Mental Tips - 5K?

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lorrpb
lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What are your mental tips for getting through a 5K? I've walked them before but Sunday will be my first time trying to run the whole thing. I'm close, but haven't quite gotten there, in my practices (2x week). So I can't tell myself, "You've done this before" because I haven't. I don't want the voices in my head to get in the way!
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Have fun! Get caught up in the moment!
  • capaul42
    capaul42 Posts: 1,390 Member
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    tiffanybrauneis wrote: »
    When I ran my first race, my trainer told me this and it really helped me mentally.

    Runycd94fbzbjbk.jpg

    I love that!
  • Noelani1503
    Noelani1503 Posts: 378 Member
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    Are you competitive? I hate running and find myself needing to convince myself to keep going every half mile or so. But a race, with a crowd...that's a different beast. My adrenaline surges. I fully expected to take walking breaks during my first 5K, but I kept thinking I'll just get to one more milestone, or pass one more person. And I ended up not walking at all.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Competitive only with myself!
  • jennypapage
    jennypapage Posts: 489 Member
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    just tell yourself you can do this. repeat it in your head every time you feel you want to walk. also try to let your mind roam and don't think too much. look at the scenery around you. i haven't run 5k yet, but that's what i do everytime i increase the distance during my runs.
  • niblue
    niblue Posts: 339 Member
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    Pace management is the key - keep it slow and you'll be fine.
  • abadvat
    abadvat Posts: 1,241 Member
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    it's a 5k not an ultra marathon... iPod in your ears and a foot in front of the other - you'll be done without even having realised you have tarted.
  • _mr_b
    _mr_b Posts: 302 Member
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    Give yourself short term goals and make the challenge running to the next junction or lamp post. Or if you feel like upping the ante make your challenge someone in front of you that you're catching - I find that very useful!

    You can do it. If you believe in yourself then you will do it.
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
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    "What are your mental tips for getting through a 5K? "

    Start a little slower than you think you should.
    At the first mile, pick up your pace to what you think it should have been in the first place.
    At the second mile, press just a little to hold your pace, or speed it up.
    Eyes up. Pick out someone ahead of you and, see if you can catch them. No biggie if you can't. The effort is the goal.

    Remember, since this is your first, you will have a Personal Best.

    Remember the Little Engine that Could. ;-)
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
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    I would say to just do your best. Really, the first mile of any run is the worst. If you can get past that you can do it! If all else fails I like to pick a thing in line of sight, a tree, a mailbox, something that I promise myself I won't walk until I get to. Once I get there I tell myself it wasn't bad and I pick another object. I find most of my inabilities are in my head.
  • illusion2269
    illusion2269 Posts: 95 Member
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    I ran my first 5k last year, and got the bug bad lol. My recommendations are based on my experience, so take them as you will.
    • First I would recommend to get plenty of rest the night before.
    • Don't eat a big breakfast the morning of the race.
    • Make sure to give yourself plenty of time before the race to stretch, warm-up, and get loose.
    • Talk with the other runners, its a great community and you will find a ton of support from them.
    • Most importantly, have fun!
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    I remember when I did my first 5K:-) The longest I had ever run before that was one mile. The first thing I did was wrap my brain around the idea that I would be running that far. I made the commitment to myself that I would do it and run the whole thing. So I did:-) I started out nice and slow and if I felt myself start to get out of breath I would slow down. I finished in 34min.

    Fact is you have put in the training time. You have conditioned your body. Just because you have never ran this distance before doesn't mean you can't. You can. You need to realize that you can. Make a promise to yourself that you will run/jog the whole distance. Every time that negative voice pops into your head trying to tear you down, remind yourself that your conditioned, you are ready, and your capable:-) Have fun running your 5K!
  • esjones12
    esjones12 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    Positive thoughts and have fun.

    Make notes of where you struggled for the next one ;)
  • broseidonkingofbrocean
    broseidonkingofbrocean Posts: 180 Member
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    You just gotta figure out what's going to work for you. Could be encouraging yourself through positive reinforcement, listening to music/books, or just looking at something ahead of you as a goal while constantly setting new goals while doing it. I personally just talk massive crap to myself like "you piece of sh.. your being a little bi... right now." Tapping into that rage.
  • CincyNeid
    CincyNeid Posts: 1,249 Member
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    I remember my first 5K. The DAV5K in Cincinnati Ohio. Ran for Disabled American Veterans.

    That by itself was my biggest motivation. Knowing who I was running for.

    With that being said. You're going to have a lot of adrenaline running at that moment. Just put on a good play list. Find your grove and go. And trust me, when you see that finish line you're going to get a extra bit of juice to sprint it out.


    And say this out loud ..... seriously ..... It helps me to the n'th degree.

    "Im the difference between possible, and impossible"

    If you go into in defeated you'll come out defeated. If you go into it with a winners attitude you're come out a winner.
  • daweasel
    daweasel Posts: 68 Member
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    Depends on how your brain works. For me, when I'm trying to do something I've never done that's a bit of a challenge but should be achievable, I always think of it as proving to myself that I can. If you've come close to the distance before, then up to the 4km or whatever point you can tell yourself you've done it before. And then you've only got 1km to go...1km? Easy-peasy, you've done 4, you can easily do 1...

    In something like that it can also really help if you find someone who is running at a similar pace to you. Runners are a friendly bunch, if you say hi and tell them it's your first time, do they mind if you use them to pace you they won't care. Even if you don't say anything, they won't really care. If you're not comfortable pacing someone, then just find someone who is a little ahead of you and try to keep the gap constant. If you lose the person you're chasing, then just pick a new person.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    I don't want the voices in my head to get in the way!

    Notwithstanding the comment upthread about it being 5K not an Ultra, the techniques are similar.

    Give yourself a hard target, run the whole thing, and a stretch target, run the whole thing in xx minutes. Then focus on the stretch target. Essentially giving yourself contingency.

    Reinforce your objective in your mind, as you're going round.

    Attribute the feeling afterwards to someone else; partner being proud of you, kids etc. As upthread if you're supporting something attach it to that.

    Then chunk it up. For a 5K you've got 5 chunks of less than a mile each, or out and back, or three chunks of a mile each. If you're using a GPS then set it to advise you that you're there.

    So for me a Half Marathon is measured in 5K chunks, and a Marathon in 10K chunks.

    Finally, just let yourself get caught up in the moment, but not enough that you forget your pacing. Avoid going out too fast, and aim to run the front half a little slower than the back half. Leave yourself enough in the tank to push the pace in the final 100 metres and give a big grin as you cross the line.

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