Thinking about running a 5k, I have ?'s

[krazybartender]

I've never ran long distances before. But then again, i've never been in extremely good shape since high school and back then i was playing tennis everyday. I am finishing a cutting stage so i've been running 6 miles at slow pace every night (3.5/mph), in addition to my job which i'm on my feet for 5-7 straight hours and a morning weight workout. I'm down from 162lbs to 138lbs (approx. 10-12%bf) and expect to get to 130lbs in a month or so (approx. 7-8%bf). I want to run in a 5k this summer, hopefully several if I enjoy it. The first one i'm interested in is 30 days away. Is this too soon? Also, I was looking up winning times and they vary from like 15:00 up to 20:00. Is this because of the course, like more uphill than downhill? Also, if it's my first race, which i'm already nervous just thinking about, will being extremely nervous make my time worse than in my training? What else can I expect from running a 5k? Any training tips?

Any help would be appreciated!

[STLRamsFan]

Don't worry about what other people time, there will be people on your level to compete with so no worries. And being nervous is normal, once you start you will be so focused on your race that you won't even think twice about being nervous! Running 6 miles is an excellent way to start training for a 5k. You're running 6 miles which is close to 3 miles over what a 5k would be (3.1 miles unless I'm incorrect), so you're pretty much good to go.

As for the winning times, it's all about the runner and the course. I cannot say whether or not the course is uphill or downhill without having a description of the course. Some races say whether or not the course is flat or not.

As for training tips, running 6 miles is a good start. From what I can see, you are not a die heart runner like myself so I wouldn't worry too much about killing yourself with 10 mile runs and such. Try challenging yourself to run a little faster some days on those 6 mile runs. Doing the same speed over and over again won't really help you much as your body will get quite used to the same ol' speed. Adding distance is another way to train for a 5k. A mile or two won't hurt. Be sure you do plenty of streching before and after a run as well.

Hope that helps a little bit.