Week One of 5k Training

Week one of 5k training is in the books. Last week Chas and I decided to start training for the YMCA Turkey Trot 5k. Chas and I have talked about doing this 5k for the past couple of years, but since it's on Thanksgiving morning, it has been difficult to make the time. This year we decided was the year to tackle this challenge. Having a group of friends from church training for the same event really helps. We're generally following your basic couch to 5k plan. Because of back and health issues, I'm going to be walking. I'm really happy with this choice.

Overall, the week of training went well. I approached the training enthusiastically. I know that I'm able to walk a long distance at a rather leisurely pace without being in too much pain, but I really have wanted to kick it up a notch by training for speed. The 5k training called for 3 days of walking 20 minutes. I knew that a 20 minute walk wouldn't be overly challenging for me, but I decided that I wanted to train for speed. The first two training days, I met a friend at the park to walk, and we maintained a 20 minute mile pace. I was happy to have this as a starting point. Today, we met with friends at the local high school track for an early morning training session. Instead of sticking to the 20 minute training walk my plan called for, I decided to take a 2-mile walk instead. I walked at an 18 minute mile pace, with a few stops in there for stretching and water. I was happy with my progress and can't wait to see how the next 7 weeks of training go.

This week of training gave me a good baseline to set my goals from. My goal is to finish the 5k in 1 hour, but I would like to finish in 45 minutes. Truthfully, anything under an hour will make me happy. This morning I learned that the route for the 5k has a lot of hills. I don't know how that will affect my time, but I know now that I am going to have to train at least once a week on hills to get my back and legs acclimated to the incline. Luckily, my folks live in a neighborhood with some major hills. I'm kind of wondering how pushing C5 in the stroller is going to go on the hills. We'll see.

In addition to walking, I've also been adding some yoga to my workout routine. Four mornings this week I did yoga (either for back or abs), and I can definitely see what a difference it has made. It helps keep me loose and relaxed, and also helps me recover more quickly from walks (especially that 2 mile nature hike we did the other day).

I'm excited about training for this 5k. I've had a lot going on with me health-wise, and having this training to focus on has really kept me grounded and cut down on the number of freak outs I know I would have had (so far only numbered at 1). I'll keep you updated on my training.

Have a great weekend!

Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty. Proverbs 21:5

Do you have any training suggestions about training for my first 5k?