Help me train for my first 5K in

[SirNick89]

I am doing my first 5K in just two weeks. I know a 5K is no big deal to many, as it's only about 3 miles, but it is to me. This will be my very first official competition or race of any kind. And the first in many, as I am planning on doing a Spartan race in the next five years at the most. So basically I just want to make sure I can make this 5K in one run, or jog, without having to stop to walk even once. Here's my cardio routine I do each day after weight lifting:

Brisk walk 1 mile, Jog for 10 minutes, walk 1 minute, Jog 8 minutes. And all on a treadmill incline of 1.0.

X 5-6 days per week.


What should I change here to prepare? Obviously more endurance, but I'm too used to gradually increasing my time each week. I walk the minute in between just to get a very brief rest, it used to be two minutes. Any tips for preparing?

[krakkerz]

I am doing my first 5K in just two weeks. I know a 5K is no big deal to many, as it's only about 3 miles, but it is to me. This will be my very first official competition or race of any kind. And the first in many, as I am planning on doing a Spartan race in the next five years at the most. So basically I just want to make sure I can make this 5K in one run, or jog, without having to stop to walk even once. Here's my cardio routine I do each day after weight lifting:

Brisk walk 1 mile, Jog for 10 minutes, walk 1 minute, Jog 8 minutes. And all on a treadmill incline of 1.0.

X 5-6 days per week.


What should I change here to prepare? Obviously more endurance, but I'm too used to gradually increasing my time each week. I walk the minute in between just to get a very brief rest, it used to be two minutes. Any tips for preparing?

Have I read this wrong? You've only run on a treadmill to prepare for a 5K?

[SirNick89]

Have I read this wrong? You've only run on a treadmill to prepare for a 5K?

Yeah, pretty much. I am gling to gk back out to the track now, though. I ran outside on a track all through the summer, but since school started back up again a month ago, I retreated inside to the ac'd gym. I dkn't know about the rest of the world, but it is still blazng hot out here in Texas. Anyway, K realize I'm in over m head here, but I gotta start somewhere.

[shesprints]

If I lived in Texas, I'd only run on a treadmill, too.

Heck, when I started running after college it was the dead of winter and I only used a treadmill. Trained myself down to a mid-19s 5k pretty much exclusively on the treadmill. And I didn't even get injured (that happened a year and a half later, likely from running outdoors in the cold without enough warmup = pulled achilles). There are Olympic athletes who train a lot on treadmills. Is it 100% the same? No, but it's not awful. The only dangers I see are the form issues that can result from shortening your stride so as not to hit the front or hunching over to look at the display, or always running with 0 incline, which will put undue stress on knees and quads.

To the OP, what I would recommend is not doing the same thing every day! If you've seen the popular "C25K" (Couth to 5k) program you have seen that it progresses over time, gradually increasing the run intervals and decreasing the walk. Why not transition to week 6 of that?

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

[Iechine]

There's nothing wrong with utilizing a treadmill, however if you're not aclimated to the heat before your race you will suffer.

Definitely start trying to get longer periods of running and increase the incline occasionaly, regardless of whether your race is flat or not.

[SirNick89]

[QUOTE=shesprints;1143992203]If I lived in Texas, I'd only run on a treadmill, too.

Heck, when I started running after college it was the dead of winter and I only used a treadmill. Trained myself down to a mid-19s 5k pretty much exclusively on the treadmill. And I didn't even get injured (that happened a year and a half later, likely from running outdoors in the cold without enough warmup = pulled achilles). There are Olympic athletes who train a lot on treadmills. Is it 100% the same? No, but it's not awful. The only dangers I see are the form issues that can result from shortening your stride so as not to hit the front or hunching over to look at the display, or always running with 0 incline, which will put undue stress on knees and quads.

To the OP, what I would recommend is not doing the same thing every day! If you've seen the popular "C25K" (Couth to 5k) program you have seen that it progresses over time, gradually increasing the run intervals and decreasing the walk.

Sweet! Man this this really helps out. Thanks a lot! And according to this plan, I'll be just one week shy being ready for the 5k. But I'm doing this more than just 3 days a week.

[shesprints]

Sweet! Man this this really helps out. Thanks a lot! And according to this plan, I'll be just one week shy being ready for the 5k. But I'm doing this more than just 3 days a week.

Glad it helps. Well, there you go--I bet you could run a 5k right now if you pace yourself and go slowly. Most runners who start out just go too fast. I used to do that myself, head out at a 7:00/mile pace and stop after a few miles going "wow, my endurance sucks!" No... I was just trying to run way above fitness. Slow down and you can go farther with less injury risk.

[y2zipper]

When you're training for a run, you have to train your body up to going the distance at a slower pace and then increase the pace. Work up to the 3 miles and then try to go faster if you want.

You should at least try to hit the distance outside once per week to get used to race conditions. Other than that, you're fine running on the treadmill as long as you use a slight incline and make sure you don't hunch over all the time.

[FlyWeightPhenXX]

I am doing my first 5K in just two weeks. I know a 5K is no big deal to many, as it's only about 3 miles, but it is to me. This will be my very first official competition or race of any kind. And the first in many, as I am planning on doing a Spartan race in the next five years at the most. So basically I just want to make sure I can make this 5K in one run, or jog, without having to stop to walk even once. Here's my cardio routine I do each day after weight lifting:

Brisk walk 1 mile, Jog for 10 minutes, walk 1 minute, Jog 8 minutes. And all on a treadmill incline of 1.0.

X 5-6 days per week.


What should I change here to prepare? Obviously more endurance, but I'm too used to gradually increasing my time each week. I walk the minute in between just to get a very brief rest, it used to be two minutes. Any tips for preparing?

work up to 6 whole miles. In order to GUARANTEE the whole 3 miles you have to do double the amount.

jog a whole mile for warm up
static stretch
then go for 2 miles

3 miles for the day.

omg two weeks???? there's no shame in slow jogging or walking I promise. I used to run 8 miles easy now I'll get smoked because I'm not training like a i used to.

I wish you had posted this one sooner, I would've prescribed a plan. Remember to run at a pace where it is easy to talk, don't buy new shoes to run in you get injured running in shoes that haven't been broken in (unless it is a custom insole)

[MNTiburon]

Glad it helps. Well, there you go--I bet you could run a 5k right now if you pace yourself and go slowly. Most runners who start out just go too fast. I used to do that myself, head out at a 7:00/mile pace and stop after a few miles going "wow, my endurance sucks!" No... I was just trying to run way above fitness. Slow down and you can go farther with less injury risk.

It's always funny to see those people sprint when the gun sounds, then they're hunched over not even a mile later. Marathoners call them "weiners"