Here at House of Coco we all dealt with the pandemic and our mental health differently.
Here, our forever active writer Penny Lee Brown talks about running, her new running outfit, and why it all works together.
“Tying up my laces, putting on some Beyoncé, and pounding the streets was my go-to stress relief back in 2019.
Whilst I was a regular gym attendee too, running was the one for my brain. So when the gyms closed down in 2020, the streets were all I had.
Eventually, it became a habit, but at first it took pure mind force! ‘Get up. Get out of bed. You won’t regret going, but you will regret not going’ I’d say to myself in bed every morning, over and over again.
So I’d force myself up, brush my teeth, and get dressed for it. It was hard. It still is hard! Running is hard. But it makes my brain feel better.
These days, after years of an unhealthy relationship with food, my internal furnace works over time. The food in my belly and the fat on my body burns and provides me with the energy to do the things I want to do. Sounds obvious right? It wasn’t to me back then.
What this means for me, in particular, is that when I run, I sweat. It’s like my body is high on nutrients finally.
You’ll see me in minus one degrees running a t-shirt because within minutes of setting off that furnace switches on and I heat right up.
Thing is… I don’t want to wear shorts. I don’t want my cellulite thwapping about as I run. Yes, ‘thwapping’!.
So it’s leggings or not going.
Traditionally I wear Gym Shark because they make you look banging, but the material is so thick that when running you get super hot.
As a snowboarder, I am chuffed to discover the FLŌA Sports Backcountry Base Layer set. Great for wearing with your outer gear because the material is super thin but they keep you warm and toasty on top of the mountains.
Now, you wouldn’t think that you’d want that when running, you want to be kept cool.
That’s why this set is just absolutely magic. Here’s my week in running and the gym wearing the FLŌA Sports Backcountry Base Layer set.
Monday
It’s raining. Good job I love to run in the rain! I think it’s the feeling of cool spikes on your face or the noise of it coming down, either way, I’m excited.
Of course, my biggest worry was whether or not this thin grey set will get soaking and end up showing patches of rain all over. Actually… that’s a good test for sweat patches!
Running in the set is like running naked, in a good way! It is so thin, it’s super soft material, really breathable.
You can just roll up the sleeves and unzip the top.
Big news… no rain/ sweat patches. I normally don’t wash my clothes after every run, I don’t think you need to, I just use an antibacterial spray. But I’m chucking these in because of the rain.
Tuesday
The set looks as good as it did fresh out of the box. No changes from the wash.
The weather is better today, two degrees and no rain!
I always run the same route, I don’t know about you but I’m a sucker for routine. I’m definitely not getting as hot as quickly in this set.
The website does pitch these as good for warmth, but I’m telling you, it works the other way too and keeps you nice and cool. It’s all down to the FLŌA map technology. The website says: ‘FLŌA-MAP technology includes targeted ventilation and a unique 4 way stretch to give you the ultimate next-to-skin performance…’
I feel good after that run. Not too hot. I still can’t believe how soft they are!
Wednesday
Absolutely not. The cat woke me up at 4:30 am with a chirping gift at the foot of the stairs that I had to save.
So, no running today. I cannot extra-function without eight hours sleep.
Thursday
Blue sky and seven degrees. Welcome to the ever changing British climate.
The sun is out this morning. It is glorious. My set has been anti-bac spray cleaned and it still feels so god damn soft! It feels like they made it from the flowing locks of angels, my GOD!
I was worried about todays run because of the slightly higher temperature, but put my faith in the technology.
It was fine. Better than fine actually, this set is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever run in. Yes, I was hot, but when the temperature rises, I’ll switch the top out for a t-shirt.
Friday
I joined a new gym. One of the instructors gave me a quick session to show me around and induct me.
So, I wore the FLŌA Sports bottoms and a t-shirt. They look amazing, very flattering.
Here’s the thing about the material, it doesn’t show sweat patches. But I left a little sweat patch on one of the machine seats I was using. What’s more gross? That I left a little sweat patch, or that my crotch was sweating full stop!? Maybe not one to wear in the gym.
Sunday
Today we went out to take these lovely photographs of the FLŌA Backcountry Base Layer set and afterwards we went to a really nice restaurant for pizza. I probably shouldn’t have waked in there with workout gear on but it’s so stylish that no-one seemed to mind.
In summary, this set will be great on the mountains, and I will not be running in my previous stuff again.
From here on in it’s running with FLŌA Sports.
Read more about the technology and the map here www.floasports.com.
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