Running report 23rd & 24th May

Gemma and Gillian did 5K on Tuesday - so that's 7 of the recently graduated beginners who have achieved this milestone - fantastic work!

Our Future

Don't forget to vote by 31st May with your preference. The link was in an email all of you should have received - and it's on our Facebook page. All members, including those on a break, can vote & please do so! Give me a shout if the link isn't behaving or if you need any more info. I'm so keen to sort this out so we can focus on the running again.

Saturday's Run to Winchester

9am from the Hub, running to the Old Gaolhouse pub in Winchester. If we have heavy rain today, tomorrow or forecasted for Saturday, I will postpone as it's potentially slippery on the tow path. I will put something here, FB and email those I think are coming if I do cancel. Fingers crossed....

Test Way Run 9th June

Clare L is organising this - contact her via our FB page or via me if you'd like to do a 7km off road run.

Run Around The World

20 of you ran last week, doing 140km between you! We've passed Sofia & are about halfway across Bulgaria already. Do have a look at the map if you haven't done so yet - it's immensely satisfying to see our progress across Europe.

The Week's runs - Downloaded from my GPS:

Mon 7pm 7.6km in 49:48 mins 639 calories

Mon 8pm 5.7km in 47:37 mins 363 calories

Tue 7pm 5.9km in 45:28 mins 409 calories

Don't forget that the GPS isn't bright enough to allow for terrain. Running off road burns more calories than tarmac - typically 10-25%.

See you on Monday (running as usual) or Tuesday.

Gin

It is make our minds up time!

You should find in your email a link to an online survey where you can vote for your preference on what we do as a club, following WRN going into liquidation.

Please only vote once! If you change your mind, let me know via email or text & I will amend the result manually. And please vote before end 31st May.

Do feel free to vote even if you've not been for a few weeks - or are on a break from running due to injury, babies or any other reason.

If you've not received the email, can't get the link to work or need some more informaiton, do give me a shout.

Gin

Permission to make excuses

On Radio 4’s “All In The Mind”, there was a piece on sports psychology by Dr Tim Rees from Exeter University. You will improve the most if you give yourself reasons for a poor performance that you can control. Positive feedback to failure puts the power to change within your control. He did an experiment with blindfold darts – but it translates well to all sports, including running.

Putting a bad run down to “I’m no good at running” is not likely to help you to run better next time.

Aspects you can control include:

"I set off too quickly.”

“I chose a route that was too hilly/rough/muddy for the distance I covered.”

"It was too hot for such a long run.”

"I’m still not over my cold.”

"I was dehydrated.”

"My technique could be better.”

“I need to train a bit more before I try that route again – or I could tweak the route in the short term.”

Also try to note what went well – even if your run wasn’t great. Some examples:

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  Give yourself a huge pat on the back for going out running at all.


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  Congratulate yourself on being wise enough to take a walking break when it got too tough to run.


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  Try to remember a part of the run that felt a bit better.


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  Feel proud that you tried a new route – even though it might need a bit of tweaking.


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  Celebrate finishing your planned run.


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  Put some extra effort & time into your post run stretch – and recognise that this will help you to recover better.

Running really is mind over matter!

Running report 16th & 17th May

Congratulations to Eve, Kristine, Denise, Debbie and Sue - all of whom did their first 5K with us this week! Fantastic achievement.

If you were on the last Beginners' Programme & have missed a couple of sessions, do please feel free to come along to the Improvers' runs. I will ensure that you do a run within your ability - and nobody gets left behind!

Future of Eastleigh WRN

No news still from SRS on the beginner question yet.

Saturday 28th May 9am - Running from the Hub to Winchester

This will be a one way run, starting at the Hub, following the Itchen Way, & finishing in Winchester at the Old Gaolhouse Weatherspoons pub (bacon roll & a drink), hopefully by about 10:20.
From there, we'll either train back to Eastleigh or I have asked Phil nicely to meet us & take some of us back. It's about 11km.
As you know, this won't be much fun in the wet, so I will update this event on Friday night (27th) to confirm that it is happening.

We are out of Serbia!

Finally made it to the Bulgarian border. The virtual run around the world continues - we're heading for Sofia now.

This week's runs

Mon 7pm 6.16km in 41:45 mins 495 calories

Mon 8pm 5.5km in 42:33 mins 405 calories

Tue 7pm 5.00km in 48:40 mins 310 calories (I walked the second half)

Another holiday - and last week's runs

No runs with me on the 9th or 10th May - I'm off on holiday - again! I've got nothing to clash with running though booked so hopefully, no more disruption for a while.

Beginners' Graduation

The big news this week was the graduation of the Beginners. Nicolette, Sue, Denise, Eve, Gillian, Joanne, Sue and Kristine all ran for 30 minutes without a walking break - and I hope that they are all feeling justifiably proud! As of the 17th May, there will be no Tues 8pm runs. All former Beginners are very welcome to come along at 8pm on Mondays or 7pm on Tuesdays as Improvers. I am committed to ensuring that you continue enjoying running and that you are able to comfortably progress - don't be scared!

Cows

Second biggest news is that we herded cows bravely off the Itchen Way & back into their field! Thanks to Louise and Lizzy who were fantastic assistants. Helena will be so proud...

Club Future

I'm waiting for some clarifications from Southampton Running Sisters about beginners. I've also sent you all an email with the communication from Pauline Beare to all WRN leaders pasted in - let me know if it's not made its way to you.

Still Running Through Serbia...

We did 128km this week - but even so, Serbia seems to be going on for ever. We're aiming for the Bulgarian border and after that, one of my favourite cities, Istanbul.

The week's runs:

Mon 7pm 6.5km - sorry, no time or calories as GPS has had a problem

Mon 8pm 6.57km - sorry, no time or calories as GPS has had a problem

Tue 7pm 6.01km in 53:09 369 calories

Tue 8pm 3.54km in 30:49 191 calories

Holiday - and last week's runs

Hope all 7pm runners last week enjoyed the bluebells! I do love being able to get beyond the pavement as the evenings get lighter.

Holiday Disruption

I'm not running this Monday (25th) or Tuesday (26th) as I'm on holiday - so next runs will be on 2nd and 3rd May.

Southampton Running Sisters

Lizzie, Tory & I had a trial run with Southampton Running Sisters. If you'd like to give them a try, the Monday run on the 25th looks the easiest to find next week going from the Cowherds pub on the Common at 6pm (apologies, I can't make it). I've explained that we intend to pop along to their runs over the next couple of weeks. No session fee. I'd be very, very interested to hear how you get on.

Many thanks to Lizzie and Tory for joining me & sharing their views with me.

Coaching News

Good news - England Athletic have (finally) launched a level 2 coaching course focussed on road runners, so I'm hoping one will be organised within easy reach of here soon so I can do it. I hope that it will make me better able to support you in reaching your running goals.

Our Virtual Run Around the World

Still in Serbia and we've passed Belgrade.

Runs last week

7pm 18th April 6.20km in 42:06 506 calories

8pm 18th April 5.77km in 44:51 420 calories

7pm 19th April 5.91km in 54:28 350 calories

8pm 19th April 3.54km in 31:04 198 calories

Beginners Programme

Final run won't be until Tuesday 3rd May at 8pm when we'll be tackling 30 minutes. Beginners should have had an email from me explaining the transition to the Improvers.

A bit more about.... dehydration

Very relevant this week – I found Monday’s runs hard work, not least because I hadn’t drunk much liquid at all during the day. An experiment I haven’t tried yet is to weigh yourself before & after a run to get an idea of just how much you are getting through!

Symptons can include:

· A run feeling much tougher than it should.

· Headaches afterwards.

· Dizziness or light headed feeling.

· Dark, concentrated urine.

Before you run

Make sure that you drink before you run.

· For morning runs, I try to drink water 1 hour before I run – earlier if possible. If I drink too much just before I run, it can be uncomfortable for me, leading to stitch.

· If you are running in the evening, try to drink much more during the day - little & often is a good approach.

· Little & often is also a really good method to adopt if you are worried about bladder control – you won’t then need to drink in the half hour before you run, so a quick last minute loo visit should be enough to ensure that you are comfortable but still well hydrated.

On the run

· For runs of less than 45 minutes, you don’t normally need to drink whilst running. Having said that, a sip of water gives many of us a quick boost when we’re starting to flag. If it is very warm, you might want to take a drink with you.

· For longer runs, drinking en route becomes necessary.

· Water, squash or a sports drink are all good. Hypotonic sports drinks are designed to be absorbed by your body even quicker than straight water – Lucozade and Powerade are brand leaders, but you can make your own (see the recipe at the end).

· When you run for more than 90 minutes, you’ll have depleted your glycogen stores. To avoid running out of fuel, you could go for a multi tasking liquid that will hydrate you and refuel you! Try the Refuel Recipe at the end of this article.

· Carrying your drink is always an issue! Loop shaped bottles are easier to carry, waist packs enable you to carry bottles or a water bladder without impacting your posture.

· Alternatively, plan your route to go past a shop, take a couple of quid & just buy & drink! This fabulously pragmatic tip came from Dawn.

After your run

· Drink as soon as you can after your run – water, soft drink or sports drink.

· Try to avoid alcohol until you’re sure you’ve fully rehydrated. Otherwise you may feel the effects a little too swiftly – I do have experience of this!

DIY Hypotonic Recipe: 1 part fruit juice, 3 parts water

Refuel Recipe: Hydrating and energy rich, this is something Anne R developed with her husband for long mountain bike rides – but is also good for long runs.

Mix 200ml fruit juice, 3-4 tsp glucose powder (available from Boots) with between a pinch and half a tsp of salt. Dilute up to about 750ml with water. Tweak the quantities if you don’t feel that the mix is quite right for you – we’re all different.