Hi Collegegirl09,
Your first 5K is only two weeks away, so there's not enough time to build extra speed or endurance over what you've already achieved. But I can offer a few suggestions which hopefully will make your first 5K an enjoyable experience!

-- I would just keep training as you have been, but go easy a day or two before the race. You want your legs to be fresh going into race day.
-- Lay out everything you need the night before the race - clothing, race number (if you have it), etc. That will avoid any last minute scramble to find something!
-- Don't eat anything unusual the day before and the morning of the race. Stick to what you know works well for you.
-- Try to arrive at the race a little early, to allow plenty of time for parking, picking up your packet, last minute potty stop, etc.
-- follow instructions on securing your race number and timing chip. Someone will be there to assist if you have questions.

During the 5K
-- Pick a spot in the starting line up that you feel corresponds to your expected race pace. Please do NOT go to the front, unless you are very speedy!! (You will get run over!!) If you run 8-11 minute per mile pace, then somewhere in the middle is good. If you are slower, then line up more toward the back. Walkers should go to the back.
-- Don't start out TOO fast! It's very easy to get caught up in the race fever and go out way faster than you've trained. Try to keep to your training pace, or just a little faster, or you risk crashing and burning before the end. Race-pacing is definitely a learned skill.
-- Enjoy it! It is your first 5K so it is an automatic personal record! Just being out there and finishing the race is a tremendous accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself!

Living in Florida, I don't have a lot of opportunity to run in cold weather. I would suggest getting good quality, wicking technical-fabric clothing that you can layer and adjust to the conditions. Things like tights or long running pants, long sleeve shirts, jacket / vest, a hat and gloves. But others can advise you better than I can ....

Good luck on your race and let us know how it goes!!

No, I just think it's my general lack of coordination -- trying to run, breathe, AND drink at the same time ... :D

LOL. OK :)

collegegirl - have you been running outside already or is all your work on a treadmill? If you have been doing treadmill only, I would say switch to outside runs. As for clothing, wear layers. Get a hat, ear warmers, gloves, thin long sleeve shirt and a light jacket.

I ran this morning and it was around 30 degrees. I wore a pair of compression shorts, a pair of pants, my sports bra (which is thick), a thicker outer layer shirt, sunglasses and a hat. I should've probably wore some gloves but I just made a fist while running. I'm still experimenting a little with what to wear myself.

Someone told me that for running in colder weather to dress as if it were 20 degrees warmer. I've tried this idea and it works, although it's chilly starting out. I usually put on a bit more and shed the layers. But in a race this is probably not possible, so I guess you'd just start out a bit chilled? (I will find out on Saturday, I plan to do a 5K and it's the first one since it's gotten a bit cooler...) And then, when you finish, have more layers to put on to counteract the cooldown, or you'll be shivering.

My hands are always cold so I wear gloves. I got some thin ones that dry quickly and they work well alone or I think I could put them under fleece ones later in the winter. I can see I'll need a hat soon too. But not yet.

I've found that if I drink a pint of Cytomax before I run, I have to drink while running much, much less frequently. So if drinking while running is a problem, check that out.

that sounds interesting... thx!

I ran 7.3 miles tonight and then walked another 1.2 miles. I really think the first 2 miles always seem the hardest. I hope everyone had lovely runs this weekend.

I did my first 5K! Ok, I had some walk breaks. And my time was slow - about 41 minutes. Read on to find out why...

Some friends invited me to do the 5K section of a 10K race as part of a local festival on Sunday morning. I was due to do day 3 of week 5 of C25K (run 20 min continuously), so I figured, why not? Entry fee was $5 which included breakfast!

So we started with the race instructions (turns out the organiser was the fiance of a girl I work with!) and he was telling the 10K runners that at the 3K mark there was a hill that was a bit steeper than it looked. I was kind of tuned out, and thinking "I'm glad I'm just running along the river then turning around and coming back - no hills for me!"

So there I am, running along and minding my own business. And I thought to myself "this hill really is as bad as he said". Then I thought again, but this time it was "if Daniel said the hill was at 3K, and I'm doing a total of 5K, and I'm supposed to turn around at the halfway mark..." :doh:

Yep, it doesn't take a mathematical genius to realise that if half of 5 is 2.5 and I was running up the 3K hill, I'd missed the turn! So I turned around to see a guy in a car waving at me.

Apparently I did an extra 750m. So that makes my run 6.5 K instead of 5. Which doesn't make my 41 minutes look quite so shabby!

I was pretty embarrassed, but the organisers were laughing about it. Dan promised not to charge me extra for running further than I was supposed to! :o

Cheers chickies.

first 5K of the season
 

I ran my first 5K of our running “season” on Saturday – the “Spooktacular 5K” at a nearby park. We had been experiencing a period of pleasant fall weather with cooler temps and lower humidity – but last weekend turned oppressively hot and humid as summer refused to let go. The pre-dawn temperature was 79 with about 100% humidity!

Despite the warm weather, quite a few turned out in costume, as we listened to the “Monster Mash” and “Ghostbusters” theme and prepared for the run. We were given glow bracelets, which were welcome as it was still dark when we lined up for the start! A cute little girl sang the national anthem a capella -- she changed key about 12 times during the song, but she was adorable and got a big round of applause. :D

I had NO idea how I would do, since my last 5K was in April, and I’ve been running slower in the summer because of training for distance and because of training in the heat. I took off strong, but the heat quickly took its toll and I had to slow down a bit after the first mile. Still, I kept it going, and really kicked it during the last .1 mile and finished in a very respectable 26:34 (8:34 min/mile pace). Not my fastest ever, but not that far off either. Considering the heat/humidity factor, I was quite pleased.

Until … I looked at the score board and found I missed 3rd place in my age group by THREE SECONDS!!! And the second place finisher was only 5 seconds faster than that! Had I run 9 seconds faster, I would have been second in my age group. They gave out age group awards only to the top 3, and the trophies were really cute. <pout> Oh well.
On the other hand, just a few short years ago, just FINISHING a 5K was a major accomplishment. I was happy to just not be last, and now I am within seconds of making the top 3 in my age group?? Unbelievable, really. I’m happy!! Plus, I got a banana, a t-shirt, a jack-o-lantern necklace and a glow-in-the-dark bracelet! :cb:

Happy running everyone ....

MBN - I love hearing that about your 5K times. It means there is hope for me to get faster - lol!

Primm - Don't feel too bad about going a little extra. I did a December 8-mile trail race with dd once that we did so slow (because she was so cold she couldn't run - gotta love midwest winters) the water stop at the halfway mark had been taken down!! We ended up going out further than the 4 miles, but not by too far, before we turned around. By the time we got all the way back they'd taken down most of the food and the time clock and everything. Someday I'd like to do that race again just to see how I actually do, but that's one I definitely don't want to do with her!

Lene - I tend to agree that the first 2 miles are usually the hardest. I love when I tell non-runners that and they say that's what would be hardest for them because they'd keel over before they got that far!

Collegegirl - I can't give you any better advice than what was already given re: the weather, so good luck!

Julie - For me, drinking is much harder from the cups at races, but I still slow down if I have a water bottle or something on me during training.

I got back out and did 2 miles today. I have a cross country race the weekend before Thanksgiving so that should keep me on track for a few more weeks.

W5D2 of C25K. I made it! It wasn't as bad as I thought. I slowed down my running pace to about 4.6 mph. and it seemed to help. I was more worried about finishing than going fast. It feels good to accomplish something. Reading everyones times and rece reports have been a great motivator. Keep up the great work guys.

I did Saturday's run last night as I wasn't feeling good on Saturday. I was amazed that I could do it. It was 35 minutes of 2 minute run/walk intervals.

Great to read everybody's race reports. I ran my 10 mile race last Sunday (19 Oct - I think). My time was 1hr 34. I had sort of hoped for better, but those are nine and a half minute miles so not too bad. For the first 5 miles I ran with my Mum. The course - Twickenham Cabbage Patch run - went down one side of the river Thames and up the other. It was all very flat apart from one small hill near the end which was like a bad joke when I saw the marshalls waving us up it!

The weather for the race was cold and it threatened rain, but in the end it stayed dry. It was great to run along listening to my headphones. As I got up to mile 7, I thought that I really ought to push the pace, but frustratingly I just couldn't make myself do it - a failure of mind over matter.

My Mum finished about 10 or 15 mins after me, having had to stop for a while as she had hurt her knee. My little brother did the race in 1hr 10 - even though it was his first race of any sort and he'd had to run an extra 2 miles to reach the start line, having got lost on the way. I guess it's different for boys.

I enjoyed the race and hope next time will be quicker! I'd like to sign up for a half marathon next. Meanwhile I have a 10k next weekend. Does anyone have tips for working out a sensible - but challenging - target time? I usually run nine minutes miles on the way to work, which is five miles, but am not very tired at the end (just extremely sweaty).

Good luck to all.

Great job everyone on keeping up the running and racing.

Tinamae - I think C25K is a great program. Slowing down will definitely help build your endurance so you can go farther. Eventually you'll be able to speed up again when you are going farther!

Nelie - Way to keep up with the program despite the not feeling well obstacle.

southofriver - glad to hear your race went well. a 9-1/2 minute pace is pretty good if you ask me! Great job!

So, a question if I may ... I finished the C25K program a couple weeks ago. I was timing myself instead of counting distance. I'm a slow runner, so by the time I got through the 9 weeks, I was running 30 minutes, but not 3 miles! Probably about 2.25, plus walking a little over .5 miles between warmup and cooldown.

The last two weeks I've run about 2.5 miles M-W-F. I have a knee that complains a bit at the end of my runs, so I try to increase slowly. So far so good with that.

I'd like to start running Sunday morning too (4 days a week). But even if I just take a 2 mile run on Sunday, that's more than the limit of 10% increase in weekly mileage recommended on coolrunning.com. But it would seem weird to run shorter than that.

Does it seem like too much to add that Sunday 2 mile run? Should I just stick to the M-W-F for longer. I'm adding another 1/4 mile every couple weeks, so 2.5 miles a day this week (7.5 weekly), 2.75 miles a day next couple weeks (8.25 weekly). That does come out to close to the 10% limit.

Maybe I'm answering my own question here. But I was kinda wanting to run 4 days instead of 3. Just seems right. But I don't want to overdo it either.

Thanks!

Julie, I posted this very same question on another running forum I'm on (about adding a 4th day, but keeping within the 10% increase limit). Here's the answer I received:

And another one:

So basically add the extra day, but cut back the mileage on your other days for a bit to keep within the 10% rule. They all seemed to agree that the 10% rule is pretty much set in concrete though, or you are at serious risk of injury. Hope this helps!

Thanks Primm. I just can't see cutting back on my usual runs, since they're only 2.5 miles, and I only just now worked up to that. Those would be some pretty darn short runs. But it helps to know I should really stick to the 10% rule. So I guess I'll keep gradually increasing the 2.5 miles to 3. I just feel like I need another day out on the road :dizzy:. Thanks again.

Hello!

Found my way to this thread and wondered if anyone minded me joining on in?

I've been running for a little while so will throw the hand up and own up to being an addict :)

I try and run about 4-6 days a week with one long run on a Saturday morning and several smaller runs (about 8-10kms or 5 - 6 miles) through the weekdays.

I ran a personal best Saturday just gone :) I managed 30kms (about 19 miles I think) which took around 2 hours 45 mins and boy...did my backside feel it lol.

The next challenge is the 8th of November - I have entered an actual race which is over 26kms (just over 16 miles) and around three peaks (Mt Ainslie, Mt Majura and Mt Pleasant). I never thought I would enjoy the prospect of running around a mountain but I ran one back in July and loved it! Although that one was a little shorter - 16kms.

Anyway! Just thought I would pop in and say hello and join in the running conversation :)

It's hard to pick a target time, so much depends on the day -- the weather, the course, how you feel, etc. But considering that you just ran a 10 miler at 9.5 min/mile (which is GREAT btw), and your normal 5 mile daily run is 9 minute miles, I would guess that you could run 9 minute miles for 6.2 miles. That is a finish time of just under 56 minutes. My suggestion is to go out at your regular 9 min/mile pace and pick it up in the last couple of miles if you can. (negative splits). But, please don't be too fixed on a particular time, it's lots more important to go out and have fun and burn lots of calories!! :D

9:15 min/mile 10K = 57:29 min
9:00 min/mile 10K = 55:55 min
8:45 min/mile 10K = 54:22 min

I think I may see myself actually running nonstop one day! Today for our running class we did 3 min run/1 min walk. Uhh it wasn't bad at all. Part of the run I felt was as easy as walking. Granted I am SLOWWW! Still though, did 25 mins of run/walks 5 intervals of 3/1 and a little warmup walk with cooldown walk.

Welcome Lyria! Your upcoming race sounds fantastic and challenging! Congratulations on your personal best this past Saturday, whoo hoo!

Thank Tyler :)

Yes, I'm quite nervous...its one thing to run on mostly flat surfaces for that distance but another entirely when it's up and down and around mountains (or in Canberra's case...large hills!).

I'll be having a weekend off from long runs this Sat since I don't want to still be recovering when the 8th rolls around. Went for a 5 mile run this morning in my new shoes - faster time and NO PAIN!

Bought new running shoes yesterday as the pair I bought about 2-3 months ago have been giving me HUGE blisters and keeping me in agony. We're talking blisters no joke 5-6cms long and 3cms at the widest on my instep. It really hampered things as I'd be able to do one run and then have to wait 2 or 3 days to let the blisters go down. My partner actually had to forbid me to run because he was worried I'd really damage my feet. (He was right...but argh it was so frustrating). Anyway, these new ones are just the best - you don't even know they're there.

I've been raving about my new shoes a lot...it's probably kind of strange but I just cannot get over the feeling of running with NO pain anymore lol.

I completed W5D3 of C25K! :dance: I had been running based on time but this morning I mad up my mind to do two miles no matter how long it took. It ended up being about 25 minutes to finish the two miles.

I hope everyone keeps posting their race reports. It is great to see how everybody is doing. And it is great motivation for the rest of us.

i jogged 4 miles for the first time yesterday.....im hoping to do it again tomorrow :)

Lyria, shoes are a HUGE factor. I usually have one particular brand/model that I use. I tried buying a different model from the same brand that was higher priced and theoretically better, but found the toe area was shaped differently and didn't work for me -- OK for short runs, but not for the long runs, very uncomfortable. I even ended up losing a toenail from those shoes because it bruised the nail bed on one toe (TMI, I'm sure!) I went back to the tried and true model and no problems after that. So once you find something that works, just stay with it!!

Got rained on today, just a little :). The rain was nice, the humidity not so much, but all in all an average run. I've run 2.5 miles these past two weeks. Next couple weeks I'm gonna do 2.75. I'm gonna do 5K by Thanksgiving ;).