LSE Run Club - Wk 7

Two days before exam day...

It may have been less than 48 hours until Summer School's final exam day but that didn't deter 10 tough runners heading out to London's busiest streets for a blast around the block to St James's Park for some full-on fitness fun.

The Strand was stressful!

Having decided in my infinite wisdom that the Strand would be the best route (most direct is always best, right?), our agility skills were put to the test time and again as we navigated pavements full of tourists and commuters in the best London rush hour has to offer. As soon as we hit a quieter spot, traffic lights seemed to turn against us. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting but we always wait for the green man at GoodGym", I wailed time and again, apologetically at the smiling, understanding group.

"Let's play a game..."

On arrival at St James's Park, we found a suitable spot for some speedwork and body weight moves. "We're going to play a game called Catch Lorna", I announced to a now slightly puzzled-looking group. Lorna had very kindly agreed to take the lead in a tough game of tag, and with a 15-second head start, set off on an exceptionally speedy loop of the park, with the rest of the crew trying to catch up after a delayed start. What a brilliant pace everyone set! More weaving in and out of plenty of parklife, including romantic couples, oblivious toddlers and sympathetic-looking commuters. Everyone looked suitably stretched when they arrived back to our starting point but I've never seen a recovery quite like it - within seconds, the group were keen to press on with the resistance training.

And so to the resistance training

And press on (and up) they did. We motored through the grasshopper push-up, double crunch, Bulgarian split squat (even meaner than usual as we risked toes getting caught in railings on this one), arms-to-palms, Pilates Leg Pull Back, double-duty kneeling donkey kick and pulsing prisoner lunge ('ouch' doesn't do this one justice...I'm sorry...), to name a few.

A much-needed detour

We then took a group decision to take a tiny detour along the Embankment back to base, and up the Waterloo Bridge steps for some final quad-burn, to avoid some crowds. It worked...Hurrah! Let's hear it for a quieter route.

Stretching the soleus

On arrival back at our meeting spot, we ran meticulously through some stretches (thank you for being so patient while I insisted in selling you the soleus stretch).

And so the hard-worked, but remarkably fresh-faced, runners returned to text books after a bit of a fitness bonanza.

Good luck with that exam, well done for all your hard work again tonight and THANK YOU for being such a great crowd - fun, strong (!), fit, hardworking, welcoming, patient...What more could a Wednesday Night Run Club trainer ask for? Team LSE - you rock!