[autodidact]

My DD and I have just entered a 5k race on May 20th! She is coming to stay for 3 days tomorrow and we start our training together.

It started from a conversation we had last week, when she said, sadly, "I would love to be a runner". Her big sis (in age, not size!) is a marathon runner (who does her first triathlon today), and we tend to look at her in awe. Big sis is hugely supportive of us, and has helped us work out a plan for training so we should be able to run/walk or even run slowly the whole thing. She is seeing if she can juggle work and come and run it with us to support us. Hubby is supporting us all the way and will come and watch, and cheer us on. In fact the only family member who has ignored us is the teenage boy! But thats teenage boys I suppose!

Big sis says we must not use the word 'jog'. Having set out on our first training sessions, we are runners, even if we only run 10 metres. When I walked the dog yesterday I scoped out a route. The first route is about 2k. Then there is another obvious one that is only slightly longer, about 2.5, but if we did that twice it would be 5k wouldn't it!

I'll keep you posted on how it goes, please help us keep up to the mark!

[lovemydoggiesx2]

Yay for you! I signed up last week for a 10k race in April. I am scared I might die before I finish it...haha...Today I did 8k and thought maybe my legs would break off.

I think itīs key just to go a little longer and longer each day. Keep in mind the time limit for your race during your training. For 10k mine is 90 minutes!

Good luck, and way to go!

[chickadee32]

Congratulations on signing up for the race - that's super exciting! I'm glad you have people who are really supportive to help you get there. I've only run one 5K, but my husband couldn't get out of bed that early to watch, lol. My sister ran it with me though, at my slow pace, and that was awesome.

I know you didn't ask for advice, but I'm going to give mine anyway, lol! Go slowly (I mean your running speed) when you start training. I really wanted to be able to run and kept trying and feeling like a failure when I couldn't do it... until I realized that I was just trying to run too fast for what my body could handle at the start. When I slowed way down (and I mean SLOW), I found that I *could* actually run, and the distance/time I could go for without stopping to walk increased rapidly from there. The other thing that helped, I think, was cross-training. I had been doing more intense cardio on a stationary bike and on the eliptical for a few weeks before I started running, and I think that really helped improve my cardio stamina (and my quads!) to the point where the running was easier than it had been previously. So if you have access to that kind of equipment, incorporating that may help too.

Anyway, good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[autodidact]

Hi Chickadee,

I'll take all the advice I can get! Thank you.

There is not a gym particularly near unfortunately, but my eldest says we can plan a circuit around the garden, and I have started riding my bike to the shops rather than taking the car.

Are you going to try another 5k? And how did it go?

Lovemydoggies! 10k!!!!! have you done a race before, or is this your first? Good luck. And what sort of doggies? mine is mostly poodle.