First 5k run

sara said:
Without the music I seem to start worrying too much about how my legs are working.

I seem to be a little unbalanced and if left to think about it too much I think I wonkify myself more even more by overcorrecting - concentrating on a beat seems to help me to just run!
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try and keep you head up and your back arched - that will help to ensure you are landing on the correct parts of your feet.
 
DB_SamX said:
Sorry to hijack, but talkin on 5km, I can currently do that in 35 mins but I do end up walking every so often. Would it be better to improve on this time and try not to walk at all, or would it be ok to try to push for a longer distance but with walks?

Only started running a month ago as my colleagues are telling me to run a 10km at the end of June, which I think is a bit much right now.
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it is ok too take a break - but try and incorporate some sprints - this will build your fitness up quicker than running consistently at a lower speed.
 
Cheers, starting to sound like it'll be good fun by the time it comes around!

Decided to go for the 19th sept again, not that I don't think I'll be ready for end of July, but because the Downs is way more convenient...!
 
I'm starting running tonight, with a running club. Hoping this will motivate me more than running out on my own, at least until I get my fitness up
 
Goodluck with that, I've just entered myself into the Standard Chartered 5k in London as I need to get back in some form of shape that isnt round. Desk jobs are hell on the wasteline (or maybe its all the eating...)
 
5k, hardly far is it.My grandad could go out and moonwalk 10 min miles what are you doing ? walking ?
 
RadoX said:
5k, hardly far is it.My grandad could go out and moonwalk 10 min miles what are you doing ? walking ?
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Way to go with the motivation.

Everyone has to start running somewhere. I struggled to do around 5km when I started running three years ago, but since then I've done half marathons, I cycle 200 miles a week and I've started competing in triathlons.

Not being able to run 5k isn't something to ashamed of.
 
RadoX said:
5k, hardly far is it.My grandad could go out and moonwalk 10 min miles what are you doing ? walking ?
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Some of us have never done such impact-ridden sport since school, and even then I could barely manage it.

I dance and cycle until the cows come home and I'm determined not to cause myself/my legs an injury as it'd take away everything else I enjoy doing..!
 
Nice one Sara

I started running a couple of months ago too :) I'm 46, a smoker for 30 years (now stopped) and having had little exercise for about 20 years I was more than a little bit happy when I managed my 5K a couple of weeks ago. If I can do it there's no doubt you'll be able to. :)
 
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I started running about a year ago, I was overweight and in a far worse shape than I thought. Because I used to cycle reasonable distances I assumed I would be able to run too. Being out of breath after trying to catch the bus should have been indication enough that it wasn't the case. Basically all I could do when I started was half a km. I still remember the first full km I ran within maybe a couple of weeks of starting to run. To be honest it was probably the biggest and hardest milestone, 2k and 5k didn't feel as special. After the 5k mark I tried running for an hour without going for any particular distance, ended up with 8.6km and basically I knew 10km was within reach. First time I ran 12km was because I pretty much got lost, took a wrong turn and ended up in the parking lot of a ferry terminal. Ran 15km recently and I've signed up for a full marathon towards the end of the year, I know it will be hard, but there's no other milestone to shoot for anymore really.

From my experience, if you can run 2km, you can run 5, and anything up to 10 is just more of the same, if you pace yourself. Don't try to go for speed at first, just find a comfortable pace you can stick to (I found a heart rate monitor helps me quite a lot with that). Consider improving the pace after you have the distance firmly in the bag. For example at the moment I have days when I run and go for distance but don't really look at the time, and days when I try to go for a new best over 5km.

Above 10km pacing is critical, and the mechanics of running become more important, posture, technique, not getting your joints hurt, hydration, dealing with chafing, and really importantly, recovery time. I find that running on the day after a 10km+ run ends up hurting a lot more on the next day, so I now avoid it altogether. Looking forward to "hitting the wall" now, and all that wonderful stuff. :)
 
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