So, having graduated on Tuesday, I did another 30 mins last night. It was absolutely awful ... harder than any of the 3 previous 30 minute runs; my breathing was all wrong from the start, the rain was blowing straight into my face, my feet were wet and uncomfortable and my calves were stiff and felt like concrete. Apart from that, it was lovely 🤣
Anyway I finished it (I think the slowest I've ever run, which is demoralising). I still feel like a total fraud ... I tell people I run but I don't know if it can even really be classed as jogging. I run slower than most people walk. I run slower than I walk ffs! And while I'm sure I AM getting fitter, it's all happening so slowly. Is it normal to fall off the end of C25K and feel like, "is that it then?" I want to keep the same momentum and enthusiasm going that C25K gave me, but I'm not ready (may never be ready) to aim for anything more. I'm not going to get a chance for another run this week, so I'll have another go next week and see what happens.
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NettieNoo
Graduate
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Your posts always make me smile, and this one has given me a full on grin because it’s EXACTLY how I felt on my first consolidation run. I’ve felt like this every time I’ve finished any plan and I’m definitely not the only one. Loads of posters have reported feeling the same too. Welcome to the club!
I found what helped was to mix it up. Try some new routes. Go backwards round your old routes (direction, not running backwards!). Try a new podcast or different music. I really like Nike Run Club which is free and has loads of suitable runs for consolidating with. Dream big about events you might like to do or new goals you’d like to achieve. The run I did yesterday on Nike Run Club was called “a New Run” and might be something you’d enjoy where you are now.
The other thing I realised was that I’d suddenly heaped a load of pressure on myself to “run like a graduate” , ie generally better and faster than I had been. Let your head catch up with your body. You are a runner now. You have been for nine weeks! Don’t let those imposter gremlins get you. You are doing brilliantly.❤️
Thank you, I'm pleased I pushed myself to do it, however awful it was. I don't think it helped that at the end of my run, when I was staggering about and wheezing, I got overtaken by a running club, a dozen or so people probably 30 years my junior, running faster than I can dream of, apparently effortlessly and talking and laughing (with each other, not about me, I'm not that paranoid 😁). I'll try again in a couple of days, see how that goes and then try to set myself some realistic targets to keep me motivated (Get to 5k and have a glass of wine, that kind of thing 🤣)
It’s great to know you’ve got the mental toughness to run when you’re not really up for it. I’m currently trying to wrestle myself out of the door for mine!
You can always slow down if your breathing is out of control. There’s no shame in that at all-it’s a sensible course of action. The c25k conversational pace is best for consolidation too! I’m sure the running club wouldn’t have been judging-whenever I see someone like you were, I’d be thinking that they’d really pushed themselves and remembering the times I’d been in the same position!
You have just done an amazing thing in finishing Couch to 5k .And it is not unusual to feel a little lost at this stage.
You have been increasing your running week on week and building your strength and stamina for at least the last 9 weeks.
This of course now needs to become comfortable, and again, this takes time .
You now have the strength and stamina to run continuously for 30 minutes but it is still likely to feel challenging at times .
You can do it now but you now need to get used to it .
This is of course what consolidation is all about .
You will get good runs and not so good runs but each run will be doing you good.
It's probably worth a reminder here that running slowly is the best way to develop your aerobic base and this of course will continue to be the case well beyond C25k
You mentioned that your calves felt stiff and like concrete.
This is often a symptom of dehydration
Remember to stay well hydrated even on non run days.
The 30 minutes will get more comfortable but it is still early days so don't be too hard on yourself and remember, you don't have. To run 30 minutes every time you go out !
Vary your route a bit , try and find some new places to run and just enjoy what you are doing for a while .
Thank you for all this. Someone else has mentioned hydration (in relation to feeling fatigued) and I think that's something I probably need to investigate. I don't drink very much, never have - but I haven't always tried to run on this level of hydration. My calves have always felt stiff and sore to a degree, compression socks have really helped (except this time!)
I think a lot of new graduates have a few tough consolidation runs. I certainly found one or two of the 30 min runs pretty tough. You're still getting used to running for this length of time.Try not to be tough on yourself, especially about speed. Perhaps try not tracking the distance or speed, but just the time.
I found varying my running routes helped too. So all perfectly normal!
If it's any consolation I really didn't enjoy many of my consolidation runs NettieNoo . I'm extremely poor at doing the same thing over and over again, and was desperate to run further or faster. So consolidation, despite its usefulness, was not my idea of fun!
You've already had great advice about mixing things up, hydration, and not tracking everything, all of which I'd endorse.
Another thing that worked for me was to pick a sense to focus on during each run. So some days I'd be concentrating on views, others on the sounds or scents of my environment, or on the physical sensations of the run. For the latter it wasn't so much whether I felt good or bad, but how the breeze felt on my skin, what sort of terrain I was on, etc.
Final thing that helped was realising that constant improvement, in terms of running faster or further during every run, is impossible. If we all did that we'd all be up there with world champions!
Progress, for me, has included letting go of the idea that running's all about PBs. I've had a lovely run today, involving lots of muddy, hilly forest trails. My pace was probably 2 min/km slower than when I did C25K, but I could never have completed today's route back then, nor would I have giggled as much.
After I graduated in 2015, I just ran... I ran for pure joy. because I could. I had no ideas of the repeated 30 minute runs then.
I ran short, I ran 5 k ish and then as i ran more and more I ran the lovely longer, se where I got to runs... I found new routes, explored and got lost. I still do get lost occasionally.
I used the C25K + podcasts too... I did not like Stepping stones, loved Speed and loved Stamina.. I still use Stamina occasionally now.
Shake it up a tad... ease back... you are a very new runner.. let it evolve and whilst that is happening, find the new routes, reverse them; take in every bit of your run, sights sounds and sensations.... you are a runner, and the more you do the better it gets...
It all evolves, you get stronger, you run further and yes, despite your best efforts to remain slow, you will quite naturally speed up... I still call myself the Grey Snail... but I am not the same one that began in 2015 xxx
Hi Nettie I had a tough run today in the rain and my feet were uncomfortably wet too. But it was good to get back, do some cool down stretches and shower. I feel much better now. Going through a tough time can feel like forever, but it passes and keep going, you are doing incredibly well.
Hey Nettie. I am so happy that you posted this! I had my most horrible run yesterday and came home totally demoralised. For the first time ever, I wanted to give up after 15min but did manage to struggle through for the 47min. I felt like I had lost all the self belief I had worked so hard to gain. However, I reasoned that my expectations are higher and therefore harder to live up to. So! Tomorrow is another day, another opportunity. Change of mindset is afoot and off we go. Onwards and upwards. Best foot and all that. We can do it, it was just a bad day. Go girl 😊
There will always be good runs, meh runs & occasionally bloody awful runs...very well done on getting through one of the bad ones. What makes you a runner is going out regardless.
I hope you feel proud of yourself for getting it done 👍
Hi NettieNoo …what you’re describing is sooooooo common! It’s easy to feel like you’ve lost your way a bit after graduating but this only the start of your running journey…look how far you’ve come?! Would you have ever thought you’d have achieved this only a few short week ago?
Sometime we have those kind of runs, sometimes a few in a row & it makes you wonder what happened, my guess is that you’re taking those thoughts out with you…already you’re starting to doubt yourself…and that puts pressure on thinking that you’re going to enjoy every run…and when you don’t pfffft, suddenly you’re thinking you’re not a runner…well, you’ve completed c25k so you are, doesn’t matter how slow, or fast, you are not walking, so there!
Make sure that for your next run you are well hydrated, stretch before you go but most of all, leave those gremlins at home, this little pests who get into your head! Why don’t you mix it up a bit? Find somewhere new to run? Have you any running apps that have guided runs to keep you motivated? (NRC is a good one)
Get those shoes laced up, get some good tunes in your ears and enjoy your run…even if you have to walk sometimes, you’re not on the couch 😉😉😉
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xxx
Consolidation Run 20 🏃♂️ 
why so much variation in my run times?
Another consolidation run (number 4)
Consolidation run 1
Graduation Run!... Done it :)
