First fun run - 8km?

bendyourkneekatie

I've been running a couple of months, after a lifetime of thinking I couldn't I discovered I suddenly can, and I love it. Apart from one niggly foot issue (exacerbated just as much by all the jumping around I do in my gym classes) that I need to go back to the podiatrist about,I've had no issues, and now regularly nip out for a quick 5/6km once my husband's home to watch the kids, as well as before/after gym classes on the treadmill, and a longer 10km round the river on a Sunday (or 7-8km if the 2 year old comes with).
So I want to start challenging myself with fun runs. There's a 'Run for the Kids' in March I want to aim for, 15km and maybe if I'm really up to it by then I could push the then-3-year-old.
Obviously I want to start with something smaller. Due to commitments etc the only one I can make it to in the next month or so is either 4 or 8 km. 4km just doesn't seem worth bothering with, but I'm slightly nervous about 8km. I mean, I'm slightly nervous about the whole endeavour, I still feel like an imposter jogging, and when I pass other joggers on occasion I feel like a fraud. Social/generalised anxiety ftw...
I can run 8km. I do 10km in about 55 minutes, so while I'm not flying I'm not going to be holding anybody up.
But I'm still nervous and can't convince myself to officially register. I assume it's not totally abnormal to feel like this?

mbaker566

no it's not. but preparation and knowledge are key.
you know you can run a 10k at a good pace so likely you will be just fine time-wise.
if you are passing other joggers, you are not a fraud. even if you were the joggers being passed you would still not be a fraud because all you need to be a jogger is to jog.

and preparation? try running the route ahead of time. see how it feels.
I plan on doing just that tomorrow. i have a 8k i would like to do as well but I'm not sure if i would finish before they close the race. if i can do it tomorrow, I'll sign up. if not, i will consider a different race another time.

juliet3455

@katem999 and @moyer566 . Just get in there and register for the event. Once of the best events I did was A Roots and Ruts run where I didn't receive notice that my Vacation Request to get the afternoon off work until 11:00 and then at 11:01 Registered for the 10km Trail Race. I didn't have time to get nervous or worry.

Link to my " Long Winded Runners High Post" at the very bottom of the page. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10244219/september-2015-running-challenge/p34

gdyment

katem999 wrote: »

after a lifetime of thinking I couldn't I discovered I suddenly can, and I love it.

Use this as a lesson for all things. Maybe you won't be a fan of racing. Maybe you will love it (I've done 70 now). But you won't know until you do it.

bwogilvie

If you can run 10K, an 8K race shouldn't pose a problem. The main problems beginners have with racing are (1) dealing with the other runners and (2) resisting the urge to start too fast, due to race day adrenaline, which results in crashing and burning later on in the race.

Regarding (1), a large race will have corrals or signs indicating where runners should line up, based on their estimated race pace or finishing time. Choose an appropriate one. If it's a small race without those, ask a marshall where you should line up. Look out for people behaving badly at the start. In the last race I ran, a guy ahead of me dropped his phone at the start and I nearly fell and got trampled trying to avoid him when he stopped to pick it up. Also look out for people who are run-walking: if they're following Galloway's method they should move to the side or raise their hand when they transition from running to walking, but they don't always do that. Don't get so close to another runner that you couldn't avoid them if they stopped or tripped.

As for (2), my advice is to start conservatively. After the first 4-5 minutes, pick someone ahead of you to be your rabbit. Try to go just a little faster than them. If you catch them, pick another rabbit. For much of my last race, a guy in a Gumby suit was my rabbit, until I passed him; then it was a woman in a fluorescent pink running shirt (who pulled away from me in the final sprint to the finish). It's always better to start out slow and run "negative splits" (getting faster with each additional mile or kilometer) than to start out too hard and fade.

Finally, as Jonathan Savage writes at Fellrnr.com, "Never do something in a race you have not practiced in training."

Have fun! You can do this!

mwyvr

katem999 wrote: »

I've been running a couple of months, after a lifetime of thinking I couldn't I discovered I suddenly can, and I love it. .... I'm slightly nervous about 8km. I mean, I'm slightly nervous about the whole endeavour, I still feel like an imposter jogging, and when I pass other joggers on occasion I feel like a fraud. Social/generalised anxiety ftw...
I can run 8km. I do 10km in about 55 minutes, so while I'm not flying I'm not going to be holding anybody up.
But I'm still nervous and can't convince myself to officially register. I assume it's not totally abnormal to feel like this?

You are a runner.

You are a runner.

You were a runner the day you started. Get that into your head. Please do not feel like anything else than a runner.

You are certainly a runner now. If you can already do 10km in under an hour you are also ahead of a large chunk of the population.

Anixiety sometimes creeps in when we think we are competing with others. Don't do that. You are competing with yourself, and only yourself. There are always going to be faster runners than you or me. It doesn't matter!

The best thing you can do for your running is simply this: challenge yourself to improve your running while remaining uninjured and while continuing to have fun.

No more self-doubt, ok?

Mike
Vancouver BC