Thirty Minutes

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my experience with a 20-minute run. For those of you following along, you know that I’ve been working through the Couch-to-5K (C25K) program in preparation for a real 5K run and for my health in general.

I’m proud to say that I’ve now completed C25K and I finished it in eight weeks rather than nine. I actually completed three 30-minute runs last week. For the missing week, I bypassed week 7’s 25-minute runs and went immediately to week 8’s 28-minute runs. The reason I did this was twofold:

  • I could.
  • I have a 5K race this Saturday and wanted to give my legs a little rest.

Prepping for my first 5K

I’ve never actually done one of these, so I’m not really sure how people prep for their runs. I’m not even sure if a 5K really needs any prep work. But, for my first race, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a few steps to make sure I’m ready.

  • Took a complete day of rest before the race (that's today).
  • Dropped a weightlifting session. I do squats three days a week and my legs are usually spent by the end of the week, so this is probably the best prep work I could do.
  • Performed some speed work on Tuesday, putting in four half-mile sprints at about 70%.
  • Did some pace work on Thursday to make sure I keep a good pace at the race and don't tire myself out too quickly.
  • Set my bedtime for 8 p.m. tonight so that I get some sleep, wake up early, and am not sluggish when I get to the race.

While it may be a it late for the week leading up to the race, do you have any other advice? If you’re a runner, what type of prep work (if any) do you do before your race?

Wish me luck!

I feel like I’m completely prepared for this run. I’ve put in the work for over two months in preparation for it (and even more work to get to that point). My hope is just to complete the entire race with no walking.

Also, if you have any other cardio programs you’d like to recommend, I’m looking for one. Now that I’ve completed C25K, I’m ready to hop into another challenge. Running a 5K is just one step in the plan.