Erbur**

MsKellDel

Just like to say that I kicked asss yesterday in my first official race, my chip time was 29.26, shocked I was under 30 minute mark but pretty damn proud! A 5k is no joke though and the last half mile was killer. A few things:

1. Hills are the devil, I am not used to them since most of my running is around SP and CC.

2. The beginning of the race is such a big clusterfuck, so annoying getting started and moving around people. Any tips?

3. My entire body is sore today. I guess from pushing harder than I normally do on a run?

Next goal is Broad Street in May! When should I start training and upping my mileage? What is the best approach?

PS- Have you heard of the group Kids Run Philly Style? T1's school has the program and he can join next year. Considering he beat my time yesterday, I think he is officially bit by the running bug as well. Looking forward to him joining the group!

erbur78

AWESOME!!!!  Good work and you should be very proud of yourself.  For your first race, a sub-30 5K is NO JOKE!  (I can confess that my first 5K was in the 34:00 range).

I had to laugh at the hills comment, since I feel completely opposite. I live for hills, b/c I pass people on them. At the Race for Hope, I was competing against another survivor and the first mile has a big uphill. Well, I managed to stay on this woman's heels for the first mile. Then, when we hit the flat, she took off--kicked my butt by more than :90. 

Beginning of the race...hmm...different strategies for different events.  If it is a smaller event (300-500 runners), then line yourself close to the front, but about 5 or 6 rows back.  Stay to the left or the right, never the middle.  When the gun goes off, put your elbows out--"nudge" others if need be, to claim your space. Don't throw an elbow, but if another runner feels you in the pack, they will usually back off a bit. 

Soreness. My gauge for a race--if I'm not sore the next day, then I could have worked harder. So, this is a good indicator of how hard you pushed it.  Well done.  Your race pace is usually going to be much faster than your training pace. 

Broad Street is an awesome goal and so much fun.  Keep in mind, they just announced the 2013 BSR will be a lottery (which is total bs) and may have qualifying times (a la Boston Marathon).  Oh, and if you think you can do 10 miles, you can DEFINITELY do a half marathon.  DEFINITELY. (just planting a seed...) 

I adore Kids Run Philly Style. I think it is such a great organization and there was a whole mess of kids that did Broad Street and the Clean Air Council 5K this year. Great organization and these kids look like they are definitely having a blast doing it.  

MsKellDel

Thanks for all the tips. I think I am just not used to running hills since everywhere in the city is pretty flat.

For Broad Street, my friend formed a team for us through American Cancer Society to guarantee us a spot but we have to raise $500 each. The qualifying thing you mentioned though scares me, I will have to look into it. But regardless, I still want to train for it as if I was going to do it, I need a goal.

When should I begin training for it? I seen there is a couch to 10k app, I may start with that next month to keep me going and give me a little challenge, my runs now are getting boring. And with the cold, I need whatever motivation I can get.

Disney half 2014 is my goal!

erbur78

Oh, if you are doing the ACS fundraising team, then you are excluded from any type of lottery or qualifying time.  You'll love it. It's the best race in Philly and gives you a wonderful opportunity to see so much of our city from a completely different perspective.  Dare I say the N. Philly crowds are better cheerleaders than the Center City or S. Philly crowds.

With BSR, you only need to run about a max of 8 miles for your "long run" in your training, even though the race is 10 miles.  You should hit your max mileage about mid-April, because you will begin to reduce your mileage and "taper" in the last 2 weeks of April leading up to race day.  

For adequate training, I'd say a 12 week plan is great, which would have you start in early February.

In my mind, the earlier you start training, the better. Why not start now? That way, you allow yourself wiggle room to allow for poor weather in February, injuries (knock on wood!), or general life interfering with training. 

There's no reason you can't start training now. The miles you run now build a very strong foundation for later on, when you need to increase your mileage. I don't know how frequently you are running now, but you may want to regularly start doing 2 - 4 miles on each run, two or three times a week.

Just remember, you can slow down when you are in training.  Your training pace should be anywhere from a minute to :90 slower than your race pace. 

Oh, and you should sign up for a January 5K to set another goal.   I have resources to find a ton of options. 

GOOD LUCK and WELL DONE! 

MsKellDel

Thank you! I am excited to finally be doing something for me for once as cheesy as it sounds. Some of my cousins did BSR last year and it looked like so much fun, that is what kind of jump started my interest in running.

Already signed up for 5k in Disney in January, some of my family are doing the half the next day, so we are making it a long weekend trip, it was a  surprise birthday gift from DH!

My regular run schedule now is 2.5-3 miles every other day so 2-3 days per week in a perfect world when life doesn't interfere. The next two weeks are busy with the holidays and work so I was giving myself till December to then start couch to 10k. Since the c25k worked so well, I figured I should give it a shot and  that will allow me to build up to 6 miles. Then after that I will just add a few blocks with every run till I build up to 10 (or 8 like you said) miles. Correct me if I am wrong though!

Any 10k coming up in the new year that you know of? I realize it isn't exactly race season but I am hoping to run outside all winter, that is my intention. We don't have a treadmill and I hate going to the gym. Please tell me this is posible with the right gear and mindset

erbur78

MsKellDel:

Any 10k coming up in the new year that you know of? I realize it isn't exactly race season but I am hoping to run outside all winter, that is my intention. We don't have a treadmill and I hate going to the gym. Please tell me this is possible with the right gear and mindset

You can totally run in the coldest of temps with the right gear (it doesn't require much). And anyone who tells you that running in the cold is dangerous [to you, your lungs, your life] is full of baloney!  As long as you have the right gear, you'll be fine. I LOVE the cold stuff.

It is always race season!  :-)  Yes, I'll be on the lookout, but here are some good sites to bookmark and check out regularly:

http://www.pretzelcitysports.com/5ks.html

http://brynmawrrunningco.com/wpp/?page_id=18

http://runccrs.com/results/race-calendar/

http://philadelphiarunner.com/events/

MsKellDel

Thank you, great sites!

I'm thinking about doing the reindeer romp on 12/9, I wanted one for December