Category: MWF

Running for the next two weeks – 26 Sept – 7 Oct 2011

Hello Runners!

OK, how bossy can a person be????  I’m heading out of town tomorrow morning and will be away for the next two weeks, but am still telling you where I think you should run!  I promise you can do whatever you want to do – just push the delete button if you don’t want to hear the suggestions!  Not only am I going to tell you where to go, but I’m coming up with some pretty mundane routes so you’ll really miss me.  I’m thinking it may be a good idea for everyone to run some version of the same route for the next two weeks.  We have a number of new additions to the group who may still be figuring out where they belong in terms of pace.  If everyone is running in the same direction, then maybe we’ll see where those natural groupings occur.

Monday (26 Sept) – 
  • Fast Group –  Battersea Park.  I know we just did this route a couple of weeks ago, but it’s the perfect distance (10 miles) for those of you doing the half-marathon on 9 October and most of us know the route.
  • Front of the mid-level Group –  Those of you wanting to try to make the transition to the fast group – go for it!  This is a great route for you to push yourself.  If you don’t think you can do 10 miles at a strong pace, then consider running the first 7.5 miles of the route at finish at Green Park tube station or do the 10 miles just trying to keep those girls in sight.  If you prefer a loop, you could run down with the group to Sloane Square then turn around and retrace your steps (that’s also about 7.5 miles round-trip).
  • Core of the mid-level Group – You girls have been amazing.  Your distances are getting longer and you’re cracking me up with the “Oh, we only ran 6.5 miles yesterday” attitude.  If you’ve been steadily increasing your mileage, I’d shoot for 7.5 miles.  That would give you lots of options – you could do either of the 7.5 mile suggestions above or you could do a loop around Hyde Park instead (8 miles which you can shorten to about 7.6 miles by cutting off the end of the park – just turn south on the broadwalk by the Peter Pan playground instead of going behind and in front of Kensington Palace).
Wednesday (28 Sept) –
Everyone to “The Wall” (6 miles round-trip) – it’s the canal east to Islington for new-comers (it’s an out and back route – someone will show you the way).  For those of you wanting to get a bit faster, think about timing this run and making note of how long it took you to do it.  It’s great to have a “baseline” to work from.  If you are interested in timing yourself, I would recommend shooting for a negative split (run to the wall, make note of your time and come back a bit faster than you went).  Some of us when doing this sort of tempo work run really hard initially then get slower and slower.  What happens mentally is you finish the run feeling like you completely ran out of steam.  If the last half is faster than your first half, you finish feeling pretty proud of yourself (thankfully I’ll be in the US and won’t have to witness the “victory dances” at Starbucks).
Friday (30 Sept) – 
Everyone to the heath/Hampstead.  I think you all know the routine now – we all head up to Hampstead and whoever wants a long run heads into the heath.  Each group seems to have a routine they like and everyone runs whatever distance they chose.  Unless someone feels ready to lead the new route, the old route works just fine.
Monday (3 Oct) – 
Some version of the three parks (Hyde, Green, St. James).  For those of you running the upcoming half, you may want to just run the 8 mile loop around the perimeter of Hyde Park.  For anyone wanting more distance you could run around Hyde Park, go into Green Park or even St. James then back to St. John’s Wood.  The full 3 parks is about 11 miles round-trip.  You could always tailor it to whatever distance you want by grabbing a tube/bus/taxi home.  This is a perfect route for everyone.  For those of you wanting 4 miles, head down with the group to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park then turn around and run home.  If you want something more like 6 miles, go down to Hyde Park and turn south before the road that cuts through the center of the park, come back along the Serpentine and head back up to Speaker’s Corner then home.
Wednesday (5 Oct) –
Notting Hill or Notting Hill in reverse.  If you loved that tempo work on the canal east to Islington last week, then consider doing Notting Hill in reverse.  You’ll have a great opportunity to stretch your legs once you hit the canal and are heading back to SJW.  Notting Hill in the regular direction is always fun also.  The full route is between 6.5 and 7 miles.  Anyone wanting less mileage could either run out the canal and turn around and run home or follow the group into Notting Hill but stop running at Paddington station (about 5.25 miles).
Friday (7 Oct) – 
Everyone to the heath/Hampstead.  Same routine as last week.
I’ll go ahead and tell you the plan for Monday, 10 October, for those planners amongst us.  I’m going to be running very long out the canal east to Victoria Park then north along the River Lea toward or just past the M25.  The first 6-7 miles of that run is our regular route to Canary Wharf so people could either join me for as many miles as you want (you’d get to see the Olympic site along the way) or carry on to Canary Wharf.  That’s always a fun run!
The last thing – remember we have some moms with K1 children in the group.  They get over to Starbucks between 8:15 and 8:20.
See you in a couple of weeks!
Happy running,
Paula

Running this week 19 – 23 Sept 2011

Hello everyone,

Apologies in advance, I keep messing with things just a little here and there to get our groups just perfect.  I thought it may be helpful to give more specific suggestions to the mid-level runners as there is a very wide range of pace in that group.  I hope I’m not just confusing the situation.  Let me know if you’re not sure where/with whom you should be running.  For the new ladies this week, we’ll sort it out over the coming weeks – no worries.  Could someone please forward this to Chris and Margo?  I don’t have emails for them yet.

 Monday
  • Fast Group – To Kew (10 miles) – yay!  I love this run.  We’ll head down via Hyde Park then west out Kensington High Street to Hammersmith crossing over the bridge to the south side of the river then off we go.  I’ll be running on to Richmond (13 miles) to get a few more miles, but please feel free to do whatever you want.
  • Front of the mid-level Group – For those of you pushing the pace in the mid-level group, I would suggest you give Kew a try.  The first five miles to the river is a lot of stop and start so you’ll probably catch up with the fastest girls at the lights.  Once we hit the river you’ll definitely be on your own as the fast girls start to fly but all you’ll have to worry about at that point is when to turn off the river path to head to Kew.  Once you get to Kew, head to Starbucks and I imagine you’ll run into some of quicker-paced runners.  If you’re interested in this, it would be ideal to group yourself up with someone else who wants to give it a try.  If you don’t like that idea, how about running to Hammersmith and back (10 miles) or part way back (Green Park would be about 7.5 miles) or doing a loop around Hyde Park (8 miles).
  • Core of the mid-level Group – I know you have been creating some 4-5 mile routes that are great.  Here’s a couple of other ideas:  you could run down to Big Ben the normal way but then cross over Westminster Bridge go along the river past the London Eye go back over the river on the bridge to Embankment Station (5 miles) or onto Westminster Station (about 5.3 miles).  Another idea is the shopping route through Regents Park, down Marylebone High Street, Oxford St to Bond St then down to Piccadilly and west to Green Park station (3 miles) carrying on to Hyde Park Corner (3.6 miles) then up through Hyde Park to Marble Arch (4.5 miles) or all the way back to SJW (6.3 miles).

Wednesday –

  • Fast Group – What do you think about doing Notting Hill in reverse?  Once you get on the canal coming back to SJW you could do some tempo work on that stretch.  Fun, huh?
  • Front of the mid-level Group – The route this week is going to be a great run (see the next section), but I’m expecting it to be very fluid as we have new people joining us who won’t be sure where they fit into the group pace-wise.  Also the route has a lot of turns (it’s worth it, believe me), so if you are wanting to push the pace and run super-hard then please do that on Monday.  If you’re out in front of me, we will get separated.
  • Core of the mid-level Group – This week we are expecting several runners who are new to the group to join us.  We may be taking off just a bit late as a couple of them have kindergarten drop-off at school.  They are doing their speed work dashing over to Starbucks from ASL, but even at rocket speed they can’t get there until just after 8:15.  Goodness, I think we can all remember how stressful that was!  So, we’ll be heading out about 8:20 and doing a fabulous route running along the canal only to Paddington then cutting through the edge of Notting Hill to Hyde Park.  We’ll head across the park then down to Fulham Road, west out to Brompton Cemetery then back up to Kensington High Street finishing at Whole Foods Market.  For those of you who haven’t run through Brompton Cemetery, try to hang in there so you get to see it.  It’s an amazing place in the heart of London.  If you do the entire route back to Whole Foods, it’s 6.5-7.0 miles, but new girls…. don’t let that scare you.  We’ll have tube/taxi/bus options every mile or so along the way.  Everyone bring your Oyster card as we’ll all be taking a tube or bus home no matter how far you end up running.

Friday –

  • Fast Group – OK, how about we make a plan to try the new route in the heath?  I’ll hang with this group to show you the way if you’re interested in giving it a try.  Otherwise, the old route is always good fun.
  • Front of the mid-level Group – Some of you in this group did the new heath route with me on Friday which was a blast.  Thanks for that run – I loved it.  So for this week, you could try the new route on your own or do some version of the old route.  If you decide to run to Kew on Monday you may want to give yourself a break on Friday and do a shortened version of either route.
  • Core of the mid-level Group – These ladies have been doing all sorts of cool routes like up to Hampstead then down through Belsize winding back to SJW or other shortened versions of “the hill”.  It’s great.  The pace has been solid (don’t let them fool you, they say they’ve been running slow but it’s just not true) and you’re getting in some fabulous hill training.  Well done!
If you aren’t sure in which group you belong, let’s chat.  Also, there’s nothing wrong with floating between groups depending on the routes for the week.
Hope to see you out running this week,
Paula

Running this week 12 – 16 Sept 2011

Hello everyone,

Before we start talking about routes, could I mention a few things?
  1. As a group we probably aren’t doing a great job of stretching after we run.  Some of us touch a toe or two or stand on one leg doing a quad stretch while we’re in line for coffee at Starbucks, but it’s much less than what we should be doing.  So…. we’ve had a brilliant suggestion that we finish our run somewhere short of Starbucks (if we’re doing a loop run) so we don’t have to bend over in front of people trying desperately to drink their coffee in peace at the counter seat in Starbucks.  The suggestion is that if we are returning to SJW from the south we could stop at the church park at the bottom of the high street.  There are grassy spots and nice paved areas and plenty of room to spread out without disturbing anyone.  If we’re coming back from the heath, we could stop at the intersection of Acacia and Kingsmill Terrace (small grassy area).  You may have some other suggestions – so just group up wherever you prefer, but please encourage everyone to stretch somewhere.  I’m hopeful that if we do this for a few weeks, it will become a habit – one that keeps injuries at bay.
  2. Several of you have mentioned that you would like to do some local races of varying distances.  Almost every weekend there is a race somewhere in or around London.  Please do it (I know some of you already do)!  There are event listings in Runners World magazine and flyers at all running and biking shops in town.  I had hoped to organize one or two races for us in the fall, but I’ve gotten a bit lazy about it.  Personally, I have zero interest in running 5k/10k races which may have something to do with why I haven’t managed to get something together.  So please don’t let my preferences influence you!  If you know of a race that you would like to do, I’m more than happy to “advertise” it in this weekly running email for you.
  3. Our favorite running shop closed last month, but we have managed to secure our 10% discount at Runners Need in Camden.  They prefer we have membership cards to present (it’s not absolutely necessary) so I have ordered another lot of those cards we had last year for the Lago Maggiore race.  When I get them (hopefully at the end of this week), I’ll pass them around so everyone has one.  Also, at the Holborn location of Runners Need they are beginning a new, free physiotherapy service every other Monday beginning 12 September from 12-2.  There is a bit more information on their website if you are interested.
Routes for the week:
Monday – I told some of you we would be doing Kew, but I’m thinking now the Battersea Loop may be a better idea with the weather forecast.  The storm/hurricane coming in on Sunday night is expected to hit the northern regions of the UK, but they are forecasting rain and strong winds in the south.  I don’t know…. some of you may consider it less than fun to run to Kew in the rain and sit on a train soaking wet back into the city.  So, let’s try the Battersea Loop.  The full route is 10 miles, but you have the option of running to Sloane Square and back (7.5 miles) or Green Park tube and back (5ish miles) or most of the route over the river and back up Sloane St. but grabbing a bus or tube around Park Lane (Green Park or Marble Arch) which would be 8-8.5 miles.  Don’t forget to stop at the St. John’s Wood Church Gardens on your way back to stretch!
Wednesday – The mid-level group will do an interesting route along the canal east to the wall then down by Farringdon tube station (4.5 miles) to the river passing Embankment station (5.8 miles), then Westminster tube (6.3 miles), then Green Park (7.5 miles).  As noted, there are many distance options so bring your Oyster card.  This is a nice route through a different part of town and I find it very satisfying as you feel as though you’ve been everywhere when you finish (no matter where that is along the route).
Friday – Up to the Heath.
Lastly, it looks like the Lisbon Half-Marathon on Sunday, 25 March, will be our group race in the spring.  It falls on the same weekend as the ASL International Festival and I apologize for that.  Believe me, I’ve searched for other options but nothing else works.  Please know I tried to avoid all conflicts – it’s just impossible.  I’ll send out further information about hotels/flights/race info within the next few weeks.
I hope to see you out running this week,
Paula

Running this week 6 – 10 June 2011

Hello everyone,

We’ve just returned from a fabulous weekend in Dorking.  The race was a huge success – our “team” did so well.  We had several personal best times which is truly an accomplishment considering the difficulty of the course.  The hills were major and they are just getting bigger and bigger as we retell our stories of the race!  I know I may embarrass some girls or overlook others, but a few of the highlights were Lynne Hodge coming in third in her age group running a 7:30 pace (and coming home with a trophy!), Stephanie completing with a sub-9:00/mile pace, Randi rocking Dorking with a 1:51, Sue and Syma finishing at sub-10:00/mile pace and Pam burning up her first race of such a long distance.  As I said, we all had a great race, everyone did extremely well – I could brag about each of our runners and I will if you give me any sort of chance to do so!
As for running this week, we’ll stick to the regular schedule.  Each day meeting at 8:15 at Starbucks.  Monday we’ll do something around 8 miles (route to be determined – I’ll come up with a few ideas and we can decide in the morning), Tuesday will be 6-7 miles at a medium pace to some interesting destination (bring your Oyster cards), Wednesday I’m heading out of town for a couple of weeks but I know people are planning on running, Thursday the Ease Back into Running group will be out there, and Friday could be the heath or we could talk Leanne into leading the group on her super-cool, Pergola/West Hampstead route.
I’m guessing we have one more week (after this one) of “regular” running before people start scattering for the summer.  I’ll still be out of town, but could I throw out a few ideas?  Many of you have said you would love one more Canary Wharf run before the summer and some of the runners moving this summer are very interested in doing a “Sights of London Farewell Run”.  Any volunteers to organize that route/run????
I might not get to see some of you before you leave for the summer.  Please let me know if you need advice/suggestions/training programs for the summer months. I’ll be in Italy for a couple of weeks and will have time to put something together for you, so just let me know.  It’s not a problem at all – I love doing it, so call or email me.  We have quite a few people running in London over the summer so keep plugged into that group to not miss out.  We will probably start doing the more regularly scheduled routine the week of 22 August as people are returning to the UK.  The week of 29 August is definitely a go.  The beginner group will start that week on Thursday, 1 September.  I’m back to London on 11 August and will be putting in some serious mileage – let me know if you’re in town…. I would love some company for those runs.
That’s it for now.  Again, a huge congratulations to all of our Dorking runners.  Well done!
Hope to see you out running,
Paula

Running this week 30 May – 3 June 2011

Hello everyone,

The Dorking race is a week away so we have some gentle runs planned for the next few days.  That must be great news for those of you who have been doing speed work leading up to the race.  You’re done with that!  Yeah!  Could I take this opportunity to just say congratulations to you?  I know that type of training is a new thing for some of you and you’ve done it well.  It’s hard, but it does pay off.  It’s also less social.  Normally we get to chat and run, but that’s kind of difficult when you can’t breathe.  So anyway, that’s behind us but let me know if you would like to incorporate tempo/speed training into your schedules for next year.  I’m happy to help you think through how you could continue pace work on a regular basis or write periodized training programs for specific events.
Monday is a holiday but for anyone available/interested in running we will be doing about 8 miles.  Originally I was thinking we could do some fun and different route, but with it being a day off of school/work, we’ll probably do a loop that gets people back to Starbucks at a reasonable time.
Tuesday is the “open day” of the week.  So far, I know Randi wants to run so we’ll be doing 6 miles together – join us if want!
Wednesday is 6 miles of easy running.  I’m getting kind of tired of Notting Hill and the Wall so was thinking of doing more of a fun destination run with a coffee finish away from SJW.  So if you’re interested, bring your Oyster card.  If you have a busy day and need to get back to SJW, feel free to do one of the regular routes.
Thursday is going to be a lovely 3-4 mile gentle pace route for the Ease Back into Running group.  Last Thursday we went to Wandsworth Commons and had such a nice run.  We all agreed we must go back there sometime and finish at Jamie Oliver’s Recipease for a cooking class.  I’ll bring more tootsie rolls this week, but I’m thinking they won’t be needed!
Friday should be about 4 miles of pretty easy running for those of you doing the Dorking race.  Would anyone be interested in a delayed start (10:00am) for a 5 mile run down to Borough Market?  I’ll be at Starbucks at 8:15 for a 4ish mile run then will probably hang around for an hour or so and head down to Borough Market at 10:00.  Let me know if you’re interested in the 10:00 run so I’ll know who to be looking/waiting for.
The school-year is winding down and I’m starting to think about our schedule for next year.  I will be starting a new beginner’s running group on Thursday, 1 September.  Please let me know if you have any friends who might would be interested.  I have 5-6 ladies who are somewhat curious about running.  I usually start these groups with 10-12 and a few fall out over the first month or so.  The criteria is simple – they must be non-runners.  “Closet runners” who can do a few miles on their own are demotivating for those girls struggling to jog 60 seconds.  I’m thinking of starting a regular Tuesday morning run for mid-level runners (the “closet runners” may fit perfectly into this group).  Do you think that would work – would people be interested in doing that?  Lastly, I’ll definitely be planning another half-marathon for next year but am thinking of throwing in a few more races of varying distances.  We’ll see how the Dorking 10-miler goes.  Maybe some of you would like to do some more local 10k races or 8-10 milers????  I think it’s nice to have some different goals.  What do you think?  Any feedback would be most appreciated!
 
Hope to see you this week,
Happy Running,
Paula

Running this week 20 – 27 May 2011

Hello everyone,

I can’t wait for next week!  We’ve got a great program going for our last big training week leading up to the Dorking race.  It’s going to be fun – I promise.  Here’s what we have scheduled:
Monday – to Kew (10 miles) – yeah!  I love this route.  Some of you have more than 10 miles on the schedule and if so I’ve probably already had a chat with you about how this could be done.  Some options:  you could run the north side of Hyde Park instead of the diagonal or what may work out better is to do an up and back once we get on the river or go past Kew and turn around and come back.  Most of you who have 11 miles on your schedule are our faster runners so and up and back may work very well.  All that means is once we hit the river and you start to edge ahead of the group (probably at about 6 miles into the run) then check your distance, run another 1/2 mile, turn around and run back 1/2 mile (probably seeing some of our runners on your way back), then turn around and carry on running to Kew.  This way we all sort of stay together (not exactly because you will pass people again after you’ve added the extra mile), but at least we get to see each other and our middle-pack runners can cheer you on as you are running.  Those of you needing less mileage can walk in the last mile or so, do the 10 miles anyway or you can always take the tube home from Hammersmith or the train from Barnes or do some sort of Hyde Park loop.
Tuesday – I’ll probably be running at 8:15 from Starbucks with whomever can’t run on their regular day.  So let me know if you want to run and we’ll come up with something fun.
Wednesday – many of you are doing some sort of tempo/speed work on Wednesdays.  I’m probably going to do Notting Hill again at my steady pace.  For you tempo-runners, the canal is a perfect place to do these sessions.  You can jog down to the canal, then do your tempo work out 2.5 miles, turn around, tempo back for 2.5 miles, then jog back to SJW.  It’s a straight 5 miles that way without having to worry about street crossings and such.
Thursday –  to Wandsworth Commons with the Ease Back into Running group.  Fun, fun!  This is a tough route, but the window shopping stretch just before we reach the commons is excellent.  One of these days we’re going to have to call it quits there and finish with lunch/shopping on that high street.  Please come out and run with us.  For those of you not doing Dorking, don’t be put off by the route or distance.  You said you wanted to train as though you were going to do the 10 mile race – so let’s do it.  The pace will be gentle, there are plenty of street crossings, and it’s something fun and different to go to this area.
Friday – the Heath
As always, feel free to join us, do your own thing or start with us and break off to do your own training.  No worries.
I’ll be sending out another email early next week about our Dorking plans.  One more thing, could someone forward this to Francesca?  I thought I had her email address but I can’t find it.
Hope to see you out running next week,
Paula

Running for the next 3 weeks – May 2011

Hello everyone,

I’ve spent a bit of time looking at our schedule over the coming weeks leading up to the Dorking race and have some suggestions.  As always, feel free to do your own thing.  I thought it might be helpful to lay out some mileage/routes that you could each incorporate into your programs.   On the race route, there are 5 hills – none of them are awful, each are an approx 60ft elevation gain (about the elevation difference between Starbucks and half way up Fitzjohn’s in a bit shorter distance than that).  They each peak at somewhere around a 5% gradient (you could think about that like for each 20 feet you run, you would climb 1 ft higher in elevation).  So, not horrible, but definitely there.
All that being said, there are three Fridays between now and then (13th, 20th, 27th May) – I would recommend the heath for those of you who normally do it and are not injured (and currently avoiding hills).  There are also three Wednesdays (11th, 18th, 25th May) where many of you are going to be trying to do some sort of tempo/speed/pace work.  I realize it may be boring, but the best route for that work would be the canal west.  Anyone not interested in pace work could just do the regular Notting Hill route and the others could keep running out until they are half way done with the workout, then turn around and come back.  I know, I know…. kind of boring, but it would only be for 3 weeks.  Some of you will be doing pace progression and that should be done without street crossings/stoplights; others are trying to do 4-5-6 miles at a pushed, extremely consistent pace which is also best done on a long, straight stretch.
Mondays I would recommend the following:
  • 16th May – possibly the embankment loop that goes down to Hyde Park, around Harvey Nics, down Sloane St. (like the Battersea route) but when you hit the river turn left and run along the embankment back to the House of Parliament.  Then head up to Trafalgar Square and Regent’s Street and Regent’s Park home.  Some of you will be wanting to do 9 miles and that would do it.  Some are shooting for 8 and you could come home by bus/tube, others are needing 6 miles and that would get you to Westminster tube station.
  • 23rd May – Kew?  Some of you want 11 miles so you would need to either run past Kew a half mile or more, then turn around and come back, or instead of going diagonally across Hyde Park you could stay on the perimeter of the park (north or south side) which would bump the mileage up a bit.  Some of you are needing 9 miles (Kew falls somewhere between 9.5 and 9.85 depending on your path through Hyde Park) so you could either just do the whole thing and feel like Superwoman or you could walk in the last bit after you reach 9 miles.  Others are needing 6 miles so that might be some sort of Hyde Park loop along the Serpentine.
  • 30th May – Maybe this route we could just decide later on.  We have different groups wanting to run 8, 6 and 5 miles that day so we’ll think of something (hopefully more interesting than Hyde Park).  A few undulating hills would be a good idea (possibly over by King’s Cross/Farringdon where we would go over Pentonville Rise???).
Thursdays I had these routes in mind for the Ease Back into Running group (I’m telling you now because no one has arms long enough to reach across the Atlantic and strangle me):
  • 12th May – 7ish miles – maybe a slightly extended Notting Hill route?  Syma’s the boss – be nice to her!
  • 19th May – 7.5 miles – Finsbury greenbelt.  This is a tough route as we have to go up to Hampstead then continue up to Highgate, but the greenbelt is gorgeous and our legs will start getting used to hills.  The prize at the finish is that fab bakery at Finsbury so everyone remember to bring your 80p to cover the cost of a cappucino, a pastry, a bottle of water, and some rugelach (sp?) to go.  We’ll do a little excursion in either Highgate (just to bring back those fond memories of the Highgate Incident) or maybe Finsbury Park near the finish of the route to bump the mileage up to 7.5 miles.
  • 26th May – 9 miles – Wandsworth Common.  This is also not an easy route, but we’ll take it slow.  There are a number of street crossings so we’ll have some breaks.  The route takes us down to Battersea Park then up that nasty hill to the Wandsworth area.  It’s a tough one, but it’ll make Dorking look flat.  This is the train station that didn’t accept our Oyster cards before (maybe that’s all changed now with Boris?).  So, keep your savings from last week’s run to pay for the possible fine at Waterloo (or I guess we could just play by the rules and buy a train ticket???).
This schedule leaves Tuesdays free.  I’m always happy to run with whomever wasn’t able to get out on their regular day.  Just let me know and we’ll sort something out.  I hope all is well in London – let’s keep it our little secret, but I’m actually missing the London weather.  I’m running morning and/or evenings here in Texas and it’s sweltering.  I’m heading out now (5:00pm) and it’s still 94 degrees out there – yikes!!!
See you in a week or so,
Happy Running,
Paula

Running this week 25 – 29 April 2011

Hello everyone,

OK, it looks like somehow I’ve retained my job.  Becky Lindon, who must be the smartest of all of us, tried to get a little momentum behind getting me fired, but I managed to squelch that movement.  She and Jean Hughes have even more reason to fire me, but I don’t think I will share that tidbit of info – too embarrassing for me.
Monday – We’ll be doing the 10 mile run to Battersea Park from Starbucks at 8:15 (despite it being a holiday).  For those of you who haven’t done it, it’s a loop down through Hyde Park then down Sloane St, through Sloane Square, over the river, along the park, then back to Starbucks in SJW.  Tracey, Kathy and myself are doing a “dress rehearsal” running with fully loaded packs at a specific HR/pace.  So for all of our fast girls, please run ahead – we’ll see you at Starbucks at the finish.  For anyone running a slower pace, we cannot slow down or wait for anyone so please have a look at a map or run beside someone who knows the way.  Thanks a million – starting next week this will all be more friendly again!
Wednesday – The regular 6-7 mile run without speed work this week.  Probably Notting Hill or the Wall.
Thursday – The Ease Back into Running group will be doing 6.5 miles hopefully seeing some of the highlights from the wedding run Kathy led us on this past Friday.  We’ll be doing our regular (approx. 12min/mile) pace with lots of street crossings – lots of stops and starts.  If this group keeps running like they have been, we’re going to have to rename it.  Any ideas????
Friday – I hope you will all go do the heath.  I’ll be doing a 3-4 mile “stretch the legs” run so may see you at Starbucks when you finish.  Some of the group may not be running as it’s Wedding Day!
The following Monday, 2 May, I was thinking people may be interested in doing a Hyde Park loop or Green Park/St. James Park loop.  Before Tracey and Kathy agreed to run the Pony Express, we had to negotiate terms (Kathy is an attorney after-all).  The contract states specifically that they get to sit at Starbucks drinking coffee on the Monday after the race and DON’T have to run?!?!?!?  So we won’t be joining you except for the best part – coffee!
Lastly, the Dorking 10 mile race is coming together nicely.  Many of you have expressed interest and several people have already signed up.  Excellent.  It should be good fun.  I’ll get out a few more details next week particularly about some options we have on Saturday, 4 June.  If you are slightly interested, go ahead and sign up for the race.  It’s only £14 and if you don’t run it, the Dorking Running Group will make good use of the money.  They have quite a few expenses with blocking off streets and clean-up after the race.  That way you would be guaranteed a spot.  I don’t think it will over-subscribe, but that would be so disappointing if it did.
Hope to see you this week,
Paula

Running this week 18 – 22 April 2011

Hello everyone,

We’re going to have a great week of running all being inspired by the London marathon running today!  All of those runners must be down there already with sweaty palms anxiously awaiting the start.  We also have Dinae running the Nice half marathon today and Rachel running the 10k there.  Here’s to our runners – good luck!  It’s a big day!
 
This is what we have to look forward to this week:
 
Monday – Canary Wharf – I love this route, but I know it can be a bit problematic for anyone wanting a shorter distance.  There is always the option to run to “The Wall” and back (6 miles round-trip) or run to Mile End (about 7-7.5 miles).  For Mile End, we pass Victoria Park, run another mile or so then on your left there is Mile End Park.  The tube station sits just on the other side of the park.  Not to be too motherly, but if you decide on that route make sure you have someone doing it with you who is committed to running your pace.  Mile End is a rough part of town.  Kathy, Tracey and myself will be breaking off at Victoria Park to run up to Stansted Airport (just kidding – we’re only running to Broxbourne) so I won’t be around to show you where Mile End is.  I think we have all decided that as long as you know the way, running along the canal to Canary Wharf is fine solo (may not be the most fun way to run it, but it’s safe enough).  The canal is so busy that time of day with people biking to work.
 
Tuesday – I’m having a rest day, but I think some of the “Ease Back into Running” group will be heading out from Starbucks at 8:15.  That group has a range of paces from about 11:00/mile to 12:30/mile.  They may be our most adventurous group – they are always running interesting routes.  So show up if you’re interested in that pace range.
 
Wednesday – We will take a break from our tempo/speed work this week and run the Notting Hill route instead.  There is a group of our runners who are sort of falling between groups pace-wise.  For those ladies, if you decide to not run all the way to Canary Wharf on Monday, I’m happy to lead you on an extended Notting Hill route so you can get in a long run.  What I had in mind was doing something around an 11:00-11:15 pace, breaking off from the pack around Westbourne Grove to go into Hyde Park.  We would end up with about 7.5-8.5 miles depending on who joined us and how far they want to go.  We would end up back at Starbucks for the most important part of the run – COFFEE!
 
Thursday – Our “EBR” group will be doing 6 miles at an approximate 12:00-12:30/mile pace.  We are purposely running routes through the city, on the streets, avoiding pedestrians, and longing for “red men” at the street crossings.  It’s a lot of stop and start, but I have found over the years that this is the easiest way to extend distance relatively stress-free particularly for people who have it in them, they’ve done these distances before.  We will be very gradually increasing our distances up to 9 miles to prepared anyone interested for the Dorking 10 mile race.  Over the weeks we will move our routes to parks/canals where we can get more steady running.  No worries – I’ll bring my earplugs on those runs so I can’t hear the complaining.
 
Friday – We’ll be running the heath, getting in some hills, enjoying the glorious views.  It should be an approximate 8 mile run with many options to shorten that distance.  If you want to put in more mileage on the day, just follow Randi and Michelle.  They’ll lead you on a much more interesting and challenging route!  (Just kidding!).
 
For the Dorking race, yes, it’s 10 MILES, not 10K.  That’s why I love the idea of it.  It’s long enough to be a big challenge and reason enough to travel down there and spend a night, but not so long that we’ll get hurt trying to extend our mileage too quickly.  I’ve done nothing in terms of research this week on the race/hotel/train/etc, but am planning on doing that this week.  Let me know if you are interested in going.  You don’t have to commit – it would just be helpful to know if we’re looking for a hotel that can handle a sizable group or if it will just be 3-4 of us.  I’m definitely, 100% going – even if it’s just me.
 
Good luck Dinae and Rachel!  Run well!
 
Hope to see you out running this week,
Paula