Sports relief 6 mile prep- advice please!

becka63

So next week I'll be running 6 miles in aid of sports relief.

I think I'm pretty well prepared in terms of the running, I've been following the B210K programme and completed it earlier this week with a 7 mile run in 70 min. I've been running twice a week for the past 3-4 weeks, doing one of the longer runs in the week and a 3 mile run at weekends rather than strictly following the programme. This is because I was finding it difficult to run 6+ miles 3 times a week along with the other workouts I do (mainly ChaLean Extreme).

I would like some advice on preparation for the day itself though. About 8 years ago I entered Race for Life (5k) and there was all this crazy workout warm up stuff, which I did, because it was a laugh, but since I've been training for this, my warm up is a brisk walk, before jogging slowly and increasing my tempo until I hit a pace I'm comfortable with.

I don't really want to stand there and feel compelled to do jumping jacks and the like next week, what can I expect? Is there any one here who has specifically done sports relief (3 or 6 miles) and how manic is the warm up? I'm worried that deviating from my 'norm' will be detrimental to my run, I'll have enough to deal with running with a load of people and maybe on a grass surface!

So any advice or experience of organised race / runs warm ups and how to deal with them would be great! Thank you!

icemaiden17_uk

Bump!! I am doing a 3 mile on Sunday and I have no idea what to expect!!

meerkat70

I'm doing the 6 mile one too.

I have not raced before, but when I did a sponsored walk I just ignored the kind of warm up stuff you describe, and did what I felt was appropriate to warm up. I intend to do the same for this race. the warm ups aren't compulsory, they're not individualised, and if you don't want to do them, I don't see why you should feel pressured to do so.

Best of luck. You sound far better prepared than me. (I've been poorly, and it's thrown my training schedule badly, so while I did 6 miles about a month ago, my longest recent run was today - just over 5 miles. I think I'll be ok though. I don't anticipate getting a good time, but all I'm aiming for is a finish this time round.)

jj3120

Good luck! I'm doing the 3 mile next Sunday.

I've done race for life before but not sport relief but I would guess there will be some kind of warm up. Just do what your used to!

I've not done much running lately but know I can manage 3 miles, maybe I will aim for 6 miles next year..

RAFValentina

You don't need anything special. It's less than an hours running. Wear your normal comfortable running gear, don't try out anything new. Make sure you have eaten a while before and nothing too heavy but enough to give you some energy. Be hydrated. Pin on your race number with safety pins, If you can have someone look after your valuables whilst you run or leave as many stashed away in the car. Safety pin your car key in to the inside of something securely or in a pocket. If it's a cold day you may wanna wear a sweatshirt or a bin bag that you can rip off at the start, but personally, I just man up! You'll be warm soon enough. Get there with enough time to park up and go to the loo and potter about so you're not stressed or antsy.

I regularly run 10Kms, (this is just shy of!) and I'm also doing sport relief 6 miler next weekend.

Warm up at the start, jog on the spot jumping jacks... DYNAMIC stretching if you choose to stretch before running... I don't ...only after... otherwise you but tension in your muscle at the start and it has nowhere to stretch to when running / moving... Jog on the spot at the race line until it goes. Overtake on your right where possible. Drink water and jog it off/stretch off after the race.

Don't warm up if you don't normally but personally I advise at least elevating your heart rate slightly even if you don't stretch (I don't before!)

The key is not to do anything unusual or you haven't tried a few times in training before with no issues!

I'm doing the Wem Lower Lacon 6 mile one on Sunday next weekend! Looking forward to it... which are you doing!?

meerkat70

You don't need anything special. It's less than an hours running.

Not for me, it's not! :-D (I think I'll finish in about 70-75 minutes, but who knows.... )
Mine's in Market Harborough.

becka63

You don't need anything special. It's less than an hours running.

Not for me, it's not! :-D (I think I'll finish in about 70-75 minutes, but who knows.... )
Mine's in Market Harborough.

Haha- I can't do it in less than an hour either! I did it in just over today, but that was a well worn route and I had to stop a little bit (you know, to give prioritiy to oncoming traffic and stuff!). I'm aiming for 65 to allow for 'the day' and I'll be pleased with that!

Mines in Worcester, thanks for all the tips!

ArchyJill

Never do anything race day that you didn't do during training.

angbieb

bump for later! Running my first half-marathon on May 5th-Need Advice!!!!!

RAFValentina

Sorry didn't mean to offend! I clearly am faster than I thought!

Also just to re-iterate... don't do anything you haven't "tried, tested and approved"!

Market Harborough.... my cousin who's just had a baby lives there!

meerkat70

What are you all doing training wise this week? I'm thinking I'll do my normal 3 and 4 mile runs through the week, until Friday. Last lifting day at gym on Thursday, I think?

I reckon this should mean I'll be reasonably free of stiffness?

RAFValentina

I haven't run for a week now. I'm going to run tomorrow or go on the elliptical without the bars and well, I'm on exercise for over half of the week so I'll be tabbing about with all my gear on (Kevlar helmet, body armour, webbing combat equipment marching order first line kit -mess tins, waterproofs, CBRN gear respirator etc with boots on) and doing Battle Physical Training so that'll do me I think... with probably some phys somewhere squeezed in on Tuesday! Friday will be a big pissup for us too as we get our postings then!!! Nothing special for me really as, without sounding like a *kitten*, it's just another run and is about 2/3 of my normal run!

becka63

@RAFValentina, didn't offend, I am deeply in awe!

@meerkat, I am doing what I would normally do, except that I swapped it round, I did my 6 mile today and will do a 3 mile on Tuesday. Will carry on with my ChaLean extreme mon, wed and fri. The only thing I will do differently is lay off the cider on Saturday I think!

meerkat70

I'm a bit nervous, to be honest. I made the mistake of telling a friend at work about it. And she told a bunch of other people at work too. So now instead of it being me, and maybe my mate, there's a group of about 10 of my colleagues going along. So from a low pressure wobble round the course, I now feel a level of pressure not to make a complete idiot of myself.

I'm trying to treat it as just another run, but I really am a little bit concerned about not ending up looking too silly. I think it's probably a little bit more mortifying when you're still really quite large, to fail spectacularly at something like this. It's only been the last couple of months I've been able to tolerate running anywhere where other people are liable to see me.

RAFValentina

You'll both smash it!!! We'll have to compare how we got on against what we each hoped to get!

albali

No advice but just to say I am doing the 3 miler, so best of luck to us both!

geeksrule

Hey, what about just jogging on the spot?? This way you are partaking in the pre-race warm up but not changing your routine.

TexasNana41

There was a thread posted a few months ago that detailed what to do and expect for your first race. I bumped it so that I'd have it for later. Maybe try the search feature in community for first race advice?