Training run!

Hello blog lovers.

Well, I sprung a surprise on Group 1 team this evening, and I just hope they will forgive me!  I knew that some of the newer members to the club had moved on to group 2 or not going to be here, and all who will be running in our group 1 would be the team!  So I thought I would use this as a training run, something that I think I will do on the odd occasion if we haven't got any new runners or people coming back from injury with us.

So after telling everybody what my plan and my route was to be I waited in my 'corner' for everyone to gather around.  It was then that I noticed Paula and another young lady that had come to join us, both coming back from injury!  So, I could either rethink my plans and decide on another route, or ask if they were up for a training run too!  It seems they were up for it,  and as the hills are quite short they could do it just at their own pace or however many they want to do.  We will all still be able to see each other!

So my plan was to run to the edge of Tillingbourne Green and then do a couple of hill reps, just a couple, not a lot really.  But of course to get to Tillingbourne Green we have to run up Birchwood!  We ran up Birchwood at Group 2 pace, the faster end of group 2 pace!  This really was a 'going to work the team hard' sort of run!.... I do hope they forgive me!  I noticed that when we first left the rec there was plenty of chatting going on behind me, but half way up the hill it went quiet!  I knew then that we were all working hard. All just looking towards the top of the hill, so that we could have a bit of a breather.  I looked at my Garmin, it said that we were climbing that hill at 11;30 m/mi, that is the faster end of group 2 pace.  Brilliant that is exactly what I wanted for us.

I think they were pleasantly surprised too!  We had a breather walk for a short stride or two and then started running again, we crossed over the road and headed for Tillingbourne Green.  As we were running towards the hills I checked out the roads.  My plan was to run first up one hill, do a u-turn, run back down and then straight up the other hill to the top.  I was hoping that the momentum of the down hill will give them a little boost to push that bit harder to the top.  I worked!  It went really well

We did that two more times but the last time we stopped at the top of the second hill.  Well that was fun!  I hope they forgive me!  Janet, J.J., Auriol all did brilliantly well.  Illustrious Leader also was with me today.  She had led a group of about 30 or so people on Sunday on a different sort of Train run.  Hers was literatly a train run, one that I wished I could have done.  Getting a train to Swanley and then running back!  So I think she may have been looking for a nice steady plod out today  Also their was Paula and this other lady, and I forgot to get her name!  I think they were all pleased that we had finished that bit.

We ran down Pettswood road, and nice down hill section along here, always welcomed by everyone! Auriol had asked if we were going straight down, I kind of kept quiet, I thought silence would be a better answer than actually answering!  "Oh so we are running all the way" The there is that down hill section of course and t feels so good after all that hard work we had just done.  We came to Crossways "Are we not going back yet" said Paula as we Crossed over the road and continued to run straight up.  "She's going to make us do the undulations" Auriol told her.  Well, I couldn't be that mean, so I said that we will be going down the first turning on the right after Towncourt road.

It really was a great run, and we had all kept pretty tight together, and I feel sure that when the newbies come to join our ranks for the first time we will be able to help, encourage and run with them until they find their 'happy' pace in any of the other groups, or even just to keep them up the front of group 1.

Geeky stats.