There will be opportunities over the next few months to do different types of training. With evening sessions on Mondays to Thursdays, sessions during the day midweek, and various training runs at the weekend, hopefully there will be something for all members of the club to join. A summary of the sessions is set out below but please keep an eye on the list of sessions for the week (link also sent to you with email newsletter News from the Nest) for more details and for any changes or updates.
The club aims to cater for all abilities – if you are interested in the run / walk programme (as a volunteer or returning from injury) or in increasing your endurance from 5k to 10k, please scroll down this article for information of specific interest to you.
NEW TRAINING SESSIONS (Wednesdays 7pm)
** 5-10k group (Wednesday evening)
A new group aimed primarily at Eagles currently at the 5k level wanting to progress to 10k by June (including for Osterley 10k). The group will meet at 7pm at Ealing Green from 20 April to June and sessions will include a warm-up at the start.
** Wednesday self-led 7pm **
A self-led training option aimed at:
· people who would like to start running earlier than 7.30pm on Wednesdays
· people who would like to make use of the lighter evenings to run further afield
Do discuss options on Facebook in the days before the Wednesday. Alternatively, if you know your plans a week in advance and are happy to offer them to all club members (including those not on Facebook), please email start time, meeting place, route, distance and pace to coaching@ealingeagles.com and we may be able to advertise the run on the club website.
CLUB TRAINING SESSIONS
** Monday and Wednesday 7.30pm club runs **
We have put together redesigned routes for the summer which take in more of Walpole and Lammas Parks and also avoid going alongside the north circular. Please see the club run route page for the route details. These routes will be used by the 7.30pm club runs from the beginning of May. Please note that both routes use the stretch from Gunnersbury Park along Elderberry Road, around to Ealing Common and back to Ealing Green - as faster runners on the long club run will overtake other runners on the short club run, please could short club runners use the left side pavement and long club runners the right side pavement after Gunnersbury Park.
HOWEVER, please note that the offer of these sessions requires the availability of volunteers to be leaders and tail runners. The intervals / hills sessions require input from qualified coaches / leaders or experienced runners but anyone who is willing to help out and run at a gentle pace can tail a run (and make use of the time to have a recovery run, to work on your running form and to get to know other people in the club). If you have made use of the club training sessions, please play your part in making the club training sessions possible.
If you would like to lead club runs on a regular basis and you are not already on the leaders email group list, please email coaching@ealingeagles.com
** First Wednesday of the Month**
For the first Wednesday of the month before each social over the summer (May, June, July, August and probably September), we hope to organise something a bit different before each club social and the following options are already being considered
· parkrun handicap
· club champs 5k time trial
· bleep test
Please contact coaching@ealingeagles.com if you are happy to be involved in the organisation of any of these events for a Wednesday or if you have any other ideas for sessions that might be of interest to others.
** Interval Sessions on Tuesdays 7:30pm Lammas Park / Osterley Track **
Varied paced interval sessions ranging from 1 mile to tempo (half marathon) pace
Steady pace or easy training runs are done at an aerobic pace, i.e. not too out of breath. This builds up the heart, lungs and legs but will not adapt the body fully to run at a faster race pace. Interval training trains up the different energy systems used in racing at different distances. These energy systems range from anaerobic running at mile pace or faster to ½ marathon training run at around threshold pace using the Frank Horwill 5 pace system (used by Seb Coe etc).
To race at any distance you need to do intervals at race pace and faster and slower than race pace sessions. Also most club runners do a variety of distances and need sessions to train for these. All abilities of runners are catered for from post-beginner to park runner to seasoned runners chasing faster times.
Watercooler fact: an interval is actually the recovery part of the session not the fast bit!
To allow Eagles to experience the advantages of a good surface at Osterley track and running in the parks in Lammas Park, the Tuesday sessions will alternate between the two venues over the summer.
For sessions at Osterley, the club has booked exclusive use of track so you do not need to go to reception – please come straight to track (the exclusive booking of track by the club is an alternative to members booking and paying track fees individually in advance, so the committee would strongly encourage those attending to make a donation of £3.50 to club funds to assist with paying for the club track booking: bank details Ealing Eagles Running Club – Metro Bank - Ac: 15332379 S/c: 23-05-80 - please quote ref “track”).
Sessions at Lammas are often done according to time which means that everyone gets to rest at the same time.
** Hills sessions on Thursdays 7.30pm**
Training on hills
· prepare you for the hills in a race, such as Ealing Half Marathon;
· build muscle (improve leg strength while still working aerobically – strength = speed); and
· teach your body to run fast when you’re struggling for oxygen (if you did that type of speed work in winter on track – short reps – you would pull a muscle).
All standards are welcome – everyone stays in the same place for the session
We will be visiting different parks over the summer:
· May – Cleveland Park - Meet at the north east corner of Cleveland Park - near the junction of Scotch Common W13 8DL with Kent Avenue W13 8BH
· June – Hanger Hill Park – Meet at entrance to Hanger Hill Park on Hillcrest Road W5 1HW (opposite Park View Road W5 2JB)
· July – Hanwell (Bunny Park) to prepare for Eagles 10k – meeting point tbc
** Daytime sessions **
The morning sessions on Mondays will be intervals or hills sessions moving to different locations each week.
The morning slot on Thursdays will include:
· A run / walk programme for nine weeks starting on 5 May.
· A 5-10k group - aimed primarily at Eagles currently at the 5k level wanting to progress to 10k by June (including for Osterley 10k). The group will meet at 10am at Ealing Green from 21 April to June and sessions will include a warm-up at the start.
· Other sessions may be offered after the completion of the run / walk programme.
Tuesdays and Fridays 10k at 10am –self-led runs - please check the relevant Facebook group for arrangements.
** Weekend long runs **
The route of the self-led Sunday ten mile run is through the parks to the river, along to Richmond Lock and back via Syon Park. Please shout up on Facebook if you are planning to do this and would like company. The footbridge which crosses the Grand Union Canal at Boston Manor Park has been closed since late 2021 because of safety concerns around the support structure of the bridge. Please see the club run route page for a suggested diversion.
From June 2022, there will also be 5mile or 10k races taking place on some weekends
· (Provisional) Harrow summer league (5miles) on Sunday 19 June
· (Provisional) Perivale summer league (5miles) on Sunday 3 July
· (Provisional) Dulwich summer league (5miles) on Sunday 17 July
· (Provisional) Regents Park summer league (10k) on Sunday 31 July
· (Provisional) Ealing Eagles 10k on Saturday 13 August http://www.ealingeagles.com/10k/
· Battersea summer league (10k) on Sunday 21 August
** Ealing Eagles 10k **
The club’s own Ealing Eagles 10k is planned to take place on Saturday 13 August.
In expectation of this race taking place, the following training sessions are being organised:
· Recce runs on Wednesdays 15 June and 13 July at 7.30pm (meeting point tbc)
· Hills sessions on Thursdays at 7.30pm in July in Hanwell (Bunny Park) – meeting point tbc
** Ealing Half Marathon **
12 week training plans for Ealing Half Marathon on Sunday 25 September will start on Monday 4 July. More details of Eagles training for this award-winning race will be published before July.
** Next Step Improvers **
Next Step Improvers is for people who are able to run 5k and want to continue running, in particular for those wanting to increase their distance above 5k and possibly to 10k. Possible targets for Improvers, depending on your current level of endurance are include the weekend races mentioned in the section on weekend long runs above and also:
· (sold out) Osterley 10k on Saturday 11 June https://osterleypark10k.co.uk/
· Wedding Day 7k on Friday 29 July (evening race)
There will be groups aiming to progress to 10k by the middle of June (in time for Osterley 10k) meeting as follows:
· Wednesdays at 7pm meeting at Ealing Green starting on 20 April
· Thursdays at 10am meeting at Ealing Green starting on 21 April
** Run / Walk programme **
The club offers a run / walk (beginners’) programme free to the local community to progress people from not running very much to running 5k or more without walking breaks (so that they can join the evening club runs). The next run / walk programme will be for nine weeks starting Wednesday 4 May at 6.30pm or Thursday 5 May at 10am.
Healing Eagles are very welcome to join for part or all of the run / walk programme if they have been advised to do some run / walking and would like some company. Please email beginners@ealingeagles.com to check the level at which the programme is operating when you are thinking of joining.
The run / walk programme attributes its success (In the year October 2018 to July 2019, the last full year for which we have statistics, 145 people completed the programme.) to the support and encouragement provided by the volunteers. If you are happy to run at a relatively gentle pace (7 to 8min/k or 11 to 13min/miles though some people will be faster and a few may not be so fast) and encourage beginners while doing so, then please think about contributing to the club and the running community in this way. Running at a more gentle pace is also a good way of working on your own running form (running gently does not mean running lazily or sloppily). For more information, please join the volunteers facebook group or email beginners@ealingeagles.com