30 days to train for 5k

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sexanoe

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I'd say I'm already in good shape, I do a softcore hiit about twice a week and go for a 30-40 minute jog once a week. I might run in a 5K race in about 30 days so wanted to know the best way to prepare. (Including stuff such as do I rest before the race, what and when to eat before the race and such.)
thanks

I'm going to try to do a test run tomorrow to see how fast I can run it as of now.
 
With your running over 40 minutes then you should easily have the endurance to do the 5km. Doing a fast 5km on the other hand...
You have sort of introduced some speed work (the HIIT), but I would recommend trying intervals as well, so 10 minute warm up, 3 minutes fast, 3 minutes easy, 2 minutes fast, 2 minutes easy, 1 minute fast as possible followed by 5 min easy jog before doing it all again (apart from the warm up), use the jog home as a cool down.
Food wise, I would go for a carb high dinner the night before. In the morning have breakfast, but make sure its something easy to digest, a banana maybe.
Then you should be all set, just enjoy it and go for it.
 
Just run it

Run a 5k tomorrow. There you go. You're ready. 5Ks are really pretty simple. There is enough peer pressure to keep you running.

Now if you want to win, by training for 30 days, good luck. There is always somebody faster then me.
 
ya I dont expect to win or get anywhere close to the top runners but I just want to prepare and do my best and atleast not embarrass myself too much
 
i ran Saturday and did much worse than I expected at about 23:30
I guess I havent been pushing myself as much as I should have when I was doing cardio just to stay in shape
 
ya but I assume 90% of men that would sign up for a city race would be clocking in sub 20 minute 5K, i dont want to be in the bottom 10%
 
sexanoe said:
ya but I assume 90% of men that would sign up for a city race would be clocking in sub 20 minute 5K, i dont want to be in the bottom 10%
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I highly doubt it. I would be willing to bet that if you run under 24min, depending on your age, you will be in the top 50% as opposed to the bottom.

Look for a local running club that posts times of local races. You can get a pretty good idea of what people run from that.
 
I decided to just run it, its in about a week
I guess my plan is one more very hard run this weekend followed by light jogs every other day next week until a rest day on Friday and the race on Saturday at 6 am
I'm still pretty clueless what to do as far as meals the night and morning before. I tried the piece of fruit and it didnt seem like enough energy. (ya I know a 5k is too short for "carb loading" but maybe something a bit more?)

Any suggestions? thanks

another thing, I read some things talking about warm ups before the 5k with some saying jog as much as 2.5 miles before!?!?!?
even at the slowest pace that seems like that would deplete a good deal of my stamina
anyone try something like that?
 
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jogging 2.5 km before?

Only if you want to run a 7.5k instead of a 5k. I'm no mathematician, but I think that ads up.
 
sexanoe said:
I decided to just run it, its in about a week
I guess my plan is one more very hard run this weekend followed by light jogs every other day next week until a rest day on Friday and the race on Saturday at 6 am
I'm still pretty clueless what to do as far as meals the night and morning before. I tried the piece of fruit and it didnt seem like enough energy. (ya I know a 5k is too short for "carb loading" but maybe something a bit more?)

Any suggestions? thanks

another thing, I read some things talking about warm ups before the 5k with some saying jog as much as 2.5 miles before!?!?!?
even at the slowest pace that seems like that would deplete a good deal of my stamina
anyone try something like that?
Click to expand...

I don't run 5Ks, but before a triathlon I eat a normal dinner the night before and a medium to large breakfast about 1 - 2 hours before the event. For a short event like a 5K, unless you fast beforehand, you will not bonk.

You will be fine. And, breaking 25 minutes in a 5k will put you in at least the upper 50%, depending on your age group.
 
thanks guys, i have one more question
whats the best relative pace to run?
initially I was thinking of trying to stay at a steady pace through out and empty whatever I have left at the end.
However I read how the top 5k runner in the world actually runs at a constantly increasing pace through the race
 
race was this morning
I cut my 23:30 to about 21:30!

plus I had a few disadvantages:
-I was sick all week with cold/cough/HORRIBLE sore throat. I was coughing and sucking on cough drops before and after the race. Kept me from training that week so my legs felt too weak for a nasty 1 mile incline, closest I ever came to wanting just take a break mid run.
-I thought the 3mile marker was the finish line, emptied everything I had there but then had nothing left to finish the final .1 mile

I had fun, I think I can actually train to sub 20 minute 5ks but I think this is something I'll only try once. No more hardcore running for me, just going to run for the sake of working out.
 
looking at my scores online, I was actually 2nd place in my age/sex division and could have got an award
fastest person was over 40, he won both the 5k and 10k just one hour apart!
 
that's awesome!!! be proud of yourself!

I'm a terrible runner, and am shocked if i can do 5k a) without stopping, and b) under/around 30 minutes. I'd be super impressed if I was you. Keep it up!
 
Congrats, the more you run, the more you can test out different meals and training regimens and see what fits you the best.
 
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