First 5K in a month and I'm overweight. Advice and tips appreciated!

monickmunoz
monickmunoz Posts: 3 Member
edited November 20 in Fitness and Exercise
Doing my first 5k in about a month.
Any tips would be nice. Just started training for it as I barely found out it existed lol. I'm overweight and my mile run walk is 18-20 min right now. Any advice would be nice! :) Also any training exercise tips would be appreciated! I'm excited and nervous! This is my first one ever.

Replies

  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    AliceDark wrote: »
    Every 5k I've ever done has had a lot of people walking and doing walk/run intervals, so you'll be in good company on race day. Sometimes they'll have signs telling people how to line up based on their mile time (faster runners in the front), but if they don't, I'd start farther toward the back so you don't get run over right at the beginning.

    Most importantly...HAVE FUN!

    Piggy backing this. There will be grandma's power walking the whole thing, always a VERY diverse group which surprised me when I attended my first 5k. Enjoy the event and have fun.
  • lucyee
    lucyee Posts: 32 Member
    Good on you for signing up! My advice is firstly to find some kind of increasing intensity walk/run plan (which it sounds like you may already have - if not, c25k is pretty accessible, or there's an app called "running for weight loss" which is pretty good), and stick to it for the month - which probably won't be long enough to have you running the full 5km without stopping, but will allow you to improve steadily without injuring yourself. And then come race day, run/walk as much as you can, but if there comes a point where you can't run anymore, walk the rest. Don't stress about your time, just finish. And then sign up for another one in another month or two, keep doing the run/walk plan in between and enjoy how much progress you've made by the time it rolls around. And most of all, enjoy it - find somewhere outdoor to run that you love, put on some great music and run like no one is watching
  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
    edited July 2017
    Congrats on your determination & training :) Walking a-ok in my book :)

    You might consider walking on slight hill. Or walk some stairs, if you think you're ready. Mixes it up a bit.

    Walking the inclines gets your heart rate up, without the pounding on the ankles, knees, back that running does.
    Strengthens leg, hip, glutes.
    And you'll get more out of your workout in less time.

    Then you will be amazed how you'll be less out of breath, when you walk/run the flats.

    ~Enjoy the journey :)
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    5ks are a lot of fun. Don't be afraid to walk if you need to - don't take it so seriously - enjoy and have fun! :smiley: C25K is a great training program.
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
    Pin your race bib to the FRONT of your shirt NOT the back. If it's a bigger race there should be corrals according to listed paces, but if not you should line up near the end of the start line. If you're going to run/walk the race, I'd stay towards and sides. If you're going to run in the middle at least put your arms up or make some signal that you're stopping to walk so no one crashes into you. This is of particular important if you're running a crowded race. Start doing some basic strength training for your core, glutes, and hips to prevent common running injuries. The Myrtl routine is a basic set of exercises that can be done after running and takes just a few minutes (Google it; there's a PDF and video).

    Enjoy! Races are so fun!
  • Debbie_Ferr
    Debbie_Ferr Posts: 582 Member
    edited July 2017
    At San Francisco Bay-To-Breakers 12k...
    The runners stay to the left.
    The walkers stay to the right.

    It would be nice to have as standard procedure at other races. Makes it most enjoyable, and also safer.
  • 30kgin2017
    30kgin2017 Posts: 228 Member
    Dont try anything new the day before ie. food and dont try to change your normal routine. ie. if you normally exercise fasted dont decide to eat breakfast before the race. If you normally exercise in the arvo and its a morning run get a couple of practice goes in at the same time as race time. Arvo running for me is a balance of hydration and enough fuel but not too much. Morning running is easy for me to do fasted or my set pre-run drink. Once I ate a scroll before a double PT session with lots of running and spent half the time wanting to vomit.

    I think each area will have its one race 'rules' frequently asked questions is a good place to start to have a look. They will vary esp depending on numbers of participants.

    Your racing against yourself so whatever you manage will be your personal best since its race 1. Dont push too hard in training, race day will likely yield better than training results with all eh adrenaline and other people you will end up running faster.
  • scarlet67
    scarlet67 Posts: 107 Member
    Try the couch to 5k app. Good luck
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Start C25K

    Have fun!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Not much too add to the above other than to remember to smile for the finish line photo!
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    monickmunoz wrote: »
    Doing my first 5k in about a month.
    Any tips would be nice. Just started training for it as I barely found out it existed lol. I'm overweight and my mile run walk is 18-20 min right now. Any advice would be nice! :) Also any training exercise tips would be appreciated! I'm excited and nervous! This is my first one ever.

    1st make sure you have good shoes. Not based on someone else's 'review' but for your feet/gait. Find a local running store and they'll assess you and let you try on some different styles.

    2nd assuming you are walking some now, you've got this! Walk 4-5 times a week, increasing your distance each week if you're not walking 3+ miles now. Run as much as you feel comfortable with.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    You can walk the entire time if you want. My friend and I just stayed to the right so the runners and faster walkers could pass us. We had a great visit together, and it was tons of fun being in the midst of so many upbeat people. It seems like nobody's cranky on race day.
  • dudasd1973
    dudasd1973 Posts: 275 Member
    Getting ready to run my first organized 5K on the 22nd of this month. I just ran a little more than 5K distance yesterday to check myself and make sure I could get it done. I just started off in April and basically just ran the first time out to set a baseline. From there I just decided on sticking with that distance for a week. Every week I add on an additional .25 to the distance. I usually go out Mon/Weds/Fri and the first 2 runs will be at a comfortable pace. Friday I usually push myself harder.
  • jzenker
    jzenker Posts: 3 Member
    Just keep training! If your mile is slow, so what? You are getting out there and doing it! Every 5 K will get better. Make sure you have good shoes though, bad shoes equal injuries. It's worth the investment!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    monickmunoz wrote: »
    Doing my first 5k in about a month.
    Any tips would be nice. Just started training for it as I barely found out it existed lol. I'm overweight and my mile run walk is 18-20 min right now. Any advice would be nice! :) Also any training exercise tips would be appreciated! I'm excited and nervous! This is my first one ever.

    download a C25K app and follow the program...have fun and don't worry about walking if need be. When I started with things, I signed up for a Turkey Trot 5K and only had a few weeks to train for it...I couldn't run the whole thing and din't force the issue and walked much of it because that's where I was at the time. It was the beginning of an awesome fitness journey...
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Not much too add to the above other than to remember to smile for the finish line photo!

    When you get right down to it, looking good for the photo at the finish is what it's all about :) And enjoying the trip.
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