport options mid-run in case anyone doesn’t want to go 4 miles.  After this week, we will start to formulate a plan for the EBR group.  Some of these ladies want to use the group to “find their legs” and will then switch to the MWF runs.  Some ladies would prefer to train as a group until the Lisbon race doing their long runs together on Tuesday mornings.   So we’ll see what happens!  Bring your Oyster cards as we will probably do a destination run and tube/bus home.
Wednesday – The mid-level group will be running to Wembley.  We did 8+ miles last week and everyone did extremely well.  We will do 8 miles again this week, but all 8 mile routes are not created equal!  The route goes out the canal west (that’s why I’m suggesting a different route for you for Monday) and there are no red lights.  It’s just run, run, run for 7 miles then the last mile is uphill to the tube station.  It’s not easy, but it is good for us!  You know you can do 8 miles; you did it last week…. now we’ll just up the degree of difficulty a bit.  I’ll bring some tootsie rolls if that is at all enticing!
For the group who ran to Greenford on Monday, I would suggest one of the Hyde Park routes – either the Serpentine route (6.0 miles) or maybe the Hyde/Green Park route down to Hyde Park, under Wellington Arch, then a full loop around Green Park and back either through Mayfair (if you don’t mind the street running) or back through Hyde Park.  I have some new Wednesday routes for you as Notting Hill and The Wall were getting old.  I can explain/describe these if you are interested.
Thursday – Beginners Group.  This week we are doing 10 minute running intervals and they are nervous about it… big-time.  Please tell them it will be OK.  They can do it – I know it and you know it, but they don’t know it!
Friday – The heath, Hampstead, Kenwood House or any version of that – as long as you’re running up hills, you are making yourself stronger.
I understand our community experienced a couple of distressing and terribly sad incidents this week.  Let’s all be thankful for our good fortune.  We are a lucky bunch of women to have each other and to be able to run together.  After a week like this, it’s easy to keep things in perspective – a tight hamstring, an achy knee, sore hips, etc…  it’s minor….  nothing we can’t handle.
I look forward to seeing you out running this week,
Hugs from your “sole” sister,
Paula

Running this week 24 – 28 Oct 2011

Hello everyone,

Exciting news!  The “Ease Back into Running” group is being revived and is scheduled to run on Tuesday mornings at 8:15am from Starbucks in SJW.  It looks as though we’ll have about 8-12 ladies joining us.  We will begin with a very gentle pace and will be doing about 3 miles (with lots of street crossings so hopefully we’ll have lots of breaks).  Some of these ladies are new to our running groups and some are familiar faces who may just be using this group temporarily to “find their running legs” again.  I have been worried for months that we are losing ladies who fall between the beginner and mid-level groups.  It’s a big jump between those two groups.  In fact, we probably need to quit calling it the mid-level group – who’s mid-level when they can run 7 miles straight up a hill?  So, if you know of anyone interested in the group – send them my way.  I don’t think we need to worry about having too many runners in the new EBR group.  I imagine many women will only use it to help them transition to one of our other groups.
Depressing news.  Our good-bye coffee for Randi is all arranged for Wednesday, 9 November.  We will be doing a London Highlights run that morning and finishing for coffee and pastries upstairs at Cafe Richoux at about 10:00.  Even if you can’t join us for the run, stop by for coffee.
Inspiring news?  Some of our runners take powerbag classes with Christian and rave about the work-out.  He is offering two new classes – one on Tuesday and one on Thursday morning.  If those times don’t work for you, get together a group of people and work with Christian on a time that suits you.  His contact info is:  Christian Hyslop, [email protected], 07970939797,  www.wellbeingandperformance.com
Now, our route suggestions for the week:
Monday – Battersea Park – This is a 10 mile route which heads down through Hyde Park to Sloane Square, over the river, then back to SJW.  I’m suggesting this route as there are endless options for people to shorten the distance.  If you are a mid-level runner and are planning on doing your long run on Wednesday, consider doing the Hyde Park piece then head home (5ish miles), or run to Sloane Square and home (6.5 miles), or most of the route but finishing at Green Park on the way back to SJW (8ish miles).  Some upcoming Monday routes….  Greenford then Kew/Richmond.  Fun times ahead!
Tuesday – The Ease Back into Running group will be doing a 3 mile loop at a gentle pace.  Come on ladies, no excuses!!!  I promise the hardest thing is coming out to run that first time.  Once you get there, you’ll be OK.  We’ll struggle through together.
Wednesday –
  • The fastest group could consider doing The Wall or if that’s getting old, maybe a Hyde Park+Green Park loop (7ish miles).  I promise I will come up with some new Wednesday routes for you girls.  I know Notting Hill and The Wall must be getting boring.  I’m trying to keep you on a route where you can push the pace without a lot of street crossings (so the canal works well).  Ideally, Wednesdays are a great day for tempo work.  That makes a nice program for you – Mons running long, Weds tempo work and Fris hills.
  • The mid-level group will be doing an interesting (and flat) 8 mile route through the city.  There are options every mile or so to shorten the distance.  My plan for this group is to get you comfortable with 7-8 mile routes over the next two months.  We’ll throw in the mix a couple of longer runs before mid-Dec then use the winter break as a recovery phase before building up for the half-marathon in the spring.  Next week we’ll be tackling another 8 mile route – one that’s a bit more challenging than this week’s plan.  So if you can make it out both weeks, you’ll be a uber-runner by the end of November!
Friday – Everyone to the heath!  Yeah!  I’ll be doing the new route but there are always people doing the old route or shortened versions of either run.  I know it’s tough getting up that hill, but think of how strong you are becoming.  When we get to Lisbon and we’re running flat, it’ll feel easy…..  OK, easier.
That’s it for now.  Have a great weekend.
I hope to see you out running this week,
Paula
PS – One of our beginner runners sent me this today.  I thought you may get a kick out of it.

Running this week 17-21 October 2011

Hello everyone,
I’m so happy to be back in London! It’s been nice seeing you this week and getting in some great runs. This week I’m suggesting everyone run basically the same routes, just shortened for those of you wanting less distance. Before we get to that, could I mention a few things?
Our beginner runners are doing their first destination run this week to Big Ben. You may remember the feeling of being terrified and excited at the same time. Please give them the thumbs-up when you see them this week – your encouragement means the world to them.
Another email will follow with the first bits of information on the Lisbon race. I will send that out to the combined beginner and regular runner email distributions. Let me know if I’ve missed someone on the list. Thanks!

If there is enough interest I will be starting a new group on Tuesday mornings (starting 25 October) somewhat like last year’s Ease Back into Running group. We have several runners who have been out with injuries, or have been out of running for months/years, or have just moved to London and are only interested in doing a few miles at a gentle pace. I would propose that we try this until the winter break in mid-December to see how it goes. The problem is this – we have been losing some runners over the past two months due to injuries but also a result of there not being a more gentle-paced group to join. Some of these ladies have tried running with the mid-level group but they miss out on the post-run camaraderie as they are stopping mid-run when they’ve done their distance. We all know why we run…. it’s for the post-run coffee, it has nothing to do with fitness! Please let me know if you are interested in this group and let me know if you know of other ladies not on our distribution who would be interested. I would hope this group would also run Fridays and either Monday or Wednesday. The Tuesday morning run would be with me and the other two runs would be with the main groups. I’m hoping the group will gel on Tuesdays so you’ll feel comfortable organizing yourselves into a “mini-pack” as part of the regular Mon/Wed/Fri runs.

Monday:
Canary Wharf (9.5 miles) – yay! I love this route – it always feels like such an accomplishment. This route is a bit tricky; there are very few options to grab a bus/tube/taxi mid-run. In addition, sections of the canal are very isolated. This is not a run to do alone – if you are concerned that you can’t keep up, organize yourselves in pairs ahead of time with someone who goes your pace. For those wanting a shorter route, I would recommend:
Angel tube station (4 miles)
“The Wall” (6.0 miles)
Mile End (7 miles) – if this is your plan, find someone to run with you and bring a map so you know where to exit the canal. Hackney isn’t a great place to wander around alone.

Wednesday:
Notting Hill (6.7 miles). The mid-level runners went to Finsbury Park this past week and everyone did extremely well. The Notting Hill loop is a bit shorter than the Finsbury Park route and is mostly flat. My plan is to make this a recovery week for you before we bump up the mileage again. You may feel a bit deflated running Notting Hill after the challenge of Finsbury Park, but it will give your body a week to recover before we increase our mileage again. Ideally, I would like to have this group comfortably running 8 mile routes by end-November. For those of you in the group planning on doing a spring marathon (not the half), it is at this point (1 Dec) that your training will begin to differ from the rest of the group. For those of you in the mid-level group aiming for the half-marathon in Lisbon, if you’re interested in seeing your training program leading up to the race, I’m happy to share that with you. I also completely understand not wanting to know! Sometimes it’s easier to NOT think about those long runs ahead of time.

Friday:
Everyone runs up the hill – fun times! I’ll be out of town for the weekend so either do the old route or give the new route a try (could be an adventure!!!). As always, you have endless options to shorten this route.

I’ll look forward to seeing you this week,
Paula

Running this week 10 – 15 Oct 2011

Howdy! (that just seems appropriate as I’m sending this from Texas),

I’ve missed you all so much!  It’s been a productive trip here and the house is coming along well, but I’m ready to be back in London.  Many of you may be away for the ASL break, but I’ll be running.  I hope some of you are interested in joining me.  I realize also that some of you will have run the London Half-marathon on Sunday so may not be terribly interested in running again on Monday????  Think of coming by Starbucks for the post-run coffee – we would love to help you celebrate what I’m sure will be a fabulous race.
Monday (10 Oct) –  I need to do a 20-22 mile run on Monday or Tuesday.  Would you mind letting me know if you’re planning on running Monday?  I’ll come up a suitable route(s) when I know who will be out there.  I’ll be at Starbucks at the regular time – 8:15.  If we push back the time, it always seems that someone doesn’t get that message and they end up running solo.  I hope that’s OK with you.  I’m happy to push my long run back to Tuesday if that ends up working better – no worries.
Wednesday (12 Oct) –  
  • Fast Group – I’m not sure what you’ve been doing for your mid-distance run each week, so I’m hesitant to offer a suggestion.  You may be bored with the regular routes?  Notting Hill?  The Wall?
  • Mid-level Group –  I would encourage all of the mid-level runners to try the Finsbury greenbelt route.  It’s a 7 mile run with a good bakery at the finish.  For those of you who haven’t done this route, the greenbelt is an old, dismantled railway line – beautifully wooded and the path is dirt and gravel.  It’s a lovely, quiet spot in the middle of north London.  We do have to run up to Hampstead then on up to Highgate to get to the entrance of the greenbelt.  It’s a challenge getting up there, but well worth it.  We’ll tube home from Finsbury Park so bring your Oyster card.  Could someone from the “core” of the mid-level group let me know what you think about this?  If you don’t feel ready for a 7 mile run, we can come up with a different route idea.
Friday (14 Oct) –  
  • Fast Group – How about we try the new route in the heath?  Hopefully this time the gates will be open and we won’t have to trail-blaze.  I’ll throw my machete into the backpack just in case!!!
  • Middle-level Group – You may want to do something other than “the hill”, particularly if you ran the Finsbury greenbelt on Wednesday.  I would suggest a 5-6 mile flat route like the shortened Hyde Park route (run to the park, turn right/west and run to the road that divides the park, head south over the Serpentine bridge, run back/east along the Lido and wind your way back to SJW).
Good luck to everyone running the half-marathon tomorrow!  We’ll be thinking of you.
See you soon – yay!,
Paula