Consolidation W1R2 - better

[Roadrunner65]

Waited until we had our moment recognising our wonderful NHS at the 8pm #clapforNHS, a proud moment I then set off as soon as the neighbours were safely behind closed doors again.

This was a much better run, if not a little eerie as no cars passed me, and only one couple walking their dog. So quiet. Sign of the times.

I used Strava for the first time to show me when I had reached 5k. The weather was ideal for me. Chill in the air, dry and still. I was not going to use Michael, he's done his bit for me, so it was just me and the kilometre counter.

I felt great, I was my own motivator but as I found out this evening, I am quite impatient as a runner as a couple of times I disappointed myself looking at my phone believing I was much closer to my 5k target than I actually was. This had a little bit of impact on the old mindset, because I was getting tired, the legs were anyway and I started to question whether Michael was telling me the truth about how great I did.

On the third look at the phone app, now with 4.5k behind me, I perked up, quite a bit actually, up'd the tempo slightly even. I was focussed on the phone, wanting to stop as soon as I hit 5k, a measure I haven't taken until now. Until now it was me and the programme to get me to graduation, that's all I cared about. The health benefits were my reward, weight loss, anxiety management, de-stress etc. Well worthwhile.

Now, with those benefits embedded into my mind, this is now about sustainability, if not improvement. I actually managed 5.05k in 29.18 minutes. So this is my baseline then. If I can keep under 30 minutes or even improve on that, whilst completing consolidation, I may consider Bridge to 10k.

Do you, my fellow runners, recommend a particular app that could notify me of when I've reached a set distance? Do you recommend wearable devices, if so, which ones? Not top of the range/too pricey please: I need to save some pennies for loo role and pasta apparently!

Any advice on tech welcome (hark at me now, a running geek, who'd have thought it😂)

Keep safe everyone.

[LittleIreland Graduate]

That round of applause last night was fantastic. I've never experienced anything like it before. The whole country were united behind our NHS - each corner of the UK were oozing pride 👏