C25K Advice

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niftylibrarian
niftylibrarian Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone! I will complete my final day of C25K on Tuesday (woot!) and I am running an official 5K the following Saturday. So my question is....what do I run between Tuesday and Saturday? I have been running every other day. Should I run for the 35 minutes on Thursday to keep in practice or rest more? Or do a shorter run? When I started the program I had never even run one mile let alone 3.1 so I am clueless about running! I feel great though and am really proud that I'm almost there. I just want to do the right thing to gear up for next weekend. Thanks so much!

Replies

  • glasshalffull713
    glasshalffull713 Posts: 323 Member
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    You should run, but do some easier runs. Let your muscles heal and be fresh for the race! Good luck!

    Here's some good advice:
    http://www.fleetfeetwinston-salem.com/training/resources/5k-taper
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    I would run a 5k run on thurs, then rest or a walk Friday.
  • BrownieBoy16
    BrownieBoy16 Posts: 1 Member
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    One thing you DO NOT want to do is run a full 5K two days before. That is craziness - after running 5k to going to 10k then 15k and finally my half marathon, I never ran the distance I was running two days before a race. Tuesday I would do 2.25 miles, then on Thursday I would do 2.0. Friday go out for like a ten minute SLOW job just to keep the muscles going. No need to run a 5k two days before running a 5k, especially when you haven't been running 5k distances for very long, if at all. Let me know how it goes!!
  • mochapygmy
    mochapygmy Posts: 2,123 Member
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    If you are used to running every other day without any adverse side effects then I would do a normal or slightly slower run on Thursday.

    Congratulations on completing C25K and have fun Saturday!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Another 5K on Thursday would be fine
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    One thing you DO NOT want to do is run a full 5K two days before. That is craziness - after running 5k to going to 10k then 15k and finally my half marathon, I never ran the distance I was running two days before a race. Tuesday I would do 2.25 miles, then on Thursday I would do 2.0. Friday go out for like a ten minute SLOW job just to keep the muscles going. No need to run a 5k two days before running a 5k, especially when you haven't been running 5k distances for very long, if at all. Let me know how it goes!!
    a 5k is only 3 miles, it's not like she's going out running some crazy long distance. It's fine to run 3 miles on Thursday. There is not much difference between 2 miles and 3. If this was marathon training I agree you should not run that distance 2 days before but for short distances it's fine
  • hank987
    hank987 Posts: 2
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    I just ran my first one last Saturday. I ran a full 5k 3 days before and took Thurs and Friday off. I agree that you could still do light training Thursday and Friday if you wanted but I wanted my legs to be fresh.Best of luck to you!
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    One thing you DO NOT want to do is run a full 5K two days before. That is craziness - after running 5k to going to 10k then 15k and finally my half marathon, I never ran the distance I was running two days before a race. Tuesday I would do 2.25 miles, then on Thursday I would do 2.0. Friday go out for like a ten minute SLOW job just to keep the muscles going. No need to run a 5k two days before running a 5k, especially when you haven't been running 5k distances for very long, if at all. Let me know how it goes!!

    I agree more with this than the joker who told a newbie to run a 5k 2 days prior to the race!

    I would def go for a couple of nice, easy runs during the week. Everyone's preference is diff. My first day after a rest was always the worst so the day before a 5k I would do a very easy mile or so and take off the second day prior to the race.

    congrats on the program. Sinc eyou been following it and now racing I would suggest throw out the times/distances this week and go for two runs. Run until you feel you put in a decent workout.

    Enjoy and goodluck!!!! it si a great feeling to finish EVERY race and especially awesome the first time.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    One thing you DO NOT want to do is run a full 5K two days before. That is craziness - after running 5k to going to 10k then 15k and finally my half marathon, I never ran the distance I was running two days before a race. Tuesday I would do 2.25 miles, then on Thursday I would do 2.0. Friday go out for like a ten minute SLOW job just to keep the muscles going. No need to run a 5k two days before running a 5k, especially when you haven't been running 5k distances for very long, if at all. Let me know how it goes!!
    a 5k is only 3 miles, it's not like she's going out running some crazy long distance. It's fine to run 3 miles on Thursday. There is not much difference between 2 miles and 3. If this was marathon training I agree you should not run that distance 2 days before but for short distances it's fine
    If it was a seasoned runner, then yeah doing a light and easy 5k a couple days prior wouldnt be a big deal, but this person just completed the c25k program which should tell us that she is new to running and the whole bit.

    Once you get into the swing of things...yeah, then that is different.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    One thing you DO NOT want to do is run a full 5K two days before. That is craziness - after running 5k to going to 10k then 15k and finally my half marathon, I never ran the distance I was running two days before a race. Tuesday I would do 2.25 miles, then on Thursday I would do 2.0. Friday go out for like a ten minute SLOW job just to keep the muscles going. No need to run a 5k two days before running a 5k, especially when you haven't been running 5k distances for very long, if at all. Let me know how it goes!!
    a 5k is only 3 miles, it's not like she's going out running some crazy long distance. It's fine to run 3 miles on Thursday. There is not much difference between 2 miles and 3. If this was marathon training I agree you should not run that distance 2 days before but for short distances it's fine
    If it was a seasoned runner, then yeah doing a light and easy 5k a couple days prior wouldnt be a big deal, but this person just completed the c25k program which should tell us that she is new to running and the whole bit.

    Once you get into the swing of things...yeah, then that is different.
    well I'm not a seasoned runner by any means, but guess I'm a "joker" for suggesting this!
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    Options
    One thing you DO NOT want to do is run a full 5K two days before. That is craziness - after running 5k to going to 10k then 15k and finally my half marathon, I never ran the distance I was running two days before a race. Tuesday I would do 2.25 miles, then on Thursday I would do 2.0. Friday go out for like a ten minute SLOW job just to keep the muscles going. No need to run a 5k two days before running a 5k, especially when you haven't been running 5k distances for very long, if at all. Let me know how it goes!!
    a 5k is only 3 miles, it's not like she's going out running some crazy long distance. It's fine to run 3 miles on Thursday. There is not much difference between 2 miles and 3. If this was marathon training I agree you should not run that distance 2 days before but for short distances it's fine
    If it was a seasoned runner, then yeah doing a light and easy 5k a couple days prior wouldnt be a big deal, but this person just completed the c25k program which should tell us that she is new to running and the whole bit.

    Once you get into the swing of things...yeah, then that is different.
    well I'm not a seasoned runner by any means, but guess I'm a "joker" for suggesting this!
    Just telling ya how we do our C25k program. Program runs M-W-Th and they finish it and have a week plus before the race. We usually reconvene and talk about backwards planning. Race is saturday. Rest on Friday. Wed or Thur they do 2 miles, and Mon or tues they do 2.5.

    They do such great work during the whole program and we want to set them up for success. It is great to see their progress from day one until the race. As you can imagine, some were never runners in their lifetimes. Ever. Some were athelic in HS and just never ran later in life and had to start over. Those picked it up faster and could do more. For those who were brand new to running we always recommended the taper off even thought it was "just a 5K".
    Not saying the OP would struggle if her race if she did one two days prior, but it wont benefit her a whole lot and could hinder her more than helping.


    . Heck, even running the competive circuit in our county 5K's we wouldnt do a 5k practice run just two days prior. 4 days prior we would do a 5k at a good pace, nothing close to race pace of course and 2 days prior go out for a couple miles to keep the blood flowing. Even doing this almost ever week from the end of may through mid sept got a little tiring and we had to cut it back some.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    I would run once more then stop running until your race. Crosstrain but don't do a ton of running. Wake up rested and refreshed
  • niftylibrarian
    niftylibrarian Posts: 10
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    Thank you all for the many suggestions and advice! I am not a seasoned runner (at all) but I did decide to go ahead and do 5K yesterday very early in the morning. I needed to prove to myself that I could do it and that Tuesday's run wasn't a fluke! I did it (slowly) and made it in just under 35:00. I am tired today but not overly and I feel like I will be ready for tomorrow. I'm really excited! It is supposed to be in the mid 60s tomorrow morning at start time...PERFECT! :)

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