I finally get to make one of these...

I FINISHED MY FIRST 5K!!!

AHHH!!! The very first thing I ever posted on CC was months ago, and it was a thread about 5K advice. I never ended up doing that first one, but I finally buckled down, have been running religiously in preparation, and today was the big day. I really just wanted to finish, but breaking 30 was my other goal and my time was...

29:30! AHHH!!!!

It was such a rush and I am so proud of myself I cannot even explain it. Mostly because, remember in middle school, that chubby girl with the very red face at the end of the long line of fit nimble 6th graders on mile day, huffing and puffing away? Well, that was me. I always hated running and thought I was destined to suck at it forever. Now I have a college teacher to thank for inspiring me to love the sport, and I feel that my accomplishment today shows ME that I can do it. I am capable. I am only as good as I believe, and baby, I sure as hell believe in myself today.

Happy 4th of July everyone. Thank you for taking the time to read through my glee :)

woohoo congratulations!! hehe i just came back from an amazing run myself and am reminded that there are only a few things that feel better :)

yayy!! Where do you hear about 5Ks?? I want to run one, but I don't know how to sign up or where to look for them.

 

Congrats!!

Thanks to both of you! 

whatever07 - I just googled something like "5ks in San Diego" and there was a listing of everything coming up in the next year. Just input your city and I'm sure something will come up. 

Running is wonderful, I love it! 

Great!  I hope it was a cool race tee. =)

Congratulations!! I'm working on that now! Did you use the C25K? How did you train?

No, I didn't do a program or anything. I had been running a mile around my neighborhood for a long time, but then realized that I didn't need to stop there, so I just sort of kept going. 

In preparation for the race, I gradually added on until I got up to the 3.1 distance, and then after doing that a few times and timing myself, I went on to endurance runs, where I wouldn't count the distance, but just pick an amount of time to run for, one that would be longer than the race itself, usually about 35-45 minutes. 

I don't know if it is the best strategy, but I can tell you that it worked really well for me! On race day, the distance felt like a piece of cake and I was able to really push myself! 

Oh and another thing, if your race allows it, and if you enjoy it, I do recommend music. I was deciding on it right before the race and now I'm SO glad that I decided on yes. It really pumped me up and made the thing go by in no time!

Good luck with your goals! :)

Folkharpist  Congrat's to you!  I am 44 and have been running since I was a young teen....it is the best!  No matter how your day is going or how you feel, AFTER a run I guarantee you will feel better!  It is just the BEST self esteem booster!  You go girl!

I did my first road race in years a couple of months ago and I am re-hooked!  Now I sign up for 5k and 10k's once about every other month....it feels great being with others who run and when you cross that finish line...it it just awesome!  The races keep me on track with my diet and exercise, because to run well you have to keep running.

Just one piece of advice that was told to me by a runner to past along to you: sprinting.  I sprint about once a week or so, it is another method to boost your endurance level.  All you need is about 5 or so really good sprints per time.  What I do is either on my own or with a partner go for a walk and every so often sprint about 200 ft/60 yards full hard sprint, walk for a while again and than do it again, until you have completed 5.....I feel it has helped me.

Also you mentioned San Diego? That is my area as well....a fun run coming up end of Aug. the 23rd it is the End of Summer Fire Run, it is 4 miles....check it out on line!  It is from LaJolla to PB, ends at a post party with a band and food/drinks etc....

Good Luck and keep running!

 

 

 

Excellent! How inspiring =]

My goal is to do a 5K by the end of summer. Now just got to get my butt off the couch and get running!

Congrats!

Folkharpist--

Hi! That is so exciting! Congratulations! I know exactly what you mean about being the chubby 6th grader. I never finished a mile run in HS without walking a good portion of it, and never did a mile in under 12 minutes.

I just started trying to run and have actually been able to run at a 5.6 mile an hour pace for a whole mile, which was definitely exciting, but as I try to push myself I've found that my joints and back are KILLING me! Whenever I talk to people who have always been runners about that, they don't have much to say, but I wonder if you have anything you've learned that you could share?

Thanks!

Original Post by andrea_jean:

Folkharpist--

Hi! That is so exciting! Congratulations! I know exactly what you mean about being the chubby 6th grader. I never finished a mile run in HS without walking a good portion of it, and never did a mile in under 12 minutes.

I just started trying to run and have actually been able to run at a 5.6 mile an hour pace for a whole mile, which was definitely exciting, but as I try to push myself I've found that my joints and back are KILLING me! Whenever I talk to people who have always been runners about that, they don't have much to say, but I wonder if you have anything you've learned that you could share?

Thanks!

Thanks for the support and congrats on YOUR success! The first step for me in finishing this race was completing that first mile without stopping, and realizing that it really is something I can do. 

As for the physical safety of running, I'm still learning about that myself. I have this one leg muscle that really smarts after a long run. It stays the whole day and goes away in the morning. Probably not so good I'm guessing? Haha.

As for pushing yourself, I'd say don't do a ton all at once. Gradual increments seem to work best for strongly building up most other things in life, so I'd expect it'd work the same for running. Don't add on a really long burst of speed if it will end up making you hurt, you know? Just do a little more at a time, and before you know it, that fast speed will be your natural speed. Also, I don't know if this is recommended but I really believe in it, and it makes total sense to me. If you run when you wake up, eat something. Not eating/hydrating enough has caused my joints to hurt a lot more, and I feel fatigued and faint. The body needs calories/fuel to do extra activity, and the morning is the start of a new day so in my opinion, breakfast is a MUST!

Why I love the sport of running is the fact that the team involved is just me. I am relying on myself and no one else. I listen to my body, and even try to clear my mind while I run. It it can be a very zen-like experience. I always tell myself what a great job I'm doing because with running, you are your team members, your audience and your coach all in one. It really makes me feel confident.

I am happy to find so much support here on CC, I feel like you guys really know how proud I feel, because we are all here working towards healthy victories. Thank you all so very much.

Thanks for the tips!  Everything you said makes perfect sense!  And if running wasn't at least a little uncomfortable, I guess everyone would be out doing it all the time, right?

Keep up the amazing work!  You've inspired me to set a goal to run a 5K!

thanks for sharing, I can definitely relate to being the girl finishing the mile last, etc...

I just started couch to 5k monday, hopefully I have the same success you did!!