Running my first 5K

lavaughan69
lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been training for 12 weeks or so now, doing something similar to the couch to 5k training. Other than I've discovered I have a bit of a breathing issue, I get something that that the ever reliable Google search describes as exercise induced asthma. Of course, as I haven't bothered to get this checked out by a doctor, lets just call it an issue with breathing, coughing and fatigue :-)

Anyhooo. I went to the course on Saturday and ran it to see just how I'm doing and to get a better idea of what I'm in for. It went pretty well I think. My time was 34.14 and I only coughed and hacked a bit throughout and stopped three times to do a short 30 second walk. I went online to see what times were posted for previous years for this event and had a little chuckle when I saw that the winners in the 70+ age group had better times than me :-) Oh well, what can you do? My goal in two weeks when I run the race will be to run it without walking and to beat the 34.14 time by any amount.

Anyone else out there running for the first time? I have to say, I'm really nervous about running in a crowd of people and I hope I don't look to stupid when and if I have to walk a bit.

Replies

  • mellowkate
    mellowkate Posts: 32 Member
    First of all - way to go! Congratulations on your first 5K.

    34.14's nothing to shake a stick at, so having a goal to beat that is a good way to approach it. (Those winners in the 70+ category are likely lifelong runners who literally have decades of experience on you. Don't pay that any mind.)

    I've never been much of a runner, always been slow and always hated it but am trying to hate it less nowadays. haha I've done two 5Ks so far and I'm itching to sign up for a third. I run at about your pace, give or take, and both times races I ran with friends who didn't run as often as I did (which wasn't much at the time). And yes, both friends had to stop to walk several times.They couldn't care less about how they looked walking so long as they finished, and they were far from alone in that sentiment - LOTS of people would stop to recover for a minute here or there.

    At the end of the day, we were all beginners once, and I'm sure there will be plenty of others in your race who are thinking the same thing. Just focus on your goal - if you can do it without stopping, great; if you can't, so what - you still ran a 5K! Good luck and have a great run! :)
  • uconnwinsnc1
    uconnwinsnc1 Posts: 902 Member
    The biggest problem is people get excited at the beginning and burn out too quickly. Know your pace and stick to it! Most of all, have fun. :smile:
  • PrairieRunner2015
    PrairieRunner2015 Posts: 126 Member
    The biggest problem is people get excited at the beginning and burn out too quickly. Know your pace and stick to it! Most of all, have fun. :smile:

    Great advice right there! Run your own race (Don't worry about what others are doing, focus on running the race as you planned to.).
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    You know, I was thinking that I'll have to really concentrate to not go too fast and stick to my pace. I'm very competitive by nature and I could see me pushing too hard and then fizzling out at the half way point.
  • aneary1980
    aneary1980 Posts: 461 Member
    You know, I was thinking that I'll have to really concentrate to not go too fast and stick to my pace. I'm very competitive by nature and I could see me pushing too hard and then fizzling out at the half way point.

    You will run faster at the beginning but as long as you don't burn out it should improve your overall time.

    34.14 is really good! I achieved my fastest 5k on my 10k and it was just only 32 minutes and I have run a few 5ks!
  • daynes23
    daynes23 Posts: 94 Member
    Ran my 2nd 5k this past Sunday. My first was April 2013 and I didn't do much running in between. The first time I just wanted to finish the darn thing and I would be happy. This time I wanted to do a little better and I adopted the mantra "It's a run, not a race". My best times on flat courses are about 37mins so I knew I wasn't going to be receiving a trophy at the end. It made it so much more enjoyable to think about the run rather than the people who were crossing the finish line as I hit the 2 mile marker. It's a challenge, for sure. I got excited too and ran my first mile in 11:14 (I'VE NEVER RAN THAT FAST IN MY LIFE) so I could afford a couple of extra walk breaks after the giant hill in the course but it still forced me to keep on pace. I didn't expect to run all 3 at that speed. Just try to have fun with it. And if you've been preparing, you'll be ready and you'll get nervous and excited and before you know it, it'll be over and you'll be searching for the next one!
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I've lost track of how many 5Ks I've done. More than likely there will be people who walk the whole 5K, as well as those who run/walk in intervals, so the last thing you have to worry about is how you'll look walking some of it. You went and ran the course already so you're ahead of many since you already know what to expect. You're cognizant of the danger of starting out too quickly and your major goal is just to beat your practice time. Sounds to me like you're ready mentally and physically so just get out there and have some fun with it!
  • lavaughan69
    lavaughan69 Posts: 459 Member
    Thanks everyone for your comments! I never thought it was possible for me to do a 5K, I'm definitely not a runner! I didn't even run during high school! I'm not sure if I'll continue training after this race is over, I really do prefer walking! :-)
  • ME0172
    ME0172 Posts: 200
    I'm not a new runner, but my husband is. He has asthma and takes his inhaler before he runs and carries it in his pocket just in case. He's in the 3rd week of C25K right now. We're going to do a 5K together next month. Anyway, don't be nervous. Runners, while competative, are still encouraging and nonjudgmental. Everyone I run with and know - we're all just happy to see people out doing their thing. Running is very personal. So we tend to be very encouraging of others. If you encounter someone that doesn't show you support then walk away lol. You do your thing and have FUN! I find racing improves my time because, like I said, it IS competative. But you're not going to have anyone judging you for your pace. In fact, no matter when you cross the line, there will probably be people cheering for you!

    Enjoy yourself!

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