Opinions from Runners please!

Options
Im_NotPerfect
Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
My first ever 5K is coming up on Saturday (I'm so excited!). But since I ran this morning, I typically would run again on Wednesday and Friday. But with the race coming up on Saturday evening, I don't want to run on Friday, so would it be better for me to still run on Wednesday, and have 2 days off before the race, or should I wait until Thursday morning and only have 1 day off??

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    When do you have your best runs - after one, two, or three days off? For me, I always run better after at least two days off, so for the two Saturday 5k races I've done so far, I've made my last run on the Tuesday before. Then I do other workouts (weights, walking, various cardio) during the week, but still take it easy on the legs so they'll be fresh for the race.

    Have a great race!
  • gseburn
    gseburn Posts: 456 Member
    5K is not terribly far (comparitively) I think you can run on Wednesday and have plenty of time to recover. Have a great race!
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
    I would keep the same schedule. Run Wednesday and Friday and race on Saturday. Just do a very easy, very slow run on Friday, about half the distance you would normally do. I usually take the a rest day two days before the race. Doing a little shake-out run the day before keeps my legs feeling fresh.
  • redhousecat
    redhousecat Posts: 584 Member
    how far do you run on your training runs? If it is less than 5k, its not going to kill you.

    I run every day with a minimum of 2 miles. SOMETIMES i will take friday off if I have a race on saturday, but that is if I am just lazy. I hate training runs. I actually dislike running altogether, but need it for crosstraining from cycling...lol

    try switching to M, W, TH just to see how your body reacts. If you run alot of 5k's, this may be helpful since most could be on Fridays/saturdays anyway.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    Actually I do normally run almost 3 miles on a normal day anyway. I haven't run a full 5K yet, so this will be a bit longer for me. But my goal is to run the entire thing! So I want to make sure my body is ready for it (along with the heat/humidity)!
  • BetterMike
    BetterMike Posts: 131 Member
    I'm a fairly new runner and have done two 5ks so far. In both cases I took off the 2 days before the race and felt good in both of them. Worked for me but hey, try something and if it doesn't work you'll have a new goal to try something else!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories