Sunday 25 January 2015

Colwick Beginners - Week 3

Well... we managed to get ourselves some sunshine at Colwick yet again!  Hooray!  And as ever it was incredible to be part of a sea of women taking over the park and doing something so great together.  Thank you!  I don't know about you, but being part of that really sets my Sunday off nicely!!!  

Registration
We had another 11 new members join us this morning, which was fantastic... and if anyone hasn't filled in the full registration form yet fill in the online form version at http://goo.gl/forms/ZyPEsyKOiD

Also, if you didn't manage to sign in this morning, reply to this email just to let me know you were there!

Week 3
This week, everyone managed 3 minutes of running, with no walking... and not only did that once, but managed it twice.  And it was amazing to see so many people give that extra blast of 90 seconds at the end a go too.  Just think back a couple of weeks to how hard even a minute of running was... and now you can do three times as much of that and still smile at the end of it.  You're going to be more than ready for next week!

So, as ever, the plan for this week in included so that you can have a go again, at least a couple of times - but making sure that you make time for rest days.  It's really important to look after yourself and your body and not push it too hard in the early days.  A healthy snack after a run (bananas are brilliant!), a rest day in between sessions... and keeping yourself active generally will all give you a great foundation for your running.

Begin with a brisk five-minute walk, then two repetitions of 90 seconds of running, 90 seconds of walking, three minutes of running and three minutes of walking. Remember to start out steadily with that first 90 second run as you need to pace yourself for the first of the three minute runs. Once you've run for three minutes, make sure that you keep up a brisk pace for your three minute walk before doing your next 90 second run, 90 second walk, 3 minute run, 3 minute walk sequence. As with this morning, if you want to push yourself a bit and your legs and chest are feeling okay, add on another repetition of the 90 second run-walk combination at the end before your 5 minute cool down walk. However, that is entirely optional and just sticking to the main plan will still keep you progressing and ready for the week 4 challenge! Make sure you take that rest day in between runs though, 'too much, too soon' is the most common way that new runners get injured... and now that the running bug has bitten, we need to keep you able to run and out there!

So, do the following for a total of 3 times during week 3


Activity
Duration
Total time

Brisk walk
5 minutes
5 mins
1
Running
90 seconds
6.5 mins

Brisk walk
90 seconds
8 mins
2
Running
3 minutes
11 mins

Brisk walk
3 minutes
14 mins
3
Running
90 seconds
15.5 mins

Brisk walk
90 seconds
17 mins
4
Running
3 minutes
20 mins

Brisk walk
3 minutes
23 mins

Cool down walk
5 minutes
28 mins
Medals and t-shirts!
In the last week we've had a couple of announcements in our Facebook group about the chance to buy yourself a gorgeous purple Notts Women Runners top (which is great for spotting other NWR members when you're out and about running!) and also a virtual race for you to earn a medal for completing the 5k we're aiming for with our beginners' course.  

To order a t-shirt, you just need to email Lisa Foreman on milasmoon@gmail.com with your size (they come in XS, S, M, L and XL - women's fit or men's if you prefer a looser fit) and preference of a vest or a t-shirt. I've attached a picture of them if you haven't seen what they look like. As soon as Lisa gets 30 orders (which is what we need for the print run) she will PayPal invoice you and go from there. For the virtual run - which is happening in March - you just need to go to http://www.virtualrunneruk.com/enter-nwr-race and pay your £6 to enter, then either run the 5k distance in March with our group, at parkrun or whenever and wherever suits you... and on completion, you'll get a fabulous medal! 

Tuesday evening informal beginners' run
As with last week, for anyone who would like a running buddy, I am happy to run with you.  If you come to the big Tesco at the bottom of Carlton Hill (NG4 2EB) then we'll be running from there at 7pm, repeating the week 3 run on a route which will be as flat as I can make it in Carlton/Gedling!  You can see the route at http://runkeeper.com/user/sarahhorrigan/route/3619086 and if you can make it on Tuesday, then I'll look forward to seeing you at 7!  If you're coming along, but running late, just text me on 07527899459

Use of Colwick Country Park
We had a chat with the park ranger at Colwick today and he said how pleased he was to see everyone running and using the park - which is terrific.  He did want us to make sure that the park stays safe for all users (including us, obviously!), so asked us to give a few quick reminders:
1.  When we set off on our run-walk, stay on the grass or the path as no-one wants us getting squished by cars!
2.  When you're parking, make sure you park safely and don't block any roads on the way into the park - if an emergency vehicle needs to get in, they need to get in!
3.  We'll meet where we did this Sunday, on the grass verge near the lakeside as that works well.
4.  Where possible, car-share, bike or walk to the park.
5.  Give way to other users of the park - pedestrians and cars are around and about... and as the weather warms up, we just need to make sure that all users of the park stay happy!

So basically - they love us being at the park on a Saturday morning, they just want us to not get squished... and for us not to squish anyone else!

In the meantime, I hope you get to put your feet up at some point today... you've earned a rest after the hard work you've put in with your running.  As ever, I look forward to running with you next Sunday.  In just a few short weeks I hope you'll be proud to call yourself the runner I already know you are!

Cheers

Sarah

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Bulwell/Top Valley Beginners - Week 2

Wow! Wasn't it cold tonight, frosty and fresh. We did well not to slip, so no surprise we took it easy tonight. I'm so impressed with you all. It is a wonderful sight, seeing you all running and chatting, both Sarah and I are still amazed. Now down to business…

Stretches and warming up

Now that we're gradually starting to build up our running, I thought it would be good to share with you some of the stretches you might think of doing at the end of your runs - see the end of this post. They cover various different muscles and they are what are called static stretches, i.e. you stay in one place while you're stretching that muscle. If you want to stretch before a run, then it would dynamic stretches (i.e. you're moving while you stretch) that you should think of doing. However, at the moment, we are warming up by doing a nice brisk walk and that's plenty for the start of your run... so we won't worry about dynamic stretches yet!

Rest days

As with last Monday, you worked really hard this evening - each run interval was 50% longer than we were doing the previous week so it's extra important to give yourself a rest day in between today's run and repeating the session later on the week. Doing some other cardio session is fine on a rest day, but give your legs a rest!

Week 2's session plan

Begin with a brisk five-minute walk, then alternate 90 seconds of running with two minutes of walking - you have 6 blocks of running to do altogether. Don't go out too fast when you're running, a relaxed jog and focussing on keeping on moving is your goal to help build stamina. Speed will come later!

Do this 3 times during week 2 if possible.
 
 
Activity

Duration

Total time
 
Brisk walk

5 minutes

5 mins

1

Running

90 seconds

6.5 mins
 
Brisk walk

2 minutes

8.5 mins

2

Running

90 seconds

10 mins
 
Brisk walk

2 minutes

12 mins

3

Running

90 seconds

13.5 mins
 
Brisk walk

2 minutes

15.5 mins

4

Running

90 seconds

17 mins
 
Brisk walk

2 minutes

19 mins

5

Running

90 seconds

20.5 mins
 
Brisk walk

2 minutes

22.5 mins

6

Running

90 seconds

24 mins
 
Brisk walk

2 minutes

26 mins
 
Cool down walk

5 mins

31 mins

Staying in touch

As ever, if you've any questions about what we covered during week 2, please drop me an email to nottswomenrunners@gmail.com or text / phone me on 07799146165.

You can also keep in touch with the rest of the group via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/nottswomenrunners as well as following us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nottswomenrun

And finally...

If you'd like to run again during the week and are struggling to find anyone to run with, please let us know and we can try and pair up or run with you.

Have a great running week. Week 3 will amaze you at how much progress you've made! I can't wait!

Cheers

Zoe


 
















 


Colwick Beginners - Week 2

Wow! Wasn't the weather kind to us this morning! Okay, so it was a little on the frosty side, but it sure was pretty out there. And it was fabulous to be joined by new runners, adding to the chatting, laughing, happy atmosphere. Thank you for helping to make it such a lovely morning.

Stretches and warming up

Now that we're gradually starting to build up our running, I thought it would be good to share with you some of the stretches you might think of doing at the end of your runs - see the end of this post. They cover various different muscles and they are what are called static stretches, i.e. you stay in one place while you're stretching that muscle. If you want to stretch before a run, then it would dynamic stretches (i.e. you're moving while you stretch) that you should think of doing. However, at the moment, we are warming up by doing a nice brisk walk and that's plenty for the start of your run... so we won't worry about dynamic stretches yet!

Rest days
As with last Sunday, you worked really hard this morning - each run interval was 50% longer than we were doing the previous week so it's extra important to give yourself a rest day in between today's run and repeating the session later on the week. Doing some other cardio session is fine on a rest day, but give your legs a rest!

Week 2's session plan
Begin with a brisk five-minute walk, then alternate 90 seconds of running with two minutes
of walking - you have 6 blocks of running to do altogether. Don't go out too fast when you're running, a relaxed jog and focussing on keeping on moving is your goal to help build stamina. Speed will come later!


Do this 3 times during week 2 if
possible.



Activity
Duration
Total time

Brisk walk
5 minutes
5 mins
1
Running
90 seconds
6.5 mins

Brisk walk
2 minutes
8.5 mins
2
Running
90 seconds
10 mins

Brisk walk
2 minutes
12 mins
3
Running
90 seconds
13.5 mins

Brisk walk
2 minutes
15.5 mins
4
Running
90 seconds
17 mins

Brisk walk
2 minutes
19 mins
5
Running
90 seconds
20.5 mins

Brisk walk
2 minutes
22.5 mins
6
Running
90 seconds
24 mins

Brisk walk
2 minutes
26 mins

Cool down walk
5 mins
31 mins

Staying in touch

As ever, if you've any questions about what we covered during week 2, please drop me an email to nottswomenrunners@gmail.com or text / phone me on 07527899459.

You can also keep in touch with the rest of the group via Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/nottswomenrunners as well as following us on Twitter athttp://www.twitter.com/nottswomenrun

And finally...
 
If you'd like to run again during the week and are struggling to find anyone to run with, I'm happy to repeat today's session with you on Tuesday evening at 7pm. I'll be at the entrance to the big Tesco at the bottom of Carlton Hill (postcode NG4 1EB) and the route will be a nice flat one towards Carlton Station and then along towards Burton Road Rec. As it's an informal run, I'll be heading off at 7pm - and if no-one joins me, that's no problem at all... but if you'd like some company, come along for 7.

Have a great Sunday evening and enjoy your running week. Week 3 will amaze you at how much progress you've made! I can't wait!

Cheers

Sarah







 

Bulwell/Top Valley Beginners - Week 1

Firstly, thank you so much for coming! It was amazing to see so many women runners raring to go and Sarah and I - as well as the other helpers - really enjoyed meeting everyone.
Secondly, I hope that you're not too achy, although today is the day you may feel heavy in the legs. It is normal. We managed to run-walk 2 miles in a little under 30 minutes, which was fantastic. The first run is definitely the hardest and the fact that you put so much effort into all of the running sections - even though it was hard at times - was inspiring.

Now you have had a day to rest I am sure you are all ready to go again!!! OH YES YOU ARE.

I'm including the plan that I used for Mondays session. If you'd like to repeat this at least once, preferably twice during the week, then that will set you up well for next Monday. If you haven't time to get out running, do try to find some kind of cardio activity to take part in during the week - cycling, walking, swimming etc are all good - as staying active will really help to keep on building your fitness, which will also help you with your running. I also find yoga great for stretching.

Week 1

Begin with a brisk five-minute walk, then alternate 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking, for a total of 20 minutes (you will do 8 blocks of running altogether). Finish with a 5 minute cool-down walk. Use a watch or an app on your phone to keep track of the time so that you know when to run and when to walk. If you want to record your run, then an app like Strava, RunKeeper, MapMyRun or Endomondo are all free and easy to use on your mobile phone. We have a Notts Women Runners group on Strava if you want to join us!

Do this 3 timesduring week 1

Activity
Duration
Total time
Brisk walk
5 minutes
5 mins
1
Running
60 seconds
6 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
7.5 mins
2
Running
60 seconds
8.5 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
10 mins
3
Running
60 seconds
11 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
12.5 mins
4
Running
60 seconds
13.5 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
15 mins
5
Running
60 seconds
16 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
17.5 mins
6
Running
60 seconds
18.5 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
20 mins
7
Running
60 seconds
21 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
22.5 mins
8
Running
60 seconds
23.5 mins
Brisk walk
1.5 minutes
25 mins
Cool down walk
5 minutes
30 mins

If you've any questions about what we've covered this week, do drop me an email to nottswomenrunners@gmail.com or text / phone me on 07799146165.

In the meantime, if you haven't joined our Notts Women Runners group on Facebook, please do! There's lots of support and advice to be had in the group and you'd be more than welcome to join. You can find us at
http://www.facebook.com/groups/nottswomenrunners.

Enjoy what remains of your week, have a great weekend and I'll see you next Monday - 6.30 at the same place where we gathered Monday!

Cheers

Zoe