5K

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jenniferwithmk
jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
in Fitness and Exercise
Have a 5K on Saturday and will be training for it all week. Thankful I have good endurance, but want to lower my time without damaging my knees. I have a little scar tissue already. Any tips?

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  • bugsymalone521
    bugsymalone521 Posts: 57
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    Carb up the night before and protein up the day of. I usually do pasta the night before a race and some light protein just before (peanut butter on toast is good for me).

    For me, the best way to lower your time is to train accordingly and be ready on race day.

    I'm not a knee expert, but maybe visit a running shop to see what kind of shoes they would recommend based on your specific foot type. That could help you with your knees.

    Good luck!
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    For any race that last any less than 90 minutes, you don't really need to be concerned with "carbo loading". Just eat something the night before that you know won't send you into gastric distress. In the morning, don't eat any protein within 3 hours of the start of the race as it takes too long to digest. Go with something easy to digest, like a bagel or oatmeal.

    As for increasing your speed, the best way to get faster is to run more. More mile, more days, more time. As your body becomes more efficient, then your pace will naturally come down. Once you are running consistently 4 times a week for 3 to 4+ miles at a time, you can add strides at the end of one of you runs each week. This is just a short (40 to 100 meters, depending upon your level of fitness) bursts of speed. You would do 4 to 10 reps, depending upon your level of fitness, with a minute or so easy recovery jog between each one. This gets your body used to running faster, recruits fast twitch muscles and gives you some anaerobic conditioning without the painful lactic acid build up.

    One last piece of advice. Don't start out too fast.

    And one more thing. Don't start out too fast.

    Have fun!
  • brandyk77
    brandyk77 Posts: 605 Member
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    One last piece of advice. Don't start out too fast.

    And one more thing. Don't start out too fast.

    pretty sure that it took me about 25 5ks to get that one down :)
  • jenniferwithmk
    jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
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    This is my 4th 5k and I've always paced around 10minute miles. Maybe if I paced at 9min I'd lower my time, just scared to not finish without stopping.
  • jenniferwithmk
    jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
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    Interval training...at the end interesting suggestion. Thanks!
  • jenniferwithmk
    jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
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    I can't eat and run at all, so good balanced dinner and nothing in the morning but gum.

    Shoes haven't changed the knees scar tissue, but I can always try a different store.

    Thanks!
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
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    CarsonRuns gave some very good and sound advice! For me personally, I don't load up on carbs before any race smaller than a 10 miler or I take the chance of having 'issues' :blushing: I would suggest something small in the mornnig, even a slice of whole wheat toast but that's a personal choice. With time and plenty of speed drills and intervals you will see your speed increase. I know for me, when I started marathon training I noticed my shorter runs become increasingly faster. My first 5k was 32 minutes and now I hover just above 24 minutes. Not bad for someone who only started running a few years ago :smile:
  • jenniferwithmk
    jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
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    24 minute 5ks! Wow...I'm impressed. Thanks for confirming the tips! I've done 5Ks, but 2 where fun runs with crazy outfits 5-20,000 people...which slowed me down. This Saturday marks 1 yr since my first and I finished in just a hair under 30min, so I'm shooting for 29. Wish me luck!
  • mamaclose
    mamaclose Posts: 219 Member
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    Interval training...at the end interesting suggestion. Thanks!

    I do interval training during one run per week, 1 min walk, 1 min sprint, etc for about 10 minutes. On a different day I do a steady jog for 20 minutes, then sprints for the last five. Sprints at the end suck! Of course, don't forget to warm up and cool down first!
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
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    Thanks! Good luck on Saturday although I'm sure you'll kick butt!
  • jenniferwithmk
    jenniferwithmk Posts: 18
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    Thanks for the tips!

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