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