Possible to train for a 10k in 3 and a half months?

[warrior8 10]

I've just started (last week!) doing a bit of jogging and eating more healthily to lose a bit of weight.

 

I've just seen about the Sheffield 10k on the 23rd September and was looking for some advice as to whether it would be possible/advisable to enter.

 

At the moment I am not particularly fit but not hugely obese or anything either

[Knox Boxing 10]

I think it is totally possible for you to achieve a 10 k race in 3 1/2 months time. You need to focus on building your cv make sure you drink plenty of water when you are training and eat the right food. You should be drinking at least 8 pints of water a day. Try knox boxing on tues and thurs for cv training, you will be surprised at how fast you can build your stamina up. Good luck :0)

[runningowl 10]

Woa woa bad advice alert!

 

8pints of water a day? Err no! Hyponatreama comes to mind.

 

You are supposed to drink 2litres of FLUIDS a day. (beer doesn't count as its a duiretic) for an average person.

 

For an active person you must drink more. One way is to weigh what you way before a run and then after. A loss of 1.5 lb would mean you would have lost approx 1.5 ltr in sweat. This includes essential salts that need replacing with 1/2bottle of sports drink.

 

Yes, you can train for a 10k in 3months. Start slow, increase your mileage by no more than 10% each week, listen to your body and if feeling over tired then cross train by cycling, swimming or as mentioned boxing.

 

In reality you don't need to be able to run 10k in training till the day of the race but as a coach of running i would aim for you to be able to do this 2week before. You could aim for many of the parkruns on Saturday mornings in sheffield. Parkrun is a weekly FREE 5k run on a Saturday morning. There are 3 around Sheffield at present. Hallam being the flattest.

 

Good luck with your training and if you need any advice just ask.

[jonny121 10]

Haha 8 pints, I would be doing all my training running round the toilet block

[medusa 16]

Just to add in to the complicated story of fluids it's also worth bearing in mind that for some people drinking or eating during a race makes them sick, so you do the path that's right for you. I'm related to a marathon runner who can't eat or drink during the race without hurling, and she continues to run marathons and half marathons without problems.

 

Yes, you can train for 10k in 3 months, even if you plan to do a run/walk pattern for your first race. Increase your stamina training each week and you'll be fine

[Becci85 10]

yes you could easily do it, im sure if you google 10k training plans there will be many you could follow.

 

I found that interval training helped with my stamina, run for 1 minute walk for 30 seconds, run for 2 minutes walk for 1minute.. etc

 

but as previous posts everyones different

Good luck in your training

[LoopyCool 10]

As above - training for 10k is quite feasible in that time frame.

 

As this is your first run a good thing to do is have a training goal - this isn't a death or glory world record attempt, more a point to aim for and to give you something to work on. If your goal is simply to finish your first race (this was mine by the way) then build your training up slowly. I trained for my first 10k in about the same time frame and was pleasantly surprised !

 

A couple of things I've learnt through bitter experience:

 

Get the distance in your legs - If for no other reason than confidence on the day !!

 

Running on Hot Days - Technically, it's summer time - there's a better than even chance we might actually see the sun again this year. Don't be frightened of running on a sunny day but heat injury is one of the biggest dangers even to experienced runners - plenty of fluids and take some with you on the run. If it really is a hot one, discretion really is the better part of valour.

 

Overtraining - If each run is leaving you in bits and you're barely able to walk the next day then you're pushing your body too hard. It will get better but sometimes the best thing to do is drop back on pace or distance a little bit and run those a few more times before trying the longer/faster versions again. I overtrained last year and I'm still paying for it now with a recurring hamstring/knee injury so I can honestly say that pushing too hard will knacker your chances far quicker than taking it steady for a couple of weeks extra !!

 

Finally, have a look at the stuff aimed at beginners on here:

 

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/training/

 

These guys really are the experts and the regulars on the forums there are really helpful.

 

See you on Race Day !

 

- LC

[*Ryan* 11]

Yeah i managed it in 2 months, and not that much training just kept in good shape.