Consolidation - what is it?

[BahamaMama1]

I am on Week 7, Runs 1 & 2 done, 3 will be Friday - so far, things have gone better than expected. I am going further than expected, up hills I definitely could not manage before and puffing less overall.

I have seen lots of posts that mention 'consolidation' but I have not found one that describes what it is or what it means...

So what is it?

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

Congratulations on almost completing C25K with week 7, only 7 more runs until you graduate, after that you will run at least 6/30 minute what we call consolidation runs before you think of what you want to run after that such as training for a 10K, those six runs can be run on the same days as you have been running with C25K, I wish you well on the remaining runs of this training course.

[John_W Graduate]

Ever heard the expression "to consolidate your gains?"

One definition: "make (something) physically stronger or more solid."

eg "the first phase of the project is to consolidate the outside walls"

Imagine you finished C25K and then stopped running. That would be the exact opposite of consolidation. Consolidation in this case means to solidify the gains in fitness you've made - a process to make you physically and mentally more robust .

For C25K it simply means to carry on running for 30 mins, 3 times a week after Week 9 - so you repeat Week 9 until you feel reasonably comfortable. You are getting your body used to running for 30 mins. This allows the body to adapt to it in a safe way and during that time, say 2-4 weeks, you can think about where you want to take your running journey next and then safely progress it - whether that's moving towards to 10k, or 60 minute of running or maybe reaching 5k if you didnt in Week 9 or maybe improving your speed or maybe simply sticking with 3x 30 mins ...

I hope that helps.

[nowster Graduate]

We actually have a FAQ Post on this very subject: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Also healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[Instructor57 Graduate]

You have great advice already about what consolidation is and how it relates to your running.

But as you say you have never seen a post describing what it is then I can only assume you have also never seen the 'pinned' posts section of the forum ?

There is so much information in this section of the forum with FAQ posts covering most questions that new runners tend to ask .

It's certainly worth a look through this section .

Here is a link to the 'pinned' posts .

healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

[BahamaMama1 Graduate]

thank you everyone, really helpful guidance and very much appreciated 🙏🏿