Tag: Six Weeks

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Weight Loss Exercise

How to Train for a 5K Run




A 5K race is an excellent way for new runners to experience the thrill of competing in a race. A race provides the motivation you need to improve your running time. It also provides enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment when you complete the race. Whether you’re running 5K or a marathon, it’s important to be physically and mentally prepared. Below are some tips on how to train for a 5K run.

Plan Ahead

Once you decide to join a 5K race, the first thing you have to do is make a plan for your training program. Give yourself enough time to train for a 5K run. Beginners who have never run before may need a couple of months to get in shape while others may need only four to six weeks of training. Your training program will also depend on how fast you want to run the race.

Make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. You may also want a stopwatch or a digital watch with a timer function to help you measure your speed while training. A journal or notebook will come in handy for keeping track of your progress.

Choose a Training Program

If you want to complete the race without suffering any injury, you should start training several weeks before the race. New runners typically need 6 to 8 weeks of training for a 5K run. This will give you enough time to build the stamina you need to run 5K (5 kilometers),which is equivalent to 3.1 miles.

A training program for new runners usually consists of running one to two miles a day, five days a week. As your fitness level improves, gradually increase the distance run until you are able to run 3 miles at an easy pace. Some training programs consist of 30-minutes of walking/jogging/running, five days a week.

While training, always drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated.

Learn How to Pace Yourself

Part of your goal to train for a 5K run is to learn how to pace yourself. This will allow you to finish the race in a specific amount of time. If it takes you 16 minutes to complete a mile, you’ll be able to finish 5K in about 50 minutes. If you can complete one mile in 8 minutes, it will take about 26 minutes to run 5K.

A stopwatch or digital watch will come in handy when timing yourself.

Set Your Own Goals

When you train for a 5K run, you should also learn how to set goals that are realistic and practical. Runners, whether novice or experienced, should always run their own race, meaning they should run at a pace that will allow them to finish the race without tiring themselves out or getting injured. Do not compare your pace to the pace of other competitors. Completing a 5K run is already a big accomplishment that you should be proud of.

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General Weight Loss Tips

What November May Bring

I spent the weekend in good ol’ West Virginia. Equal parts to see my family, go to the Dunbar fall festival and to see my best friend Jasmine for her 29th birthday. We’re all turning 29 in “the group” of girls I’ve known forever, and we like to tease Jasmine, because she’s the oldest and it means 30 is right around the corner for us all. 30 seems so big and scary. I know I will love my 30s, I’ve heard rumors that they’re great, but I’m embracing the heck out of 28 for now. I also feel a lot of motivation to leave my excess weight in my 20s.

Me and Jasmine posing at the farmer’s market.

My hometown feels haunted to me. Every corner has a specific memory, even the outside scent takes me back to the years prior to college. To high school, when driving around with the music up and the windows down, was the height of excitement for us.  I’m not sure what it is about fall, but I feel nostalgic. The scents, the leaves, the chill in the air. It’s magical to me and a feeling I hope I never lose. I have fall rituals, that probably sound silly, but are incredibly comforting. Such as fall scented candles and car air fresheners in scents like pumpkin, cinnamon or fireside. I like wearing hoodies with flip-flops. I have mix CDs with my favorite fall music going in the car.  I start cooking food like curry and chili for dinner. And I fill my porch with mums, asters and pumpkins. All of these are traditions are incredibly important to me. Am I alone here?

Do you have any fall traditions?

November! I found out a couple of weeks ago that I will be traveling to Los Angeles the first week of November. I will have more details on this trip, as it is blog related, in the coming weeks. But, for now, I am super excited and motivated to continue with my weight loss efforts. I have six weeks before the trip and I’m setting two goals that go along with my September goals. The first one is to exercise everyday with one day off. This means sticking to my exercise schedule of Zumba, c25k, Jillian’s 30 day DVD and stregnth training. I’m also re-setting the goal of tracking my calories every single day for the next six weeks, including the weekends. I struggle tracking on the weekends, because I’m out and about and not able to track on my phone, but this shouldn’t be an excuse.

Ultimately I would like to lose 2-3 pounds a week, but I’ll be pleased with whatever weight is lost from my actions.

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Food Focus

Today marks the beginning of week ten of the Insanity Workout. Ten. Weeks. On top of six weeks of yoga (which we’ve completed) and a weekly session of strength training.

Here is (another) list of thoughts from the 10 week mark…

1. The time passed. Seriously, ten weeks passed in a blink of an eye. I didn’t have to exercise, but I’m so glad I did. Some days the 45 minutes to an hour seemed like torture, even before I started. Which brings me to…

2. The only thing stopping me from doing most anything in my life is me. Forcing myself to exercise daily for ten weeks allowed me to see thought patterns and push past them. I was negative to myself, and sometimes down right mean. I think this would have stopped me before. It’s all mental, you know that quote: if you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right? So true.

3. Weight loss isn’t everything. This one is hard to even type out, because often I’ve thought: what’s the point in exercise if I don’t lose this weight quickly? What has changed is this: I exercise because it’s healthy and it feels good. This doesn’t mean I don’t weigh myself or get excited to see that I’ve lost 12 pounds (because I’m thrilled) but because there is a part of me that always thought…it’s ONLY 12 pounds, what’s the point? My perspective has shifted from exercise to lose weight, to exercise for life because it’s a good thing to do. I would have (and have many times) given up in the past. Just thrown in the towel because I was only doing it to lose weight. I’m okay with exercising everyday for the rest of my life if I never lose a single pound.

4. This has nothing to do with exercise (well, a little) but never (ever ever) weigh yourself during PMS. Just don’t do that to yourself. I can gain and lose eight lbs. in a weeks time from water weight alone.

5. My clothes fit better. I feel better.

6. Perfection is not a sustainable goal. I’ve had to really challenge myself to “do it anyway”. To exercise when I didn’t have a good week, to get back on track if I missed a couple of days. The truth is, a “poor week” of exercise now (3-4 days instead of six) is what I good week used to look like. I always aim for 6, but a couple of the ten past weeks weren’t perfect. I had to get over it. There were weeks when I ate wayy too much, more than exercise could work off. I had to get over it and keep moving. There were weeks when the scale went up and down and settled and moved around. I really had to stop aiming for a “perfect week” or a “perfect situation”, forgive myself and move on. This is hard.

Thoughts about food:

1. I have destructive food patterns that I’ve been able to pinpoint in the past weeks:

– If I’m overwhelmed, stressed, don’t know where to begin or procrastinating: I overeat.

– I still have the “all or nothing” , “last meal” mentality

– Keeping busy, staying focused and organized = better eating

2. Keeping a food journal, regardless if I count calories or not, truly helps me

3. Writing thoughts and emotions in this journal is also helpful

4. Being on the right path, having a plan for the day and staying on track with tasks makes it easier for me to go about my day without thoughts of food. Everything is related. I’ve noticed that the more productive I am, the more happy I am and the more productive and happy I am the less intense I feel about food.

5. The next ten weeks will be about eating real, clean food. My goal is this: to keep a daily food journal no matter what (good, bad or ugly) and to eat as much real food (close to nature, unprocessed, five ingredients or less) as possible. I want to really push myself to look for the clean food on restaurants and menu’s when dining out.

Clean eating is my new goal!

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