first 5k?

flong1975

Part of me wants to secretly sign up for a 5k. The other part of my is saying "what are you nuts?" I typically do not do things that draw attn to myself ( the only 2 friends I have on here are my sisters - LOL) and this would be completely out of my comfort zone. I started running/jogging back in July and can hang in there for most of the 3 miles but I do need to stop and walk at times.... I think it depends on my mood and how hydrated I am... I guess I am just affraid of failure, pressure to commit to sticking out a work out for so long ( the race is in October ) and because I really do not know what to expect...

Does anyone have any funny stories from their first races or wise words that might ease my fears?

ATLMel

Wise words? Maybe not....

But do it. I'm like you. I'm pretty introverted and hate being the center of attention. In a 5K, you won't be. There will be tons of other runners there with you. trust me, racing is addictive. I'm a slow runner so I am generally just racing myself, but it's a blast!

No one will judge you if you take a walk break..if they do judge you...they're A**holes.

If you can already run about 3miles, maybe you should sign up for a 5K sooner than October. That's a long time to dwell on one race. Then, you can race again in October for a shiny new PR!!

jskaggs1971

If you can run 3 miles now, you can totally do a 5K. That's about the same as one of your training runs. I've only done one 5K so far, and I was honestly a little intimidated at the starting line. By the finish line, I was having a great time. If you can run most of the distance, you'll finish in fine time. Even my slow 10:30 pace had me finishing around the middle of the pack.

flong1975

Thanks both of you~ This does help me - I think I need to take a deep breath and jump in! Why should I let this intimidate me? now if I can just convince the race people to start later then 8AM... LOL

jessradtke

I actually like 5k's for all the reasons you mentioned. At the starting line I can just be part of the pack and once I'm running I kind of zone out and don't notice the other people. I don't need to train hard for a 5k. If you can already run 3 miles you can definitely do it! And walking breaks are pretty common in 5k's. In the races I've been to there are some people who JUST walk, which I love to see because I know I won't be last. LOL I don't know what kind of options you have where you live, but if there are any small charity races in rural communities they're usually pretty low key. There aren't a lot of people standing around watching you except at the water tables :-) Take that deep breath and jump in, but do it before October. That's a lot of time to psych yourself out!

wolfchild59

I can't promise wise words or actual inspiration, but here's my story.

My first 5-K was in September of last year. I signed up for it in February because a friend wanted to run it with me. I never work out with a soul (at that point, I didn’t even like the gym because there were other people there) and I purposefully don’t have any friends via MFP, because I’m also a pretty private person. I’ll share what I want to share, but I’m doing this for myself and never felt the need to have anyone along for the ride. So the idea of running in public, and running with a friend (and her husband) were not pleasant thoughts, but I still signed up.

I happened to be in a time of injury recovery when I did, and I found that knowing that I had signed up for that 5-K later in the year gave me new inspiration. I made a more concerted effort to get the injury healed and found that it drove me to working out on nights that I may have skipped for some lame reason, because I had a goal.

When the day finally came, I felt totally out of my element. I was wearing a baggy t-shirt, some cheap “workout” pants that could be easily mistaken for PJ bottoms, and an old baseball hat from a job I’d had from six years prior. So as I drove to the race, I thought I was going to be totally out of place, look like a schlub and that people would be wondering what the heck I was doing showing my face there.

Turned out that there were other folks there wearing similar stuff, or “worse” stuff, that I would never have considered running in. And not a single person around me cared what I was wearing, what I was doing to warm up or basically anything about what I was doing. But I was still nervous as hell.

As soon as the race started though, it was pure adrenaline. I loved every single minute from the time I crossed that starting line to when I triumphantly crossed the finish line. No one worried about what I was doing and no one cared if I was going slower than them or faster. I ran a personal best, but nothing special on the time. Sure I wasn't the "winner" but I wasn't trying to win, I still came in well ahead of most of the pack, even at my own little pace.

And while, even up to that morning I didn’t think I’d ever run another race ever again, I suddenly wanted to do more. And longer distances. I talked about it with my friend (who, by the way, I barely saw on the run because we were both just doing our thing) and with my hubby when I got home, laughing each time about the crazy people we know that run half marathons and that I’d never get that crazy.

But very soon after the 5-K I was signed up for a 7-K a month later and then a 10-K a month after that. Each one was more fun than the last and made me just want to keep doing more. I’m currently training for my first Half Marathon that will be on April 8th, have a 12-K on May 20th, a 5-K with the same friend in September and my second Half Marathon the day after the 5-K. And then I’ll be coaching a friend through Couch to 5K to get her able to run a 5-K in November, which I’ll be running with her.

So I say to sign up for the 5-K. Don’t worry about anyone else that will be anywhere around you or what anyone will think, do it for you because you’ve got that itch to do it. I think you’re going to have an awesome time, and you’ll probably be amazed at the number of people that are utterly impressed if they do happen to find out that you finished a 5-K.

joannes68

Hi I am one of her sisters on MFP.. I never knew you wanted to do this and if you did tell me, let's blame on me being older and I forgot LOL.. This is great I hope you do it and if STD has their 3rd annual 5k run and 2k walk this year I'll let you know. I will be doing the 2k walk for sure - no more excuses -

JayByrd107

Just do it.

tina9988

I am signed up for my first one on St. Patrick's Day and I'm a little freaked out about it. I know I'll be walking at least half of it. I've been trying to run for a month now and it's not getting any easier for me, I still have 45lbs to lose. But I'm going to do it even if I have to walk every inch of it. I have my husband talked into doing it with me and I know I can beat him...:laugh:

flong1975

It is nice to know that I am not the only one that thinks like this! What to wear would have been a big stressor too! I know my local fire dept has a charity race early in the summer. I think I will look into that because I know I would psych myself out by waiting until October for the other one. Who knows? Maybe I will really like it and sign up for more too! ok... I am sold!

@Joanne- if STD has the race, let me know and I will do it too.

Good luck on all your races everyone!

loozit2012

I'm the other sister on here. Let me know what you decide and I'll do it with you. I will have to walk most of it because of my foot issue but I think it will be fun. Your niece did her first 5K this past October and had a blast. I'm sure she would love to do it with us.
So... let's do this thing!

flong1975

I'm the other sister on here. Let me know what you decide and I'll do it with you. I will have to walk most of it because of my foot issue but I think it will be fun. Your niece did her first 5K this past October and had a blast. I'm sure she would love to do it with us.
So... let's do this thing!

LOL - OK! I know Allyson will want to do it too...

SinIsIn

Just sign up!!

I've seen people run/walk a 5K, the point is to finish it! You will do fine and probably way better than you think!

alodell89

I was SO nervous before my first 5k too but you should definitely do it it's really fun! I know what helped me was I did it with my sisters the first time and we ran together so that made it a lot easier. But don't worry about speed there's so many people there and a lot of times there are people who leisurely walk it so there's a big range of speeds! I have never EVER been a runner and I really enjoyed it so you should definitely do it!

86_Ohms

I just ran my first 5k and I had to walk some of it regardless of being able to do it on a treadmill in under 30 minutes. Final time was 33:24... which isn't too bad since I'm not a long distance runner (sprints/relays in track and short distances in football). I had only ran a few times before it during the year, and it was 24 degrees outside and very windy.

I've heard, if you want to do it on a treadmill, set the incline to 3.0 to factor in how your legs are going to feel after hitting some hills. "Flat" courses aren't that flat... and it's best to train outside for all purposes.

I'll probably sign up for another one now that I've lost some weight and have an idea of what to expect.

flong1975

@alodell89 - Nerves are a BIG part of it!

@86_OHMS - "I've heard, if you want to do it on a treadmill, set the incline to 3.0 to factor in how your legs are going to feel after hitting some hills. "Flat" courses aren't that flat... and it's best to train outside for all purposes."

Great tip! I will definitely try this! Thanks~


I am currenly checking out a few races and have a suport team ready to do this with me!

mkmacf

My first 5K (and only so far) was the Not Since Moses run in Five Islands, Nova Scotia. It isn't religious, don't worry! It gets the name from the crazy tides there. The date is picked depending on which summer day has the lowest tide at 8:30am. We wait for the whole ocean to drain out and then run on the mud/sand/clay flats and through the water. As you go, the tide starts to come in a little making it a lot of fun. I was about 20 lbs heavier than I am now, so around 290 lbs, when I did this last year. I ran parts and walked parts, took me 58 minutes. This year I will hopefully be fitter and maybe have a better time, but with a run like that, I like the experience more than the actual time it takes me.

I am going to start the C25K program as soon as the ice on my streets melts so by July 22nd this year I should at least beat 58 minutes! Good luck if you select a race!

flong1975

"Not Since Moses" HAHAHA I love it! That sounds like such a good time!

gabe_irun4coffee

Just sign up!!

I've seen people run/walk a 5K, the point is to finish it! You will do fine and probably way better than you think!

Yea just do it! If your nervous and have never seen a 5K race go and watch one the are pretty cool.

lacroyx

no one cares if you can't run the whole thing. I had a few walk breaks in my 5K's I have done.