Wednesday, April 13, 2011

8 Things a 5K Will Teach You

Okay, so last week I made the big announcement that I was going to run a 5K (that's 3.2 miles for the layman).

Here's a little background on this decision. At the end of December last year I decided I had had enough with my weight and made the big return to Weight Watchers (this isn't an ad, but I do have success with their program, just sayin'). I am now 20lbs lighter than when I started. Last week at their weekly meeting they challenged all of us to WALK a 5K. Pshah, I thought. I can WALK a 5K in my sleep. I do 40 minutes on an eliptical almost daily - and I've been increasing the resistance as I go. Walking a 5K is no challenge at all.

Tucked inside the info sheet for the 5K was a way to train to RUN a 5K. Silly me, I took the bait, hook, line and sinker. I'll do it, I told myself, it will be easy! And then I told all my friends on Facebook as well.

The next day I began my training. I was to walk for 5 minutes to warm up, and then run 1 minute and walk 1 minute, 10 times. Then walk for another 5 minutes at the end. With my terrific math skills I figured that was a good 30 minute work out. So I met with my personal trainer the next day and told him that I was going to run a 5K. He was all for it, because he's a personal trainer and they're like that, you know. I asked him (his name is Ryan for anyone interested. And he's just a kid, 26 years old, he's getting married and he's settling down to some degree....Oh, back to the subject!) So I asked him, should I train on the track or on a treadmill. He advised me to start on the track because it would be more like the race. So after a 30 minute lower body work out with Ryan I went up to the second floor track and started my training.

As I walked the initial 5 minutes, I thought - Hey, I feel pretty good! This is going to be a piece of cake! I'm in shape! I'll be able to knock of 3 miles in no time! Heheheheheheh! The joke was on me. I ran the first minute and thought - Wow, that was harder than I thought. I ran the second minute (after I walked a minute) and thought, that was harder than the first. By the time I got to my fifth set, I could no longer run a full minute.

But I came home and there were all sorts of posts on facebook telling me how great it was that I was going to run this race! And there were all sorts of posts telling me how much I was going to love it! And there was also some advice from experienced runners!

I am now in my second week of training and this is what I have learned thus far.
#1. Don't run after a 30 minutes lower body work out
#2. Never assume you are in shape!
#3. Be humble and take advice!(it was mentioned that I might be more encouraged on a treadmill. They were right!)
#4. Running is definitely harder than excerising on an eliptical
#5. Running on a treadmill is easier than running on a track
#6. Never run a marathon (or even a half)
#7. Your legs hurt after running
And last but certainly not least -
#8. Misery really does love company. It's a lot easier to think I am going to do this because there are other people who are going to run with me. (Well, they will probably run ahead of me, but think of all the cheering I will get when I get to the finish line!)

So I am committed. Barring any knee issues, I intend to run on June 18th. I will post pictures when the time comes, because I don't imagine I will ever do this again.
Week two training??? Run 2 minutes, walk 3 - check!

4 comments:

  1. Come on mom! You Can do it! You'll be us right on to it! :P

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  2. You are SO right about all of those things!! (well maybe all but the half marathon part since I am doing that in Sept :) You will do a great job regardless!! That is such an awesome goal to set up for yourself and even though it seems hard and maybe even impossible at times (I felt this way when I did that race last year) once you cross the finish line you will be SO happy you did it. I am excited about doing this race, thank you for telling me about it and its for such a good cause since Autism is close to our hearts :) Keep up the great work!! GO APRIL!!!!

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  3. Stay encouraged! can TOTALLY do it! And don't EVER run after a lower body work out. I'm surprised you didn't collapse! I would have! We're all cheering you on! I seriously wish I could run it with you! Think about how awesome it will feel to say "Oh yeah, I just ran a 5k. No big." :)

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  4. I love your post! I agree with all the 8 lessons learned! Krystal and I have started our workout routine this week and I realized that the winter was terrible on my body. When is the 5K? Could you e-mail me some info on it? I may decide to tortoure myself and join you. :-)

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