Running my First EVER 5k.
 

A week from tomorrow, I am "running" (it will probably be a lot more jogging/walking than running) my first EVER 5k. Does anyone have any good advise or tips to give me???

:tread:

I'm there with you! Running my first 5k a week from Saturday! We're first time 5k twins!

I've heard the most important thing is not to do anything new or different - wear clothes/shoes you've worn before, eat food you usually eat before a run, etc. Don't try to change anything up the day of the race. Beyond that, I'd be interested to hear advice from others as well.

Wow, I'm running my first next weekend too! I'm so excited--I'll be doing it with my dad. Good luck guys :D Will look forward to any advice anyone can offer.

Me four - a week from today :)

Ok. this is the best advice you will ever get.

AS SOON AS YOU GET TO THE RACE, FIND A PORTA POTTY AND GET IN LINE!!
thats it. thats all you need to know! ;)

OH! and no matter HOW tempted you are, no matter what everyone else is doing, do NOT DO NOT DO NOT start out faster than you are planning on being able to run...if anything, start off SLOWER than your anticipated pace.
EVERYONE is going to take off faster than they have business doing. You might get caught up in the excitement, and go along with it. BIG MISTAKE. if you start off too fast, no matter how easy it feels at the moemnt, you will pay for it before you are half-way done, making for a miserable last mile or 2, and a bad first experience!

Start off slow, and then by 2 miles in you will be passing all the idiots who took off at the start and are now huffing, puffing and struggling...

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

Hi! I will be in your shoes in a few weeks, running my first 5K as well! Good luck and mostly, just be proud of what you're about to achieve!

Good luck you will finish :bravo:

OK, I will copy this because it is funny, and there is actually some useful stuff in there....race tips

Ennay that was a great article :cp:

Enjoy yourself, get in that porta-potty line and TAKE YOUR OWN TOILET PAPER (and hand wipes if you feel you need them).

keep a normal pace for the first half then you can speed it up... it you give it your all in the beginning (which happens to alot of people.. there a lot of energy the hype and so on) cause youll burn out.. HAVE FUN!!!

OOh... good luck! I can't wait to hear how it goes...

I'm still working on C25k but hope to be in your shoes soon.

Eek! Thanks guys, this is all fantastic advice!

Ennay: I LOVED the article!

I am a wee bit nervous, but mostly excited for Saturday! The 5k I am running starts at 10:40 am. I am SO glad it is starting late. I can have my usual breakfast early in the morning and be good to go by race time.

I have to make sure my shorts are washed and ready to go...

I'm freaking out a little bit--I did 4 mi. on Saturday which is the farthest I've ever run, and I hurt my foot! My heel is really sore, and I barely made one mile of my two mile run today. I'm icing it and sticking only to my upper body strength training, swimming, and yoga for the rest of the week, but I'm so scared it won't be back to normal by Saturday!

It's been a couple years (and a LOT of pounds) since I've done any running, but I remember being sooo nervous before the the race. I had myself so worked up that I performed way under my potential. After a couple more I learned to finally calm down and got my best time of 31 minutes. Soooo, that would be my advice: calm down and ENJOY it. Just enjoy the fact that you're out there running, having a good time, and getting healthy. No need to stress yourself out over that!

nothing new (no new clothes, no new pre-workout foods), go the bathroom before the race, start slower than you think you can go and build speed gradually (be the turtle, not the hare), then go all out at the end if you want, and most importantly HAVE FUN!!!!! you are doing something you have never done before, that tons of people would never dream of trying. Walk, run, first or last, no matter how you do it you are now an athlete

Great advice mkroyer! I'm looking to doing a half-triathlon by next summer. I'm not doing it to win, I'm doing it to say I've done one. Maybe some day I'll do a full triathlon.

Whoo hoo!!! NSV!! NSV!!! I jogged (two) twelve minute miles on the treadmill today withOUT stopping. Two miles - 24 minutes - NON STOP. That is the best I have ever done! Whoo hoo!! I probably could have pushed myself a little longer - but I don't want to over do it before Saturday!!

Originally Posted by lobon:
you are doing something you have never done before, that tons of people would never dream of trying. Walk, run, first or last, no matter how you do it you are now an athlete

Thanks - I think I need to print that out and hang it up somewhere!!

Just wanted to say - I did it! Ran it in 31:12 which is a PR. I gave details on the running in april thread if anyone's interested. Thanks for all your advice and motivation! How did you other first-timers do?

I ran my first 5k today, too!

I'm really glad I signed up for it because the last couple weeks I've really not been feeling like running but because I had the race coming up I "had" to go. Also I have a feeling of accomplishment, proud of myself for trying something new. ...and a new t-shirt!

The main downside was that it was really crowded! Especially the first mile I was just kinda stuck in a giant pack. Then later on it was not super crowded, but the trail was still not super wide and I would get stuck behind someone who was either going my speed or slower, and I would follow for a while, debating whether to pass. On the one hand, this navigating kept my mind busy so I didn't have time to be bored or want to stop, on the other hand, it was a little frustrating and I think my time was a *tiny* bit slower than it would have been otherwise.

I think most importantly - is to enjoy yourself. Don't worry about other people passing, or going slower, or what you look like. Just get in your groove and run!

I just wanted to share that my run time was 30:37 and chip time 30:32. The weather was also terrible... it's kind of raining/snowing/hailing and the wind is pretty strong, so that kind of sucked. I've never run in that much clothing before (I wore my jacket) - usually if it's that bad I can tell from the weather network and I'll move my runs around. Yeah, I hate rain that much lol.

I have another 5k in May (May 15th) and I'm hoping to be able to run it in <30 mins. It shouldn't be too bad because today's route was hilly... apparently the route for May won't be that hilly since Mississauga doesn't have hills (according to my friend lol)

Congrats everyone else here who ran their first 5k today too! I think I counted 5 people or so :)

I wanted to get under 45 mins... And I DID!! I did the 5k in 38:50. WAY better than I thought I could do! Now, I look forward to beating my time at the next 5k I am doing in June!

Well, the course was TOUGH!!! My dad, who is a seasoned runner, said it was the hardest 5K he's ever run. The last 1/4 mi. was all steep uphill--I literally was crying at the finish line, but I ran the whole thing! My time was 43:37, which is not where I wanted to be, but I wasn't planning on having such a rough course. I'm also still having a lot of trouble with my heel, to the point that I'm going to have to take a couple of weeks off running and see if it will clear up. I'm going to try and maintain with swimming, spin class, and the elliptical. It's frustrating to have come so far and now I'm limping just walking, let alone jogging.