Consolidation Run 1 🌬

[LauraRuns]

After graduating on Saturday I decided I would give myself a two day rest before starting my consolidation runs, so I headed out at lunch time today for my first one.

There was a nippy bitter wind out there today! I’m glad I’ve ordered some long sleeve base layers because although I warmed up during the run eventually, my arms and hands did start to get cold in the warm up walk/first 10 mins of running. So hopefully they arrive in time for my next run now the weather is turning. ❄️

I thought I would stick with Sarah and effectively repeat one of the week 9 runs for the first consolidation. However I’d been running for a while and realised she hadn’t checked in with me to say I’d been going for 5 minutes... surely it had been over 5 minutes by now I thought?! I checked my phone to find that somehow the app had paused itself ages ago. Thankfully I was tracking my run on Runkeeper too so I was able to use that to keep time instead - maybe I won’t need to stick with Sarah and the app after all!

Anyway, overall it was a good run despite the wind and technical glitch and I managed to cover 4.5km - not too bad! I’m glad I’ll be able to keep up my running throughout the ominous second lockdown here in England as it’s a great help to me mentally as well as physically of course. Take care everyone and keep running!

Laura x

[Dodgylungs Graduate]

Well done Laura, you’re almost at 5K so keep up the good work.

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Dodgylungs]

Thanks! I reached 5k back in week 9 but in 33 minutes rather than the 30, maybe I’ll make 5k in 30mins eventually!

[Dodgylungs Graduate in reply to LauraRuns]

Excellent!!

[Jools2020 Graduate]

Well done for your first consolidation run! Thank goodness for running to help us get through Lockdown No. 2. 😊

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Jools2020]

Thanks Jools ☺️ Hope you’ve got some nice runs planned!!

[GailXrunning Graduate]

Nice one! It was meant to be your liberation/ weaning run. And I’m taking note of some important lessons - especially your back-up. Serious forethought. Impressed.

(I’m still a toddler in this world, but I did find that gloves allowed me to run one of the colder days without adding jacket. And they are easier to stash if you get warm. Mind you temperatures are now starting to drop properly...)

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to GailXrunning]

Yes! So glad I had it running in the background otherwise I would have had to guess how long I’d been running and would have felt like a fraud 😂

Will have to find some gloves to wear with my long sleeved tops! ☺️

[Runforurlife Graduate]

Well done on your run 😀 and you're getting closer to that 5km goal and given your app paused (how annoying!?) and the wind was against you, that is pretty good going! Thank goodness we have running now to keep us sane. As we head into Lockdown 2.0, we are going to be glad we can now call ourselves runners!

I am digging out my cold weather layers for my next runs and have a lightweight thin padded bodywarmer that I plan to wear on extra cold days. Long sleeve tops with gloves are a great option. I have also just invested in a fleecy type headband in the Mountain Warehouse sale which looks like it will keep my ears cosy! Trouble is, the more you wear to keep warm at the start, the more you want to shed as soon as you've been moving for 10mins or so - it's a delicate balancing act!

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Runforurlife]

Thank you! Yes I’m so glad to have some nice longer runs to do throughout lockdown ☺️

Oo the fleecy headband sounds like a good idea!! It’s definitely hard to balance, was tempted to take a hoodie with me today but knew I’d get too hot so quickly, hence braving the wind in short sleeves! 🌬

Hope your runs go well this week 😁

[Dups Graduate]

Great first consolidation run, not far now to 5k. Definitely agree that it’s great for your mental and physical well being.

Enjoy your next run!

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Dups]

Thanks Dups ☺️ I managed 5k in week 9 in 33 mins so maybe I’ll get it down to 30 mins eventually 🤞🏼

Hope your runs are good ones this week!

[Dups Graduate in reply to LauraRuns]

That’s brilliant! I definitely think you will smash the 5k in 30 minutes 💪😊

[Jericho2332 Graduate]

Well done Laura! 4.5 is very good for consolidation 1 and I'm sure you will be at 5 before you know it 💪🏻👍🏻

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Jericho2332]

Thanks Jericho ☺️ Fingers crossed I’ll get there eventually, would love to be able to do 5k in 30 mins - will see how close I can get by the end of my consolidation runs!!

[StoneDragon Graduate]

Way to go LR, sounds like a good run (despite the technology)! 👍👏

I’ve got some running gloves (although I’ve not needed to use them yet) and one of my running tops has sleeves with thumb holes - they’re great, I used them today!👌(When did we turn in to people with running clothes?? 👀)

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to StoneDragon]

Think I may need to get some gloves sorted out, as I had to keep moving my hands to make sure they didn’t go numb with the cold/wind ❄️

Hahah I know! I never thought I’d be someone who wore jazzy running leggings and all that 😂 but maybe that also makes us ‘proper runners’ now.

[Bambi2020 Graduate]

Ooh I hate it when it pauses and you haven’t spotted it. Although, I am finding on the app when Trainer Laura tells you that you’ve ran for 5 minutes and 10 minutes-now a bit annoying- no, I don’t want to hear that when there’s still a long 20/25 mins to go- think I’m going to go it alone next time apart from my music. Well done on your run !

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Bambi2020]

Yeah I thought I wanted the familiarity of the app before going it alone but I was forced into being ‘by myself’ and it was actually fine! ☺️

Good luck for your first consolidation run Bambi - you’ll ace it!!

[Bambi2020 Graduate in reply to LauraRuns]

Thanks- quite looking forward to it 🙂

[Rennur Graduate]

That's good going.

I hope to be able to be that fast - maybe next year - when we are all vaccinated - that's how slow I am now!

Well done you.

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Rennur]

Thank you Rennur! I read somewhere that people’s naturally pace often picks up once they’ve covered more distance overall - so there’s hope for us all if we keep going!

[Couchphoenix Graduate]

Well done LauraRuns, the same thing happened to me when I began consolidation runs, I stuck with Jo and she malfunctioned....which I took as a sign to move on to something different, so I downloaded the Nike Run Club app and replaced Jo with the wit and wisdom of Coach Bennett, if you’ve not tried it, it’s great for consolidation runs, you can still play your own music and it’s free too 👍

[LauraRuns Graduate in reply to Couchphoenix]

Interesting to hear it’s not just me then! Thanks for the recommendation ☺️ I actually downloaded the app a while ago after seeing it mentioned by others on here but am yet to try it out. Will be sure to check out Coach Bennett’s guided runs though 🏃🏼‍♀️