The best thing to do would be to get up and run at roughly the same time as your race one morning and see what works. How long before the race will you need to leave your house? For a 5K the demands on your body aren’t really that hard so I would probably just have my regular breakfast (bowl of cereal) with an added banana or English muffin with peanut butter or yogurt. Eggs are another standard pre-race breakfast. While waiting at the race site I’ll usually munch on some type of bar but the reality is you don’t need too much additional calories for a 5K that you’re going to finish in less than 30 minutes.
But the key for me would be to try it out before race day. Plan a morning run with the same time lag between waking up and hitting the road and see what works for you.
Instead of doing my 5k yesterday I took the LRT to its most southern station and then walked home which was 13K. I feel good and only have two little blisters so I’ll call it a success.
Last winter I was Rx’ed with osteoporosis and had to drop out in favor or walking. I was running a little over 2 miles a day – nothing epic, I know, but respectable for me – and I was truly sorry to have to stop. Well, today my doctor told me I could start running again, so I began with week 3. Wheeee!
I went and picked up my race package today. I didn’t realize it’s a timed race. Our numbers have a chip in them that keep track of our time. My only goal is to be in the middle of the pack and not at the end with the totally unfit and old people with walkers!
Well, unless is it a “fun run” or a national company trying to make a buck based on things like Neon powder or glow sticks. Then timing can range from none at all to “hope you saw the clock at the finish as you crossed, cause we aren’t keeping track”.
When i was still running, even a “fun run” had someone calling times at the finish.
I’ve never run a race(official entry forms, marked course, number bibs, etc) that didn’t have a timing system in place. Is this something new in the past nine years?
Some “fun runs” have timing, but it definitely isn’t a given anymore.
But yes, it is something new in the past nine years - several regional/national companies run races that focus on obstacles, paint, or glowsticks (“Neon Vibe”, “Color Run”), and they save big bucks by either not offering timing or all, or having timing limited to a clock at the start and at the finish that you have to read yourself. Not all color runs, obstacle runs, etc are like that, but some are, and they tend to attract big crowds, so it is something to be aware of. These aren’t generally races for charity, but for the profit of the organizer. Often they’ll partner with a local charity and give a small portion of the proceeds as a cover/to make the race more palatable, but all decisions they make are based on the bottom line, and to people who have raced before it is often painfully obvious. You see similar issues with national for-profit races that do offer real timing like the Hot Chocolate, etc, where they accept too many entries for the capacities of the venues they can get, have insane logistical issues because they are trying to get by with the minimum of personnel.
The Kickapoo Dam Challenge Triathlon (Paddle 7, Bike 15, Run 3) was cancelled October 5 (1st time in 11 years) due to heavy rain (turns out the WX on Saturday wasn’t severe, but the river was too dangerous)
A friend and I did the route on the 12th. Other than non trivial winds, was a nice day. The run route is different this year, and we got lost. My friend was paying attention and the detour cost us 20 minutes. Best case I did the actual run in 35:50, just under my 12 minute mile goal.
When we went in to get out T-shirts - they were handing out medals - we both got 2nd place
Done! I’ve had a horrible week. My grandma died a week ago today and then my dog died two days later so this run was fueled by grief and anger.
I finished 8K (5 miles) in just under an hour - 58 minutes. When I first started my C25K I struggled running just for a few minutes and when I completed 5K the first time it was close to an hour. So I ran 8K in almost the time it took me to run 5K just a couple of months ago.
I’m please with my time and here’s a picture of me at the finish line. I’m the short one.
